While it wasn’t a crazy weekend per se, it was disappointing for some, including Damian Lillard who missed two critical free throws on Saturday while Patrick Beverley wore his ass on his shoulders, but redeemed himself big time, scoring 51 points against the Philadelphia 76ers less than 24 hours later.
Sacramento and New Orleans were officially eliminated from the postseason, joining the Washington Wizards who were eliminated the minute they stepped off the plane in Orlando.
The teams to watch this week are Denver, Houston, Oklahoma City, and Utah in the middle of the Western Conference, and Portland, San Antonio, and Phoenix at the bottom of the Conference.
What about the Memphis Grizzlies? There’s only one person watching them … some guy named Gary …
********************
Memphis Grizzlies 99
Toronto Raptors 108
The Memphis Grizzlies continue to leave the door wide open for the Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, or maybe even the Phoenix Suns to come in and take the eighth spot in the Western Conference with their 1-5 showing in the seeding schedule in Orlando.
Last night was no exception as they pinned the reigning NBA champions to a 25-20 first quarter before the Toronto Raptors blew the game open with an 11 point advantage in the second quarter and again in the third to comfortably take their fourth win in five games.
Both teams went old school jerseys as Barney stomped out any and all fires for Smokey the Bear. Instead of the Fred VanVleet Show, it was Pascal Siakam rising to the occasion this game, leading all scorers with 26 points. Norman Powell and Kyle Lowry talled 31 together, VanVleet had 14, Serge Ibaka went 12 and 12, and Marc Gasol finished with 10 and six against his former team.
Dillon Brooks finished with 25 points, Grayson Allen had 20, Ja Morant finished with 17 points and 10 dimes, and Brandon Clarke had 16 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Memphis has Boston and Milwaukee remaining, so could very well play their way out of playoff contention. They only have a half game lead over Portland, a game over San Antonio, and 1.5 games over Phoenix. Toronto has their best challenge tonight in the Eastern Conference rivalry with the Milwaukee Bucks, then Philadelphia and Denver to close out their two plus weeks in the bubble.
GRIZZLIES (33-38) 8th in the West | RAPTORS (50-19) 2nd in the East |
Dillon Brooks 25 points – six rebounds – two assists – three steals | Pascal Siakam 26 points – one rebound – three assists – one steal – one block |
Grayson Allen 20 points – four rebounds – one assist | Norman Powell 16 points – two rebounds – four assists |
Ja Morant 17 points – four rebounds – 10 assists – one block | Kyle Lowry 15 points – seven rebounds – eight assists – four steals |
NEXT GAMES
Raptors vs. Bucks – Tonight
Grizzlies vs. Celtics – Tuesday
********************
Orlando Magic 119
Boston Celtics 122 (OT)
For what it’s worth, the Boston Celtics have arrived, having won their third consecutive game last night, against the Orlando Magic. The Celtics are 4-2 thus far in the bubble, 47-23 overall, and firmly entrenched in the No. 3 position in the East. Toronto is 3.5 games ahead of the Celtics, while Miami and Indiana (tied) are four games back.
Orlando, with the horrid play of the winless Washington Wizards having played themselves out of any contention or consideration in the Eastern Conference, have a firm grip on eighth place, despite losing three straight games – Brooklyn clinched seventh last night with a win versus the Los Angeles Clippers.
Gordon Hayward led all scorers in what was a tighter than expected contest last night, finishing with 31 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. The J’s (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) added a combined 48 points, 21 rebounds, and seven assists to the Celtics’ cause. Brad Wanamaker came off the bench for 10.
For the Magic, it was Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross and Markelle Fultz combining for 60 of the Magic’s 119. Gary Clark finished with 15 and seven, D.J. Augustin had 12 points and five assists, while James Ennis III had 10 and 10 on the night. The Magic are with the injured Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon, and sat Evan Fournier (illness), while Fultz continues to progress his career with the Magic – he had six rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals in impressive action last night.
Fultz and the Magic have Brooklyn and New Orleans remaining on their schedule. Boston has Memphis and Washington this week.
