12/7/17 – A Constant Masterpiece

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

The Cleveland Cavaliers notched their 13th straight victory, tying their franchise record, by defeating the Sacramento Kings, 101-95. They needed a fourth quarter rally, and the reliable heroics of LeBron James to do it. With the game tied at 95, he provided the difference, hitting a runner of the glass, then draining a three. He finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 12-18 shooting.

In our Game of the Night, the Celtics outscored the Mavericks, 50-33 in the second half, to come away with a 97-90 victory. Boston was missing Marcus Morris and Jaylen Brown, but Terry Rozier (12 points, 9 rebounds), Daniel Theis (7 points, 11 rebounds) and Shane Larkin (11 points) all played well off the bench to help offset their absences. Of course, when it was time to put the game away down the stretch, it was Kyrie Irving who took over, scoring seven points of his 23 points in the final few minutes of the game.

Irving described his approach in clutch moments by saying, “It’s just a constant masterpiece that you have to paint. Sometimes it’s going to be all scribble and stuff like that, it’s OK to get out of the lines.”

In their first game without Steph Curry, the Warriors turned to Kevin Durant, who did not disappoint. He submitted a triple double, with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Warriors took care of business with a 101-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

“It’s fun when you get to create and be creative out there, whether it’s passing to JaVale for a lob or shooting a pullup or a jump shot — all the stuff that you work on in those situations,” explained Durant. “Tonight, it felt like I could go in my bag of tools, my bag of tricks to pull some stuff out. I don’t expect it to be like that every single game, but tonight I thought it called for it.”

The Pacers found themselves trailing the Chicago Bulls by 15 points with nine minutes remaining in the game, but Victor Oladipo rescued them, capping off a fourth quarter comeback by pulling up and nailing a three with 31.1 seconds on the clock to give the Pacers their first lead of the game at 97-96.

“Nobody stopped me,” said Oladipo, who finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds. “I could’ve kept going and drove into the defense, or pull up for the 3, shoot the ball with confidence. That’s what I did.”

His big shot saved the Pacers from an embarrassing home loss to the lowly Bulls, who are now a despicable 3-20 on the season.

DeAndre Jordan sprung for 18 points and 21 rebounds, and Danillo Gallinari returned for the injury ravaged Clippers, but he shot a yucky 2-13 from the field, and Los Angeles lost, 113-107, to the Timberwolves.

“It’s very difficult,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s frustrating. Nobody likes to lose. We’re losing a lot of games.”

He’s not wrong. Los Angeles is now 8-15 and trade rumors are swirling around Jordan, as is speculation as to how long Rivers will remain the coach.

As for the Timberwolves, they’re headed in the opposite direction, and seem on their way to making the playoffs for the first time since 2004. They were led by Karl-Anthony Towns and his 21 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks on 9-14 shooting.

The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off the fourth quarter with a 14-1 run, but still had to sweat out a 104-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Eric Bledsoe helped keep the Pistons at bay, hitting a clutch jumper and tipping in his own miss in the final minute of the game, before the Bucks clinched the game by hitting their free throws.

The win came despite Andre Drummond’s 27 points, 20 rebounds and 6 assists on 12-16 shooting in yet another magnificent performance. Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Bledsoe finished with 22.

After starting 14-6, and catching the attention of NBA fans and followers, the Pistons have now lost four in a row, just in time to have to face Golden State and Boston this weekend, two teams that will be looking to avenge prior losses to Detroit this season.

Still without Anthony Davis, the Pelicans got a huge performance from DeMarcus Cousins, who led them to a 123-114 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets. Cousins exploded for 40 points and 22 rebounds, and Jrue Holliday contributed 27 points and 7 assists.

The Nuggets, who are missing more than just one key player, now also have to deal with a pissed off coach. The loss, which dropped Denver’s road record to a paltry 3-9, inspired some harsh words from Mike Malone.

“It’s becoming the same story every single night. And until our guys start taking it personally, until our guys start understanding the importance of playing defense and guarding your man 1-on-1, forget playoffs. That is a word we should not use with this team. Let’s just talk about being real honest. We are a bad basketball team on the road. We are a very good team at home. Unfortunately, in the NBA, you have to play 41 games on the road, and right now we are a bad road team.”

This loss could also come back to haunt them in April, as the Pelicans and Nuggets are fighting for position in the Western playoff race.

With just six seconds left, DJ Augustin knocked down a three pointer to force overtime between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks. From there, his Magic were able to come away with a 110-106 victory. Evan Fournier led Orlando with 27 points, but he also injured his ankle on the first possession of overtime. X-rays were negative, and he’ll be reevaluated today. Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Magic, while Aaron Gordon provided 24 & 15. Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.

