Tatum And Curry Duel In Game Of The Year?; Here Come The Wizards! 4.17.21
It’s a Saturday slate of NBA basketball and we have 6 games on the schedule today.
Utah Jazz vs LA Lakers
A For Effort
With no Mitchell, Favors, Gobert, or Conley, this was a solid effort all-around. The Jazz fought to end, but they didn’t have enough gas. The first half was great for Utah. 5 3’s for Ersan Ilyasova in the first quarter and balanced scoring. The game never got out of hand in the first half, but it did in the 3rd where the Jazz had 8 turnovers. The Lakers opened up a 98-85 lead with 10:28 left in the 4th. But the Jazz weren’t done. 15 straight points over 6 minutes gave them the lead. It was back and forth down the stretch, but a Jordan Clarkson 3 put the Jazz up 2 with 8.7 seconds left. All you needed was one stop. But Dennis Schroder easily got to the rim and with no Gobert he made it easily. In OT the Jazz got dominated as they seemed to run out of gas, getting outscored 17-5.
27 for Clarkson to lead the way, Joe Ingles had 20 points and tied a career-high with 14 assists. 19 for Bogdanovic, and 20 for Ilyasova. Solid effort considering you were missing your 3 best players.
Winning
The Lakers have been playing great thanks to their defense. But in this game they needed their offense to come through and it did. Even without Conley and Mitchell, the Jazz were hitting 3’s. 5 for Ilyasova alone in the first quarter and 13 in the first half. But the Lakers kept things close with 18 from KCP in the first half. In the 3rd LA started to get things going, forcing turnovers and getting runouts. With 10:28 left in the 4th the Lakers led 98-85, as they were in the drivers seat. But here came the Jazz. The Lakers didn’t score for 6 minutes and Utah took the lead. Down 2 with 8.7 seconds left, the Lakers turned to Schroder to get them a tie or win. He got right to the rim wise ease and scored to force OT. OT was more LA dominance. They had all the energy and momentum and they got another win without Lebron and AD.
27 points and 15 rebounds for Drummond, who had a field day without Favors or Gobert playing. 25-6-8 for Schroder as he finally played well playing on his own. 25 for KCP and solid outings for Morris, Kuzma, and Harrell. AD is coming back soon, which will be of great help to the Lakers who have managed to hold their ground recently.
Detroit Pistons vs Washington Wizards
Still Suck
Nothing new here.
Resurgance
The Wizards have won 6 of their last 7 and they have now vaulted themselves to a tie with the 10th seeded Bulls. Russell Westbrook nearly had a triple-double at halftime (7-10-10) and got another one to add to Bradley Beal’s 37. These two have been great and they’re going to have to do it more for the Wizards to have a chance to make the playoffs.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls
Offense
All the offense came from the starters. Of the 96 Cavs points, 81 of them came from the starters. The Cavs trailed 96-93 with 3:23 left. After that they allowed the Bulls to go on a 10-0 run to ice the game. The Cavs are still bad.
Winning
That has been a rarity for Chicago, but they ended the game strong on a 10-0 run. I don’t know if the Bulls can make the play-in, but they’ll need every game they can get.
Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics
What A Game
Before I get into things, this was one heck of a game. Both sides played so well and deserved to win. I think we can all agree on that at least. All right, this is going to be a long one. So strap in.
The first half was one where the Warriors should have been up more than they were. They started off hot from 3 early, led by Curry who just continued to play like the best player on the planet. The Warriors led by double-digits for a chunk of the half, leading by 16 with 1:29 left. But then they collapsed late. 10 straight Celtic points, including a buzzer beater from Tatum erased all that work and the lead at the half was just 6. Missed opportunities to say the least.
The Celtics hot streak continued and they took the lead in the 3rd. But then Golden State had another stretch of dominance, led by Curry who was making whatever he wanted, because why not. But the Celtics got a couple of buckets again and the game was tied entering the 4th. Missed opportunities, part 2.
The 4th was back and forth, Tatum and Curry continuing their incredible duel. Steph Curry hurt his ankle mid-way through the 4th but he battled through it. An incredible save from Juan Toscano Anderson led to a Curry 3 that put the Warriors up 103-101 with 5:45 left. That save would force JTA to head to the locker room. But it seemed like Golden State would win. Another Curry 3 put them by 109-103 with 4:10 left. But the Warriors went cold and over the next 3 minutes the Celtics went on a 8-0 run to take the lead. In that 8-0 run, Kent Bazemore missed two free throws. With under a minute to go the Warriors trailed by two and Draymond Green missed a layup. The price he paid for missing? A Kemba Walker dagger step back 3. Boston iced the game at the line as the Warriors watched this one slip through their fingers.