MAGIC (32-39) 8th in the East | CELTICS (47-23) 3rd in the East |
Nikola Vucevic 26 points – 11 rebounds – one assist | Gordon Hayward 31 points – nine rebounds – five assists – one block |
Terrence Ross 18 points – seven rebounds – two assists – one steal | Jayson Tatum 29 points – nine rebounds – six assists – one steal – one block |
Markelle Fultz 16 points – six rebounds – 10 assists – two steals – one block | Jaylen Brown 19 points – 12 rebounds – one assist – two steals – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Magic vs. Nets – Tuesday
Celtics vs. Grizzlies – Tuesday
********************
San Antonio Spurs 122
New Orleans Pelicans 113
And just like that, the New Orleans Pelicans are out of the 2020 NBA Playoff picture, thanks to a 51 point performance by Portland’s Damian Lillard, the Blazers’ win against Philadelphia, and the Pelicans’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The Pelicans got blown out like a Paul George shoe last night, suffering a 62-45 first half.
San Antonio’s win puts them within reach of the eighth seed at a game back of the Memphis Grizzlies, with two games to play – versus Houston on Tuesday and a rematch with the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
But last night, DeMar DeRozan stepped up to the plate, leading the Spurs to the win over the 30-40 Pelicans. DeRozan, who may be playing his last games in a Spurs jersey, finished the night with 27 points. Rudy Gay added 19, Dejounte Murray had 18, Derrick White tallied 16, and Marco Belinelli wrapped up the evening with 14 points.
While it was perceived that New Orleans had surrendered the seeding schedule when they sat Zion Williamson in the last game (a Pelicans win), he played last night and didn’t disappoint with a 25 point, seven rebound outing in 27 minutes of action. Williamson shot 50 percent, while it was J.J. Redick leading the Pelicans with 31 points on 62.5 percent shooting, 66.7 from downtown. Jrue Holiday left it all on the floor last game, only hitting 16.7 of his shots last night, dooming the Pelicans to their ouster.
New Orleans has Sacramento and Orlando remaining on their bubble schedule, so we may have seen the last of Williamson for this season.
SPURS (31-38) 10th in the West | PELICANS (30-40) 12th in the West |
DeMar DeRozan 27 points – four rebounds – two assists – one steal | J.J. Redick 31 points – five rebounds – three assists – one steal |
Rudy Gay 19 points – five rebounds – three assists – three steals – one block | Zion Williamson 25 points – seven rebounds – one assist |
Dejounte Murray 18 points – five rebounds – two assists – two steals – one block | Brandon Ingram 17 points – six rebounds – five assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Spurs vs. Rockets – Tuesday
Pelicans vs. Kings – Tuesday
********************
Washington Wizards 103
Oklahoma City Thunder 121
WIZARDS (24-46) 10th in the East | THUNDER (43-26) 5th in the West |
Jerome Robinson 19 points – two rebounds – six assists – two steals | Darius Bazley 23 points – seven rebounds – one assist – one steal |
Isaac Bonga 14 points – eight rebounds – two assists | Danilo Gallinari 20 points – two rebounds – two assists – one steal |
Troy Brown, Jr. 12 points – eight rebounds – four assists – two steals | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 18 points – seven rebounds – six assists – one steal |
The Oklahoma City Thunder had their load management game versus the Memphis Grizzlies, yet were rewarded with seeding advancement due to the loss of the Utah Jazz yesterday, coupled with their win over the hapless Washington Wizards.
The Thunder are now in fifth place, a game behind the Houston Rockets for fourth, and 2.5 out of third, while a half game over the Jazz in what will be the most exciting and meaningful basketball games this week, with most every other team having clinched, solidified their spot, or been bounced from postseason action altogether.
The other teams playing for their lives are Portland, San Antonio and Phoenix, while the Memphis Grizzlies have just kind of lain there.
While the Thunder are sorting out which Chris Paul is playing, the young guns of OKC sat tall in the saddle last night, shooting down the Wizards whose biggest success in Orlando has been getting off the plane steps without injury. Darius Bazley led all scorers with a career high of 23 points on 61.5 percent shooting off the bench. Danilo Gallinari had 20, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 18 points, Mike Muscala had 14, while Chris Paul and Hamidou Diallo finished with 13 points apiece.
Jerome Robinson led the 0-6 Wizards, who face Milwaukee and Boston this week, likely finishing 0-8 in the bubble. Oklahoma City, who played with their bigs – Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel – faces the undefeated Phoenix Suns tonight, then wraps up with Miami and the Los Angeles Clippers later this week.
