Last Night In The NBA: Damian Lillard Is A Stone Cold Killer. Period.

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. Tuesday night was another closeout night for a number of teams and I must say, it was sort of a waste of time for pretty much every team that held a 3-1 lead. Usually in this blog the games are close, but of the four we saw last night three of them were decided bu at least 18 points. Most were over in the first 3 minutes. That’s OK though because the late night game made up for everything, and if you didn’t get to see any of the action here’s what happened.

(7) Orlando Magic 96 vs (2) Toronto Raptors 115

Yeah, there was no chance that the Magic were going to go into Toronto and win this closeout game. I don’t care that they already won in that building earlier in the series, do not forget that the Raptors are essentially unbeatable on that floor. After jumping out to a 35-19 lead it was pretty much a wrap and really they just needed two guys to pull off a win like this

If TOR is at a point where they don’t even need to rely on streaky Kyle Lowry because both Siakam and Leonard are going to be playing like this, well that makes this Raptors team a whole hell of a lot more dangerous. This was pretty much the Raptors team we saw all year, great defense, good shooting at 48/41% splits with 15 3PM. low turnovers and a superstar effort from their superstar in Kawhi Leonard. What are you supposed to do if Leonard just won’t miss? He averaged 58/53% splits this series which is just a joke. Then you factor in their deep bench scoring and the Sixers are going to have their hands full.

This score is only as close as it is because the Raptors clearly mailed in the final quarter, and finally Drake didn’t curse his team. That’s something to keep an eye on.

For ORL, look it was a hell of a season for them. They had no business making the playoffs and despite being out in 5 actually had moments this series. There’s just no way you can expect to win with 38/26% splits and getting absolutely nothing from your starters. Poor Vucevic probably lost himself some money this summer after shooting like 30% this series, and while you have to credit the Raptors defense, this is a young team that may have not been ready for this type of challenge. They’re still loaded with potential and will most likely be back, but these last four games were rough for them

They’ll always have Game 1 though.

(6) Brooklyn Nets 100 vs (3) Philadelphia 76ers 122

Man should the Nets be embarrassed with themselves. You could argue they threw this series away because they were focused on all the wrong things. You know, like actually playing basketball and not just getting caught up in the drama. They blew their home games which was their writing on the wall, but then to come out in an elimination game and score like 2 points in 8 minutes? Disgusting. They deserved the taunting they got from the Sixers because they had a prime opportunity for the upset and they let it slip through their fingers. Getting down 23-3 is basically all you need to know, they shot like shit at 38/29% and only had one starter in double figures.

Honestly the only one who should not be embarrassed is Caris LeVert, he was awesome this series and was the only Nets player that showed any signs of life. The same way Vucevic may have cost himself money this summer, the same may be true for D’Angelo Russell. The Sixers OWNED him and he shot like 37-104 or something crazy like that this series. For the most part he was a complete non factor which is an issue given he’s one of their main players.

For PHI, they avoided disaster and made sure that this thing was a wrap early on. The good news is they only had to play Embiid 20 minutes and he still had 23/13, and they are going to need to keep this level of shooting up if they want to have a chance against TOR. Only difference is the Raptors defense is about a billion times better than the Nets

You know it’s bad when both Simmons/Butler/Redick are all relatively quiet and it makes no difference whatsoever

given the Sixers were up nearly 30 at the half and things were so bad for BKN the PHI 19 TOs didn’t even matter.

(7) San Antonio Spurs 90 vs (2) Denver Nuggets 108

Even our only non closeout game was a blowout. This one took a little longer to get there as the Nuggets were only up 10 at the half, but this did look much more like the Nuggets team we saw all season at the Pepsi Center. Offensively they were rolling with 50/42% splits and 14 3PM while taking great care of the basketball, and more than that they were balanced. Finishing with 7 players in double figures is their formula for success and it’s what makes them such a tough cover

They also got a huge night from Will Barton off the bench which I’m sure was a pleasant sight for every Nuggets fan given how he’s struggled this series

and given this teams history of being unable to win in SA, you could say last night may have been a season saving win. I think we’re going to see this series go 7, which will finally give us some pressure in this first round after everything has been handled in 5 or less.

For SA, tough to win if you can’t score and I’m not sure 90 points is every going to cut it. Tough shooting was what dug them in at just 41/29%, they didn’t have a quarter over 25 points until the fourth when this thing was already decided.

We all know Pop hates three point shooting and maybe the 7-24 performance is why. The good news is every one of his starters played low minutes so they should be ready for Game 6, and again every single Nugget for their career has basically never won in that building. There’s no reason to panic as a Spurs fan, this is how you had to think the series was going to go. You have to feel confident that the Game 4 loss was the only one DEN in going to get in that building, and once you get to a Game 7 it’s anybody’s game. Will the DEN inexperience and youth get the best of them? I hope we get the chance to find out.

(6) OKlahoma City Thunder 115 vs (3) Portland Trail Blazers 118

Game of the night, without question. With their backs up against it the Thunder’s two best players certainly came out and carried the load, even if it wasn’t the most efficient night for Westbrook

For the majority of this game it looked like they were going to pull off the upset. They had a 15 point lead at one point and probably thought things were heading back to OKC. Well, in the end their season is over, it was the 12th straight road playoff loss, and once again the Thunder fail to get out of the first round. For those who love shitting on Russell Westbrook this is their Christmas, and honestly he’s not even the biggest baby on that team after all this.

That award goes to Paul George who seemed to think Dame’s game winner was a bad shot

I’m sorry has George never watched Dame play? That is not a bad shot for him, that is how he plays all the time. He’s made that shot on numerous occasions which is why he was comfortable taking it. Talk about sour grapes. Grow up.

Dame had the perfect response though

For POR, man this has to feel great for them and their fans given how last year’s playoffs went. They are a deep team that is nails at home and is led by one of the best guards in the entire league. Hopefully this is the end of the disrespect that Dame still gets when being compared to other elite NBA guards, because you know what he’s probably better than like 85% of em

He had help as well with guys like CJ McCollum and Mo Harkless each notching 17

But the story here is Lillard. He completely owned the Russell Westbrook matchup, and that wave goodbye after hitting the game winner was spicy as hell. I’d have to say that the 2019 playoffs have been Lillard’s coming out party, even though anyone who watches this team and the NBA should know how deadly he already was. Looking ahead they struggled against DEN during the regular season, just 1-3 on the year, so if they are lucky enough to get the Spurs, the WCF is a very real possibility for this group.

And that’s it! You’re all now caught up on everything that went down last night in the NBA. We’re back tonight with two more closeout game opportunities, and hopefully they’re a little bit more competitive than what we got last night. Have a great Wednesday!