The Sacramento Kings continue their chaotic season by snatching a crazy victory from the rockets with one second left in the game.
This game has got to hurt for Russell Westbrook, who’s taken a lot of blame for his mercurial performances (including one where he had a -40 plus/minus rating). He actually had a great game today with 34 points, 2 rebounds, and 8 assists while shooting 13 of 17 from the field. He even make the go-ahead layup with 1 second left on the clock after the Kings managed to tie the game with a little over 8 seconds left. His backcourt partner and good friend, James Harden, had 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists to add to their effort.
These things didn’t matter to former Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica, who decided to seize the moment and steal the game with a dagger three that long-suffering Kings fans will savor for a very long time.
The Serbian terminator may have only had 17 points, but his last three were the most important of the game. The points were pretty spread out for the Kings, whose starters all scored in double figures led by 26 from Buddy Hield. Bogdan Bogdanovic also chipped in 13 from the bench. It was a total team effort from a side that had already spent a lot of energy winning in Dallas the night before – which makes the victory even more impressive.
As good as Harden and Westbrook were on the offensive end, the two of them did combine for a total of 14 turnovers, including some big ones in the fourth quarter. There are going to be a lot of sullen faces at practice tomorrow.
No Kawhi, no problem for Clippers against Pacers
On nights like this, it looks like the Los Angeles Clippersmight just find a way to get a high playoff seeding while consistently resting one or two of their star duo.
Against the Pacers today, it was Paul George who led the victorious effort, putting up 36 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He fed off the hostile arena, who chose to boo their former superstar.
He’ll be laughing in his sleep after such a performance. The victory will be even sweeter for the Clippers considering the fact that they had an off game for Lou Williams, who only scored 6 points on 2 of 19 shooting in 33 minutes of play. However, Hurricane Harrell stepped up to the plate again and had a 26 point night while shooting 12 of 22 from the field.
It’s still going to take quite a run to dislodge the Lakers from first place, but the Clippers are certainly looking like they’re going to be good for a top three finish in the West. That’s a pretty big achievement already.
Other results:
Thunder def. Jazz 104 – 90, Suns def. Wolves 125-109, Raptors def. Bulls 93-92, Pistons def. Pelicans 105-103, Bucks def. Magic 110 – 101, Celtics def. Cavaliers 110-88,