Last but not least, the Knicks earned a 99-88 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Madison Square Garden, and the Spurs defeated the Heat, 117-105.

THE NIGHT AHEAD

Game of the Night – Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz (10:30 pm, Turner Network Television)

The Jazz have been dealing with a mess of injuries this season, but they’ve hung tough, winning seven of their last nine games. They’re living proof of that good coaching and chemistry can enable the sum to be greater than the parts. Of course, they’ve got a real challenge on their hands tonight, with the Rockets paying a visit. Houston has won seven in a row, and 13 of their last 14 games. Their high powered offense will get a good test against the defensive minded Jazz, and it should be worth staying up late for.

 

11/25/17 – When The Avalanche Starts

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

Derrick Rose, the oft-injured former MVP of the league, has taken a leave of absence from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and is apparently considering his future in the NBA. His slew of injuries have reportedly taken a mental toll so severe, that retirement is on the table. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue expects him to return to the team, but only when he’s good and ready, saying, “Take as long as he wants to take, and we wish him well and we want him back.”

Rose has become a tragic figure in NBA folklore. Once primed to become the next big star of the league after becoming the youngest player in history to win the MVP, his injuries, and occasionally his temperament and behavior, have derailed one narrative in favor of another. Now, he’s looking more like the first MVP winner to not make the Hall of Fame than he is a legendary star.

As for the games, yesterday’s schedule kicked off with a lone game at noon, which saw the Nets hosting the Trail Blazers. In a high scoring affair, it was the defense of Jusuf Nurkic that saved the day for Portland. He came up with several big blocks and steals in the final minutes, helping to score a 127-125 afternoon victory for Portland.

Offensively, Portland’s big three carried them. Damian Lillard scored 34 points and handed out 9 assists on 10-19 shooting. CJ McCollum also shot 10-19, on his way to 26 points, and Nurkic scored 29 and grabbed 15 rebounds, shooting 12-19 and blocking four shots. They did have to sweat out a game winning three attempt from Spencer Dinwiddie with 2.9 seconds left that ultimately hit off the rim, with Nurkic hauling in the rebound.

In what we would have named the Game of the Night had we not been sleeping off Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday morning, the Celtics started a new winning streak, defeating the Magic, 118-103. Recently, Boston had been falling behind and having to claw back from big deficits, a trend that proved unsustainable when their streak came to an end on Wednesday against the Heat. Last night, they flipped the script, jumping out to a 73-47 lead at halftime, a lead that they would not relinquish.

Kyrie Irving scored 30 points on 9-15 shooting, and Terry Rozier came off the bench to have a career night with 23 points and 6 rebounds on 8-11 shooting. In fact, the Celtics bench came up with its best performance in quite some time, as they added to their big lead, particularly in the second quarter.

Carrying on without Derrick Rose, the Cavs eked out a 100-99 victory at home against the Hornets. A JR Smith free throw gave Cleveland their decisive lead with 48 seconds left. Jeremy Lamb and Kemba Walker then missed go-ahead threes to clinch the victory for Cleveland.

LeBron James notched his 57th career triple double, finishing with 27, 16 & 13. Dwight Howard led Charlotte with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Without Kevin Durant or Draymond Green, the Warriors still managed to slaughter the Bulls, 143-94. Steph Curry outscored the Bulls himself in the second quarter, exploding for 26 points, while the Bulls could only manage 21.

“Your shot feels good, and you’re getting some open ones — that’s when the avalanche starts,” Curry, who finished the night with 33 points and 7 rebounds on 10-18 shooting, explained.

After the second quarter, in which the Warriors outscored the Bulls, 45-21, Chicago’s situation got even worse, as they followed it up by getting outscored 36-13 in the third.

The Indiana Pacers won their fifth straight game, 107-104, over the Toronto Raptors. After Victor Oladipo left the game due to a knee injury, Lance Stephenson picked up the slack, carrying the Pacers down the stretch and ensuring the win.

“I get my energy from the crowd,” Stephenson said. “When the crowd tells me, ‘Let’s go. Get it going.’ I feel like there’s power coming in me.”

He got it going with 3 three pointers in the fourth quarter that helped hold off the Raptors. He finished the night with 18 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, on 7-9 shooting, including a perfect 4-4 from downtown. Oladipo, who finished with 21 points, may or may not have to miss tonight’s game against the Celtics.

The Detroit Pistons hung on for a win on the road in OKC, defeating the Thunder 99-98 in a game that was quite sluggish down the stretch. The Pistons had fought back to take a late lead after trailing by double digits, and that’s when some familiar and self-destructive Thunder habits surfaced once again. Russell Westbrook chucked a few too many threes down the stretch, missing all of them, as he took it upon himself to try and salvage the game for the Thunder. Adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony was supposed to alleviate the burden that rested on Westbrook’s shoulders last season, but it’s never going to work unless Westbrook himself is willing to share the burden down the stretch of close games.

