Last Night In The NBA: Klay Thompson Dominates, Emotions Run High In OKC, A Great Battle In The Desert And Much More!

Good morning everybody happy Wednesday and welcome back to another edition of Last Night In The NBA where we bring you up to speed on everything that went down from the night before in the Association. You know how yesterday’s blog was mostly about blowouts? We had a much better group of games on Tuesday night, of the 8 that were played, 5 of them were decided by 10 points or less. We did have some blowouts for sure, but it was a much better night of drama than Monday night. If you were stupid and didn’t watch that’s fine, just keep reading because here’s what happened

Indiana Pacers (27-13) 123 vs Cleveland Cavaliers (8-33) 115

You know, given how this game started I was surprised the final score was as close as it got. The Pacers jumped out to a 38-16 lead after the first quarter even without Myles Turner in the lineup, and frankly needed some big time shot making from Victor Oladipo late to seal the deal. Normally it’s him that leads this team in scoring, but he had just 17/5 on 6-14 shooting. So how did they build this lead and hold off a late Cavs run? Well that would be due to the play of both Thad Young and Bojan Bogdanovic

As a team the Pacers shot 54% and only turned it over 6 times which is pretty damn impressive, but it’s also true that their defense was all sorts of struggles in that second half. Not all that often you see them give up 72 points let alone to someone like CLE. In reality the Cavs actually won every quarter outside of the first, but a road win is a road win and seeing as how the Pacers need those to keep pace with MIL/TOR, they won’t complain. They are 7-3 over their last 10 and just snagged their 13th road win which is the second most in the conference behind the Raptors. With BOS tonight, they needed this one.

For CLE, hey you have to give them credit for not completely quitting once they got down by a billion to start this game. That’s a positive. They got some decent performances from their guards Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson who combined for 40 points

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The good news for them is they’ve now lost 10 games in a row and 12 of their last 13 with NO/HOU/LAL/POR/UTA/DEN up next. We could be looking at nearly 20 losses in a row in just a matter of weeks. That’s impressive.

Washington Wizards (16-25) 115 vs Philadelphia 76ers (27-14) 132

Just like the first game, this too had one blowout quarter that pretty much set the tone for the entire night. For the Sixers, it came in the second where they crushed the Wizards to the tune of 36-16. This was a night almost every Sixer couldn’t miss, they finished with 55/51% splits, made 17 3PM, and never had a quarter under 28 points scored. This was an offensive beat down like you read about. They did it without JJ Redick too, which is impressive since he’s their best shooter. Instead they got great performances from their Big 3

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were up by so much Embiid just decided to chill in the stands

and to be honest they weren’t even the story of this game. That came via Landry Shamet, who had the game of his life knocked down 8 threes and had 29 points off the bench

If he can be a reliable shooter for this team that desperately needs them, that’s going to be a huge plus for PHI. Hell even Furkan Korkmaz got into the action

Now their defense still wasn’t all that great, but when you are scoring points like this in regulation who really cares. They’ve now won 4 in a row and sit just 0.5 games behind IND for the 3 spot in the East.

For WSH, Bradley Beal sure did his best

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and to be honest they played well, finishing with 50% shooting and 14 3PM. The problem really was that second quarter, and that’s what makes the NBA tough. You can have a bad 12 minutes and next thing you know you are trying to come back against a team that is 18-3 at home. Probably not going to happen. It was a very non Wizards loss given they got 54 points from their bench and had 37 points in the fourth, they had just dug themselves too big a hole.

Denver Nuggets (27-12) 103 vs Miami Heat (19-20) 99

As strong as the first half has been for the Nuggets, the one area where they have room to grow is on the road. They went to MIA, a team that struggles at home, and had themselves one of the more entertaining games of the night. There was Jokic who continued to do Jokic things with another beastly triple double

including the game winning shot. I’m happy people are starting to notice how awesome Jokic is because he is a legit force. The Nuggets also got a strong showing from Jamal Murray, who finished with 18/4/6 in his 32 minutes

Given that this was on a B2B and they were without Gary Harris who hurt his hamstring, I would say this was a big win for DEN. The fourth quarter was crazy, with both teams going on nice runs, up by six, down by six only to see MIA tie it up with 22 seconds left. That’s when they Nuggets went to Jokic for the win, and he came through.

For MIA, they still can’t figure out how to win at home which is a problem, but at least Dion Waiters was back in our lives

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He finished with 15 points on 6-10 shooting in his 25 minutes off the bench. Really despite shot breaking 100 the Heat didn’t play all that poorly, tbey had 7 players in double figures, only turned it over 6 times, they simply couldn’t get a stop when they needed it, and then the 15-25 from the FT line hurt.

There also was the moment where a Heat fan ran onto the court right before the game ended, and I would say he probably regrets that decision this morning

The Heat have to be careful now, losers of 2 in a row, they only have a 0.5 game lead over the 8 spot and could be out of the top 8 all together here shortly.

Atlanta Hawks (12-28) 101 vs Toronto Raptors (31-12) 104

Freaking Hawks, pull off an upset for me one time! We were seconds away from one that’s for sure. I don’t think anyone saw this team going into TOR, a place where almost nobody wins, and play the Raptors this even. Credit to them, they turned it over a RIDICULOUS 26 times and yet still had a chance to pull it out late. That’s crazy.

