Nine games last night, where both Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard returned and both won.
Dallas’ Luka Doncic set a franchise record and Collin Sexton had a statement game that says he should be a part of anything Cleveland has plans for going forward.
Giannis Antetokuonmpo had a big enough game that big brother Thanasis Antetokuonmpo got to play as Milwaukee dominated Indiana, and Brooklyn got straight embarrassed at home.
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Boston Celtics 112
Cleveland Cavaliers 106
Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward were all sidelined for the Boston Celtics, but Jayson Tatum returned and led what remained of the team to a six point victory on the road in Cleveland. And while the Cleveland Cavaliers lost, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has them playing some inspired basketball. Can’t remember the last time I saw double doubles as impressive as Kevin Love’s and Larry Nance, Jr.’s in the same game, and 41 from Collin Sexton? Better make sure he’s a staple for the future as much as Darius Garland and Kevin Porter, Jr.
| CELTICS (42-19) 3rd in the East | CAVALIERS (17-45) 15th in the East |
| Jayson Tatum 32 points – nine rebounds – six assists – two steals – one block | Collin Sexton 41 points – three rebounds – six assists – one steal |
| Semi Ojeleye 22 points – six rebounds – two assists – one block | Kevin Love 26 points – 14 rebounds – five assists – one block |
| Marcus Smart 18 points – two rebounds – two assists – two steals | Larry Nance, Jr. 19 points – 15 rebounds – four assists – four steals |
NEXT GAMES
Utah at Boston – Friday
Denver at Cleveland – Saturday
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Oklahoma City Thunder 114
Detroit Pistons 107
The host Detroit Pistons sputtered in the third quarter, and the Oklahoma City Thunder took advantage and rode on down to victory lane in last night’s seven point road win. The Thunder learned how to score again after posting two consecutive losses, neither of which broke the century mark. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder combined for 50 points against the Pistons, who were again led by Christian Wood. Wood led all scorers with 29 points. Newcomer #VFL Jordan McRae, claimed off the waiver wire by Detroit before the Phoenix Suns could get their hooks in him, made his debut with 15 points in the loss.
| THUNDER (38-24) 6th in the West | PISTONS (20-43) 12th in the East |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 27 points – two rebounds – three assists – two steals – two blocks | Christian Wood 29 points – nine rebounds – three assists – one block |
| Dennis Schroder 23 points – one rebound – nine assists – one block | Brandon Knight 18 points – two rebounds – seven assists – two steals |
| Danilo Gallinari 19 points – seven rebounds – one assist – four steals | #VFL Jordan McRae 15 points – two rebounds – three assists |
NEXT GAMES
Oklahoma City at New York – Friday
Utah at Detroit – Saturday
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Indiana Pacers 100
Milwaukee Bucks 119
After racing out to a 36-19 first quarter lead, the Milwaukee Bucks cruised the rest of the way like the first ride of spring on a Harley Davidson. A lot of Indiana’s attempts to come back were Myles Turner launching threes from the arc while Doug McDermott was running the baseline and paint for attempts at layups. Seems bass ackwards for the Pacers, which is why they lost by 19 points. The loss stops a four game win streak for Indiana, and helped Milwaukee bounce back from a bad loss at the hands of the Miami Heat. Milwaukee led the Pacers by as many as 28 last night. Giannis Antetokuonmpo led all scorers with 29 and 12, despite playing only 28 minutes. Eric Bledsoe added 16 and Wesley Matthews had 15. Domantas Sabonis had a nice double double, but six turnovers.
| PACERS (37-25) 5th in the East | BUCKS (53-9) 1st in the East, NBA |
| T.J. Warren 18 points – four rebounds – one assist | Giannis Antetokuonmpo 29 points – 12 rebounds – six assists – one steal |
| Doug McDermott 16 points – one rebound – one assist – two blocks | Khris Middleton 20 points – eight rebounds – two assists |
| Domantas Sabonis 15 points – 10 rebounds – seven assists | Donte DiVincenzo 19 points – seven rebounds – three assists – three steals – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Indiana at Chicago – Friday
Milwaukee at Los Angeles – Friday
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Orlando Magic 113
Miami Heat 116
As I’ve noted all season long, it’s like the Miami Heat has two teams – one that can beat up the Milwaukee Bucks with one group of people, and another that can allow that first group to take the next game off and still win against the Orlando Magic. Duncan Robinson led that second group last night with 27 points to help the Heat to the three point win over visiting Orlando. The Magic were led by Terrence Ross. 35 points. That’s it. No other stats. What was impressive was Robinson’s points all came from downtown – nine threes on 75 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Collectively, Miami had 22 three pointers last night, a franchise record. Wonder what Andre Iguodala (five points) thinks of the ball boy now.
| MAGIC (27-35) 8th in the East | HEAT (40-22) 4th in the East |
| Terrence Ross 35 points | Duncan Robinson 27 points – two rebounds – one steal |
| Nikola Vucevic 22 points – 16 rebounds – seven assists – one block | Goran Dragic 25 points – two rebounds – nine assists – one steal |
| Evan Fournier 17 points – one assist – two steals – two blocks | Kelly Olynyk 16 points – five rebounds – two assists |
NEXT GAMES
Miami at New Orleans – Friday
Orlando at Minnesota – Friday
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Memphis Grizzlies 118
Brooklyn Nets 79
The Brooklyn Nets are like a Katy Perry song – they’re hot and they’re cold. And supposedly they kissed a girl and they liked it, but that’s a different story. I could paint them with any metaphor I like, but nothing I can do can embarrass them more than they did themselves last night at home against the hungry Memphis Grizzlies. I mean, who loses by 39 at home, honestly? And to Josh Jackson and Tyus Jones, who’ve collectively played a total of 1,273 minutes all season long (Jones – 1,152 and Jackson 121)? I don’t know who’s more embarrassed in NYC right now – the Nets or Spike Lee. It’s certainly not the Memphis Grizzlies, who even things back up at .500 to stay No. 8 in the Western Conference. Caris LeVert laid it all out on the floor against the Celtics with his 51 point effort, because he only had 14 in him last night.
| GRIZZLIES (31-31) 8th in the West | NETS (27-34) 7th in the East |
| Josh Jackson 19 points – one assist – two steals | Taurean Prince 15 points – five rebounds |
| Tyus Jones 18 points – five rebounds – six assists | Caris LeVert 14 points – four rebounds – six assists – one steal |
| Ja Morant 15 points – seven rebounds – five assists – one steal | Chris Chiozza 14 points – three rebounds – one assist – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
San Antonio at Brooklyn – Friday
Memphis at Dallas – Friday
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Utah Jazz 112
New York Knicks 104
A 64-54 first half on the road gave the Utah Jazz all the rhythm and momentum they needed to survive a last ditch effort by the New York Knicks in the fourth quarter that came up shorter than Spike Lee at the employees’ entrance. (You must be this tall to use this entrance). It was Utah’s third straight victory over a sub-.500 team from the Eastern Conference, which is softer than cream cheese on a summer day. Bojan Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell each dropped 23 on the Knicks, and while N.Y. counterpunched with a combined 53 from Julius Randle and Bobby Portis, it was Rudy Gobert who popped for 18 and kept the glass clean for the Jazz to win by eight.
| JAZZ (39-22) 5th in the West | KNICKS (19-43) 13th in the East |
| Bojan Bogdanovic 23 points – four rebounds – one assist – one block | Julius Randle 32 points – 11 rebounds |
| Donovan Mitchell 23 points – one rebound – eight assists – two steals | Bobby Portis 21 points – four rebounds – one steal |
| Rudy Gobert 18 points – 14 rebounds – one assist – two blocks | Elfrid Payton 20 points – seven rebounds – nine assists |
NEXT GAMES
Oklahoma City at New York – Friday
Utah at Boston – Friday
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Chicago Bulls 108
Minnesota Timberwolves 115
After heading to the locker rooms at the half down by three, the Minnesota Timberwolves came out fighting in the third, gnashing at the legs of the Chicago Bulls with a decisive 33-21 run to take the game from Chicago and win by seven. Minnesota won both games in a back to back portion of their schedule for the first time this season after beating Chicago, and New Orleans previously. Whether they’re intending to or not, Chicago is doing the right thing by laying down with Zach LaVine out and Lauri Markkanen returning to score only 13 points in another loss. The Bulls need as many ping pong balls as they can get in a 2020 NBA Draft that isn’t much deeper than Chicago’s management common sense pool.
