If there was any question about who was the Most Valuable Player in the NBA this year, Giannis Antetokuonmpo put it to rest against the Boston Celtics last night.
If there was any question about whether a four and a half month layoff could affect the MVP-like streak that Antetokuonmpo had going through the first 60+ games, the Greek Freak put that notion to sleep last night as well.
And speaking of putting things to sleep, ‘Rockabye’ Russell Westbrook and James Harden took advantage of the Dallas Mavericks napping to come back from seven down to force overtime and take a convincing win.
All of this after Carmelo Anthony’s performance made a liar out of me and the Blazers kept their hopes alive in an overtime win, while Orlando, San Antonio, and Phoenix posted easy wins in the bubble in Orlando.
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Orlando Magic 128
Brooklyn Nets 118
While Jonathan Isaac stood alone for his convictions at the beginning of the game, the rest of the Orlando Magic stood by him and had his back to his rights and said convictions. Isaac, an ordained Christian minister, paid the Magic back with a 16 point, six rebound effort – third on the team yesterday afternoon.
They also stood strong against a team that really has no business being in the bubble – the Brooklyn Nets. A team decimated by apathy, social justice, injury, and COVID-19 itself, the only benefit for the Nets being in Orlando is showcasing Caris LeVert, though Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot tied Orlando’s Evan Fournier for game high honors.
LeVert scored 17, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen each had 14, while Tyler Johnson came off the bench for 11 points.
Fourtnier shot 66.7 percent to lead Orlando to the win. Nikola Vucevic had 22, seven, and five while matching Fournier’s shooting percentage, Isaac netted his 16, Khem Birch finished with 12 off the bench, and D.J. Augustin added 11. Aaron Gordon double doubled for the Magic with 10 points and 11 rebounds, all on the defensive glass.
The win pushes Orlando to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
| MAGIC (31-35) 7th in the East | NETS (30-35) 8th in the East |
| Evan Fournier 24 points – one rebound – five assists – one block | Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot24 points – four rebounds – one steal |
| Nikola Vucevic22 points – seven rebounds – five assists | Caris LeVert 17 points – two rebounds – seven assists – one steal |
| Jonathan Isaac 16 points – six rebounds – one steal | Jarrett Allen 14 points – five rebounds – three assists |
NEXT GAMES
Magic vs. Kings – Sunday
Nets vs. Wizards – Sunday
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Memphis Grizzlies 135
Portland Trailblazers 140 (OT)
With Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins back in the lineup for the Portland Trailblazers, I figured Carmelo Anthony might get lost in the rotation, fail to get as many touches as he has pre-programmed in his dome, and pout his way further out of the rotation and eventually out of Portland.
Well, I was wrong, at least for one night. And I’m man enough to admit it, because I’m rarely wrong.
I didn’t count on Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum that they have an All-Star caliber guy like Anthony on their team. But they did and they used him for spot up shot after spot up shot to quell the Memphis Grizzlies last night in an exciting overtime win that was set up by Memphis’ Ja Morant slipping and falling on what would have been a breakaway icing type score.
Instead, it opened the door for Portland and the Blazers took advantage.
C.J. McCollum led the Blazers with 33 points, while Lillard dropped 11 of the Blazers’ 16 overtime points to finish with 29, while Anthony hit for blackjack (21). Nurkic had 18 and Gary Trent, Jr. finished with 17 on the night.
All was not lost for Memphis, whose sophomore forward, Jaren Jackson Jr., equaled McCollum’s output at 33, and the Grizzlies still hold the eighth place seed for the time being. Portland’s win just gained ground for them slightly.
