NBA Wednesday Round-up: Warriors and Celtics stay hot at home, Durant scorches Clippers
It’s about that time in the NBA season when teams with really good records start clinching Playoffs spots while at the other end of the spectrum, really bad teams start getting officially eliminated from post-season contention. Most of the league is through 63-64 games of the season and we’re just over a month’s away from the 2016 NBA Playoffs.
A relatively busy Wednesday night had nine games slated with seven of the top 10 teams (record wise) expected to take the court. Here’s the results and top news from the night:
Golden State Warriors vs Utah Jazz
Reigning NBA Champions the Golden State Warriors made light work of the Utah Jazz winning the contest 115-94, extending their NBA record home win streak to 46 games. Reigning MVP Stephen Curry had a rough shooting night shooting 4-12 from the field for 12 points; although he dished out 10 assists. However, Klay Thompson with a game-high 23 points and Draymond Green (17p/7r/5a) with his usual “do it all” numbers helped rout their opponents. The team’s ever dependable bench also shined at home contributing 53 points, led by 13 from Leonardo Barbosa and 16 from Marreese Speights.
On the other hand it was a tough day at the office for the Utah Jazz. With a shot at the eight spot in the West, this loss does no good to their Playoff hopes. They have lost seven of their last eight games, allowing the Houston Rockets to not only surge ahead but hold a steady lead of 3 games for the eight spot.
Boston Celtics vs Memphis Grizzlies
While the Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs have their home win streaks in the top 5 all time, a new home win streak has emerged off late. The Boston Celtics have a current home win streak of 14 games at the TD Garden, stretching back to the January 14th when they lost to the Detroit Pistons 99-94. The C’s kept their streak alive on Wednesday with a blowout win over the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 116-96.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Clippers
The OKC Thunder snapped a 3 game losing streak at home with a convincing 120-108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, a team they are fighting with for the third seed. Russell Westbrook broke many records with his 25 points, 20 assists 11 rebounds triple double. Once such record was :
Russell Westbrook is the first player with 25 points, 20 assists and 10 rebounds in a game since Magic Johnson (Nov. 28, 1988)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 10, 2016
Kevin Durant had a spectacular performance as well with his 30 point, 12 rebound and 7 assists night. He has the longest streak of 7 games by any player to record 25p-10r-5 since Larry Bird in the 1981-82 season. Also this:
Kevin Durant has 11 games this season with 30+ Pts, 10+ Reb and 5+ Ast.
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 10, 2016
No one else has more than 3. pic.twitter.com/kNZPEetXSv
More than the stats, the win over the Clippers means that the Thunder get a tighter grip over their third seed and get more breathing room to work with.
Houston Rockets vs Philadelphia 76ers
Behind a near triple-double performance by James Harden (29 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists) and Dwight Howard’s double-double (21 points and 18 rebounds), the Rockets swept the season series with the Philadelphia 76ers. More importantly, the win marks the team’s first back to back wins registered since February 4th and a tighter hold over the final Playoff spot in the West.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Charlotte Hornets
Despite a career-high 38 points from Jrue Holiday and a monster double-double (40 points, 13 rebounds) from Anthony Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans could not close the lead and ice the game handing the Charlotte Hornets their fifth win in a row and sixth in their last seven games. Kemba Walker led with 35 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists but it was a team effort as seven players (all five starters) scored in double figures for Charlotte.
Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks
With the Milwaukee Bucks’ top two point guards out of play, versatile forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has taken up the ball handling duties and so far has impressed, to say the least. Before February 27th, he did not have a single triple-double to his name and since then he has three. Against the Miami Heat on Wednesday was no different, Antetokounmpo put up 24 points, brought down 7 rebounds and dished out 6 assists to lead his team to a 114-108 win.
This snaps the Heat’s five-game winning streak and keeps the Bucks slim chances of making the Playoffs alive.
Detroit Pistons vs Dallas Mavericks
The Pistons began their four games in five night road trip with a 102-96 win in Dallas against the Mavericks. All five starters scored in double figures led by All-Star center Andre Drummond with 25 points and 17 rebounds. For Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Chandler Parsons (25 points) had key contributions but other than that there wasn’t much the Mavs could depend.
The Mavericks have lost four in a row now against opponents like the Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and now the Pistons. Their losing streak is longest active streak in the NBA, second only to Philadelphia’s 13 in a row.
New York Knicks vs Phoenix Suns
With the starting back-court out due to injury, Phoenix Suns rookie guard Devin Booker is seeing a lot more minutes on the floor and is making full use of it. Booker dropped 34 points, his third 25+ points game in the last five games. However, it came in a losing cause as the New York Knicks swept the season series in domination fashion 128-97, behind season high 23 points from Sasha Vujacic and 23p/7r performance from Carmelo Anthony.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Sacramento Kings
After losing an embarrassing one at home to the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, the Cavaliers embarked on their four games in five nights West Coast road trip. First of their four games was against the Kings, who have lost six of their last seven games. The Cavs came up big in the second half outscoring their opponents 66-51 and eventually winning the game 120-111. All five starters registered scores in double digits led by LeBron James who had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists and Kyrie Irving who got 30.
Top Plays of the Day:
Spoiler: A Stephen Curry half-court shot at the buzzer is at No.1 but watch the rest here: