Miami Stuns Brooklyn In Thriller!; Sacramento Finally Wins! 4.18.21
It’s a Sunday slate of NBA basketball and we have a busy day with 8 games on the schedule tonight.
Indiana Pacers vs Atlanta Hawks
Defense
The offense was fine, the defense wasn’t. 29 points and 8 assists for Brogdon, 18-14-5 for Sabonis, 18 points and 7 assists for McConnell off the bench and 14 for Edmond Sumner. But falling behind 20 early isn’t a recipe for success. The Pacers did their best to fight but the Hawks held their lead. The Pacers tied it late, but like they had done all game. the Hawks responded. Maybe firing Nate McMillan wasn’t the right move after all.
Fantastic 4
Hopefully I don’t get copyrighted for that. Anyway, the Hawks controlled this game. The Pacers missed their first 10 3’s and the Hawks led by as much as 20 in the first quarter. The Pacers did cut the lead down to 3 but the Hawks responded. It was back and forth affair with runs, until the game was tied at 105 with 5:09 left in the 4th. But then the Hawks scored 8 straight and the game was out of reach.
34 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists for Young on 13/14 FT. They’ll need him to continue to he aggressive. 25 points and 24 rebounds (8 offensive) for Capela as he has been the perfect counter part for Trae Young. 23 for both Bogdanovic and Huerter. And John Collins played his first game after missing the previous 9. He played just 21 minutes but getting him back is big, since he’s been great under Nate McMillan. The Hawks hold that 4th seed in the East as they have been rolling.
New Orleans Pelicans vs New York Knicks
Shooting
God this team needs shooting. They shot 8% from 3 in the first half. The Knicks went on a 17-2 run to push the lead to double digits and 16 2nd quarter points from Randle made New Orleans trail by 13 at the half. But Eric Bledsoe of all people got them back in the game. 20 of his 22 points came in the 2nd half, and he helped New Orleans tie the game entering the 4th. Up by 6 with 1:48 to play, the Pelicans had this game in the bag. But R-Dose hit a 3 and then a Lonzo mistake led to another 3. With under 10 seconds to go, the Knicks needed a 3. D-Rose drove down the lane and Lonzo helped off of Reggie Bullock for some reason. D-Rose hit him in the left corner and he drilled the corner 3. D-Rose blocked Bledsoe at the buzzer and he helped the Knicks dominate OT. This team just loves to lose games.
34-9-5 for Zion in his MSG debut, another amazing game from him. Ingram had 19 points but struggled shooting (6/18). Lonzo was 2/9 and Bledsoe finally did something for once with 22. 6/27 3-PT shooting. This team needs spacing and shooting so bad. It’s amazing that Zion can do this with literally no good shooters. If they can build around this team right, they can be incredibly dangerous.
Vintage D-Rose
D-Rose won this game for the Knicks late, making so many big plays that ended up giving the Knicks their 6th straight win. In the first half, the Knicks dominated. 16 2nd quarter points from Randle and a 17-2 run gave them a double-digit lead at the half. But the defense couldn’t contain Eric Bledsoe of all people and the game was tied at 79 entering the 4th. Down 6 with under 2 minutes to play, vintage D-Rose came into play. He hit a 3, found Reggie Bullock for the tying 3 with 2.3 seconds left, and blocked Bledsoe at the buzzer to force OT. In OT it was all New York as they outscored the Pels by 10 to get their 6th straight win.
33-5-10 with 5 steals for Randle. The first Knick with 4 straight 30+ point games since Carmelo Anthony in 2014. He has been awesome and is a big reason why the Knicks are on their longest winning streak since that 2013-14 season.
18 for RJ Barrett but he fouled out. In came D-Rose, who had 23 off the bench came up big late. 15 for Bullock and 12 for Noel along with 2 blocks. The Knicks offense has been great led by Randle who is proving why he’s the clear MIP and All-Star. The defense continues to be solid as the Knicks find themselves in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Brooklyn Nets vs Miami Heat
Choke/Stay Healthy, Please?
Before we get into the actual team, god this team is made of paper. KD made 3 shots in 4 minutes before leaving with a thigh injury. Harden is already out and Irving has also missed time. All 3 of these guys can’t stay healthy despite the fact they’ve been pretty durable players except for Kyrie. It’s just annoying to not see them at full strength. Chemistry might be a problem if they just don’t play at all. But into the game we go.
Durant scored the first 8 points for the Nets and left after just 4:03 of action. But the Nets used the 3-PT shot to stay in the game. Both team did in fact, as they combined for 15 3’s in the first quarter, matching the most 3’s hit in a first quarter in NBA history. The record is 19, set by Dallas and Golden State on Dec. 28th, 2019.
The game remained close throughout. The Nets couldn’t contain Bam Adebayo but guys like Landry Shamet were going crazy. It was a back and forth affair, going right down to the wire. With 6:50 left the Nets trailed by 7 and Miami had momentum. But again, the Nets found a way to respond. 13 straight points highlighted by back-to-back Shamet 3’s gave the Nets a 6-point lead. With 3:31 left, Brooklyn led 107-101. They wouldn’t score the rest of the way. They wanted to drain the clock, but they were stagnant in getting to their offense and then just forced a bad shot. The Heat tied the game and then Bam Adebayo got right where he wanted to hit the game-winning jumper. Tough loss for the Nets with all things considered, but this should have been a win.
