Last Night in the Association
March 4, 2022
If you want to read the full, in depth recap of the Celtics vs. Grizzlies game, you can check out that blog, but here is what else went on around the league last night.
BULLS - 124
HAWKS - 130
Defense was optional in this one as both teams shot the lights out from the field, from three, and from the stripe. The Bulls appeared to be cruising for much of the night, but the Hawks turned it on down the stretch led by Trae Young who had 39 and 13 assists on 7/10 shooting from 3. Bogdanovic chipped in 20 big points off the bench and the Hawks were largely able to contain DeMar DeRozan, who only had 22. The injuries to Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso finally start to be catching up with the Bulls, who have now lost three straight and have fallen from the 1 seed in the East down to 3rd.
HEAT - 113
NETS - 107
The first place Heat spoiled Kevin Durant’s return to action Thursday night. KD looked pretty damn good, scoring 31 points on 10/21 shooting, but the bad news for Brooklyn was just about everything else. The Nets looked inspired by the return of KD and jumped out to an early 16 point lead, and it seemed like everything was back to ok in BK. But Ben Simmons is still no closer to a return to action, Kyrie Irving still isn’t playing in home games, and Joe Harris was officially ruled out for the season. There wasn’t much support for KD, and the Heat were able to wear them down, as they’ve worn teams down all year. Miami was missing Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry with injuries, but Bam stepped up with 30/11/6 continuing a stretch of elite two way play and Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin combined to add 49 points off the bench. A key to the comeback was Coach Spo throwing a zone at the Nets in the second half, leading to a 17 point quarter that saw Miami come all the way back and eventually take a 12 point lead in the 4th. Brooklyn was ablet o get back into it and Durant actually got a good look at a 3 that would have tied the game in the final minute, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Heat haven’t been healthy this entire season and yet they extended their lead in the Eastern Conference to 2.5 games. Sleeping giant.
PISTONS - 108
RAPTORS - 106
Dwane Casey continues to have the Raptors’ number, beating them for the 6th straight time, and the Pistons continue to play well in general, winning their 4th out of 6 overall, going into Toronto and pulling out another impressive win against a good team. Toronto was without Fred Van Vleet and OG Anunoby, but they’d still like to have this one back. They seemed like they were going through the motions until Nick Nurse got ejected late in the third quarter for arguing a call, which seemed to spark a comeback bid, but it ultimately came up just short. Cade Cunningham continues to look like a seasoned veteran; he led the way with 22/12/5, while Jerami Grant had 26 and Saddiq Bey added 23. Pascal Siakam broke out of a bit of a slump to pace Toronto with 28 points on 10/15 shooting and Scottie Barnes had 21/10, but the Raps have very little depth and needed more from Gary Trent Jr. who shot 4/23 and 3/15 from 3. The Dinos fell to 2 full games back of the 6 seed, but they still lead the Nets by 3 games for 7th.
WARRIORS - 113
MAVERICKS - 122
Don’t look now, but Dallas is one of the hottest teams in the whole NBA and if not for a slow start, Luka Doncic would be smack dab in the MVP conversation. He is currently on the best run of his career, and put up 41/10/9 to lead Dallas to their 2nd win over the Warriors in 5 days, and their 9th win in their last 11 games overall. The addition of Spencer Dinwiddie is looking pretty damn good so far, as the Mavs have really unlocked something by putting more shooting and ball handling/creation around Luka, and leaning all the way into small ball. The Mavs D has been a very strong unit all year and they put on a clinic stifling Stephen Curry, who didn’t even attempt a shot in the fourth quarter. Despite the quiet night for Curry, the Dubs made a frantic late push to erase a double digit lead and tie the game behind 13 straight points from rookie, Moses Moody. But Dinwiddie hit a huge shot on the other end and the Mavs were able to hold on for the huge win. Golden State is really struggling lately, as they’ve dropped 3 straight and fallen 7.5 games behind the Suns (they remain a half game up on Memphis for the 2 seed). The lack of size is starting to catch up with this team big time. If they don’t get Draymond back at full strength they don’t have a shot in hell. Plain and simple. And even then, I think they are going to need a major contribution from either Kevon Looney, James Wiseman, or both.
KINGS - 115
SPURS - 112
The Kings kept alive their play-in push, as they moved to within a game of San Antonio… for the 12 seed. By all accounts, both of these teams should be tanking. But the Spurs are gunning to get Popovich the wins record and the Kings are… well, they are the Kings! Despite their best efforts to blow a 17 point lead, the Kings held on to win behind 27 points from Harrison Barnes, 26/6/9 for De’Aaron Fox, and 12/12/6 for Domantas Sabonis. Dejounte Murray led the comeback effort for the Spurs with 29/12/7 and Lonnie Walker contributed 30 points off the bench.
LAKERS - 111
CLIPPERS - 133
Tonight it was Reggie Jackson’s turn to clown on the Lakers. He had 36, 9, and 8 and helped the Clippers to a 4-0 season sweep of their LA rivals. The Lakers showed some fight in the first half, but the Clips totally blew them out of the water in the third quarter behind a 23-0 run and a 37-10 run that could only be described as embarrassing for the Lakers. These teams are going in completely opposite directions. The Clippers, despite missing their 2 stars for pretty much the entire season continue to win; this was their 7th in 8 games, moving them to within half a game of the T-Wolves for the 7 seed. The Lakers on the other hand, have now lost 4 straight, and 7 of 8, falling to 27-35, and only 2 games up on the 11 seed in the West. What a shame.
Ben Handler