Kings Stun Cavs At The Buzzer; Zion Continues To Dominate! 3.27.21
It’s a Saturday night of NBA basketball and we have 9 games on the schedule tonight.
Detroit Pistons vs Washington Wizards
Roller-Coaster
This game was weird, to put it lightly. The first half was all Washington with the Pistons falling behind by 27 at halftime. The game should have been over but the Pistons defense turned it up and the Pistons trailed by just 4 entering the 4th. Then Detroit seemingly ran out of energy in the 4th and the Wizards put themselves back up double-digits. Weird.
Doesn’t Change A Thing
Good win I guess, nearly blew a 30-point lead to Detroit. But this team is still flawed and I don’t think too much about them, to put it lightly.
New York Knicks vs Milwaukee Bucks
No Randle, No Problem
The Knicks aren’t a good offensive team and without their All-Star they still managed to win. Sure the Bucks rested about everybody but the game was still close and the Knicks had to fight to win. But they got a 3 from Alec Burks late and some stops that helped seal the deal.
21 from Burks and Barrett and 26 combined from D-Rose and Quickley off the bench.
It’s Fine
No Giannis, no Jrue, no Middleton, no DiVincenzo, no Portis, and you only lost by 6.
Houston Rockets vs Minnesota T-Wolves
Sheesh
After not scoring for the final 7 minutes of the game yesterday, Houston took that to heart. Kelly Olynyk joined the team and helped the Rockets wallop the T-Wolves as they dominated this game, the offense getting back on track.
25 points from KPJ as he is worth a lot more than a 2nd rounder. DJ Augustin had 20 off the bench. Olynyk and Brown each had 16 and 3 others were in double figures. All of this offense without Christian Wood.
Let’s Not Talk About It
Let’s just say Houston didn’t forget what happened in the 4th quarter of yesterday’s game.
Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs
Growing Pains
The first game for the duo of Vucevic + Lavine wasn’t very pretty as the Bulls wasn’t very pretty as they trailed for almost the entire game in a blowout. They made things relatively close late, but it was too little too late and they lost unceremoniously.
Vucevic had a solid debut with 21 points and 9 rebounds but Lavine only had 18 points. Nobody else did much scoring.
I also feel the need to point out that the Bulls have a big man problem. Markkanen and Vucevic are similar in that they are stretch bigs, but Vucevic is the much better scorer and defender. The Bulls definitely should look to move Markkanen but he’s a RFA this summer. The Bulls best option is to try and do a sign and trade as the duo of him and Vucevic isn’t one that is going to work as it seems like Vucevic was an upgraded version of the former 2017 lottery pick.
Offense, Yay!
Finally the Spurs shot well, making 10 3’s on 40% shooting. All 5 starters were in double figures led by 20 from Poeltl. This was definitely easier with the Bulls experimenting with new pieces but the Spurs desperately needed this win after losing 4 straight.
Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Pelicans
A For Effort
No Luka, no KP, good effort.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans struggled in this game for some reason but they managed to pull through. Don’t really know how this game was close, but hey, welcome to New Orleans.
Zion had 38-5-6 as he continues to just be so dominant. Ingram and NAW were solid and Kira Lewis Jr had 13 off the bench. How was this game close when Zion had 38? Beyond me apparently.
Boston Celtics vs OKC Thunder
4th Quarter
The Celtics were having a tough time against the SGA-less Thunder in this game as they couldn’t pull away until the 4th. In the first half Jaylen Brown was chucking shots and Moses Brown was dominating. Nobody could contain him and he had 17 points and 19 rebounds. The last person to do that in a first half was back in 1998 when somebody called Shaquille O’Neal did it. Entering the 4th the game was still close and Boston finally pulled away.
They got some live turnovers and Jayson Tatum started to get going. 2 3’s from Luke Kornet gave them the lead and they never looked back. They outscored the Thunder by 21 in the 4th as they were able to contain Moses Brown.
Tatum had 27 points and 5 rebounds on 27 shots as he can’t consistently have good shooting games. Brown had 25 points on 23 shots as he was also inefficient. 24 from Edwards and Pritchard off the bench made up for no Walker. I like what Boston is doing and when Evan Fournier joins the team (currently in Covid protocols) they’ll get even more shooting. Boston can still salvage this season.