I gave the Nets an A+ for getting Landry Shamet on draft day. After a slow start to year, he’s been great as of late. Career-high 30 points off the bench on 10/15 shooting 7/12 from 3. The GOAT. 20 for Irving who struggled and 12 for Harris. This game was really only close because of Shamet. Tough loss, but we need to get these guys some better strength and conditioning coaches or something, because this is getting out of hand.
Comeback
The Heat were without Jimmy Butler and while they had the better team with Brooklyn being brutally injured, this was a dog fight. But the Heat nearly lost control of this game before coming through late with a Bam Adebayo buzzer beater capping things off. The first 3 quarters were very, very close. Nobody got up by double-digits. It was just back and forth. Bam Adebayo was a force and he led Miami to a 7 point lead midway through the 4th. But the Heat offense went cold from 3 and they allowed 13 straight Nets points and they now trailed by 6 late. It looked Miami had shot all it’s bullets but they still had some gas in the tank. The Heat didn’t the Nets to score in the final 3 minutes and tied the game. With the game tied they went to Bam, who got right to his spot and hit the little jumpshot at the buzzer for the win. 10-2 run to end the game for the Heat, keeping them right in the mix in the East.
21 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals for Bam who was great in this game, leading the charge without Butler. 17 for Kendrick Nunn and 18 for Dragic off the bench. The Heat shot 41% from 3 as they were able to get open looks and knock them down. With the teams around them like Atlanta, Boston, and New York all winning, the Heat need all the wins they can get and they got a huge one in this game.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Charlotte Hornets
Defense
This game wasn’t close, it was over after the first quarter. The Blazers allowed 44 points in that first quarter, allowing Charlotte to shoot over 70% from the field and from 3. It got kind of close at the end, but it wasn’t anything great. No Dame again but it’s not like Charlotte was healthy. Missing 3 of their better players, this was winnable. There aren’t going to be too many “easy” games from now until the rest of the year. When you have an advantage or it’s pretty evenly matched, you have to win. Defense continues to be the problem with this team as Coach Stotts has seemingly done nothing to solve that glaring problem.
Congratulations
I would say it’s an achievement to beat my Blazers, but we didn’t have Dame and our defense is awful. Call it an excuse, I don’t care. So half-congratulations.
OKC Thunder vs Toronto Raptors
No SGA
Lu Dort was 7/7 from the field and 5/5 from 3 in the first quarter. So that’s cool.
Winning
No Siakam, Lowry, or VanVleet and you still won. 31 points and 11 rebounds for Boucher who hit the dagger 3 to seal the deal, 23 for Trent and 3 guys in double figures off the bench. Paul Watson was 0/10 from the field and still had a +/- of +10 on the game. I don’t know if the Raptors can make the playoffs, but not having their 3 best players healthy isn’t helping. They’ll them back and at full strength to try and make the play-in.
Houston Rockets vs Orlando Magic
Terrible
Both these teams are bad and one of them had to win. The Rockets did so good job, but this changes nothing.
Terrible
Losing to the Rockets. What a bad feeling.
Sacramento Kings vs Dallas Mavericks
Defense, For Once
The Kings defense in the first half was great, for their standards. The offense was clicking, 45 points in the 2nd quarter and a 17-point lead. But they held Luka and KP to a combined 6/21 shooting in the first half. Maybe that’s them missing shots, but some credit goes to the Kings defense. Luka caught fire in the 2nd half but the Kings just held their lead and snapped a 9-game losing streak.
30 points and 12 assists for Fox but this time he actually got help. 24 from Harrison Barnes and 23 from Terrence Davis. (Why is Tyrese Haliburton getting 16 minutes when Mo Harkless gets 34. My god the Kings are idiotic).
Help
Luka and KP shot a combined 6/21 from the field in the first half. They trailed by 17. Luka decided to do something in the 2nd half while Porzingis, didn’t do anything. Luka went from shooting 3/10 in the first half to 11/17 in the 2nd half. He finished with 37 points and gave the Mavs a fighting chance. Porzingis was 0/4 in the 2nd half. Two completely different ways of handling a tough half. Brunson had 20 and Finney-Smith had 22. But 3/14 shooting from KP and 2/10 from Hardaway isn’t going to cut it. You don’t help Luka, you’re not going far.
Minnesota T-Wolves vs LA Clippers
Still Bad
Promising doesn’t mean wins, necessarily.
Taking Care Of Business
LA dominated this game as they got Kawhi back. Still no Ibaka and Beverley is going to miss time with that had injury, but the addition of Rondo has been great for this team. 6 guys were in double figures, including all 5 starters. LA shot 21/42 from 3 (50%), as they continue to be so efficient. They are 7-1 with Rondo and they got 31 assists. They’re passing it more, sharing, playing like a team. A lot different than the isolation style play we saw last year. This team really feels different and two of their best defenders are out. Look out for the other LA team in the postseason this year.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 8 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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