Washington Wizards vs. Brooklyn Nets, Nets win 125-123
Top Performers
Kristaps Porzingis
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 38 | 5 | 2 | 11/20 | 4/5 | 12/13 | 0 | 2 |
Cam Thomas
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 44 | 6 | 5 | 16/23 | 4/5 | 8/9 | 0 | 0 |
Biggest Takeaways
- Things looked grim for the Brooklyn Nets in their first game since the Kyrie Irving trade request, as they were at one point down by 23 points against the Washington Wizards. But they were able to drastically turn things around thanks to a career-high 44 points off the bench from Cam Thomas.
- Edmond Sumner also had a career night with 29 points along with Nicolas Claxton, who finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks. This was their largest comeback win of the season and they now have also swept the regular season series against the Wizards.
- The Washington Wizards apparently love blowing leads. Here’s a wild stat for you. Washington also lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 124-116 on Friday after blowing a 20-point lead. The Wizards now are the first team in the last 25 seasons to lose on consecutive days after being up by 20 points or more. Sensational. That is a Tank-tastic stat if I’ve ever seen one and the crazy part is that Washington isn’t even actively tanking.
- Kristaps Porzingis did finish this game with 38 points while Monte Morris and Deni Avdija combined for 41.
Portland Trailblazers vs. Chicago Bulls, Bulls win 129-121
Top Performers
Damian Lillard
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 40 | 5 | 5 | 12/21 | 5/12 | 11/11 | 1 | 0 |
Zach LaVine
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 36 | 6 | 5 | 11/18 | 5/10 | 9/9 | 2 | 0 |
Biggest Takeaways
- Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan combined for 63 points to erase a 17-point deficit to hold off Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers.
- The Chicago Bulls were in full throttle as they shot 60% from the field as a team and finished with 32 assists while dominating 14-0 in second-chance points. Nikola Vucevic helped round out the Big 3 with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
- With this being their third game in four nights, the Portland Trail Blazers seemed to get gassed in the second half and it cost them the game. Nonetheless, Lillard finished with 40 points and Anfernee Simons added 27.
- The Blazers had won five of their last six games coming into this matchup. Lillard was also recently named an All-Star reserve in the Western Conference. Portland’s front office has some serious questions to answer as we get closer to the trade deadline. This is a team that could be a heavy buyer or seller in the market. But they will be active in some way. They have to.
Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, Thunder win 153-121
Top Performers
Josh Christopher
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 20 | 0 | 5 | 7/11 | 2/2 | 4/6 | 1 | 1 |
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 42 | 4 | 6 | 14/23 | 0/2 | 14/15 | 3 | 2 |
Biggest Takeaways
- After losing to Houston Rockets on Wednesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder came into this game with vengeance in mind. And boy did they get it. Led by 42 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (20 in the first quarter), OKC broke their old record of 150 points that they scored in that win over the Boston Celtics last month.
- Other notable performances for the Thunder include Josh Giddey with his near triple-double with 17 points, eight rebounds, and ten assists. Also, Isaiah Joe was a torch off the bench with 18 points in 18 minutes with five made threes. Oklahoma City continues to be a feisty team this season and this might be a spicy take, but they might be a part of the final ten in the West as a Play-In team come the season’s end.
- The Houston Rockets got demolished but the bench carried. Josh Christopher and rookie guard TyTy Washington each had 20 points off the bench along with Tari Eason who had 18 points, and eight rebounds and led the team with nine free throw attempts.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Denver Nuggets, Nuggets win 128-108
Top Performers
Dejounte Murray
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 28 | 4 | 10 | 10/21 | 3/8 | 5/7 | 1 | 2 |
Jamal Murray
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 41 | 5 | 7 | 15/24 | 7/12 | 4/4 | 1 | 0 |
Biggest Takeaways
- In the Battle of the Murrays, Jamal Murray won as he scored a season-high 41 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to their third straight victory with a win over the Atlanta Hawks.
- Of course, Nikola Jokic chipped in with his practically routine triple-double (18th of the season) with 14 points, 18 rebounds, and ten assists. Michael Porter Jr. even got in on the fun with 23 points.
- The Denver Nuggets have been nearly unbeatable at home this season as they are 19-1 in their last 20 home games and moved into a tie with the Boston Celtics for the best record in the league at 37-16.
- The Atlanta Hawks came into this one without Trae Young (non-COVID illness) and went on to be outplayed in nearly every counting stat from rebounding to points off turnovers. They even were once down by as much as 23 points. De’Andre Hunter was second fiddle with 20 points, but overall, Atlanta could not seem to generate any consistent offense.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans, Pelicans win 131-126
Top Performers
Anthony Davis
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 34 | 14 | 3 | 13/25 | 2/5 | 6/7 | 1 | 2 |
Brandon Ingram
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 35 | 5 | 4 | 15/28 | 0/3 | 5/6 | 0 | 0 |
Biggest Takeaways
- The New Orleans Pelicans win the day with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Lakeshow still won the headlines as LeBron James inches closer to the scoring record. James is now only 36 points away from being the new record holder after dropping 27 points in this one.