OKC Thunder
As soon as Moses Brown stopped getting easy dunks the game was over. Brown was historically good in the first half, doing things no center had done since the great Shaq in LA did it. Theo Maledon was also solid but nobody else got going and the offense completely shut down in the 4th. The Thunder are going all in for a rebuild with 34 picks over the next 7 years and them shutting down Al Horford. I don’t know if they tried to trade him before the deadline, but now he’s just going to get paid $27.5 million to sit on the bench. Nice.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Utah Jazz
No Offense
Ja Morant is very overrated and I love seeing this team getting humbled, because I like being right (yes that is evil, sorry Grizzlies fans).
I’m Sorry Jordan Clarkson
After ranting about Jordan Clarkson, he shut me up. Clarkson was 11/21 from the field with 28 and 6 rebounds off the bench. Now that is what Jordan Clarkson can do. Mitchell was 12/17 with 35 and 7 assists as he has been very good lately. Solid stuff from Gobert and Ingles as it was a domination for the Jazz.
Philadelphia 76ers vs LA Clippers
Ugly
This game was ugly, lots of fouls and stoppages. Dwight Howard got ejected again in Staples Center this time against the Clippers. The 76ers offense was very good throughout but the Clippers got going in the 2nd half and the 76ers could never put together a run to get back into the game.
Harris was 13/19 from the field with 29-7-6. He continues to try and carry this team without Embiid. 17 from Danny Green and 15 and 7 from Ben Simmons. Shake Milton had 16 off the bench but they couldn’t stop LA at all. The 76ers are still clinging to that #1 seed in the East but I don’t know if they can hold on much longer. But the Bucks and Nets are streaking towards them and without Embiid for a bit longer, that #1 seed might not be theirs for a while longer.
Chemistry
The offense is seemingly back for LA as their shooting and ball movement has returned. It’s good to watch this team when they’re actually a team and playing for one another. They obviously have the talent to win a title, they just have to come together in the playoffs like they did in this game and I like their odds if they do so.
Kawhi had 28 points and 3 steals as he has been very quietly doing great things this season. PG had 24 but Terrence Mann continues to impress. I compare him a lot of Bruce Brown, kind of roaming around, very opportunistic with his cuts to the rim. He had 23 off the bench on 10/12 shooting as he has filled the void left by Lou Williams nicely.
Morris and Jackson were solid and now LA adds Rondo soon. This team can be very dangerous, the only thing that stands between them and a title is themselves, and perhaps a 3-1 lead.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Sacramento Kings
Premature Celebrating
This was an ugly game, with lots of fouls and stoppages, a slower pace overall. That favored the less offensive team, the Cavs in this situation, but they nearly lost it. But Collin Sexton drove the length of the floor and got a goaltending call, giving the Cavs the lead with 1.6 seconds left and the Kings having no timeouts. Sexton obviously thought he won, celebrating with his bench. Sadly this was not a happy ending. The Kings threw it the length of the floor to the right wing and Harrison Barnes turned and drilled a 3 in front of two Cavaliers, one of them being Sexton. Game over, Cavs lose.
Sexton had 26 points, Garland had 18, and Nance added 17-9-5 but De’Aaron Fox and the Kings proved to be too much. I suppose that’s wat you get for celebrating prematurely.
Barnes Game-Winner
This was an ugly game as there was a lack of calls for the first 3 quarters. Then the 4th was just stoppage after stoppage and it seemed to drag on. But De’Aaron Fox was single-handily keeping the game close and his and-one put the Kings up by one. Not to be beaten, Collin Sexton drove the length of the floor in a blur and Richuan Holmes was called for goal-tending. With 1.6 seconds left and no timeouts, the Kings needed a miracle. It was answered. De’Aaron Fox threw an absolute bullet to Harrison Barnes, who turned and drilled a 3 in the face of two Cavs, game over.
De’Aaron Fox continues to play at an All-Star level, with 36 points and 6 assists. Fox had 20 of the 29 King points in the 4th as he took over. Barnes had 16 points and 11 rebounds along with the game-winner. Holmes, Hield, and Haliburton were all solid.
The Kings are 6-1 since Haliburton took over for Bagley as they have saved their season and given themselves a chance to make the playoffs. I don’t like how many guard the Kings have (5 in the rotation) but they won their first game with Wright and Davis in the lineup as they try and carry this momentum to a playoff birth.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 9 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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