Last Night In The NBA: Damian Lillard Is A Beast, The Suns Remain Perfect, Giannis Got Ejected And More!

Pool. Getty Images.

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 day before in the Association. It was another huge slate of games with 7 total on Tuesday's schedule and once again it did not disappoint. We have a shit ton to get to so let's not waste any time, if for whatever reason you missed the action keep reading because here's what happened.

Brooklyn Nets (35-36) 108 vs Orlando Magic (32-40) 96

Credit the Nets man, they may be missing like 90% of their roster, but this team plays hard and has actually not been terrible in the bubble. They've won 3 in a row and are 5-2 in Orlando, admit it you didn't see that coming! They were in control of this game essentially the whole way, had a lead as high as 21, and finished with 6 players in double figures. In fact, every single player that came off their bench finished in double figures.

I don't know how many games if any they'll actually win against TOR in a series, but I think we all expected them to fall to the 8th spot and it's been the exact opposite. They may not have elite talent, but they are bringing the effort every night which can steal you a game or two.

For ORL, they rested pretty much everyone but Vucevic because their seed is already locked up and it showed offensively. Just 38/30% splits there wasn't much to write home about other than the play of Markelle Fultz

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It really feels like his career was saved by going to ORL. To go from not  being able to see the floor to dropping a double double against the Celts and then 18 yesterday, it's cool to see Fultz be an actual NBA player. Call me crazy but he seems like the exact type of guard this team needs moving forward and they got him for basically free. 

Houston Rockets (44-26) 105 vs San Antonio Spurs (32-38) 123

Alright what the hell is going on with SA and why won't they ever go away? It's rather impressive if you ask me. Did you ever expect to live in a world where in a real game the Spurs would essentially match the Rockets from three? That felt weird just to type. Granted the Rockets were without Harden, but don't let that take away from how good DeMar DeRozan has been in the bubble. He's been great in this new PF role the Spurs have him in

They also got a great night from Keldon Johnson which makes sense because this team now has 50,000 guards that are all good I guess

and this is a game the Spurs led by as much as 29 points. Their play in dreams are still alive and the Spurs had this one wire to wire. Another team that many thought would be tanking came into Orlando and is playing some great basketball. 

For HOU, I know you didn't have Harden but Westbrook did play as did everyone else, so you can't be losing big to the Spurs. You just can't. They can kiss the 3 seed goodbye and most likely are going to have to settle for OKC, unless they get passed by UTA. As a team they only shot 29% from three which isn't great, Westbrook did his thing

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and they even got production from Jeff Green

but once again their defense came back to bite them. If the Rockets don't go on a deep run this postseason it won't be because of their offense or going cold from three. It's going to be their defense, something that has been spotty all season long. That only becomes magnified if their shots aren't dropping. They defend like this in the first round and it wouldn't shock me if someone like OKC beats them.

Phoenix Suns (33-39) 130 vs Philadelphia 76ers (42-39) 117

The Suns continue to be the best story of the entire bubble, now winners of 7 straight. You look at their schedule and it's a legit 7-0 too. That's what is so impressive to me about this run, they are beating really good teams. Now that wasn't exactly the case in this one as the Sixers rested EVERYONE because why not. Their seed is already locked up. But the Suns still had to go out there and snatch the win and that's exactly what they did

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I just don't know how anyone could not be rooting for the Suns to get into the play in. It's not a done deal yet, they need a little help from MEM and they need to win their final game, but the good news is Dallas who they play tomorrow has already locked up their seed and should be resting everyone. There's a chance, and frankly a chance is all the Suns have needed since this thing started. Just an incredible run that has made the bubble so much fun.

For PHI, this was a throwaway game, but it did give their bench guys/role players a chance to get some real burn and I'd say they had some bright spots with Alec Burks

Mike Scott was nice from deep

and Neto was solid off the bench

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You never know when a random reserve player can have a moment in a random playoff game and help change momentum, so these reps are important. Way more important than the result which again, meant less than nothing for the Sixers. Their focus is about getting Embiid healthy and figuring out how to actually play him next to Horford now that Simmons is gone.

