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Matt Skilton
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NBA Weekly 2/21 - 2/27
Mixed Week For The Nets As Lebrons Lakers Go Down To The Pelicans
The week after the All-Star break produced some great action, the Nets started the week slowly, while the Warriors shot out of the gates, the Lakers continue to struggle after dropping their sixth straight game to the Clippers, let’s get into the week that was.
Boston Celtics @ Brooklyn Nets
Final Score: 129 – 106
Boston romped to another win over the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points in 35 minutes, Jaylen Brown added 18 points and Al Horford had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
“We feel like we found something in the past few weeks and it's just good that after the break we came out and there was no steps back,”
-Al Horford
Seth Curry led the Nets’ scoring with 22 points, Bruce Brown had 15 points, while Kessler Edwards added 13 points in 19 minutes off the bench.
Boston shot out to an early lead and led 35-22 at the end of the first quarter, the Celtics were only able to add two points to their lead in the second, taking a 15-point lead into the locker room.
Once again, the visitors built their lead steadily to 98-74, heading into the fourth, Boston surged out to a 29-point lead in the final period, before the Nets pulled it back to 23, but this one was over long before the final buzzer.
Watching the market:
Celtics coach Ime Udoka said the Celtics were going to monitor the buyout market, but he believes the organization covered their needs through trades for White and Theis on the trade deadline.
Golden State Warriors @ Portland Trail Blazers
Final Score: 132 – 95
The Warriors returned from the All-Star break with a blowout win over the Trail Blazers.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 18 points each, Curry also had 14 assists, while Jonathan Kuminga scored 17 points off the bench.
“It was a good way to kind of come back from the break and establish ourselves on both ends of the floor,”
-Steph Curry
Anfernee Simons had 24 points in 29 minutes, Justice Winslow had 14 points, while Josh Hart and Brandon Williams both had 12 each.
The Blazers build an early 10-point lead before the Warriors closed the deficit to one point, the Warriors then dominated the second quarter, outscoring their opponents 39-25, to take a 13-point lead into the third quarter.
The Warriors grew their lead to 27 points in the third, after outscoring Portland 30-16, the fourth quarter was a similar story as Golden State piled another 10 points onto the lead to close out the blowout win.
Miami Heat @ New York Knicks
Final Score: 115 – 100
RJ Barrett’s heroics weren’t enough as the Knicks fell to the Heat at Madison Square Garden.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 25 points off the bench, Jimmy Butler had 23, while Bam Adebayo had 16 points and 16 rebounds.
“It makes it fun for us because everybody's involved, we're not depending on one person to get us 30 every night,”
-Bam Adebayo
Barrett piled on 46 points and nine rebounds in 38 minutes, Evan Fournier had 13 points and Julius Randle added 11 points and eight assists.
The Knicks got out to an early lead, but the Heat eventually cut it to two points, Miami then took the lead early in the second, outscoring the Knicks 35-23 in the period to take a 10-point lead into the second half.
After trading baskets in the third, a late surge from the Knicks closed the gap to five points, but a 15-point fourth-quarter ended any hope of the home side taking the win.
Los Angeles Clippers @ Los Angeles Lakers
Final Score: 105 – 102
The Clippers edged out the Lakers to take their sixth straight win over their cross-town rivals at the Crypto.com Arena.
Terance Mann had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Luke Kennard added 18 points off the bench, while Reggie Jackson had 17 points in 33 minutes.
Lebron James led the Lakers with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Russell Westbrook had 18 points, Carmelo Anthony also had 18 points off the bench.
Both sides traded baskets in the first quarter, with the Clippers taking a 2-point advantage into the second quarter, the visitors then surged to a 16-point lead in the period, before the Lakers cut the deficit to trail by 10 at the break.
The Lakers continued to close down the deficit in the third, and eventually took the lead with 2:01 remaining and built a 6-point lead in the remaining time. Both sides traded baskets again in the fourth, before clutch free throws iced the game for the Clippers.
