Yesterday, we were talking about the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks clinching their No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences.
As fate would have it, today, it’s all about the eighth seeds, who’s going to steal them, who’s going to lock them up, and the jockeying for 1-7 in each Conference.
By the way, with the Houston Rockets blasting past the Bucks, no one’s still clinched anything at the top. Nope, just the Dallas Mavericks clinching a playoff berth by losing their first two games in the bubble.
WTF? Read on …
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Sacramento Kings 116
Orlando Magic 132
Call it what you want – home court advantage, home city advantage, home state advantage. I’ll call it mental advantage, because the Orlando Magic out played, outsmarted, and out hustled the Sacramento Kings from the giddy-up last night, protecting their seventh Eastern Conference seeding with a convincing win in the bubble.
The Magic outscored Sacramento by 18 in the opening quarter, six in the second (taking a 78-54 lead into the locker rooms at the half), then came out and laid another 11 point whooping on the Kings, before coasting to the win with ‘only’ 19 in the fourth quarter.
Terrence Ross, Nikola Vucevic, and Aaron Gordon combined for 70 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and two steals to lead the Magic to the easy victory. But Orlando lost Jonathan Isaac to the same ACL injury in his left knee that kep him out from the start of 2020 until play resumed in the bubble.
It seemed that head coach Luke Walton and Sacramento just threw the kitchen sink at Orlando, with no organization or semblance whatsoever. Problem is, with the kitchen sink, there are towels and it appeared that the Kings threw in the towel until the Magic gifted them a 38 point fourth quarter – garbage time.
Sacramento has lost both of their first two bubble games and are 3.5 games out of the picture in the Western Conference when it comes to the eighth seed, and may simply be in over their head in Orlando.
| KINGS (28-38) 12th in the West | MAGIC (32-35) 7th in the East |
| Harry Giles III23 points – eight rebounds – one assist | Terrence Ross 25 points – two rebounds – one assist – one steal |
| De’Aaron Fox 13 points – two rebounds – three assists – one steal | Nikola Vucevic 23 points – 11 rebounds – two assists – two steals |
| Harrison Barnes 12 points – six rebounds | Aaron Gordon 22 points – five rebounds – three assists |
NEXT GAMES
Kings vs. Mavericks – Tuesday
Magic vs. Pacers – Tuesday
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Washington Wizards 110
Brooklyn Nets 118
It’s been a miserable way to spend your 55th birthday weekend if you’re Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks.
After last night’s loss to the eighth place Brooklyn Nets, it’s going to be a tough row to hoe if you’re the Wizards. Seven games out of the eighth seed, six games remain in your bubble schedule, and you haven’t won yet.
Strategy? Roots for the Nets to lose at this point.
Knowing that’s what anyone below them is doing, the Nets put together a solid 35-25 fourth quarter to pull out the win and place such a buffer between themselves and their only viable threat, if the Wizards can even be considered that at all now.
I mentioned that with so many players out to apathy, injury, and COVID-19, that the only purpose for Brooklyn to be in Orlando was to showcase Caris LeVert, and that’s just what happened last night. LeVert scored a game high 34 points to lead the Nets to victory. LeVert had 14 of his 34 in the final seven minutes, pushing the fourth quarter surge. He also inspired Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen, who combined for 49 and 22 in the win.
Thomas Bryant, Troy Brown Jr., and Ish Smith led the Bradley Beal-less Wizards with 66 combined points. The Wizards need to be within four games of eighth place to force a play-in series, and they have just six games remaining.
| WIZARDS (24-42) 9th in the East | NETS (31-35) 8th in the East |
| Thomas Bryant 30 points – 13 rebounds – three assists – one steal – two blocks | Caris LeVert 34 points – seven rebounds – three assists |
| Troy Brown, Jr. 22 points – 10 rebounds – eight assists – one steal | Joe Harris 27 points – seven rebounds – one assist – one block |
| Ish Smith 14 points – four rebounds – five assists – one steal – two blocks | Jarrett Allen 22 points – 15 rebounds – two assists – one steal – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Wizards vs. Pacers – Tonight
Nets vs. Bucks – Tuesday
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San Antonio Spurs 108
Memphis Grizzlies 106
The NBA playoffs don’t seem right if the San Antonio Spurs aren’t involved. It appears that head coach Gregg Popovich feels the same way, as the team that started off the season so poorly appears to be finishing it the right way, chipping away at the team that has the eighth seed pinned down at the moment, the Memphis Grizzlies.