NEXT GAMES
Thunder vs. Suns – Tonight
Wizards bs. Bucks – Tuesday
********************
Philadelphia 76ers 121
Portland Trailblazers 124
It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep.
Our hearts wept for Damian Lillard’s two missed free throws and his errant three pointer in Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Of course, the true measure of a successful man is how he bounces back.
Lillard did that with a 51 point outing against the discombobulated Philadelphia 76ers last night, shooting 57.1 percent on 28 shots, and getting 36 combined from Carmelo Anthony and C.J. McCollum, as the Sixers lost Joel Embiid early in the game after his left ankle had a run-in with the stanchion.
That left my boys from Tennessee to dig in and do the dirty work along with Alec Burks, who turned in a 20 point performance. #VFLs Josh Richardson and Tobias Harris combined for 50 points (J-Rich with a season high 34), but it wasn’t enough for a team already without Ben Simmons (knee surgery).
Embiid has been averaging 30 points, 13.5 boards, 3.3 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.3 steals in the 76ers’ games in Orlando. Philadelphia has Phoenix, Toronto, and Houston remaining on the docket. Portland wraps up the seeding schedule with Dallas and Brooklyn.
SIXERS (42-28) 6th in the East | BLAZERS (33-39) 9th in the West |
#VFL Josh Richardson 34 points – five rebounds – six assists | Damian Lillard 51 points – three rebounds – seven assists – two steals |
Alec Burks 20 points – five rebounds – two assists | Carmelo Anthony 20 points – seven rebounds – two assists – one steal |
#VFL Tobias Harris 16 points – seven rebounds – three assists | C.J. McCollum 16 points – seven rebounds – four assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Sixers vs. Suns – Tuesday
Blazers vs. Mavericks – Tuesday
********************
Houston Rockets 129
Sacramento Kings 112
The Houston Rockets spotted the Sacramento Kings a nice 36-23 advantage in the first quarter last night, the blasted off to a 38-20 second quarter and outscored the Kings 106-74 over the last three periods to take the 17 point win and keep those pesky Oklahoma City Thunder off their backs.
They more than doubled up the Kings in the third quarter, 32-15, dropping Sacramento like a first then second stage booster, with Austin Rivers dropping a career high 41. James Harden and Ben McLemore contributed a combined 52 points and 11 rebounds in the win, Houston’s fourth out of five games in the bubble. Robert Covington and Jeff Green contributed 12 apiece, while Russell Westbrook sat this game out, too. Covington also had 13 rebounds, nine on the defensive glass. Westbrook and Eric Gordon are likely to return in Houston’s next game.
The Kings, eliminated from any postseason contention for the 14th straight season, finished with De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Bogdan Bogdanovic combining for 55 points. Fox and Bogdanovic have been about the only consistent thing going for head coach Luke Walton and the Kings.
Sacramento has New Orleans and the Lakers remaining on their docket, while Houston finished the seeding schedule with the Spurs, Pacers, and Sixers between today and Friday. Playoffs begin Saturday.
ROCKETS (44-25) 4th in the West | KINGS (29-41) 13th in the West |
Austin Rivers 41 points – six rebounds – four assists – two steals | De’Aaron Fox 26 points – two rebounds – nine assists – two steals |
James Harden 32 points – eight rebounds – seven assists – three steals – one block | Buddy Hield 16 points – three rebounds – two assists |
Ben McLemore 20 points – three rebounds – one assist | Bogdan Bogdanovic 13 points – five rebounds – eight assists – one steal – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Rockets vs. Spurs – Tuesday
Kings vs. Pelicans – Tuesday
********************
Brooklyn Nets 129
Los Angeles Clippers 120
The Brooklyn Nets took full advantage of Paul George’s absence (load management) to clinch the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers by letting Kawhi Leonard get his numbers and shutting down the rest of the team.
Leonard indeed went off, netting a game high 39 points on 56 percent shooting, 57.1 from downtown, and 87.5 from the line. But they held Lou Williams to 18 points (38.5 percent), Marcus Morris to 15 points (nine shots), and rookie Terance Mann shot 85.7 percent, but only netted 14 points in the L.A. loss.
Caris LeVert continues to take advantage of the opportunities left to him with the void of the team’s big money stars, which should benefit him financially if teams are paying attention to what he can do, like leading his team to a win over the Clippers. LeVert finished with 27 points, while Joe Harris and Tyler Johnson combined for an added 46. Garrett Temple added 19, and Jarrett Allen quietly did the blue collar work with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 77.8 percent shooting.
