Wizards & Knicks Lose Win Streaks; Do The Nuggets Need Murray? 4.26.21
It’s a busy night of NBA basketball and we have 11 games on the schedule tonight.
Atlanta Hawks vs Detroit Pistons
Ugly
This was ugly. 39% shooting, 4/27 from 3, lowest scoring game of the year. But at least Kris Dunn made his season debut, as the Hawks are finally getting healthy.
Dominat…ion
The Pistons dominating? Unheard of.
LA Lakers vs Orlando Magic
Ugly, But A Win
This game wasn’t pretty. The Magic kept things close, until LA turned things up in the 4th with 35 points, 13 of which came from Schroder. Good way for LA to shake things off after their recent struggles. Schroder had 21 points and 10 assists, AD had 18 points and 8 rebounds, 18 for Harrell, and a double-double for Drummond. Solid outing overall for LA.
Orlando Magic
Miserable. Orlando has lost 6 straight, 25 of their last 30 games, and with a Detroit win they now have the worst record in the East.
OKC Thunder vs Philadelphia 76ers
OKC Thunder
14 straight losses.
Philadelphia 76ers
It’s the Thunder, moving on.
San Antonio Spurs vs Washington Wizards
Offense
29 Lead Changes and 17 ties in Regulation. That explains this game. Offensive shootout, back and forth. DeRozan missed at the buzzer and we went to OT, where the Spurs held on to win. DeRozan had 37 points and 10 assists, 25 points and 17 rebounds (career-high) for Dejounte Murray, and 17 for Rudy Gay as the Spurs have won 5 of their last 6 games.
Defense
During their win streak, the Wizards improved defense has been the main root of their success. Today they just couldn’t get a stop. It was just back and forth, back and forth the whole game and Washington just couldn’t keep up. Beal had 45 points and Westbrook got another triple-double. The offense was fine, the defense has to continue to be something like what the Wizards were doing during their win streak.
Phoenix Suns vs New York Knicks
Tail Of Two Halves
The Suns played poorly again in the first half, as these two New York teams were killing them. The Suns defense was a problem and the only reason the game was somewhat close is that the Suns got 20 from Booker. But they turned things up in the 2nd half. They allowed just 47 points in the 2nd half as they shut down the Knicks. Booker continued to score and guys like Mikal Bridges and Chris Paul hit some big shots. CP-3 hit two miraculous shots late and the Suns won.
33 for Booker, 21 for Bridges, and 20 for CP-3. 22 from Payne and Cam Johnson combined. The Suns shot the ball well for once and their defense went back to normal as they dominated the 2nd half. Great win against the former hottest team in the league.
Offense
The reason the Knicks are good and not great is their offense. During their 9-game win streak their offense had been very good, thus the winning. But they stalled out in the 2nd half and the Suns dominated. When the Knicks can’t score they become mediocre. They have to score better to win. 6/17 from Randle, 7/18 from Barrett isn’t good enough from those two. The Knicks have still won 9/10, but if they slow down offensively they easily aren’t as good as they are with it.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors
Cleveland Cavaliers
Injuries have depleted this team as they head quietly into the offseason.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors had a 14-0 run in the first quarter, then went 1/15 from 3 in the first half. The game was close but the Raptors put the shorthanded Cavs in their rearview mirror with a big second half. 25 for Siakam, 20 for OG Anunoby, and 18 for Malachi Flynn. The Raptors are going to have to do some catching up if they want to make the playoffs.
Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat
Persistant
The Bulls stayed with this game. The wouldn’t let the Bulls pull away in the first half despite what Butler and Bam were doing. The Bulls only led for 2:25 in the first, but 4 3’s and 17 points from Vucevic meant they were only trailing by 3 at the half. The 2nd was close but Chicago again dominated the 4th. Theis and Vucevic were great down low, 10 points and 7 rebounds for Theis in the 4th alone. The game was tied at 97 with 5:01 left and Chicago outscored the Heat 13-5 the rest of the way.
Miami Heat
God this team sucks. The Finals really were a fluke, unless Jae Crowder was somehow that important. They still can’t shoot and they lost to a team playing two stretch bigs at the same time. A team without their best player. Disappointing.
Utah Jazz vs Minnesota T-Wolves
Chaos; A Serious Of Events
I really don’t know what just happened, lets go over it.
15.6: T-Wolves Up 3, Jazz Ball
12.3: Foul Mike Conley, Two Free Throws
11.5: Conley Makes 1/2 Free Throws, Loose Ball, Out Of Bounds Jazz Ball
6.4: Conley step back 3, 104-103 Jazz.
Now this is where I thought that the T-Wolves blew it, because they’re Minnesota. But Utah proved me wrong. They simply allowed D-Lo to walk right to the rim. He was wide open on the catch and just walked in for the layup, giving Minnesota the lead. The Jazz turned it over, blowing the game. They are 0-3 against Minnesota this year. They blow an 18-point lead this time. The T-Wolves are the kryptonite of the Jazz.
LA Clippers vs New Orleans Pelicans
LA Clippers
Just need Kawhi ready for the playoffs and we’ll be fine
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans will need a miracle and a half to make the playoffs. This is a good start.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Denver Nuggets
Ugly
The game started off slow for both teams. Just 39 combined points in the first quarter, both teams scored at will at the 2nd, and things remained close. But in the 2nd half the Grizzlies got dominated. Their offense slowed down and Denver built a 25-point lead at one point.
Morant had 27, their only consistent offense. 4/32 from 3, which is just awful, 13% by the way. Ugly game overall for a Grizzlies team that had been playing so well.
Who Needs Murray?
The Nuggets have been 6-1 without Jamal Murray, as they just haven’t slowed down. The Nuggets dominated the 2nd half as their offense has been just as good as it was with Murray. 31 for MPJ who continues to just blossom as their secondary scorer. 24-15-5 for MVP Jokic and 15 for Gordon. Solid outing, solid defense against the red-hot Grizzlies, the Nuggets are still a scary team, even without Jamal Murray.
Dallas Mavericks vs Sacramento Kings
Help
The Mavs trailed in this game 20-3. It was game over. The Mavs were riddled with injuries and Luka seemed alone, without any help. But Trey Burke and Boban Marjanovic off the bench gave the Mavs a kick as they cut the lead to three at one point. They did still trail by 7 at the half. But they were back in the game. The game in the 2nd half was back and forth, but Dallas never got control. They were always one step behind. With 3:17 left, Dallas trailed 104-101. The Mavs only scored 5 points the rest of the way, a tough loss.
But without KP, Richardson, and JJ Redick, it was a solid effort considering the lead was 20-3 at one point.
Winning
Without Fox, the Kings led most of the way. Thanks to Harrison Barnes’ hot start, the Kings led 20-3, and it looked like a blowout. But the Mavs battled back and the 2nd half was just which team could execute more. The Kings held their lead, never letting go. They hit some big shots and won a game without De’Aaron Fox, which is very impressive, against a good Mavericks team no less.
24 points and 6 rebounds for Richuan Holmes, as the Kings desperately missed him, as he’s their anchor down low. 19 for Harrison Barnes, 16 for Hield, 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists for Haliburton, and 45% 3-PT shooting. Good outing for the Kings.
What Are Your Thoughts From The 11 Games Today? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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