Last Night in the Association
March 6, 2022
The Celtics big win over the Nets was perhaps the main event on Sunday, but it also served as an early appetizer that led to a great night all across the league. Let’s take a quick trip around the association, folks.
NETS - 120
CELTICS - 126
Jayson Tatum is incredible. Full recap: right here.
SUNS - 122
BUCKS - 132
The Bucks ultimately pulled out the home win in this finals rematch, but I actually came away more impressed by the Suns, who were playing without Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Despite missing their two stars, the Suns managed to keep pace for the entire game, and did a spectacular job on Giannis (aided by some foul trouble), holding the superstar to just 19 points. The problem
was Khris Middleton, who put up 44 points, and Jrue Holiday who added 24 of his own. That duo combined for 33 points in the 4th quarter, fueling a 12-1 run to end the game. Ayton had 30 and 8 for Phoenix, and Cam Payne stepped up in the backcourt with 23 points and 8 assists. They fought admirably for a shorthanded team. The final score is really not a good indication of how this game went at all, and if you had Suns +9.5 you’re going to want to burn this tape.
PACERS - 123
WIZARDS - 133
It was a successful Washington debut for Kristpas Porzingis, who had 25 and 5 on 7/12 shooting in only 21 minutes. The big man had been sidelined since late January with a knee bruise, and had since been traded from the Mavs to the Wizards. The big man looked good and was heavily involved, drawing 10 free throws. The Wiz went to him repeatedly down the stretch and he converted two key alley-oops in crunch time to help seal the win. Quietly having a sensational season and getting his career back on track, Kyle Kuzma had another very good two way game with 23//5/8. This duo will look to lead the Wizards into the play-in tournament down the stretch with Bradley Beal out for the year (they are now two games back of 10th). Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 27/4/4, Tyrese Haliburton had 15/7/11, and Goga Bitadze added 20 points off the bench in a losing effort.
GRIZZLIES - 112
ROCKETS - 123
After becoming America’s sweethearts, the Grizzlies have fallen to earth a little bit, losing four of their last seven, including this stinker to the lowly Rockets. But give Houston credit, this was possibly the best game they’ve played all year, and it provided a hopeful look at what this young core could become. After a slow start to the season, #2 overall pick, Jalen Green has started to figure some things out. He continued a run of hot play with 24/8/4 on Sunday, including some big shots down the stretch to put the game away. Christian Wood - who has been up and down to say the least - had one of the better games of his career, with 28 and 13 on 8/12 shooting and Kevin Porter Jr. led the Rockets with 29 points. There is no questioning the talent of this young big three in Houston, but there IS a lot to question. This provided a tantalizing view of what things could look like if all three are able to put it together. For Memphis, this was a disappointing loss, hours after moving into the #2 seed in the West, following the Warriors’ Saturday night loss to the Lakers. Desmond Bane led the Griz with 28 points while Morant was held to 22 on 7/20 shooting and he failed to hit a 3.
JAZZ - 116
THUNDER - 103
The Jazz keep chugging along under the radar in the west, quietly getting healthy, rounding into form, and playing their best basketball of the season. Sure, this was just a standard road win against a West bottom-feeder, but the Jazz have now won 10 of 12, and stand only 2.5 games out of the 2 seed. Bojan Bogdanovic led the way with 35 points for the NBA’s best offense, as he set a franchise record with 11 made 3s. Donovan Mitchell added 24 and 10 assists, Rudy Gobert had 12 and 17, and Jordan Clarkson chipped in 20 off the Jazz bench. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the only Thunder player who scored more than 12 points, as he had 33/7/8, and continues to look spectacular in his 6th game since returning from injury.
RAPTORS - 96
CAVALIERS - 104
This was always going to be an uphill battle for the Raptors, with no Fred Van Vleet or OG Anunoby, and they couldn’t quite pull this one out on the road. This was a big one as the Raps sit in 7th, chasing the 6th place Cavs, trying to avoid the play-in tournament. But Cleveland put together one of their best games in a while to hold off the desperate Dinos. Evan Mobley had 20 and 17, Lauri Markkanen had 22 and 12, and Darius Garland ran the show with 17 points and 10 assists. But it wasn’t all good news for the Cavs, as all star big man Jarrett Allen left the game with a fractured finger in the first quarter, and he has been ruled out indefinitely. This is a brutal blow to one of the league’s most fun, upstart squads, and hopefully Allen can return in time for the postseason. The shorthanded Raptors made a valiant effort down the stretch, cutting an 18 point deficit to 5 in the closing minutes, but they couldn’t get over the hump. Even at full strength, this team is severely lacking depth, and it was too much to overcome on Sunday, especially offensively where they had little to no ball handling or shooting. Pascal Siakam had 24 points on 22 shots, Chris Boucher had 21, Gary Trent Jr. and Scottie Barnes each added 19 points, and the entire rest of the team combined for 13 points (only 6 players scored a point).
PELICANS - 130
NUGGETS - 138 (OVERTIME)
This ended up being one of the crazier and more fun games of the NBA season, and it saw a little bit of everything. The Nuggets led by as many as 21 points in the 1st quarter, before completely melting down in the next two frames, including a barrage of technicals that led to Michael Malone’s ejection and a double digit Pelicans lead. Brandon Ingram was great - and has been for most of the season - and lit up the Nugs for 38 hotly contested points, including a ridiculous 45 foot buzzer beating hook shot to end the first half. Ingram has become a really good shot maker, and was nails down the stretch with the ball in his hands. He’s a big part of the why the Pelicans have been one of the hottest teams in the league lately, and have crawled back into the postseason picture despite a 1-12 start. But ultimately, this night belonged to the reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, who reminded everyone exactly why he won that award and may have his eyes on another. Joker finished with a preposterous 46/12/11/3/4 on 16/22 shooting and 11/12 from the line. He had a whopping THIRTY of those points in the 4th quarter and overtime. He was simply unstoppable, and refused to let his team lose. If anyone is still sleeping on Nikola Jokic, wake the hell up!
KNICKS - 116
CLIPPERS - 93
This was a bit of a letdown to end a great day/night of ball. The Knicks opened up a 19 point lead in the first half, that would grow to as much as 32, and never looked back. The Clippers just didn’t have it, shooting only 38% from the floor; they failed to ever find any offensive rhythm. No starter for the Clips scored more than 11 points. The high scorer was Amir Coffey with 16, aided by plenty of garbage time. The Knicks were led by RJ Barrett with 24/9/4, Immanuel Quickley with 21/10/6, and Cam Reddish was able to rub the dust off and add 17 points off the bench in 25 minutes.
Ben Handler