I think it’s safe to say Curry is the best in the world right now. 47 points and 7 rebounds with a bad ankle down the stretch, on 11/19 shooting from 3. This man is incredible.
22 from Wiggins and 16 from Bazemore. The Warriors had this game. But that 10-0 run to end the first half and that late 8-0 run by Boston in the 4th killed them. It was a heck of the game, but one that Golden State likely wants back. Two missed free throws and a missed layup down the stretch is just brutal.
Steph Curry Last 10 Games:
47 pts – 7reb – 3ast (tonight)
33 pts – 4reb – 5ast
42 pts – 6reb – 8ast
53 pts – 6reb – 4ast
38 pts – 8reb – 5ast
32 pts – 6reb – 5ast
41 pts – 6reb – 4ast
37 pts – 5reb – 2ast
36 pts – 11reb – 3ast
32 pts – 5reb – 6ast
Warriors 5-5 in that span, currently 9th in the West.
What A Game
Before I get into things, this was one heck of a game. Both sides played so well and deserved to win. I think we can all agree on that at least. Let’s dive into what happened in perhaps the game of the year.
Without Brown, Fournier, or Robert Williams, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker were going to have to be very good for the Celtics to win. Tatum held up his side of the deal with 23 in the first half on 75% shooting, relentlessly getting to the rim. Walker hit some shots late, but was quiet. Boston was getting lit up by Curry and company from deep, trailing by 16 with 1:29 left. But then Tatum and company got going, and a Tatum fadeaway jumper cut the lead to just 6 at the half. The Celtics really didn’t play all that well and to be down just 6 was great.
The Celtics took the lead thanks to some Kemba Walker 3’s. They lost some steam in the 4th as they again just kept chucking 3’s and went away from going through Tatum and Walker. But yet again a strong finish to the 3rd made it a tied game at 89 entering the 4th. The 4th was crazy. Tatum vs Curry, Toscano Anderson’s crazy save, Curry’s injury, this 4th had everything. Down 6 with 4:10 left, Boston would need another comeback. They got just that. They shut down the Warriors for 3 minutes and a couple of 3’s from Smart and Tatum gave them the lead. Tatum scored with 48.8 seconds left to give them the lead again and after a Draymond Green missed it was time for Cardiac Kemba. Walker has been great in the 2nd half and he hit the dagger 3 to give the Celtics their 6th win in a row.
I love how Jayson Tatum has been playing, with an attack mindset. 44 points and 10 rebounds on 16/25 shooting, 5/9 from 3, 7/8 from the line. He was taking smart 3’s in the flow, getting to his mid-range game and just attacking. There’s no reason he can’t do this more often. 26 points and 8 rebounds for Kemba, with 17 of those points coming in the 2nd half. They needed him and he came through big time.
Marcus Smart was solid with 15-9-6, although he shoots more than he should. Jabari Parker had 11 off the bench as with him and Fournier this bench becomes better. Payton Pritchard also had 11, another solid outing. With how Tatum and Brown have been playing, along with an upgraded bench featuring Fournier and Jabari Parker, Boston can be great. They need their energy to be up and if they stay healthy, look out.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Milwaukee Bucks
Balance
6 guys in double figures as this team is probably the deepest in the league. The Grizzlies dominated this game offensively, tearing apart the flawed Budenholzer defense. The Grizzlies shot 53% from the field for 69 points in the first half, two shy of their most points in a half for the year. They pushed a lead to as many as 17 in the 3rd and while the Bucks cut it to 7 in the 4th, the Grizzlies regained control.
26 points with 7 3’s for Grayson Allen, 21 for Dillon Brooks, and solid nights for Valanciunas and Morant. Bane and Tillman, the rookies off the bench, combined for 31 points. The Grizzlies shot 55% from the field and 38% from the 3-PT line as they cut through the Bucks defense like a hot knife through butter. The Grizzlies have been heating up as they are now just 1 game behind the Mavs for the 7 seed in the West.
Fire Mike Budenhozler
It amazes me how this guy still has a job. His schemes are so simple. The defense can be torn apart if you hit open shots and have the right personnel to battle the Bucks length. It’s very simple and teams like the 76ers and Nets are going to have a field day with the Bucks. 3rd disappointing playoff loss for the Bucks in a row incoming.
San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns
Pure Domination
Well that was unexpected. The Spurs defense just shut down the Suns who had been one of the hottest teams in the league. They led by 19 at the half and cruised to a 26-point win. 6 guys were in double figures;
19 for Rudy Gay off the bench
18 for rookie Devin Vassell off the bench
17 for Keldon Johnson
14 for Dejounte Murray
12 for Derrick White
13 for Drew Eubanks
All of this without DeRozan or Poeltl. Nice.
Yikes
I’m going to say this was an anomaly because of how well the Suns were playing before this, but man this was a total beatdown.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 6 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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