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We got the biggest upset of the season, a wild finish in New York and some incredible individual performances throughout the league, so buckle up.
In a game between two of the hottest teams in the league, the Pistons hosted the Celtics when Jayson Tatum pulled off one of the nastiest crossovers of the season… Cade touched earth on this one, before Tatum’s shot went swishing through the net. He was cooking in the 1st quarter, as we see him hitting this tough fadeaway in Beasley’s face. But when Ausar Thompson was defending him, it wasn’t smooth at all… Ausar doesn’t get the media coverage and the credit his twin brother Amen gets, but he’s equally good, if not better defensively. And thanks to him, Detroit got off to a 9 point lead at the end of the 1st. But in the 2nd quarter, the Celtics went absolutely nuts from downtown. Boston made 11 of their 16 3 point attempts in the period. 11 3’s in 12 minutes, that’s insane. Things got so wild that Derrick White hit an alley oop 3 right here. This is ridiculous. Of course they got right back into the game and evened up the score going into the break. However, in the 3rd quarter, we get to witness the laws of balance first hand because…
The Pistons responded with a lights out shooting of their own, hitting 3 of 3 from long range to spark a fire in the crowd, leading them to a double digit lead. And Ausar avenged his teammate by dropping Tatum with a crossover of his own. The Pistons led by 11 heading into the 4th, but stepped on the gas pedal even more at the start of it. Did I forget to mention Malik Beasley being on fire in this one? Yup, he led his team with 26 points on 67% from the field and 6 of 11 from deep. Cade was up to the task as well with 21 and 11 as Detroit snapped a 12 game losing stretch against Boston. They’re on a historic run right now, winning 8 in a row, their longest winning streak since 2008. From hitting rock bottom just last year, to beating the reigning champions so convincingly last night, it’s quite the resurrection story.
And Philly fans were hoping for the start of a similar scenario when they heard the big news. But the Knicks, led by Mikal Bridges who brought the flamethrower in this one, were standing tall in front of them.
Bridges opened the game by hitting 6 straight shots, scoring 19 points in the 1st quarter alone, looking like playing 2K on rookie mode.
New York built a 19 point lead in the 2nd period and had control over the game, but what’s a Knicks game without any drama?
The Sixers, led by Tyrese Maxey who scored 22 of his 30 points in the 2nd half, backed down by PG who finally broke the 20 point barrier this month, got right back into the game. And they even took the lead on this furious Maxey layup. But it seemed like all this time Jalen Brunson was waiting in the corner for things to get exciting just to erupt in the clutch.
Captain crunch time does it again, with 12 huge points in the last 3 and a half minutes. But it was the Knicks defense that won them this game at the end.
Philly lost its 9th straight game, and with the recent news about Joel’s condition, I feel like it's time to blow up the team in the summer.
One team that’s blowing up opponents is usually OKC, but last night they fell into a double digit deficit against the Nets of all teams.
DayRon Sharpe, the Brooklyn center was unconscious, hitting his first 8 shots on the way to 25 points and 15 rebounds for the game.
But this is what I like about the Thunder, they can beat any mediocre team in a split second.
When they turn the jets on like this it’s game over. A monster 18-0 run in the 4th, turned a 4 point deficit into a 14 point lead. 4 OKC guys scored over 20 points, with Chet Holmgren finally having a breakout game after returning from the injury with 22 points, 17 boards and 3 blocks on 58% efficiency.