The Clippers were caught off guard with Brooklyn’s 45-24 jump start in the first quarter, a cushion that allowed the Nets to glide into the nine point win, despite a 17 point run by L.A. over the second and third quarters.
Entrenched at the seventh spot in the East, Brooklyn has Orlando and Portland on tap this week, neither a must win, which will undoubtedly help the Trailblazers. L.A. has Denver and Oklahoma City this week, and may likely start resting their stars for what could be a rough ride versus the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, about the only certainty in the Western Conference.
NETS (34-36) 7th in the East | CLIPPERS (47-23) 2nd in the West |
Caris LeVert 27 points – four rebounds – 13 assists – one steal | Kawhi Leonard 39 points – two rebounds – six assists – four steals |
Joe Harris 25 points – two rebounds – one assist (FOULED OUT) | Lou Williams 18 points – three rebounds – three assists – two steals – one block |
Tyler Johnson 21 points – four rebounds – one assist | Marcus Morris 15 points – four rebounds – two assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Nets vs. Magic – Tuesday
Clippers vs. Denver – Wednesday
********************
MONDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
2:30 p.m. Oklahoma City Thunder Phoenix Suns Fox SportsNet Oklahoma | 3 p.m. Dallas Mavericks Utah Jazz NBATV | 6:30 p.m. Toronto Raptors Milwaukee Bucks ESPN |
8 p.m. Indiana Pacers Miami Heat SUN Sports | 9 p.m. Denver Nuggets Los Angeles Lakers TNT |
********************
SATURDAY’S GAMES
********************
Los Angeles Clippers 122
Portland Trailblazers 117
Find the center mark on the free throw line. Line your fingers up properly on the basketball. Bend your knees slightly. Shorter players need to bend their knees more than taller players. Keep your back straight. Raise the basketball almost to your face. Your dominant hand wrist should have a close to 90 degree backward bend. Focus your eyes on the dominant hand side toward the center of the rim. Simultaneously straighten your legs, extend your shooting elbow, and flick your wrist and shooting fingers forward.
Certainly, over his entire basketball career, Damian Lillard knows these steps and has done them over and over and over again throughout the years. But it’s hard to get the knees right and the back straight when you’ve had to carry a team as long as Lillard has had to carry the Portland Trailblazers.
Then factor in the nonsensical 12 year old histrionics of Patrick Beverley on the Los Angeles Clippers’ bench as Lillard missed not one, but both of the game critical free throws that would have knotted things up in the final seconds of Saturday’s game. It put Lillard in the position of throwing up a Hail Mary that came up just as off as his two free throws and the Clippers – resting Kawhi Leonard (load management) and reducing Paul George’s load by sitting him the last five minutes – pulled out a win over Portland that hurt the Blazers’ chances of stealing the eighth seed from Memphis.
I put that loss on Terry Stotts, who should have given C.J. McCollum or Carmelo Anthony the onus of the shots when the game counted. Not that Lillard was incapable, but because he was tired, shooting 43.5 percent, while McCollum and Anthony were both well above 50 percent.
Portland has opportunities to still get into the playoff picture. They beat the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday evening, and have Dallas and Brooklyn remaining on Tuesday and Thursday. L.A. has the Nets, Nuggets and Thunder on their slate.
CLIPPERS (47-22) 2nd in the West | TRAILBLAZERS (32-39) 9th in the West |
Paul George 21 points – six rebounds – four assists – two steals | C.J. McCollum 29 points – four rebounds – eight assists |
Landry Shamet 19 points – three rebounds – three assists | Damian Lillard 22 points – three rebounds – five assists – one steal |
Reggie Jackson 17 points – two rebounds – five assists | Gary Trent, Jr. 22 points – one assist – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Clippers 120, Nets 129 – Yesterday
Blazers 124, Sixers 121 – Yesterday
********************
Milwaukee Bucks 132
Dallas Mavericks 136 (OT)
This was a must win game for the Dallas Mavericks and it took almost everything they had for them to beat the best record in the league.
Luka Doncic showed his leadership and enthusiasm for the game from the opening tip, registering a damned impressive triple double and leading the Mavericks to only their second win of the seeding schedule eight game bubble.
Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Kristaps Porzingis combined for 89 of Dallas’ 136 points to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks, despite a combination of 99 points from Giannis Antetokuonmpo, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton.
That’s because the Mavericks got complementary contributions from Maxi Kleber’s 15 points (and a shot to Antetokuonmpo’s jewels) and 10 from Trey Burke, who continues to exploit defensive weaknesses in opponents. Milwaukee is the NBA’s No. 1 rated defense, but it didn’t show Saturday night.
Their offensive explosive took over what was a Dallas game in the first quarter, where the Mavericks took a 35-32 lead. Milwaukee then exploded for a 12 point differential in the second quarter, but gave it all back in the third where they played to an 11 point deficit. The fourth was a wash, and then Dallas took over in the extra period with a 17-14 edge.
Milwaukee has the Raptors tonight in what is likely to be the game of the seeding schedule, then face the Wizards and Grizzlies to close out the abbreviated ‘season.’ Dallas faces Utah, Portland and Phoenix in their last three games in the bubble before the playoffs tip off.
BUCKS (55-15) 1st in the East, NBA | MAVERICKS (42-30) 7th in the West |
Giannis Antetokuonmpo 34 points – 13 rebounds – one assist – five blocks | Luka Doncic 36 points – 14 rebounds – 19 assists – one steal |
Brook Lopez 34 points – seven rebounds – two blocks | Dorian Finney-Smith 27 points – 11 rebounds – five assists – one block |
Khris Middleton 21 points – six rebounds – 11 assists | Kristaps Porzingis 26 points – 11 rebounds – three assists – one block (FOULED OUT) |
NEXT GAMES
Bucks vs. Raptors – Tonight
Mavericks vs. Jazz – Tonight
********************
Los Angeles Lakers 111
Indiana Pacers 116
The Los Angeles Lakers have designs on becoming the 2020 NBA Champions. Those very same Los Angeles Lakers are 2-4 in the bubble.
While some may say not to be concerned, that the No. 1 seed is locked up and they are simply letting the seeding schedule play itself out while they wait to see if they’ll play Memphis (easy 4-0 first round win), San Antonio (that’s a 4-2, L.A.), Phoenix (L.A. wins it 4-1), or the Portland Trailblazers, who might be the team able to take the Lakers out in the first round.
Still, we’re talkin about a team led by a guy who said he’d never sit for reasons of rest, taking jabs at his Staples Center stepbrothers – Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the Los Angeles Clippers – yet he sat out the first of these losses with a ‘sore right groin.’
To his credit, LeBron James came back and led his team in Saturday night’s game versus the Indiana Pacers, who had a lot more to lose than L.A. A win keeps the Philadelphia 76ers off their heels and puts them in a tie with the Miami Heat for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
So win they did. Over L.A. Over LeBron.
T.J. Warren is back to his spectacular scoring ways, the Most Valuable Player far and away in the bubble. Warren booked eight more than LeBron to lead all scorers. Malcolm Brogdon and Victor Oladipo combined for 46 more and the Pacers indeed end up tied with the Heat, as the Heat were scorched by the undefeated Phoenix Suns.
Both Miami and Indiana sit at 43-24, a half game ahead of the 76ers. Indiana have those very Heat twice in their last three games with Houston sandwiched in between, plenty of opportunity for T.J. Warren to show Jimmy Butler that he belongs … that is if Butler even shows up. L.A. has the Nuggets and Kings remaining.
LAKERS (51-18) 1st in the West | PACERS (43-27) 5th in the East |
LeBron James 31 points – eight rebounds – seven assists – one block | T.J. Warren 39 points – five rebounds – one assist |
Quinn Cook 21 points – one rebound | Malcolm Brogdon 24 points – five rebounds – six assists – one steal |
Kyle Kuzma 11 points – five rebounds – one assist – three steals – one block | Victor Oladipo 22 points – seven rebounds – five assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Lakers vs. Nuggets – Tonight
Pacers vs. Heat – Tonight
********************
Utah Jazz 132
Denver Nuggets 134 (2OT)
In a hard fought battle between two teams from neighboring states, it was the return of Jamal Murray that tilted things in favor of the Denver Nuggets Saturday evening. Murray, who had missed all four of Denver’s games in the bubble with hamstring issues, not only tied with Michael Porter, Jr. with 23 points on the night, but shot 10 for 25 on the night, and hit a game-tying and then a go ahead three pointer for Denver, marking a successful return to the lineup.