It’s also advantageous that Pop is the proverbial teacher, and he takes down another one of his proteges in Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins, as the Spurs skipped out of the bubble last night with their second consecutive win, and move within two games of the Grizzlies in the Western Conference standings.
Memphis did everything right but outscore the Spurs. Better field goal percentage, better at the line, more assists, Ja Morant outscored everybody, and fewer turnovers. So what happened?
Seven of 30 from beyond the arc didn’t help and neither did getting outrebounded by 10. A guy who’s 6’4” and averages 5.8 boards a night shouldn’t be outrebounding against a team that has Jonas Valanciunas and Jaren Jackson, Jr. How he got into the paint against those tall timbers is a question Jenkins should be scratching his head over for the next few days.
Memphis’ top three outscored San Antonio’s top three 62-51, but the Spurs had help from Rudy Gay and Lonnie Walker IV with 12 points apiece, and Patty Mills of the bench with 10. If the Spurs qualify for the playoffs, it would be an NBA-record 23rd consecutive post-season. Not bad for a team that came to Orlando in 12th place in the West, but is now just two games back from setting that record.
| SPURS (29-36) 9th in the West | GRIZZLIES (32-35) 8th in the West |
| Dejounte Murray 21 points – 10 rebounds – three assists – two steals | Ja Morant 25 points – nine rebounds – nine assists |
| Derrick White 16 points – six rebounds – seven assists | Jaren Jackson, Jr. 21 points – three rebounds – two steals – two blocks |
| DeMar DeRozan 14 points – four rebounds – seven assists – one steal – one block | Dillon Brooks 16 points – two rebounds – three assists |
NEXT GAMES
Spurs vs. Sixers – Tonight
Grizzlies vs. Pelicans – Tonight
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Dallas Mavericks 115
Phoenix Suns 117
The Dallas Mavericks have clinched a playoff spot in Orlando’s bubble this week, but it hasn’t been because of anything they’ve done. In fact, they’ve managed to lose both of their first two games in the bubble, while Phoenix has won their first two games.
They can thank the aforementioned Memphis Grizzlies for their loss against San Antonio. From a numbers perspective, both Conferences are now looking at who’s playing for the eighth seed, and the rest is just positional jockeying.
Almost sounds as boring as playing in front of no fans.
Luka Doncic nearly pulled out a triple double and Kristaps Porzingis was nearly as good last night as he was in Game One of the Restart. But the Mavericks have lost the first two of their eight games and yet clinched a playoff spot. Maybe they’ll be the No. 8 seed, as well as San Antonio is playing.
Phoenix, which has about as much chance as a snowball in Phoenix, has played their hearts out and beaten the Wizards on July 31st and the Mavericks last night. The impressive part about last night is they beat Dallas with Devin Booker out in the waning moments of the game, and withstood a rally from the Mavericks. A 36-19 third quarter gave the Suns the insurance they needed as Booker sat with foul trouble. Booker and Ricky Rubio combined for 50 overall, but the efforts of Cam Johnson (19 and 12), Dario Saric (13 and eight), and Cameron Payne (10 off the bench) sealed the deal for Phoenix and kept the Mavs at bay.
| MAVERICKS (40-29) 7th in the West | SUNS (28-39) 13th in the West |
| Luka Doncic 40 points – eight rebounds – 11 assists | Devin Booker 30 points – three rebounds – four assists – one steal |
| Kristaps Porzingis 30 points – eight rebounds – one assist – one steal – four blocks | Ricky Rubio 20 points – nine rebounds – seven assists |
| Seth Curry 16 points – two rebounds – two assists | Cameron Johnson 19 points – 12 rebounds – four assists |
NEXT GAMES
Mavericks vs. Kings – Tuesday
Suns vs. Clippers – Tuesday
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Portland Trailblazers 124
Boston Celtics 128
Red Hot and Rollin’ … that’s how the Portland Trailblazers came into the bubble in their first game, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime on Friday night. Later that evening, Jayson Tatum shot 11.1 percent (two of 18) as the Boston Celtics – who were thought to be able to challenge the Milwaukee Bucks for the Eastern Conference title – fell to those Bucks on both teams’ opener in the bubble.