- Anthony Davis took being All-Star snubbed out on New Orleans as he responded with a monster double-double, yet it wasn’t enough.
- The New Orleans Pelicans got 39 combined points for their two NBA Rising Stars, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado. Brandon Ingram had one of his best games of the season and CJ McCollum also chipped in with 23 points. This was a big win for the Pelicans who have now snapped their ten-game losing streak.
Phoenix Suns vs. Detroit Pistons, Suns win 116-100
Top Performers
Deandre Ayton
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 31 | 16 | 2 | 13/15 | 0/0 | 5/6 | 0 | 1 |
Saddiq Bey
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 25 | 5 | 4 | 7/12 | 4/8 | 7/7 | 2 | 0 |
Biggest Takeaways
- Deandre Ayton was locked in with a big-time double-double to lift the Phoenix Suns over the Detroit Pistons.
- A crazy stat from this game is that Chris Paul shooting 0-of-7 from the field in this game is the first time he has finished a game without a field goal since March 18, 2017, while he was on the LA Clippers in a blowout win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the time. It’s insane how Paul can still be a factor without scoring as he finished with 14 assists and two steals in his 32 minutes on the floor.
- Phoenix has won eight of their last 10 including a win over the Boston Celtics and they have reinforcements coming with the much-anticipated return of Devin Booker coming any day now.
- The Detroit Pistons got 48 combined points from Bojan Bogdanovic and Saddiq Bey in this one. There is a high likelihood that one or both of these guys won’t still be on this team after the trade deadline. I Hope Detroit gets some good draft picks.
LA Clippers vs. New York Knicks, Clippers win 134-128 in OT
Top Performers
Kawhi Leonard
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 35 | 5 | 3 | 11/23 | 1/3 | 12/12 | 4 | 0 |
Jalen Brunson
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 41 | 5 | 7 | 14/19 | 5/7 | 8/10 | 0 | 0 |
Biggest Takeaways
- Games like these are why people complain about Kawhi Leonard sitting out all the time. Because then we miss out on insane performances like these where the Clippers needed all 35 of his points to outlast the New York Knicks after blowing a 17-point 4th-quarter lead.
- All-Star Paul George added 30 points with five made threes, and Norman Powell finished with 24 points and a huge poster dunk on Julius Randle.
- Whether we agree with Julius Randle being selected as an All-Star is up for debate, but it’s hard to deny the production. The dude flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Then there’s Jalen Brunson, whom I’d argue might even be the more deserving Knick to be considered as an All-Star. Brunson led all scorers with 41 points, including hitting a huge floater with 18 seconds left in regulation to force the game to overtime.
Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks, Bucks win 123-115
Top Performers
Jimmy Butler
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 32 | 8 | 3 | 11/21 | 1/2 | 9/10 | 1 | 0 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 35 | 15 | 11 | 13/19 | 0/2 | 9/16 | 1 | 1 |
Biggest Takeaways
- The reigning Eastern Conference All-Star Captain continues his reign of terror with a monster triple-double to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their 7th straight victory with a win over the Miami Heat.
- Khris Middleton came off the bench in limited minutes and played well with 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. It’s like he will be on a pitch count for a while just to get his legs under him. But he seems to be slowly shaping into form.
- Miami Heat got a big game from All-Star snub Jimmy Butler who also got a ton of help from Tyler Herro (24 points) to help keep this game close. Bam Adebayo was locked in as well as he dropped a near triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. This is a gut feeling but pays close attention to Adebayo these next few weeks between and after All-Star weekend. I feel like he’s about to go on an impressive little solo run
Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors, Warriors win 119-113
Top Performers
Spencer Dinwiddie
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 25 | 4 | 4 | 9/17 | 3/6 | 4/5 | 1 | 0 |
Draymond Green
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 17 | 9 | 9 | 6/13 | 3/7 | 2/2 | 0 | 2 |
Biggest Takeaways
- The Golden State Warriors were sharing the sugar as seven players scored in double figures to help secure the victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
- This was an off-night for Jordan Poole who only had three points and six total shots in 26 minutes, but the rest of the bench mob stepped up in a big way. Led by JaMychal Green’s 14 points, the Warriors bench combined for 40 points.
- The Splash Bros had a solid outing combining for 36 points and each hitting two three-pointers apiece.
- Dallas Mavericks continue to fall short when Luka Doncic isn’t on the floor. The Mavs backcourt of Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined for 47 points, but even when they have good games, without Doncic it always seems like their efforts aren’t enough.