Nikola Jokic led the Nugs with 30, 11, and seven. Murray had 12 rebounds and Porter had 11 in what was definitely Denver’s best showing in Orlando.
That being said, it took all of Murray, Jokic and Porter to best a Utah Jazz team that refused to die. This was a Utah team that’s in the midst of the only competitive seeding in the bubble, the 4-5-6 of the Western Conference. After the loss, the Jazz settled into the sixth seed for the time being, trailing Oklahoma City by half a game and Houston by a full game.
Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz and all scorers with 35 points on a tough night, shooting 33 shots to get to his game high, but low percentage of 36.4 percent shooting. Rudy Gobert lost the battle to Jokic in the paint and fouling out. Mike Conley finished with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists.
Utah has Dallas and San Antonio remaining, with a three day layoff in between the Mavericks and Spurs. Denver has an uphill climb with the Lakers, Clippers, and Raptors – a loss or two could hand the No. 3 seed to the Houston Rockets.
JAZZ (43-27) 6th in the West | NUGGETS (46-24) 3rd in the West |
Donovan Mitchell 35 points – six rebounds – eight assists – one steal – one block | Nikola Jokic 30 points – 11 rebounds – seven assists – three steals |
Rudy Gobert 22 points – 13 rebounds – two assists – one block (FOULED OUT) | Jamal Murray 23 points – 12 rebounds – eight assists – one block |
Mike Conley 20 points – five rebounds – five assists – one steal | Michael Porter, Jr. 23 points – 11 rebounds – two assists – two steals – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Jazz vs. Mavericks – Tonight
Nuggets vs. Lakers – Tonight
********************
Phoenix Suns 119
Miami Heat 112
Devin Booker is playing such good basketball in this seeding schedule that Draymond Green was willing to fork out a $50,000 fine for tampering by suggesting that the hot-shooting guard should leave the Phoenix Suns. Gee, I wonder where Green wanted Booker to go …
That being said, I can’t say I disagree with Green on Booker’s abilities and talents. But Phoenix should definitely lock him up as a Sun for the foreseeable future. One gets tired of seeing teams rotate stars in and out and never get return on investment.
At 5-0 in the bubble, where this team came in as the worst record of the 22 teams, though, the Phoenix Suns are definitely getting ROI from Devin Booker. Saturday night, he led the team in keeping their bubble record spotless hitting for a game high 35 points against the Miami Heat, punctuating the win with strong second and fourth quarter performances.
Jevon Carter burst on the Orlando scene with 20 points and Deandre Ayton showed why he and Booker should be the go to guys in Phoenix for years to come with an 18 and 12 performance.
Miami’s second team took over in this game, another where Jimmy Butler sat out (which seems to be becoming a theme in Chicago, Minnesota, Philadelphia and now Miami). Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson combined for 50 points and 11 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo was held just below a triple double with 18, seven, and nine.
Miami has the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Indiana Pacers remaining. Phoenix tangles with Oklahoma City this afternoon, then Philadelphia and Dallas to close out the seeding schedule.
The Suns sit 1.5 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies, and a half game behind two very hungry Portland and San Antonio teams vying for that eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
SUNS (31-39) 11th in the West | HEAT (43-27) 4th in the East |
Devin Booker 35 points – three rebounds – six assists – one steal | Tyler Herro 25 points – eight rebounds – 10 assists |
Jevon Carter 20 points – four rebounds – three assists – one steal – one block | Duncan Robinson 25 points – three rebounds – three assists – two blocks |
Deandre Ayton 18 points – 12 rebounds – two assists | Bam Adebayo 18 points – seven rebounds – nine assists – one steal – three blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Suns vs. Thunder – Tonight
Heat vs. Pacers – Tonight
********************
Tracy Graven is a Senior NBA Analyst for BackSportsPage.com.
He has written the NBA, and done NBA radio, for the last two decades for HoopsWorld, Swish Magazine, and HoopsHype, the Coach Scott Fields Show and NBARadioShow.com, and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and will be pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage.
He’s spent 20 years in locker rooms in
- Orlando
- Boise (G League)
- San Antonio
- Phoenix
- Denver
- Oklahoma City
- Atlanta
A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in SEC Country near Knoxville, Tennessee.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
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