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To do this while being as banged up as ATL is was impressive, but god dammit I wish they pulled this out. Fucking Ibaka.

For TOR, it was the first time in forever that Kawhi and Kyle Lowry played together, and they were pretty much back to their old selves

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But let’s relive that final game winning play sequence.

You knew there was going to be a way that the Raptors pulled this out because it always seems like they pull these things out. They had 18 TOs themselves so it wasn’t like they played all that great, but when it matters and they need a clutch play, they almost always come through. Siakam had a nice double double with 13/10, OG a solid 14 points on 5-6 off the bench, and the Raptors are now 17-4 at home and stay atop of the East for the time being.

Minnesota Timberwolves (20-21) 119 vs Oklahoma City Thunder (25-15) 117

This was an emotional night for both sides that’s for sure. We’ll start with OKC, who were climbing uphill basically all night and had a very very scary moment with Nerlens Noel

Man that still messes me up. Then things got chippy between Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder because Schroder thought MIN players were laughing about Noel’s injury. Teague got tossed

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and we had ourselves a wild fourth quarter. You see this was a night where Russell Westbrook’s shot was finally dropping, and he was making big time basket after big time basket late

then you had PG13 who was his old dominant self with 27/9

and Stephen Adams showing why he should be an All Star with his 20 points on 8-9 shooting

and yet, when it came time for OKC to either tie the game or go for the win, it was Westbrook that missed a pair of threes to ultimately seal their fate. This loss is now the 2nd in a row for OKC, just their 6th loss at home, and they have a 1 game lead over the Clippers for the 3 spot out West.

For MIN, it was emotional because it was the first win of Ryan Saunders career

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They got an unreal performance from Andrew Wiggins who now looks free in this post Thibs world. he went for 40, took 18 FTs which is insane for him, and legit carried this team over the finish line

Him and Towns were the only starters who did much, but give credit to the MIN bench who had three players in double figures. As you can imagine, their locker room was the place to be after this win

Maybe getting rid of Butler and Thibs was all this team needed after all.

Sacramento Kings (20-21) 111 vs Phoenix Suns (10-32) 115

What if I told you the game of the night may have happened in the desert between two teams you definitely may not think are actually good? It’s true! The Kings jumped out to a huge lead after a 40-18 only to immediately give it up with a 33-14 quarter for the Suns. The Kings came out and shot the ball great, with 47/51% splits and 15 3PM

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they had more of the same from Fox/Hield, but a very surprising 20 points on 7-10 shooting off the bench from Ben McLemore. A brutal 25 TOs is what ultimately did them in, and they are now 4-6 over their last 10 sitting 2 full games back of the Lakers for the 8 spot.

For PHX, pulling this off without Booker was impressive, that just meant they had to rely on Ayton and new Sun Kelly Oubre Jr to pull this out

They also got 21 on 9-19 shooting, and I feel like he’s an underrated wing who nobody really talks about but is having a breakout year. The Suns shot 51% from the floor, and won for just the 6th time at home. Given how tight the tanking standings are, I’m not sure this was a smart way to go.

New York Knicks (10-31) 95 vs Golden State Warriors (27-14) 122

Yeah I don’t think anyone is surprised by this result, so let’s just get tot he Hezonja highlights and move on because that was the only positive for NY in this one

For GS, remember when Klay had like 60 points on 5 dribbles or something crazy like that. Well in this one he had 43 on just 4, yes FOUR dribbles

then the rest of the basketball aliens got into the mix and it was a wrap

Not going to beat GS when they shoot 51% and make 14 3PM, and while the Knicks did their best to stay close, the Warriors pulled out their standard third quarter bukkake and next thing you knew it was blowout city. I’m sure Warriors fans enjoy seeing Klay bust of out his shooting slump, and seeing as how they are getting Boogie back on the 18th, it’s time to start to be afraid of what is going on up in the Bay.

Charlotte Hornets (19-21) 109 vs Los Angeles Clippers (23-16) 128

What did I talk about yesterday when it comes to this CHA team. They’ve been a massive disappointment when it comes to playing on the road, and this loss now drops them to a brutal 5-13. Kemba was quiet, with just 13 points on 6-18 shooting so when that happens you know things probably won’t end well for them. They did get a good showing from Malik Monk off the bench, but that was about it.

They now sit in the 8th spot with just a 1 game lead over DET, and it wouldn’t shock me if they’re on the outside looking in relatively soon.

For LAC, pick a name, any name, and they played great

Nearly impossible to beat this team when they get offensive production like this, and for a team right in the thick of things out West it couldn’t have come at a better time. They’ve now won 3 in row and are 7-3 over their last 10. If they can just figure out their defense over the second half, they will for sure be a problem for someone. This team has offensive depth that can heat up in an instant.

And that’s it! You’re now all caught up with everything that went down last night in the NBA. We’re back tonight with 10 games so pretty much a full slate. If you can’t watch them all that’s fine just check back in the morning and I’ll bring you up to speed on what you missed.