Filled with shock upsets, over time drama and come backs galore!
The Hornets lose out on the playoffs this year with a Magic win and the Pistons absolutely demolishing the Knicks without star forward Blake Griffin. The Trailblazers failed the tank job to lose against the Kings claiming the 3rd seed and matching the Thunder for the playoffs as both Spurs and Clippers win.
All that and more as we recap the 3 most exciting games last night and break down the final game of the season for some teams.
CONFIRMED FINAL PLAY OFF MATCH UP:
Western Conference:
(1) Golden State Warriors vs (8) Los Angeles Clippers
(2) Denver Nuggets vs (7) San Antonio Spurs
(3) Portland Trailblazers vs (6) Oklahoma City Thunder
(4) Houston Rockets vs (5) Utah Jazz
Eastern Conference:
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs (8) Detroit Pistons
(2) Toronto Raptors vs (7) Orlando Magic
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs (6) Brooklyn Nets
(4) Boston Celtics vs (5) Indiana Pacers
Higher seeding has home court advantage.
Atlanta Hawks vs Indiana Pacers
This match was somewhat meaningless, but it was a back and forth affair between the Pacers young guards and the Atlanta young squad. Tyreke Evans balled out with most of the Pacers starters out. The Hawks definitely wanted to win this one to bring them to a 30 win season and close out their final game at home with a win, but unfortunately they made rookie mistakes like most young teams do.
It wasn’t just Tyreke Evans showing out, young forward T. J Leaf was unstoppable down low and so was the cold-blooded Edmond Sumner who iced the game with three free throws. The game ended with a lot of drama as the Hawks went up by 2 after a deep, deep three by Taurean Prince, who was knocking down three’s all game, leaving the shot clock at 3 seconds left. An inbound play was drawn up for Edmond Sumner to shoot a corner three but he was bodied as the buzzer ran down. After a replay was reviewed, he was given three free throws. Every single Hawks player tried to get in his head but the young blood showed great composure as he swished, Every. Single. One.
Pacers Win 135 – 134
Top Scorer: T.J. Leaf – 28 Points
Top Assists: Trae Young – 11 Assists
Top Rebounds: John Collins – 25 Rebounds
Milwaukee Bucks vs Oklahoma City Thunder
The Bucks were missing key starters in Lopez, Bledsoe and Giannis but Middleton and the bench mob gave the thunder a big fight to start the game ahead. Thunder were missing Paul George, who was rested to ensure he’s fully healthy for the playoffs with his health still in question.
For the Thunder, the key for the game was their three-point shooting. Shooting an impressive 42.6% from the field, the Bucks were ran out of the building thanks to Denis Schroder, Raymond Felton and Jerami Grant knocking down every shot they took. The Thunder set a record for most threes made in a game with 23. Westbrook pulled another impressive triple double with 17 assists setting up his team mate with the dimes. Tim Frazier had another great outing putting out 29 points and 13 assists, but it wasn’t enough to bring the Bucks home as the Thunder routed them for the win.
Thunder Win 127 – 116
Top Scorer: Denis Schroder – 32 Points
Top Assists: Russell Westbrook – 17 Assists
Top Rebounds: D.J. Wilson – 17 Rebounds
Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers did not know the result of the Thunder and Spurs game as they played and were fighting to make sure they didn’t face the Warriors in the first round. The Jazz who didn’t really have much to play for rested key starters in Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and played Joe Ingles 14 minutes.
What the clippers didn’t expect though was a scoring exhibition from Duke’s most hated, Grayson Allen. The NCAA Champion, who was just recently picked up in the draft took matters into his own hands tonight as he dropped a 40 bomb in Los Angeles. The Clippers as usual played great team ball mostly due to the efforts of Ivica Zubac, the Lakers rookie who’s just been recently traded to the Clippers. The Jazz was lucky to force overtime with a nice scoring stretch in the fourth but the Clippers ran away with it as they won it in overtime.
Clippers Win 143 – 137
Top Scorer: Grayson Allen – 40 Points
Top Assists: Naz Mitrou-Long – 9 Assists
Top Rebounds: Ekpe Udoh – 13 Rebounds
Other Games
Brooklyn Nets defeat the Miami Heat 113 – 94
Top Scorer: D’Angelo Russell 21 Points, Dwayne Wade 25 Points
Orlando Magic defeat the Charlotte Hornets 122 – 114
Top Scorer: Terrence Ross 35 Points, Kemba Walker 43 Points
Detroit Pistons defeat the New York Knicks 115 – 89
Top Scorer: Luke Kennard 27 Points, John Jenkins 16 Points
Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Chicago Bulls 125 -109
Top Scorer: Jonathan Simmons 20 Points, Walt Lemon Jr 20 Points
Memphis Grizzlies defeat the Golden State Warriors 132-117
Top Scorer: Jevon Carter 32 Points, Kevin Durant 21 Points
San Antonio Spurs defeat the Dallas Mavericks 105-94
Top Scorer: LaMarcus Aldridge 34 Points, Dirk Nowitzki 20 Points
Denver Nuggets defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves
Top Scorer: Nikola Jokic 29 Points, Andrew Wiggins 25 Points
Portland Trailblazers defeat the Sacramento Kings 136 – 131
Top Scorer: Anfernee Simmons 37 Points, Marvin Bagley III 20 Points
Highlights
Player of the Night: Edmond Sumner of the Indiana Pacers
Best Team Performance: Portland Trailblazers
Most Disappointing Team Performance: Golden State Warriors