Boston Celtics (48-23) 122 vs Memphis Grizzlies (33-39) 107

As usual we'll talk about the Celts in their own separate blog, so for this let's focus on the Grizzlies. We all knew it was only a matter of time because this team has a total of one (1) win in the bubble, but this loss officially dropped the Grizzlies out of the 8 seed. So much talk about being disrespected, it's not the best look to back that up with a 1-6 record. Ja Morant continued to do his thing, another monster night for him

the bad part was nobody else really showed up. Just 39/24% shooting as a team, no defense whatsoever against one of the hottest teams in the East, the Grizzlies largest lead was 2, there was only 1 lead change and really this thing was never really all that close. I feel for Morant because he had a GREAT season and losing JJJ is some shit luck. The worst part is unless their pick is top 6 or some shit, that's going to the Celts. Just a double blow I'm sure they and their fans didn't need to read.

Portland Trail Blazers (34-39) 134 vs Dallas Mavericks (43-31) 131

In my opinion, this was the game of the night. Dame vs Luka/Porzingis did not disappoint and that may be underselling it. If the Suns are the best story of the bubble, I think Dame has a case to be the best player. Back to back 50+ point efforts, he had 61 in this one and was gigantic down the stretch with clutch make after clutch make. An insane performance to watch and one of the league's truly terrifying players when he's in his zone

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the final minutes of this game were insane with both sides doing nothing but making huge threes, and while Dame is going to get the headlines, let's not forget about Melo!

Not only did he have 26 and a huge fourth quarter three as well, but he also put clamps on Luka in the final moments! What a weird world the bubble is if we have Carmelo Anthony playing lock down defense in the biggest moment against one of the best players in the league. That just tells you how crazy this game was.

Also crazy is CJ McCollum is playing with a fractured back? That was tweeted out last night after the game which is rather ridiculous.

For DAL, their seed is locked in so the result is whatever, and at least Luka/Porzingis looked great

Some late missed FTs from Luka weren't great, but THJ also showed out which is important since he's their 3rd guy

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and if not for an offensive foul in the final 5 seconds, the Mavs probably win this game with that game winning three that was called off. It looks like we're getting DAL/LAC in the first round which is an AWESOME series. The Blazers are now in the 8th spot and it's theirs to lose, so really for us basketball fans this result is the best thing that could have happened.

New Orleans Pelicans (30-41) 106 vs Sacramento Kings (30-41) 112

Do I even have to talk about the Pelicans? So embarrassing for them. No Zion in this one so I imagine you don't even care. They're one of the biggest disappointments of the bubble so lets just move on. Here are some Jahlil Okafor highlights I guess. He was good

For SAC, the bubble hasn't exactly been kind to them either, they were another team who seemed to be pissed nobody gave them a chance to get into the play in despite being tied with other teams, and they promptly went 2-5. Seems like most people had it right. Now it wasn't totally their fault, they lost Bagley early in the restart, but even still I wouldn't call their performance in Orlando "good". No Fox in  this one either, it was basically Harrison Barnes and that was about it

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Milwaukee Bucks (56-16) 126 vs Washington Wizards (24-47) 113

Well I certainly didn't expect Giannis to headbutt someone and get ejected

in the first 10 minutes of his night, but when you're playing the Wizards you can certainly survive without your best players. The Bucks ended the night with 50/47% splits and 18 3PM, so I don't think they missed Giannis all that much

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Not bad with no Giannis or Middleton. My guess is everyone will sit in their final game as well because now it's time for the Bucks to focus on not choking this year and actually making the Finals. Let the role players get some run until things start up next week.

For WSH, even against the Bucks reserves you knew it was going to be a tough one. Down by as much as 22, they never led in this game and only tied it once. Pretty much what we all expected but they did have some good individual performances

Sadly, none of their efforts have translated to wins in the Bubble as the Wizards are standing at an impressive 0-7 record, but we all knew this was going to happen. At least they are getting some development from their young guys which is better than nothing.

And that's it! You are now all caught up with everything that went down yesterday in the NBA. We're back today with only 4 games but they are all great matchups. We have IND/HOU, TOR/PHI, MIA/OKC, and LAC/DEN. Let's have a great Wednesday!