Morant had 22, Brandon Clarke finished with 21, while it was Jonas Valanciunas and Dillon Brooks with 16 and 15, respectively.
| GRIZZLIES (32-34) 8th in the West | BLAZERS (30-37) 9th in the West |
| Jaren Jackson, Jr. 33 points – three rebounds – one steal – one block | C.J. McCollum 33 points – three rebounds – six assists – two steals |
| Ja Morant22 points – five rebounds – 11 assists – one steal | Damian Lillard 29 points – five rebounds – nine assists |
| Brandon Clarke 21 points – seven rebounds – two assists – one steal – two blocks | Carmelo Anthony 21 points – seven rebounds – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Grizzlies vs. Spurs – Sunday
Blazers vs. Celtics – Sunday
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Phoenix Suns 125
Washington Wizards 112
Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns made the most of their opportunity to be at the bubble in Orlando by making the most of their 32 trips to the free throw line, hitting 30 of 32 as a team, and Booker hitting all nine of his attempts, en route to his game high 27 point performance.
The Wizards played without Bradley Beal (shoulder injury), John Wall (torn Achilles), and Davis Bertans, who is protecting his health for free agency. That left the door open for Rui Hachimura to continue his impressive campaign and lead the Wizards with 21 points on 53.3 percent shooting.
But it was the Suns’ night, even Deandre Ayton – who was suspended for 25 games earlier in the season and who had never hit a three pointer before – hit for two last night and shot 11 of 14 from the field overall. The Suns won comfortably without Kelly Oubre, Jr. who is out with a right knee injury.
| SUNS (27-39) 13th in the West | WIZARDS (24-41) 9th in the East |
| Devin Booker 27 points – five rebounds – four assists – one steal | Rui Hachimura 21 points – eight rebounds – one assist – one steal |
| Deandre Ayton 24 points – 12 rebounds – three assists – two steals – one block | Jerome Robinson 20 points – one rebound – one assist – one steal |
| Dario Saric 16 points – six rebounds – three assists – one steal | Ish Smith 17 points – four rebounds – seven assists |
NEXT GAMES
Suns vs. Mavericks – Sunday
Wizards vs. Nets – Sunday
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Boston Celtics 112
Milwaukee Bucks 119
From the opening tip, you could tell this was the Milwaukee Bucks’ game to take … and take they did.
Riding the shoulder and legs of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokuonmpo, Milwaukee shot the lights on on the Boston Celtics to an 17-2 opening tip rip – the Celtics’ only two points coming because Wesley Matthews inadvertently tipped in a Boston miss on a sloppy rebound, and Jayson Tatum was the nearest body in green.
Tatum had a horrendous night, shooting only 11.1 percent (two of 18) from the field, while the Celtics only had 18 assists, and could not get a body in front of Antetokuonmpo all night long. Marcus Smart had an impressive game, leading Boston with two dozen on the night, Jaylen Brown had 22 points, while Gordon Hayward finished with 17 and nine. Kemba Walker finished with 16, Brad Wanamaker added 14, and Daniel Thies had a nice 13 and 12 evening.
Antetokuonmpo could do no wrong, his play proving why he was last year’s MVP and why he will likely be this year’s as well. The Greek Freak led all scorers with 36 points, while Khris Middleton finished with half as many, and Brook Lopez added 14, going four for four from the line and two of five from downtown to stretch Boston’s defense.
The win helps Milwaukee maintain their advantage as the league’s best team and makes them the odds on favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
| CELTICS (43-22) 3rd in the East | BUCKS (54-12) 1st in the East, NBA |
| Marcus Smart 24 points – four rebounds – one assist – one steal | Giannis Antetokuonmpo 36 points – 15 rebounds – seven assists – one steal – one block |
| Jaylen Brown 22 points – four rebounds – one assist – one steal | Khris Middleton 18 points – five rebounds – eight assists – one steal |
| Gordon Hayward 17 points – nine rebounds – six assists – one block | Brook Lopez 14 points – four rebounds – one assist – six blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Celtics vs. Blazers – Sunday
Bucks vs. Rockets – Sunday
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Sacramento Kings 120
San Antonio Spurs 129
The Sacramento Kings, improved over the season as they progressed through their schedule, still haven’t shown anyone why they belong in the bubble any more than the Brooklyn Nets.
Certainly, DeAaron Fox’s career high 39 point performance was damned impressive, but so was DeMar DeRozan’s 17 point fourth quarter, adding to his 27 point night and an effort that inspired the Spurs to a win that put them two spaces above Sacramento in the Western Conference standings.
