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NBA Thursday round-up: Warriors lock up home court advatage, Suns dent Rockets' playoffs hopes

Once again Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were huge in the Warriors’ win over the Spurs’

Golden State Warriors 112-101 San Antonio Spurs

Coming into Thursday’s match-up with the San Antonio Spurs, the Golden State Warriors had a lot to prove not only to others but to themselves. They needed to put away the doubts in anybody’s mind about the team not being able to reach 73 wins. The Warriors needed to regain some swagger on their home floor, having lost two of their last three at Oracle Arena

However, more importantly on national television, they needed to make an impression against a full-strength Spurs team.

Golden State led by as many as 23 points in the third quarter but a consistent spree of turnovers helped Spurs keep their head in the game. Eventually, the Warriors were too good for the Spurs on the night, mostly on the back of their sensational scoring in the third period:

Stephen Curry had a near double-double with 27 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds while Draymond Green finished with 18 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. For San Antonio, Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 23 points while LaMarcus Aldridge notched up 11 points on a rough shooting night (5 of 16).

With the win, the reigning NBA champions became the second team after the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls to reach 70 wins in the regular season. It also helps them clinch the first seed in the Western Conference and thus home court advantage all through the post-season. Golden State needs to win all of its three remaining games; two against the Memphis Grizzlies and one in San Antonio, to beat the 72 win record of the 1995-96 Bulls. 

Atlanta Hawks 95-87 Toronto Raptors

The Atlanta Hawks have flown under the radar as in recent months while improving drastically since the All-Star break; becoming defensively prudent. However, Thursday’s performance against the Toronto Raptors was the first emphatic defensive performance the team has had against a top 10 team in the league. Restricting the Raptors to just 87 points, the Hawks won the game and avoided a season series sweep. 

Toronto was having a horrendous shooting night with the team percentage at a lowly 38% from field and 75% from the free throw line. The Hawks took full advantage on offense, scoring 95 by assisting on 23 of their 33 made field goals. Power Forward Paul Millsap had four turnovers but led the way for Atlanta with his 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Jeff Teague contributed with 23 points and 5 assists while center Al Horford filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Although it was a disappointing performance, the Raptors still hold a comfortable lead for their second seed and will most likely enter as the second seed in the East. On the other hand for the Hawks, this game was a crucial win as Atlanta strengthened their hold on the third seed in the East.

Phoenix Suns 124-115 Houston Rockets

After the Houston Rockets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder last Saturday at home, a favorable schedule ahead had the fans optimistic about making the Playoffs after a tough first half of the season. However back to back disappointing losses first at Dallas and then at home against the Suns has put a huge question mark on the Rockets’ chances of making the post-season this year. 

Despite one of the most efficient performances of the season by James Harden, who scored 30 points and dished out 7 assists on 10 of 14 shooting (5 of 6 from three-point range), the Rockets failed to capture the win after being outscored 35-25 in the fourth quarter by the Suns, the second-worst team in the Western Conference. With the team set to face the Rockets, the Timberwolves, and the Kings in the remaining games, there might still be a little hope of making the post-season but a lot of it depends on teams like Utah Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks dropping most or all of their remaining games, which is highly unlikely.

For Phoenix, Mirza Teletovic continued his good show off the bench scoring 26 points on 50% shooting in 31 minutes while forward P.J. Tucker had the most efficient box score with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists on 9 of 17 shooting.

Miami Heat 106-98 Chicago Bulls

Pau Gasol (CHI): 21 pts, 12 rebs, 4 blks

Hassan Whiteside (MIA): 16 pts, 12 rebs

Minnesota Timberwolves 105-97 Sacramento Kings

Rudy Gay (SAC): 13 pts, 13 rebs, 5 stls, 3 asts, 2 blks

Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN): 17 pts, 10 rebs

Top 5 plays:

Quincy Acy of the Sacramento makes two appearances on the top 5 plays of the night:

 

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