Steph Curry drops 50 points as Warriors go 9-1
Steph Curry was merciless against the Atlanta Hawks today, raining fire on them on the way to 50 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists on a blistering 14 of 28 from the field and 9 of 19 from beyond the arc. He was also 13 of 13 from the charity stripe.
Curry, who only hit the 20-point mark twice in his last four games, picked a good time to remind the world that he can detonate on any given night.
You’ve almost got to feel bad for Trae Young, who had a pretty good game on his own with 28 points, 3 Rebounds and 9 assists while shooting 11 of 20 from the field and 4 of 8 from deep. There are just some nights when a good effort just isn’t enough, and this was one of them.
Juan Toscano Anderson probably won more fans in the Bay Area today with his hustle, after giving Bogdan Bogdanovic a bloody nose after a mad scramble for the ball in the fourth quarter. It also lit the crowd up that Young missed the technical free throw after that play.
The 76ers get the worst possible news on a hot start to the season
The Philadelphia 76ers can’t seem to catch a break. The Ben Simmons saga is still ongoing, and they’ve gone back to fining him for missing games, but the biggest blow came at the most inopportune time.
Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Covid-19, two days after putting up 30 points, 15 rebounds and 3 assists in a big win against the Bulls that pushed the Sixers’ record to 8-2. That had pushed them to the top of the East and they were looking great with their next man up approach in Simmons’ absence.
The loss of their Cameroonian franchise player is a mood-killer, because it’s been great watching them play well as a team. They predictably lost 103-96 to the New York Knicks today, as Julius Randle took advantage of them and finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Sixers put on a valiant effort, with six players scoring in double digits, but there’s no doubt that they’ll now be facing an uphill battle trying to keep their high seed in the hyper-competitive Eastern Conference. They’re still second in the east with an 8-3 record after losing to the Knicks, but their next five games are against tough teams in Milwaukee, Toronto, Indiana, Utah and Denver.
This also raised some questions as to whether Philadelphia should be shut down for a while, and even the Bulls or other teams that Embiid has come into contact with recently.
The Sixers will be hoping that Embiid recovers soon, but it seems that he might be struggling. Embiid is the type of guy to work through injury, as he showed in last year’s playoffs when he played with a bum knee, so it’s a serious worry for Philly fans if lingering Covid-19 effects hurt him. He’s averaging 21.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 4.0 APG per game and it’s going to be tough to replace that production.
The Bulls took the Nets’ best shot and then blitzed them in the fourth quarter
The contest between the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls was not to be missed today. It had a playoff feel and was a back and forth battle that saw the Bulls open with a 35-27 first quarter, then saw the Nets counter with a 30-16 second quarter to make it a 57-51 Nets lead at halftime. The third quarter was combative again, with the Bulls outscoring their opponents 25-21, making it 78-76 heading into the final quarter.
Buoyed by their boisterous home crowd, the Bulls blitzed their opponents in the fourth quarter and were all about that hustle.
Chicago opened the fourth quarter with a 19-6 run to make it 95-84, which was capped off by a pair of threes from Alex Caruso and Nikola Vucevic. Those threes were huge considering that the Bulls shot terribly from beyond the arc overall at 9 of 31, but they didn’t let that affect their confidence as they got red-hot and hit a total of five three-pointers in the fourth quarter. They outscored the Nets 42-17 in the final stanza, much to the delight of their fans. The 118-95 victory snapped a two-game skid for the Bulls.
The Bulls also kept themselves in the game by crashing the boards on the way to 15 offensive rebounds. They outrebounded the Nets 56-42. Chicago also outscored the Nets 54-24 in the paint.
Chicago saw all of their starting five score in double digits, led by DeMar DeRozan who had 28 points while shooting 10 of 20. Zach LaVine had 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists to help DeRozan. Nikola Vucevic struggled with his offense in the first three quarters but finished with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. Lonzo Ball and Javonte Green also had 11 points apiece.
Ayo Dosunmu, the 38th pick in this year’s draft, chipped in 15 points off the bench.
Kevin Durant got his with 38 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists on 13 of 24 shooting, while James Harden had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists but shot 4 of 11 from the field. LaMarcus Aldridge had a good game off the bench with 19 points and 7 rebounds while making 8 of 13 of his shots.
The Lakers almost blew it with a bizarre fourth quarter
The Lakers had a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, and then saw the game tied at 115-115 with 23.7 seconds left. Anthony Davis missed the game-winner with a bad airball that allowed the Hornets to get the ball with 1.3 seconds left. The Hornets didn’t make it, so there was an overtime period, but that was weird as hell.
A big reason that they blew that lead was a bizarre fourth quarter sequence where the Lakers gave up five free throws thanks to a delay of game and two technicals from Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook after LaMelo Ball was fouled on a shot attempt. Ball sank all five of the free throws to bring the Hornets back in the game. Both Anthony and Westbrook were fortunate not to get ejected as they were still jawing at the refs after getting their techs.
This was after Rajon Rondo had already been ejected at the start of the fourth quarter with a flagrant 2.
The Lakers did manage to hold on to win 126-123. Westbrook had another triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, while Davis had 32 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 5 blocks. Carmelo Anthony had a big game off the bench with 29 points and shot 7 of 10 from three.
Ball also had a triple-double for the Hornets with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists, while Terry Rozier had 29 points on 11 of 22 shooting. Gordon Hayward chipped in 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Nikola Jokic puts up a triple-double before getting ejected
Nikola Jokic was having a huge game against the Miami Heat, but got ejected after retaliating against a hard foul from Markieff Morris. He finished the game with 25 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals on 10 of 14 shooting. The ejection, which came with 2:39 left in the game, didn’t make a difference to the final score as the Denver Nuggets ran away with the 113-96 win.
Morris better hope that Jokic’s brothers don’t know where he’s staying tonight.
Will Barton also chipped in 25 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the victory, which pushes Denver’s record to 6-4 and 4-1 at home. What will worry Nuggets fans now is whether or not Jokic gets suspended for his actions.
Jimmy Butler had 31 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists while shooting 10 of 18, but didn’t get enough help from his teammates. Kyle Lowry finished with 0 points and shot 0 of 8 for the game.
Morris better hope that Jokic’s brother don’t know where he’s staying tonight.
Ja Morant and the Grizzlies outlast the Timberwolves in OT
A combined 82 points from Anthony Edwards, D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns wasn’t enough for the Minnesota Timberwolves, as they got outlasted in a 125-118 overtime defeat against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 33 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists and Brandon Clarke chipped in 20 points off the bench.
