As the week closed out in the NBA, we were graced with some high profile match-ups, and some playoff previews. Let’s hop into it.
Wednesday started off with the New York Knicks playing the Orlando Magic. Julius Randle, who has been having an All-Star caliber season, scored 25 points on 57% shooting from the field, but Orlando out passed the Knicks with 27 team assists to just 16 from New York. This proved to be a serious area of weakness and the Knicks lost 107-89.
The Boston Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks and it was a high scoring game. With Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart absent, most of the scoring came from Jason Tatum who put up 35 points in 34 minutes of play. Trae Young who desperately needed his team to win after hitting a rough patch, dropped 40 points to beat the shorthanded Celtics 122-114.
With the absence of Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood, the Houston Rockets were at a serious disadvantage as they went up against one of the best teams in the league - the Philadelphia 76er’s. With Ben Simmons sitting out for the 76er’s, the Rockets were able to keep the game close, but they could not garner a win as they lost 118-113.
The Detroit Pistons are one of the worst teams in the league this year, and the fact that they have benched Blake Griffin will only make them worse. They took on the Chicago Bulls and even with Jerami Grant dropping 43 points for the Pistons, they could not stop Zach Levine from scoring 37 points and bring the W back to Chicago, 105-102.
The Washington Wizards are on a roll. After they beat the Houston Rockets on Monday, they played the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Despite Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić combining for 68 points on the night, Davis Bertans scored 35 points coming off the bench, going 9-11 from three point range to keep his team in it, and with Bradley Beal hitting the game winning free throws, the Wizards sealed the deal, 130-128.
The Indiana Pacers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves, and this game went down to the wire as Demontis Sabonis had a triple double with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. Although Karl Anthony Towns and Malik Beasly had 61 points combined, they could not defeat the Pacers in OT as they lost 134-128.
The New Orleans Pelicans coming fresh off a win, could not get two in a row. As they faced the Portland Trailblazers on Wednesday Zion Williamson had another 35 point night. His performance alone could not stop the Blazers, and more specifically Damion Lillard from dropping 43 points to help the Blazers take the win 126-124.
The Oklahoma City Thunder has a consistent game against the Memphis Grizzlies, having 6 players scoring in double digits. Ja Morant however, had a triple double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists as well as three other Grizzlies players scoring 20 points or more to win the game, 122-113.
The Utah Jazz continued their win streak against the Los Angeles Clippers. With Paul George and Kawhi Leonard absent from this game, the Clippers did not have a chance, losing by 18, 114-96.
The Miami Heat played back to back games on Wednesday and Thursday. First they took on the Golden State Warriors and they pushed the game into overtime. Jimmy Butler had a triple double on the night with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. But with Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Kent Bazemore, and Kelly Oubre Jr. combing for 97 points, they closed out the Heat in OT, 120-112.
The Heat got back in to the W column the following night against the Sacremento Kings. With both Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler having a triple double, and Tyler Herro dropping 27 points, the Kings lost the game 118-110.
The Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks played the second of back to back games against each other. The Raptors, with an impressive performance from their starting five, won the game 110-96 making it a two game sweep.
The Brooklyn Nets who were missing Kevin Durant faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers who were missing Anthony Davis and Dennis Schruder. This game while entertaining, does not give a reflection as to how these teams will fair against each other in the future, when everyone is healthy. Kyrie Irving had 16 points on the night while LeBron James had 32 points. This however did not help the Lakers win, as the Nets took the W 109-98.
This has been the Weeks Conclusion for Briefly In Depth
Check back in Monday for the Weekend Editon
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