NBA Weekly Recap
By: Tarun Sathish
This was another good week for the NBA in what’s been its best season in years.
On the 21st, the Grizzlies won a big game against Toronto. Brandon Jennings had a career night with 24 points and 21 assists to lead Detroit to a win over Orlando. Oklahoma City beat Washington in overtime after Russell Westbrook hit the game winner. Eric Bledsoe had a 33 point game with 10 rebounds and six assists to lead Phoenix to a huge victory against Portland. In the nightcap, Golden State blew out Houston.
On Thursday the Bulls had a much needed win, blowing out the Spurs. Evan Turner hit a buzzer beater to give the Celtics a win in Portland and the Clippers blew out the Nets in Los Angeles.
On Friday the Hawks beat up the Thunder to win their 15th straight, and the Bulls pulled out a victory in Dallas. The Heat stayed alive in the playoff hunt after a rough week with a close win against Indiana. James Harden hit a buzzer beater to give the Rockets the win in Phoenix.
But the star of the night, and maybe the season, was Klay Thompson scoring 37 points in the third quarter against Sacramento. He made all 12 of his field goal attempts, setting a NBA record for points in a single quarter. He ended with 52 for the game, but barely played in the 4th quarter since his 3rd quarter dominance blew the game out.
On Saturday Portland forward announced he would not undergo surgery on his hand injury, waiting until the end of the season instead. He came up huge and led Portland to a win against the Wizards.
The 25th showed the Cavaliers win their 6th straight with a big win over the Thunder. The Clippers blew out Phoenix later that night, continuing their hot streak. Anthony Davis carried the Pelicans to a huge win against the Mavericks, the Hawks won their 16th straight game, and James Harden had 37 points in the Rockets win over the Lakers. Hasaan Whiteside of the Heat put another notch on his belt as the breakout player that nobody had heard of two months ago, recording a triple double in Miami’s much needed win against Chicago.
This past week will sadly be remembered for injuries more so than the games. Pistons guard Brandon Jennings tore his Achilles and will be out for the remainder of the season. Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker will undergo surgery on his knee, and is not expected to return for at least six weeks. Both players were having career best seasons on teams that were competing for the eight seed in the East (both teams were playing well as of late as well; as of Tuesday night, the Pistons have won 12 of their last 17, and the Hornets have won eight of their last 10 games).
As the season passes the halfway mark, the playoff race just keeps heating up.
