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NBA Wednesday round-up: Cavs lose again as LeBron James rests, Mavs win key game against Rockets

Paul George drives to the basket.

Indiana Pacers 123-109 Cleveland Cavaliers

For the second game in their last five, LeBron James and as expected the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped the game. This is a huge cause for concern for the championship contenders, who Kyrie Irving said were the team to beat. This season with no James, the team has gone 1-5. Last season it was a record of 3-10 without James in uniform.

James’ presence affects the team defense too. See the difference:

Cleveland disappointed but take no credit away from the Pacers, who are in a tight battle for the seventh seed. Paul George led Indiana with 29 points while guard Monta Ellis had an all-round game of 13 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds.

The Pacers are currently leading the Detroit Pistons in the race for the seventh seed with a game in hand. Although they have not officially clinched the Playoff spot, it’s safe to say that they are through to the post-season and the only thing uncertain is whether they will enter as the seventh or eighth seed.

Portland Trailblazers 120-115 Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder fielded a squad with no Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. So considering that, the fact that they lost only by five points to the opposition’s regular starting line-up is a big deal. Nonetheless, it’s still a loss for them and a win for their opponents, a crucial one in fact.

Portland Trailblazers sealed their ticket to the post-season with the win, making it their 32nd Playoffs in franchise history, the fourth most in the league since they joined the NBA in 1970. Despite their assurance of the Playoffs, the next two games are huge for Portland as they would decide the team’s seeding, which in turn determines their opponent for the first round of the Playoffs.

C.J. McCollum (26 points) and Al-Farouq Aminu (27 points) had efficient shooting nights which helped the Trailblazers clinch their eight consecutive home game, a season high. They are now tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the fifth seed.

Meanwhile for the Thunder this game had no importance whatsoever. They had already sealed the third seed for themselves and were holding a lead comfortable enough for the fourth seed to not worry.

Dallas Mavericks 88-86 Houston Rockets

This match-up between the texas rivals was more like a quaterfinal, given the positions both teams are fighting for and records heading into the contest. Led by J.J. Barea, who scored 20+ points in four consecutive games for the first time in his career, the Mavericks came away with the win and jump to the seventh seed, holding a lead of one game to the eighth seeded Utah Jazz and extending their lead to two over the ninth seeded Houston Rockets.

Dallas had a rough three week stretch in March, which resulted in them being in this Playoff race. Nevertheless, when it counted the veteran team brought it all togehter. The Mavs have now won the last five games with only four games remaining in the regular season.

For the Rockets, it was another disappointing performance especially after they had the game in their grasp for almost the entire fourth quarter. Both teams combined for just 14 points in the last six and half minutes of the game. James Harden had 26 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists but had a terrible shooting night making only eight of his 22 field goal attempts. In the last couple of minutes, Harden threw up a couple of three’s in the anticipation of a foul being called, which never was, and that really disrupted the flow of the Rockets’ offense. 

Despite the loss, the Rockets still have a favorable schedule remaining with all games against non-Playoff teams. However, for Houston to make the Playoffs they will need Dallas or Utah to drop one or a couple of games. 

Detroit Pistons 108-104 Orlando Magic

Nikola Vucevic (ORL): 15 pts, 13 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls

Andre Drummond (DET): 13 pts, 16 rebs, 4 blks

Washington Wizards 121-103 Brooklyn Nets

Thomas Robinson (BKN): 23 pts, 10 rebs, 4 asts

Ramon Sessions (WAS): 18 pts, 13 asts

Boston Celtics 104-97 New Orleans Pelicans

Isaiah Thomas (BOS): 32 pts, 8 asts, 4 rebs

Avery Bradley (BOS): 13 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 3 stls

Charlotte Hornets 111-97 New York Knicks

Kemba Walker (CHA): 34 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls

Carmelo Anthony (NYK): 15 pts, 7 asts, 6 rebs

Los Angeles Clippers 91-81 Los Angeles Lakers

DeAndre Jordan (LAC): 15 pts, 11 rebs,  4 blks

Chris Paul (LAC): 13 pts, 8 asts, 5 rebs

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