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Matt Skilton
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NBA Weekly 3/7 - 3/13
Warriors Dominate the Week While Lakers Struggle
The Warriors were featured in three games this week, and won all of them, Ben Simmons returned to Philly, while James Harden struggled against Brooklyn, and the Lakers struggled against a red-hot Suns side, let’s jump into the week that was.
LA Clippers @ Golden State Warriors
Final Score: 97 – 112
The Warriors clinched the season series with a blowout win over the Clippers at the Chase Center.
Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors with 21 points off the bench, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole both added 20 points, while Steph Curry put up 15 points in 35 minutes.
“It was fun, and I'm glad we took advantage of it, I think we fed off the energy. I was actually surprised, his form, he actually had some good rotation on the ball, and endless energy. I don't know how,”
- Stephen Curry
Nicolas Batum led the Clippers with 17 points, Marcus Morris Sr. and Luke Kennard added 11 points as the Clippers offence struggled to put up points.
Both sides traded baskets in the first quarter, with the scores being tied at 21 heading into the second. The Warriors blew the Clippers away, outscoring the visitors, 33-15 to take a 54-36 lead into the second half.
The Warriors added seven points to their lead in the third, to take a 25-point lead into the final period. The Clippers rallied in the fourth, outscoring the home side 36-26, but couldn’t challenge the lead.
Brooklyn Nets @ Philadelphia 76ers
Final Score: 129 – 100
Brooklyn romped to a blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 25 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, Seth Curry had 24 points and five steals and Kyrie Irving added 22 points and hit five deep balls in 30 minutes.
“I think all of us look at Ben as our brother, we knew this was a hostile environment. It's hard to chant at Ben Simmons when you're losing by that much,”
- Kevin Durant
Joel Embiid added 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, Tobias Harris had 16 points, while James Harden failed to impress against his former side, dropping 11 points on 3-17 from the field in 29 minutes.
The Nets outscored the Sixers 40-23 in the first quarter and continued to build their lead in the second, as the visitors took a 21-point lead into the half-time break.
The third quarter was a similar story, with the Nets adding 11-point onto the their as they tried to shut Philly out of the game. The Sixers failed to chip into the deficit in the fourth, but this one was over long before the final buzzer.
Golden State Warriors @ Denver Nuggets
Final Score: 113 – 102
Steph Curry buried the Nuggets in the second half at the Ball Arena.
Steph Curry piled on 34 points and nine rebounds, Jordan Poole added 21 points and Klay Thompson had 18 points in 33 minutes.
“We just stuck with it, we fought the entire 48, a lot of guys stepped up. We were really able to lock in on the defensive end in the fourth quarter.”
- Jordan Poole
Nikola Jokic added 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, Monte Morris added 19 points and Aaron Gordon added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Warriors kept a slender lead through the first quarter as both sides traded baskets, the Nuggets seized control in the second quarter, outscoring the visitors 31-21 to take a 9-point lead into the second half.
Golden State rallied in the third, outscoring Denver 37-24, both sides then played out a tight fourth quarter, before the Warriors put a late surge together, to close out the win.
Milwaukee Bucks @ Golden State Warriors
Final Score: 109 – 122
Klay Thompson put up a season high to lead the Warriors past the Bucks at the Chase Center.
Thompson added 38 points, six rebounds and five assists, Jordan Poole had 30 points, while Steph Curry chipped in the eight assists.
“I was eager for a night like this, but a mid-season shooting slump it's not going to kill my ego, I'm still going to go out there and compete,”
- Klay Thompson
Giannis added 31 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes, Khris Middleton added 18 points and six assists, while Serge Ibaka added 15 points off the bench.
Both sides traded baskets in the opening quarter, with the scores being tied at 28 heading into the second. The Warriors started to pull away in the second, piling on 39 points to lead by nine heading into the locker rooms.
The home side continued to build their lead in the third, outscoring the Bucks in 36-26. Milwaukee fought hard in the final period, but only cut the deficit down by six points.
LA Lakers @ Phoenix Suns
Final Score: 111 – 140
The Suns clinched the season series over the Lakers in a blowout win at the Footprint Center.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 30 points and 10 assists, Mikal Bridges had 18 points and Cameron Payne had 11 assists.
Lebron James had a game high 31 points, Carmelo Anthony added 18 points off the bench, while Russell Westbrook and Malik Monk both had 13 points each.
“We played poorly, how we started, really the whole night, was unacceptable. This is a tough matchup to play small-ball against but we definitely have to be better than we were tonight.”
- Frank Vogel
The Suns blew out to an early lead as they piled on 48 points in the first quarter, the Lakers then struggled to chip into the deficit as both sides put up high scoring second quarters.
Phoenix put up another 40-point quarter in the third, outscoring the Lakers 40-34 before both sides played out a tight fourth quarter, both scoring 21 points each.
Next Week’s TV Games:
March 16:
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Dallas Mavericks @ Brooklyn Nets
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Boston Celtics @ Golden State Warriors
March 18:
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LA Clippers @ Utah Jazz
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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