02-28-20 NBA Blog Train Friday
Ten games on the Friday night menu.
All aboard!
Timberwolves at Magic -6 OVER 234
OVER 234 was a Pure Lock, never in doubt.
James Johnson’s hair, welcome to the Blog Train!
T-Ross Power Dunk? Eh, Lite Level 1.3?
Magic 136, T-Wolves 125.
T-Ross was definitely torching off the bench: 33 points, 7 of 15 from three!
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Nets at Hawks +2.5 OVER 236.5
OVER 236.5 was another Pure Lock, never in doubt. Two Pure Lock Overs to start the Friday night.
Ice Trae will nutmeg you anytime, anywhere.
Hawks 141, Nets 118.
The Hawks had a very balanced attack tonight. Why? Lloyd Pierce is finally starting our boys together.
Ice Trae, Huerter, Reddish, Hunter, Collins. All scored in double figures!
Per the AP Report, Kenny Atkinson said, "We are seventh in the league in defense and tonight we looked like were 800th in defense."
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Hornets +13.5 at Raptors UNDER 214
UNDER 214 was a Pure Lock, never in doubt.
We really cannot stress this enough: Eric Collins on the call is the absolute best.
Nick Nurse has at least one of these every game now. This was his reaction after a clear path foul was called in a decisive moment. You might notice that there was 2.1 seconds left in a 96-96 tie game.
Hornets 99, Raptors 96.
Rozier made the go-ahead clear path free throw! Devonte’ Graham tacked on two more. In the immediate on-court post-game interview, Rozier told Ashley Shahahmadi, “I shoot 100 free throws a day. It’s the same shot I always shoot.”
Rozier also made sure to mention that this was his first career win in Toronto, which we found rather surprising considering that Rozier played on the Celtics for four years. All he had to do was become a Charlotte Hornet.
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Mavericks at Heat -2.5 OVER 228.5
OVER 228 was yet another Pure Lock, never in doubt. You might be noticing a trend.
It was Slovenia Heritage Night in Miami featuring the Slovenia Connection on Luka’s 21st birthday.
Tim Hardaway was at the game looking like a hit man getting the call for his next job.
Bam windmill power dunk! Level 2?
Heat 126, Mavericks 118.
The Heat started the 4th quarter on an 11-0 run and kept gunning.
Luka did not get a win on his 21st birthday, but he has the most triple doubles in NBA history for a player turning 21 years old — 21 triple doubles. The next most? Magic Johnson with seven.
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Kings +2 at Grizzlies UNDER 227
UNDER 227 was another Pure Lock, never in doubt. Five Pure Locks to start off a wild Friday night!
Grizzlies injured bench gang!
Valanchoony looked kinda scared there for a second, but then he was ready.
Kings 104, Grizzlies 101.
Dillon Brooks had a chance to send it to OT with a fade-away 3 at the buzzer. Alas, she did not fall.
The wounded Grizz have now lost 5 in a row. The Kings have now won 7 of their last 10!
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Cavaliers +13 at Pelicans UNDER 235
Guess what? Yep. That’s right. UNDER 235 was a motherfuckin’ Pure Lock! Never in doubt!! Why stop at five Pure Locks in a row when you can have six?
Touchdown! The Pelicans racked up 43 points in the first quarter.
Listen, Zion can roll out of bed and get 20 points — he’s the first teenager in NBA history to score 20 points in 10 straight games.
Pelicans 116, Cavs 104.
BAD BEAT ALERT!!! In supreme garbage time, Delly lobbed to Kevin Porter Jr. for an oop with 16 seconds left to make Pelicans -13 a BAD BEAT and to make Cavs +13 a miraculous backdoor cover.
The Pelicans have won 6 out of their last 8 games and are now just 2 games back of the Grizz for the 8 seed.
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Thunder at Bucks -10.5 Under 227
Welp, we did not get a magical seven Over/Under Pure Locks in a row. This one was actually at 64 percent to hit the Over with 10 minutes left in the 4th.
Up by 36, Pat Conno from the logo! The shot clock was running down, yes, but we still love it.
Bucks 133, Thunder 86.
The Thunder started the game up 8 to 2, but we didn’t blink an eye. The Bucks -10.5 were the Pure Lock here with the Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back.
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Wizards at Jazz -10 Push OVER 231.5
OVER 231.5 was a Pure Lock, never in doubt. Back on track!
Blue Panda power dunk! Level 3.4?
Don Mitch power dunk! Level 4?
Jazz 129, Wizards 119.
The biggest difference was bench net rating: Jazz +79, Wiz -48. Yowza.
The Jazz needed this W in the worst way, snapping a 4-game losing streak.
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Pistons +9 at Suns Over 218
This Over/Under came down to the final minute! The ole Squeaky Lock.
D-Rose game-winner over rookie Cam Johnson who did everything he could.
Pistons 113, Suns 111.
Book had a not-so-great look at a potential game-winning 3 from the corner where he tried to draw a foul. Alas, she did not fall and no foul was called.
The Pistons 7-game losing streak is over.
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Nuggets at Clippers -7 OVER 220
OVER 220 was mostly a Pure Lock. Soo many Pure Locks tonight on the Over/Unders, 8 out of 10 games!
Clippers -7 was very much a Pure Lock, never in doubt, a wire-to-wire win.
A Mile High Moonshot, spotted in LA.
Paul George power dunk? Eh, Level 1.2? Nothing to send to the group chat by any means.
Clippers 132, Nuggets 103.
The Clippers and Nuggets are now tied for the 2-seed in the West with a matching 40-19 record.
This season series is tied 1-1 and the rubber match is on March 18th.
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The Blog Train will most likely next leave the station on Monday. We’ll catch you then.
We love this game!