“When we got down five or six, we just kept our composure, kept our poise and kept playing, in that third quarter, I thought we let the game get away from us, but to keep our composure and come back and get a win, I thought it was big for us,”
- Tyronn Lue
Lebron wants to stay:
Lebron’s efforts on All-Star weekend were overshadowed by the way some of his comments on the Lakers’ front office were perceived, but James and his agent have reaffirmed his commitment to the Lakers.
Brooklyn Nets @ Milwaukee Bucks
Final Score: 126 – 123
Irving, Nets rally to beat the Bucks at the Fiserv Forum.
Kyrie Irving had 38 points, five assists, and five rebounds, Seth Curry had 19 points and Andre Drummond added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
“We got together as a group after the All-Star break, we put some goals on the board, just a daily reminder of what we're gearing up for, just the things that we can control and just focusing on those things,”
- Kyrie Irving
Bobby Portis had 30 points and 12 rebounds, Giannis added 29 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists and Khris Middleton added 25 points and seven assists.
After a close first quarter, the Bucks broke away from their opponents in the first, to take a 7-point lead, the second quarter was a similar story, with the Nets closing the gap to six points heading into the second half.
Brooklyn shot out to a 13-point lead in the third, but the lead slowly fell away as the Nets could only take a 3-point lead into the final period. The Bucks led for the majority of the fourth quarter, but the Nets kept persevering and closed out a valiant win.
Dallas Mavericks @ Golden State Warriors
Final Score: 107 – 101
Luka Doncic led a Mavericks comeback to stun the Warriors at the Chase Center.
Luke Doncic had 34 points and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes, Spencer Dinwiddie added 24 points in 31 minutes off the bench, while Dorian Finner-Smith had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Steph Curry led the Warriors with 27 points and 10 assists in 38 minutes, Andrew Wiggins had 18 points and Gary Payton II had 13 points off 6-11 shooting.
The Warriors piled on 37 points in the first quarter to lead by 13 at the end of the period, Dallas tried to fight back in the second, but could only outscore the home side 24-23 heading into the second half.
The Warriors surged out to a 21-point lead in the third, but the Mavs rallied late, to cut the deficit to 14 points with 12 minutes to play.
Dallas then surged back into the game, outscoring the Warriors 33-13 in the final period, the visitors also held the Warriors to six points in the first 10 minutes of the quarter, which proved to be pivotal in the comeback.
“I think it's actually good to go through and feel it because this is what it feels like in the playoffs, this is what it feels like when you're playing a really good team, the game's never over,”
- Steve Kerr
Alma-Mater:
Mavs coach Jason Kidd visited his old campus on Saturday where he watched the Golden Bears beat Stanford 53-39, he also caught some baseball in his visit.
New Orleans Pelicans @ Los Angeles Lakers
Final Score: 123 – 95
The Pelicans rolled to a blowout win over the Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena.
CJ McCollum had 22 points on 8-15 shooting and eight assists, Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas both had 19 points, with Valanciunas also reeling in 10 rebounds.
Lebron James led the Lakers with 32 points and six rebounds, Russell Westbrook had 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Carmelo Anthony added 13 points off the bench.
“Teams are coming in and playing harder. I believe that's their scouting report — just play harder than them and see what happens. And it's working, we have to have the determination that's not going to happen on our home floor or it is going to continue to happen to us,”
- Russell Westbrook
Both sides fought out a close first quarter, with the Pelicans taking a slender 4-point lead into the second, New Orleans then extended their advantage in the period, taking an 11-point lead into the locker rooms.
The Pelicans exploded in the third, outscoring the Lakers 44-25, to take a 30-point lead into the final period. The Lakers then failed to chip into the lead as both sides traded baskets in the fourth.
Next Week’s Games:
March 1:
Atlanta Hawks @ Boston Celtics
Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers
March 2:
New York Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers
Portland Trail Blazers @ Phoenix Suns
March 3:
Memphis Grizzlies @ Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers @ Los Angeles Clippers
March 4:
Milwaukee Bucks @ Chicago Bulls
New York Knicks @ Phoenix Suns
March 5:
Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Lakers
Matt Skilton is a multimedia sports journalism graduate and covers all of your sports needs at ThePyrrhic.com. Keep watching for recaps, analysis, trade news, and more!
Follow Matt on Twitter @MSkilton16
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