San Antonio shot out to a 43-30 first quarter advantage and looked to have the game in hand, but let the Kings right back in it with a 14 point collapse in the second quarter that gave the Kings a one point advantage at the halfway mark.
After what I’m sure was an animated speech during halftime, the Spurs came out looking more focused and outscored the Kings 65-55 over the final two periods. LaMarcus Aldridge’s shoulder surgery means he is not joining his team in the bubble, so Derrick White put up a career high 26 for San Antonio.
DeRozan scored 10 points in the final 2:23 to seal the win for San Antonio.
| KINGS (28-37) 12th in the West | SPURS (28-36) 10th in the West |
| DeAaron Fox 39 points – three rebounds – six assists – one steal – one block | DeMar DeRozan 27 points – five rebounds – 10 assists |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic 24 points – two rebounds – two assists – two steals | Derrick White 26 points – eight rebounds – five assists – one steal – one block |
| Nemanja Bjelica 12 points – five rebounds – one assist – two steals – one block | Rudy Gay 19 points – eight rebounds – one assist – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Grizzlies vs. Spurs – Sunday
Kings vs. Magic – Sunday
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Houston Rockets 153
Dallas Mavericks 149 (OT)
It’s not like the Dallas Mavericks didn’t play an incredible game. I mean they had the Houston Rockets pinned to the mat, down seven points with 45 seconds remaining in last night’s nightcap in Orlando, Florida.
Kristaps Porzingis looked much improved, like the player they’d hoped they’d gotten in their trade with the New York Knicks. Trey Burke has been seemingly overlooked by everyone from Utah, Washington, New York, Dallas (the first go-round), and Philadelphia. Well, last night Benji and Ronda Burke’s son outscored his vaunted teammate, Luka Doncic, hitting for 31 points while Doncic “struggled” to a triple double of 28-10-13. Burke hit eight of 10 three pointers in his run.
All of this in a loss. Why?
Nothing more than a fortuitous tip-in by Robert Covington on an errant Harden free throw to send the Rockets into overtime, where they blasted off to a 14-10 run to steal the win from Dallas. It’s difficult to beat Houston when Harden is shooting 70 percent from the field. But the Mavs were doing it.
Harden had 23 points in the first quarter and his pinpoint accuracy helped the Rockets overcome turnovers by Russell Westbrook, who shot 30 shots and only connected on 43.3 percent. Westbrook, as you might remember, was late to the Wide World of Sports campus after testing positive for the CoronaVirus.
Harden, Westbrook, and Danuel House Jr. combined for 100 of the Rockets’ 153 points. Covington finished with 13 and 11, Ben McLemore also had 13, and Austin Rivers and Jeff Green added 10 points apiece.
Tim Hardaway, Jr. helped the Mavericks’ cause with 24 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.
| ROCKETS (41-24) 5th in the West | MAVERICKS (40-28) 7th in the West |
| James Harden 49 points – nine rebounds – eight assists – three steals – three blocks | Kristaps Porzingis 39 points – 16 rebounds – two assists – two steals – one block |
| Russell Westbrook 31 points – 11 rebounds – eight assists – two steals – one block | Trey Burke 31 points – one rebound – six assists – one steal |
| Danuel House, Jr.20 points – five rebounds – one assist – two blocks | Luka Doncic 28 points – 10 rebounds – 13 assists – one steal – one block – (FOULED OUT) |
NEXT GAMES
Rockets vs. Bucks – Sunday
Mavericks vs. Suns – Sunday
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SATURDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
| 12:30 p.m. MIami Heat Denver Nuggets ESPN | 3 p.m.Utah Jazz Oklahoma City Thunder ESPN | 6 p.m. New Orleans Pelicans Los Angeles Clippers ESPN |
| 7 p.m. Philadelphia 76ers Indiana Pacers Fox Sports Midwest | 8:30 p.m. Los Angeles Lakers Toronto Raptors ESPN |
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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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