02-23-21 NBA Blog Train Tuesday
No bets for us tonight.
Moderation, Lois.
But just because we weren’t in on the action doesn’t mean we weren’t keeping a keen eye on things.
Hawks at Cavaliers +8 Under 228
This Under looked good pretty much the entire way, but the possibility of OT presented a problem.
The Cavs clearly wanted it more. The lack of defense on the final stand attempt by the Hawks was appalling. And then they didn’t even get a final shot off in time!
It was previous WHO HE!? garbage-time power-dunking Lamar Stevens who had the game-winning dunk!
Cavs 112, Hawks 111.
THAT is how you end a game 10-game losing streak that endured for three weeks!
The Hawks go from a super solid win against the Nuggets on Sunday night to a flop in Cleveland. This is why Trae Young is not an All-Star — we did give him some consideration, though. We know the Hawks have been wounded all season, but a lot of teams are facing great adversity in today’s game. Ice Trae was an All-Star starter last year, but the East has gotten deeper this season. (Hello, KD and The Beard.)
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Pistons +4.5 at Magic Under 211
The Pistons +4.5 in this revenge game from Sunday night and this Under 211 both would have been Pure Locks.
Hello, Saben Lee! The other Pistons rookie that’s not #7 overall pick Killian Hayes who has been on the shelf, not #19 pick Saddiq Bey who has already been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, or even the #16 pick, the big Isaiah Stewart. This is Saben Lee, a second round pick, the #38 pick, from Vandy.
Believe it or not Saben Lee is not a WHO HE!? for this here blog. Why?
Because we recently pulled a Saben Lee rookie card when rippin’ packs of Panini NBA Hoops! Tonight, Saben scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 3-of-3 from downtown in just his 10th NBA game. Welcome aboard, rook!
Oh, and we also got an appearance from the Magic injured bench gang!
Pistons 105, Magic 93.
Congrats to Vooch, a very worthy All-Star. We had him as a snub, but we are fine to see him get in for the second time now (2018-2019). He’s put the shorthanded Magic on his back. Not tonight, though.
DSJ?? Dennis Smith Jr. had us scratching our heads yet again, wondering if it’s really him.
Points in the paint: Pistons 56, Magic 36.
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Kings at Nets -5.5 OVER 241.5
This Kings-Nets Over is of course something that we would have taken if we were in on the action tonight.
And it was, of course, one of the most Pure Locks.
The Kings were down big early but they fought back to the point that we have to tell you to not believe the looks of this final score.
It was close. Fox and Haliburton were going off. MB35 as well. Per Mark Jones, Bagley was “tireless and indefatigable.” You could hear the excitement in Doug Christie’s voice when he learned what indefatigable meant. Dude was giddy.
We weren’t the only ones that noticed.
This right here was a shot that Harden made. As in, the ball fell back down and in. We have long thought The Beard to be a sorcerer. (Also, didn’t that used to be considered out of bounds?)
Nets 127, Kings 118.
Bruce Brown has been in the starting lineup for Brooklyn’s current 7-game winning streak. Tonight, Brown scored a career-high 29 points and was a game-high +20 in just 25 minutes!
Luke Walton is currently playing his top guys a LOT of minutes. Haliburton played 40! Per usual, he was fantastic with 23 points, four made threes, nine assists, five rebounds, three steels, a block and a big reason why the Kings were in the game.
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Warriors -4 at Knicks Under 222.5
The Warriors -4 and this Under 222.5 both would have been very Squeaky Locks.
Steph was dropping dimes. He also scored 37 points, including 7-of-14 from 3.
Warriors 114, Knicks 106.
D. Rose attempted a 3 in garbage time that would have sent this one Over, but Oubre blocked it, so she stayed Under.
On the same night that he was named to his first career All-Star Game, and in the first game with fans back at MSG, Julius Randle got ejected after receiving two techs. Knicks fans, about 2,000 of ‘em, got back just in time to see their All-Star ejected. Classic!
It was great to see James Wiseman back out there! The Wiseman’s first game played in the month of February, out with a sprained wrist since the tail end of January.
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76ers -2.5 at Raptors UNDER 221.5
A revenge game from Sunday night for the Sixers, -2.5 was a Pure Lock and so was this Under.
A solid team effort from Philly, the ball and points were really spread around.
Sixers 109, Raptors 102.
Three-pointers: Sixers 17-of-38 for 44.7 percent. Raptors 11-of-37 for 29.7 percent.
Points in the paint: Raptors 54, Sixers 30.
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Celtics at Mavericks +2.5 Under 223.5
The Over here started out hot in the 1st quarter and cooled way off. But all you really need to know is that there is more where this came from:
After the glorious Luka step-back 3 on Theis, Jaylen Brown scored too quickly, leaving 9.5 seconds left which is 9.5 seconds too much time to give THE DON.
HALLELUKA. He even covered the spread!!! The legend continues.
Mavs 110, Celtics 107.
This was looking like a Celtics comeback in the 4th quarter before LukaMagic said nope.
It was good to see Kemba Walker having a nice game.
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Timberwolves at Bucks -10 OVER 232
Bucks -10 and this Over both would have been very Pure Locks.
Oh, hey, it’s the new T-Wolves coach, Chris Finch! Well, we think that’s him, but honestly, we couldn’t tell ya for sure. Be honest: If Chris Finch walked in the room right now and drop kicked you in the nuts, would you know it was him?
Giannis power dunk!
Giannis had another one earlier in the game where he was really mean muggin’ KAT.
Don’t worry, he was smiling later on, enjoying the blowout.
Bucks 139, T-Wolves 112.
Giannis destruction: 37 points on 13-of-18 shooting, 10-of-13 from the charity stripe, eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks.
Ant-Man was off tonight: 9 points on 3-of-13 shooting but all three made baskets were 3’s.
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Wizards at Clippers -12 OVER 236.5
This Wizards Over would have been one of the most Pure Locks, 72-55 at halftime and 99-94 after 3. The Clippers had the 17-point halftime lead erased by a 14-2 Wiz run at the end of the 3rd, but the Clips ran away in the 4th.
Zubac power dunk on top of Bertans!
Ayyy after Kabengele knocked down this 3, the Clippers bench was LIT!
Clippers 135, Wizards 116.
The Clippers bench had a damn fine game, too. As did both Kawhi (32p, 7r, 4a) and PG (30p, 6r, 3a).
Beal and Westbrook both had 10 assists in the Wizards first loss since the Friday before Valentine’s Day.
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Blazers +6 at Nuggets
The Nuggets were up by nine after the first frame, 34-25, but it was tied at 57 at halftime. Melo was doin’ work in the second quarter, scoring 16 points, but Jokic scored the last 12 for the Nuggets before the half.
A Zeke Nnnaji corner 3 tied the game at 78-78 heading into the 4th. The Under was looking golden at this point, especially when Denver broke away. Bubble Murray made a bit of an appearance after starting the game on 1-of-9 shooting.
Dame power dunk!
It was ‘bout that time, but the Joker had his own schedule tonight, 41 points, five assists and five rebounds for Big Honey.
Nuggets 111, Blazers 106.
Free throws were the difference: Nuggets 17-of-18. Blazers 10-of-10.
Jamal Murray and MPJ are two of the biggest trick-or-treat players in the league. We need to do an All Trick-or-Treat team!
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Nine games ahead on the Wednesday might menu, highlighted by the late game, Lakers at Jazz on ESPN at 10pm EST.
We love this game!