With the Pistons clinging to the lead in the final seconds, it was Westbrook once again. He got a good look at a three, but he couldn’t connect, and Detroit was able to abscond with a win.

Andre Drummond finished the night with 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Pistons. Russell Westbrook did finish with a triple double, amassing 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, but he shot just 10-29 from the field, including a horrendous 1-10 from three point land, and unfortunate mark which was exacerbated by his late game chucking.

THE NIGHT AHEAD

Game of the Night – Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers (8:00 pm, League Pass)

The Pacers have been able to remain one of the NBA’s most pleasant surprises throughout the first five weeks of the season, and have won five in a row and six of their last seven. What better way to see how for real they are than a battle with the NBA’s best team? The Celtics have won 17 of their first 20 games this season, and are looking to continue the momentum from last night’s win over the Magic. The way they played last night is how they should look to play consistently, in contrast to the latter days of their 16 game winning streak, in which they repeatedly dug themselves out from big deficits.

 

11/20/17 – I Deserved To Get Tossed

ABOUT LAST NIGHT

I decided to take the day off yesterday, and didn’t post about Saturday night’s action, which saw the Celtics win their 15th straight, after falling behind by 16 points to the lowly Hawks, the Warriors rallying to defeat the Sixers, and the lowly Mavs tying a franchise record by hitting 19 threes to pummel the Bucks. Sometimes, you just need a DNP-Rest.

As for last night’s action, Nuggets coach Mike Malone and star center Nikola Jokic were both ejected in a 127-109 loss to the Lakers. The ruckus transpired in the second quarter, when Malone came storming off the bench to argue what he felt was a lack of a call for Jokic, who was battling for rebounds under heavy contact. Malone was quickly booted from the game, and Jokic, who continued the argument, was also tossed.

“I’ll be honest, I deserved to get tossed,” said the coach. “But Nikola Jokic did nothing to warrant an ejection. That’s something that we’ll try to look into a little bit, if we can.”

Jokic took the whole thing to heart, saying, “I want to apologize to the Denver Nuggets. I feel bad. I left my teammates, my players, alone there. I just want to apologize to the Denver Nuggets’ front office and who works for [the organization].”

Things quickly went downhill from there as the Lakers built a big lead, and Denver power forward Paul Millsap sprained his wrist.

The game quickly turned into a lost evening for the Nuggets, as seven Lakers scored in double digits, led by Julius Randle, who came off the bench for 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists on 11-18 shooting. Lonzo Ball had the second triple-double of his early career, with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists.

The Warriors continued their Eastern road trip with a 118-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, despite playing without Kevin Durant, who has sprained his ankle. On top of that, Steph Curry fouled out, and the Nets nearly pulled off an incredible comeback in the second half, erasing a 78-50 third quarter deficit and cutting the Warriors lead to four late in the fourth quarter before running out of gas.

“Not many teams can keep up with us running,” said Draymond Green (5 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 1-8 shooting). “So, slow the game down, I think you give them more of a shot. Something we always talk about is defending without fouling. We didn’t do a good job of that today.”

Steph Curry poured in 39 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists on 14-24 shooting before fouling out.

As for Kevin Durant and his ankle, he said, “I’m just going to take it day by day and see how it progresses.” The Warriors next game is Wednesday, in Oklahoma City, a game I’m sure won’t garner much interest from anyone.

In what would have been our Game of the Night had I bothered to write something yesterday morning, the Detroit Pistons fought back to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 100-97. Reggie Jackson saved the day, getting to the basket for key hoops that put the Pistons ahead down the stretch, after they had fought back from an 11 point deficit. Jimmy Butler’s three at the buzzer was no good, and the Pistons escaped with a good win on the road in this battle of vastly improved teams.

Butler finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals on 10-15 shooting, but the only shot that mattered was the one that missed at the buzzer. Andre Drummond led Detroit with 20 points and 16 rebounds, while Reggie Jackson ended up with 16 points and 8 assists.

THE NIGHT AHEAD

Game of the Night – Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons (7:00 pm, League Pass)

This will be a good battle of division rivals, not that anybody cares about divisions anymore. The Pistons are off to a great start, and shook off two straight losses with that win out in Minneapolis last night. Now, they get to return home to face the Cavs, whose struggles are something we all know about. Nevertheless, they’ve won four in a row, but the Pistons are certainly the best team they’ve faced in awhile. This game will be a good benchmark for both teams. Is the Cavs win streak in aberration propped up by substandard opponents? (The Mavs, Hornets and Clippers are three of the four teams defeated in this win streak).

Meanwhile, are the Pistons ready to challenge Cleveland, the team that the road to the Finals out of the East still must go through?