Last Night In The NBA: I Have A Fever And The Only Cure Is More Luka
Hello everybody happy Saturday and welcome back to another edition of Last Night In The NBA where we bring you up to speed on everything that went down from the night before in the Association. My apologies for this being a little late, but I’ve been dealing with a very sick 11mo old monster and just got back from what seemed like 5 days at the animal hospital. Saint Bernards rule minus the times when they are puking and shitting all over your floor. But enough about that, let’s talk about what we saw on Friday night. There were 9 total games on the schedule, some were thrilling right down to the final second, others were snoozefests from the opening tip but as we quickly approach the Spring we are starting to see some matchups with H2H implications start to become important. Maybe you’re a little hung over today and are looking for something to read on the toilet or just help you mindlessly kill time until the football starts, either way let’s get started. If you were out and didn’t get to see the action, here’s what happened.
Atlanta Hawks (13-29) 123 vs Philadelphia 76ers (27-17) 121
By far the biggest surprise of the night so we may as well start with this. Right off the bat we should make it known that Joel Embiid did not play in this game, but every other Sixer did. While he’s for sure important, if the Sixers are as good as their fans tweet me everyday on Twitter, this team should have been able to handle the lowly Hawks. Does this mean that if you take Embiid off the Sixers but they have everyone else then they are worse than ATL? I wouldn’t say that’s the case, so not having Embiid isn’t really an excuse. What about this team’s other Top 20 players?
Ben Simmons certainly held up his end of the bargain with his own triple double
Mike Muscala came out of nowhere for his 16 points as did McConnell
and then you had both JJ Redick and Jimmy Butler combine for 50. This was a team that shot 51% from the field and had over 120 points so to me this is a game they should win. However, we saw a lot of the same issues that continue to plague this team. First there was the lack of defense, no way you should be giving up that many points to the Hawks at home even without Embiid. Does he guard Kevin Huerter? I don’t think so. The other is the turnovers. A total of 7 of their 15 came from Butler/Simmons, and all that did was just help waste what was a very productive night from the second unit. Credit TJ McConnell for literally stopping Jimmy Butler from getting into a fight
The story here is obviously the ending. After John Collins hit what would be the game winner to go up 2, the Sixers had plenty of time and the ball to either tie or win it. They went to Butler, who drove it and got fouled. OK play for OT, only there was one problem. He choked. He missed the first FT which then forced him to miss the second on purpose and the Sixers nearly scored anyway
Ben Simmons called the team soft, here’s Butler’s reaction
The Sixers have now lost to both the Cavs and the Hawks and suddenly find themselves tied in the loss column with BOS, who they have lost both H2H meetings with. Uh oh!
For ATL, what a win. First Kevin Huerter was legit unguardable
but he was certainly not alone. Almost every Hawk that hit the floor last night contributed in a big way, and that’s exactly what you have to do when you are playing in a tough place like PHI
That John Collins game winner was nails, nice job by Huerter to not force things coming off that handoff and instead found him in the post, and you have to give the Hawks credit. Every time it looked like maybe the Sixers were the ones that made the big momentum play, they answered every time.
Milwaukee Bucks (29-12) 106 vs Washington Wizards (18-25) 113
Much like the first game, we should obviously mention that Giannis did not play in this one either. As dominant as the Bucks have been this season, they are more human on the road where they are just 10-8, and as much as a disaster as the Wizards have been this season, they do still have good talent on this roster that is capable of a night like what we saw on Friday. They came out and shot 48/54% from the field. made 18 3PM which was a franchise record
dropped 40 in the first quarter and never looked back. Even with the Bucks making a run in the second and third quarter, it was just too much Bradley Beal
He finished with 32/7/5 and boy did he have help. There was Tomas Satoranky notching his first career triple double
and then a couple of solid 20 point outings from both Trevor Ariza
and Jeff Green
When you look at a team with such a great defense in MIL, we sure didn’t see that same sort of effort last night.
For MIL, with Giannis out obviously someone was going to have to step up the scoring, and that person was Khris Middleton
as a team they struggled from deep going just 13-40, and while the starters for the most part played well in Giannis’ absence
they problem was that they simply dug themselves too big a hole to start this game. Add in that the second unit didn’t really do all that much and this is how you have this sort of disappointing loss on the road. With TOR winning 4 in a row MIL has seen them slip to 1.5 games back and just 1.5 up over IND who is in the 3 spot.
Indiana Pacers (28-14) 121 vs New York Knicks (10-32) 106
Speaking of Indiana, they certainly did not let their loss to BOS get the best of them. They came right back out and took care of business against a Knicks team that obviously doesn’t want wins, but often plays every good team tough. Ever since Sabonis has taken over the Myles Turner in the starting lineup he’s been an absolute force and last night was no different. He led the Pacers with 22/15/3 on 9-14 shooting, and is having himself one hell of a breakout year
Of course Oladipo was his usual unstoppable self with 19 points on 8-13 shooting including a pretty impressive poster
and overall it was a pretty eventful night for him
The Pacers had 6 players in double figures, got off to a 9 point lead early and even though the Knicks played them fairly even the rest of the way with no quarter being decided by more than 3 points, they are just 4-13 at home so nobody really expected them to pull this out.
For NYK, they did what they were supposed to do. Get some good contributions from your young talent
but overall make sure you don’t mess with your lottery odds. As of now they currently sit tied with the 2nd best odds, so no need to go ruining that by winning games. Good job by them in my opinion.