Jayson Tatum seems to have found himself. Tatum scored a game high 34 points and had a complete night statistically to lead Boston to its first win in the Restart. Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward followed suit and the Celtics took the Blazers to school in a solid first half, 67-48, then played incredible defense, withstanding a 76 point second half from the Blazers to walk out with the four point win.
Portland tried to bring out the Bosnian Beast, but the boys from Beantown weren’t the least bit intimidated. Jusuf Nurkic looked impressive coming off the horrendous injury and year-plus rehabilitation, scoring 30 points and grabbing nine rebounds, outplaying his counterparts Daniel Thies and Enes Kanter.
Damian Lillard matched Nurkic’s 30 and tried to change his moniker to ‘Dime’ Lillard with 16 assists. But it was too little early on and Boston’s large lead was too much for even a 76 point effort to overcome.
| TRAILBLAZERS (30-38) 10th in the West | CELTICS (44-22) 3rd in the East |
| Jusuf Nurkic 30 points – nine rebounds – two assists – one steal | Jayson Tatum 34 points – four rebounds – eight assists – two steals – one block |
| Damian Lillard 30 points – two rebounds – 16 assists – one block | Jaylen Brown 30 points – six rebounds – one assist – two steals |
| Gary Trent, Jr. 21 points – one rebound – one assist – one steal – one block | Gordon Hayward 22 points – eight rebounds – three assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Blazers vs. Rockets – Tuesday
Celtics vs. Heat – Tuesday
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Milwaukee Bucks 116
Houston Rockets 120
All facets of the feud between James Harden and Giannis Antetokuonmpo didn’t rear their ugly head last night. If that’s even a real thing anymore, then Harden took the high road, quietly getting his points and the win without either party throwing a ball at anyone’s head.
Damn internet buildup.
Instead, Russell Westbrook and the Rockets put a dent in the Milwaukee Bucks’ pristine NBA best record and showed all doubters that the Houston Rockets are here and mean business. A shot at an NBA title seems to be their main focus – as it should be. But no one here is seemingly showing it like the Rockets are.
That’s with Harden shooting 35.7 percent last night (he shot 70 percent in the Rockets’ opener in the bubble), P.J. Tucker shooting 28.6 percent, and Westbrook hoisting 21 and making less than half.
So how did Milwaukee lose, especially with a 65-36 rebounding advantage and shooting 48 percent to Houston’s 39??
Hustle points – they had 22 turnovers to Houston’s nine, and Houston had 15 steals to Milwaukee’s six, not to mention all the scrappy play that never gets logged on a stat sheet that Westbrook, Tucker, and Robert Covington bring to the table.
The Rockets keep playing like this, not only might they have a clean shot at an NBA championship, they might just screw around and get head coach Mike D’Antoni a new contract.
| BUCKS (54-13) 1st in the East, NBA | ROCKETS (42-24) 4th in the West |
| Giannis Antetokuonmpo 36 points – 18 rebounds – eight assists – one block | Russell Westbrook 31 points – six rebounds – eight assists – one block |
| Khris Middleton 27 points – 12 rebounds – four assists – one steal | James Harden 24 points – seven rebounds – seven assists – six steals |
| Brook Lopez 23 points – 12 rebounds – two assists – two blocks | Danuel House, Jr. 16 points – four rebounds – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Bucks vs. Nets – Tuesday
Rockets vs. Blazers – Tuesday
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MONDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
| 1:30 p.m. Toronto Raptors MIami Heat NBATV | 4 p.m. Denver Nuggets Oklahoma City Thunder NBATV | 4 p.m. Indiana Pacers Washington Wizards NBC Sports Washington |
| 6:30 p.m. Memphis Grizzlies New Orleans Pelicans ESPN | 8 p.m. San Antonio Spurs Philadelphia 76ers NBC Sports Philadelphia | 9 p.m. Los Angeles Lakers Utah Jazz 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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