| BULLS (21-41) 11th in the East | TIMBERWOLVES (19-42) 14th in the West |
| Coby White 26 points – one rebound – six assists | Malik Beasley 24 points – three rebounds – two assists |
| Shaquille Harrison 17 points – two rebounds – two assists – three steals | D’Angelo Russell 19 points – three rebounds – four assists – one steal |
| Thaddeus Young 13 points – six rebounds – four assists – three steals – two blocks | Naz Reid 16 points – 11 rebounds – three assists – two blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Indiana at Chicago – Friday
Orlando at Minnesota – Friday
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New Orleans Pelicans 123
Dallas Mavericks 127 (OT)
Nineteen year old Zion Williamson is a big man. But he stood in the shadows of both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis last night in Dallas. Doncic broke the Mavericks’ franchise record for triple doubles last night with 30-17-10, and also leads LeBron James in this season’s tally for triple double performances. Porzingis continues to improve and led all scorers last night with 34 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Williamson finished the night with 21 points in the overtime loss, while Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball combined for 52 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and two blocks. It was the Pelicans’ third loss in the month of March, three in a row with the Miami Heat visiting on Friday night.
| PELICANS (26-36) 12th in the West | MAVERICKS (38-25) 7th in the West |
| Brandon Ingram 27 points – five rebounds – four assists – one steal – one block | Kristaps Porzingis 34 points – 12 rebounds – three assists – five blocks |
| Lonzo Ball 25 points – 11 rebounds – six assists – two steals – one block | Luka Doncic 30 points – 17 rebounds – 10 assists – one steal – one block |
| Zion Williamson 21 points – six rebounds – three assists | Seth Curry 21 points – three rebounds – four assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Miami at New Orleans – Friday
Memphis at Dallas – Friday
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Washington Wizards 104
Portland Trailblazers 125
With a 21 point win last night in Portland, the Trailblazers have swept the season series with the Washington Wizards, 2-0, and maintain their vision of trying to catch the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Portland remains 3.5 games back of the 31-31 Grizzlies, who also won last night. Portland’s starting five all hit for double digit scoring, and four Trailblazers dropped totals over 20 points – Carmelo Anthony (25), Hassan Whiteside (24), C.J. McCollum (22) and Damian Lillard returned to score 22 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 29 points in another loss for the Wizards, also ninth place, also having their sights on a playoff berth. Washington is 4.5 games back of Orlando.
| WIZARDS (22-39) 9th in the East | TRAILBLAZERS (28-35) 9th in the West |
| Bradley Beal 29 points – six rebounds – six assists – one steal | Carmelo Anthony 25 points – five rebounds – one assist – two steals |
| Davis Bertans 21 points – four rebounds – three assists – one steal – one block | Hassan Whiteside 24 points – 16 rebounds – two assists – four blocks |
| Rui Hachimura 11 points – four rebounds – four assists – one steal | C.J. McCollum 22 points – six rebounds – five assists – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Atlanta at Washington – Friday
Portland at Phoenix – Friday
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THURSDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
| 7 p.m. Denver Nuggets Charlotte Hornets TNT | 8 p.m. Los Angeles Clippers Houston Rockets FSN Prime Ticket |
| 10 p.m. Philadelphia 76ers Sacramento Kings NBC Sports California | 10:30 p.m. Toronto Raptors Golden State Warriors TNT |
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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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