Brooklyn Nets (21-23) 105 vs Toronto Raptors (32-12) 122
Is it me or every time I look at the standings I see that TOR has like a 4 game winning streak. I feel like that happens way too often for my liking. This was not a game they just dominated from the start, in fact it was BKN who got off to a great start. The Raptors then woke up, won the second quarter 36-18 and then the third quarter 35-22, and that was that. As solid as Kawhi and some of the starters were, this was a prime example of the deep TOR bench doing their thing. They had 5 second unit players in double figures, finished with a total 60 points and when that happens good luck beating them. Now 18-4 at home, the Raptors are rolling
For BKN, D’Angelo Russell continues his strong season with another 24/6/9 on 10-19 shooting
but he was just one of two Nets in double figures and for a team that shot 42/36% with 17 TOs, that’s usually a recipe for a blowout when you find yourself up in Toronto. Good news is they are still in the 7 spot out East, but they are the only team in the top 8 that has a negative point differential.
Cleveland Cavaliers (8-35) 113 vs Houston Rockets (24-17) 141
OK what the hell is going on in HOU. They just put up roughly the same score we saw in the SA/OKC and they did it in regulation. Hell they did it with James Harden only playing three quarters. Those three quarters were fairly dominant though, considering he dropped a 43/10/12 triple double on 12-24 shooting
When the Rockets shoot 51% and make 20 3PM, I’m not sure there is anyone that can beat them, certainly the Cavs can’t. To think he did all this and only took 11 FTA is impressive, and the rockets now find themselves 15-6 at home, and 8-2 over their last 10. The problem is all the teams around them are also winning right now, so they sit in the 6 spot, just 1 game out of 3rd.
For CLE, not much to write about when you get worked like this, but at least Ante Zizic did some things
Boy I really hope they don’t get Zion, I want better for him.
Dallas Mavericks (20-22) 119 vs Minnesota Timberwolves (20-22) 115
Aside from the Sixers game, this was probably the most exciting game of the night. Both teams scratching to get back into the top 8 out West, you have DAL getting out to a nice lead only to blow that, you had MIN almost pulling it out late, the whole thing was high drama and a ton of fun. For the Mavs, obviously the story was Luka. He carried them down the stretch, either scored or assisted on their last 15 points, and basically took this game over by himself to pull it out
He is so incredibly fun to watch each and every night, he’s practically at must watch status at this point. He certainly had help, with Harrison Barnes and JJ Barea chipping in with solid outings
the only downside is it looks like Barea has torn his achilles, so his season and maybe career could be over. That stinks out loud. At 34 it would be hard to see him come back, and you never want to see guys like him get hurt like this. Brutal.
For MIN, DRose showed why he’s getting all this All Star love
KAT was a monster with 30/11 and some huge buckets late
and they almost pulled it out with this big Taj Gibson put back with 35 seconds left
hell even Josh Okogie was a factor with his 15 points on 5-8 shooting
they simply forgot about Luka which by now you should know you absolutely cannot do.
Los Angeles Lakers (23-20) 95 vs Utah Jazz (22-21) 113
Why was this game big? Well now UTA is tied with LAL H2H, and as two teams that may be fighting for playoff seeding, that tie breaker is going to become important. I think it’s pretty clear this team misses LeBron, the kids did not have it last night shooting just 35/18% and scored just 41 points in the first half. Kuzma went just 4-18, Ball 3-13 and Hart 2-6. Brandon Ingram was the best Laker starter with 15 points on 6-11, but obviously he needs help which the Lakers did not giev him. They are now 9-12 on the road, 4-6 over their last 10, and are desperately hanging onto that 8 spot with UTA trailing them by just 1 game.
For UTA, Donovan Mitchell sure gave Lonzo Ball the business
and then roll players like Royce O’Neal chipped in with a big 17 points
but honestly the Jazz didn’t shoot all that much better at just 39/35%. They are 10-8 at home and this was a big win for them given the team directly in front of them in the standings, and basically they continue to make no sense to me. Snagging 113 points with this poor of offensive shooting? Could the Lakers defense really be that bad?
Charlotte Hornets (19-22) 96 vs Portland Trail Blazers (26-17) 127
Hard to win on the road in a tough building like that when you only have two players finish in double figures in Kemba and Jeremy Lamb.
This Hornet team straight stinks on the road, is now 5-14 and they’ve seen themselves slide all the way to the 8th spot in the East. Losers of their last 2 and 7 of their last 10, this team is sliding, there’s really no other way to put it. Every other team in the top 8 in the East is above .500 in their last 10, and if they aren’t careful they are going to find themselves in the lottery.
For POR, I feel like it’s been a while since this was the case, but this team was carried by both of their guards in this one
They shot 55.9% as a team and made 15 3PM, so while those two did most of the damage in terms of starters, the POR bench also showed up and held up their end of the bargain. They currently have the longest active winning streak in the West at 4, and find themselves tied with OKC for a top 3 seed. Very likely we see them get back to where they were last year if they keep playing like this.
Chicago Bulls (10-32) 109 vs Golden State Warriors (28-14) 146
Carl has you covered from a Bulls perspective, so let’s focus on GS. What do you need to know? Their Big 3 nearly outscored the entire Bulls roster
They finished with 80 points, and this was pretty much the exact same result as the last time these two played when the Warriors won by like 50 points. Nothing really else to say, this was a good old fashioned ass kicking.
And that’s it! You’re now all caught up with everything that went down last night in the NBA. We’re back tonight with 7 more games, but go ahead and enjoy the football and check back tomorrow and I’ll fill you in on everything you missed.