NBA Results Today (August 13) - Damian Lillard does it again for Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns eliminated despite 8-0 run
With seven games to be played on Thursday. All eyes were on the race to the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. One way or another, the NBA results today would confirm the two sides that would have a chance of making the NBA Playoffs as the eighth seed.
While the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs needed to win at all costs, even favorable NBA results elsewhere would've allowed Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies to qualify for the play-in tourney.
The likes of Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, and New Orleans Pelicans, all of whom have already been eliminated, also played their final game in the NBA bubble. On that note, let us look at the NBA results from today, August 13th.
#1 Washington Wizards avoid going 0-8 with win over Boston Celtics
The Washington Wizards weren't expected to provide much competition in the NBA bubble without the likes of Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans. While that was the story for the first seven games, Scott Brooks' side finally secured a positive NBA result as the Boston Celtics decided to field their reserve players for extended minutes.
Thomas Bryant led the way for the Wizards with 26 points and was their only player to shoot above 50% from the field. While the Celtics took the lead in the third quarter, the Wizards looked comfortable for the majority of the game.
Final Score: Wizards 96-90 Celtics (Bryant 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals; Green 23 points)
#2 Sacramento Kings rally back to blow out the LA Lakers
The Sacramento Kings shot nearly 57% from the field to blow out the LA Lakers in this battle of the West Coast. The Lakers rested key players such as Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma among others while LeBron James only played 14 minutes.
Although the Lakers controlled proceeding for most of the first half, the Kings took charge midway through the second and led by as many as 28 at a time. Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic combined for 55 points with the former scoring 28. The Purple and Gold, meanwhile, had six players accruing double digits in points.
Final Score: Kings 136-122 Lakers (Bogdanovic 27 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds; Waiters 19 points, 5 assists)
Also read: "LeBron James has OCD" Dudley reveals details about the Lakers players rooms in the NBA bubble
#3 Memphis Grizzlies blow out Milwaukee Bucks to secure play-in berth
Memphis Grizzlies entered this ball game with only one win in their seven outings in the bubble and the NBA results elsewhere didn't do them any favors. A win here would secure a position in the play-in tournament for them and they played as if their lives depended on it.
The NBA rookie of the year favorite Ja Morant and Jonas Valanciunas both had triple-doubles with the latter particularly making the most of Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence. Dillon Brooks shot 67% from the field to account for 31 points as well.
Final Score: Bucks 106-119 Grizzlies (Lopez 19 points, 9 rebounds; Valanciunas 26 points, 12 assists, 19 rebounds)
#4 Phoenix Suns go undefeated in the NBA bubble after trouncing Dallas Mavericks
The Phoenix Suns came into this game on the back of two blowout wins. Not once had they scored fewer than 110 points in the NBA bubble and tonight was no different as they rattled the Dallas Mavericks who decided to rest Kristaps Porzingis.
Ricky Rubio dropped 12 dimes and potential NBA Bubble MVP Devin Booker scored 27 in this do-or-die game for Monty Williams' men. Boban Marjanovic was one bucket short of a 20-20 outing but that wasn't enough to prevent the Suns from securing a convincing NBA result.
Final Score: Mavericks 102-128 Suns (Marjanovic 18 points, 20 rebounds; Booker 27 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds)
#5 Utah Jazz snap losing streak with win over San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs were already out of contention for the NBA Playoffs following wins for Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns. That explained the lack of energy throughout the game for Gregg Popovich's men against the Utah Jazz.
Utah themselves haven't had too many positive NBA results in the bubble so far and would take this win, considering that it was fueled by bench players. Despite all the Spurs' starters managing double digits in scoring, they were left lagging behind for almost the entire game and eventually conceded the loss.
Final Score: Spurs 112-118 Jazz (Johnson 24 points; Tucker 18 points)
#6 Orlando Magic end seeding games on winning note against New Orleans Pelicans
The Orlando Magic ended their five-game losing streak with a convincing win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pels decided to rest all their starters and the Magic made the most of that. Vucevic led the way for Orlando but D.J. Augustin had a solid 22 points off the bench as well on 7-of-10 scoring.
Frank Jackson built on his 19-point outing against Sacramento with a career-high 31 points. Josh Hart had a double-double and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 29 as well but that wasn't enough for the Pels.
Final Score: Pelicans 127-133 Magic (Hart 23 points, 14 rebounds; Vucevic 23 points, 6 rebounds)
#7 Portland Trail Blazers stretched to the limit by Brooklyn Nets in one-point win
Offense was the order of the day as both Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers shot the ball well in a game that came down to the final possession.
The Nets managed to restrict Damian Lillard in the third quarter to acquire a game-high 10-point lead. They doubled Lillard up the moment he crossed the halfway line to get the ball out his hands. But that led to a lot of open shots for other Portland scorers.
Eventually, Lillard too got his mojo back and ended the night with 42 points. Caris LeVert caused all sorts of trouble with his 37 points but couldn't get the bucket to fall with the final shot of the game. This NBA result confirmed Blazers' participation in the play-in tournament and broke the hearts of Phoenix Suns fans.
Final Score: Blazers 134-133 Nets (Lillard 42 points, 12 assists; LeVert 37 points, assists, 6 rebounds)
Also read: NBA Playoff Brackets 2020 - When does the post-season begin?