Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Four blowouts out of five odd games. Not every night is gonna be pretty.
Five NBA games to recap from Tuesday; five semi-wonky results to sort through; five big-picture pieces of analysis following the blowout — which four of the five games ended up being. Let’s get to Tuesday’s scores.
Bucks drub dubs, 128-111; Golden State falls to 2-12 on road
So… does this make Milwaukee the NBA’s best team by default? I mean, they blew out the Warriors on Tuesday, and it never even felt close. Over the weekend, the Warriors rolled over the team with the NBA’s best record, the Boston Celtics, behind vintage efforts from Steph Curry (whose efforts should no longer be called vintage; this is just who he is and will always be) and Klay Thompson. But now, here are the Bucks, handling the Warriors. Giannis Antetokounmpo (30-12-5), Bobby Portis (25 and 11), and Khris Middleton (20) were efficient and excellent, while Curry, Thompson, and Jordan Poole weren’t particularly any of the above.
Is that where we are now? How does this formula work? Is there a formula at all? Frankly, I don’t know that any of it matters. Despite Boston’s two-game losing streak — gasp! — and Milwaukee’s relatively consistent success this season, both of those teams should, in this writer’s opinion, remain in the same tier. The top tier, to be clear. Because yes, they are the two best teams in the NBA this season.
Golden State still looms as the defending champs; New Orleans beckons; Cleveland dreams. But these squads stand above the rest. There is no debate.
Celtics eke out ugly overtime win over Lakers, 122-118
Here’s a sentence not a single soul has heard so far this season: The Boston Celtics need this win. Don’t roll your eyes; they do! When a team is performing at as high a level as the Celtics have so far this season — toeing the line between having the best offense this season by a mile and having the best offense in NBA history by a decent margin — any downward trend is catnip for doubters. And entering Tuesday’s tilt with the Lakers, Boston had lost two straight.
But instead of rebounding in a big way, the Celtics needed a late scramble and an overtime period to sneak out a victory after coughing up a 15-point second-half lead and almost handing the Lakers a free win. In the end, it was only two-straight losses, but all were winnable games on the road against seemingly lesser Western Conference opponents. Jayson Tatum has remained at an All-NBA level all season (44 on Tuesday ups his season average to 30.2 points per game, fifth in the league). It was his glorious fadeaway that sent Tuesday’s game to OT.
Despite the win, should Celtics fans be panicking? I don’t know. I panic when the Buffalo Bills win but Josh Allen throws for fewer than 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. I’m a bad person to ask. But I’d say it’s just best to take a deep breath. The Celtics have been on a blistering hot start; there are bound to be bumps along the way. And at the end of the day, a win is a win. Even if it’s ugly.
Jazz snap Pelicans streak in 121-100 drubbing
Despite Tuesday’s loss to the Jazz — who were led by Malik Beasley and his five triples — I’m not worried about the Pelicans because, while solid, I am no longer all that worried about the Jazz. They have been a blast, one of the most consistent blasts the league has had to offer this season. But as their surprise start continues, cracks begin to emerge.
They’re dependent on hot shooting, which is almost never sustainable; they seem deep, but beyond Collin Sexton and (maybe) Talen Horton-Tucker, they lack the true reserve forces that can help a contending team win down the stretch. The truth of the matter is that the Jazz, now and perhaps then, are a team that can get you with streaky shooting and energy, or even just on an off night — one of which came for the otherwise-surging Pelicans on Tuesday. If they put together a string of off-night surprises come playoff time, I’ll eat crow. Tuesday’s win was a good one, but I’ll stick with my crow-less diet for now.
Sixers score 80 in first half, cruise past Kings, 123-103
Here they come… maybe. With tonight’s rather seamless win over the Sacramento King, the Philadelphia 76ers have won three straight on their current seven-game stint at home. Domantas Sabonis continued his run of post dominance with 22 points and 10 rebounds despite the loss. James Harden finished with 21 points and 15 assists, while Tobias Harris went for 21 points and added nine assists for Philly.
But it was Joel Embiid, of course, who led the way with 31 points; that marked his fifth consecutive game with 30-plus points. The Sixers still have their various forms of kryptonite, whether it’s a lack of depth or lack of consistency on the health front. But as long as Embiid is dominating at such a clip and Harden is distributing in this way — thus helping Philly’s spacing a great deal — this team should work their way back into the contender conversation.
Again… it’s a maybe. But a stronger one than it was a month ago.
Rockets never trail as they crush sliding Suns, 111-97
Houston led by as many as 23 over Phoenix en route to a blowout win. It was their second straight win over a good team, their previous coming over the Bucks on Sunday. Jalen Green finished with 26 and took every opportunity he had to humiliate the Suns defense.
Those are the facts. The real story here? How Phoenix has gone from real-deal contender in the West to the conference’s resident snowballing squad, careening toward the New Year in shambles. Phoenix has lost five in a row, and is just 1-6 in the month of December (the lone win came in a blowout over the San Antonio Spurs back on Dec. 4). Sure, they didn’t have Devin Booker, but both Deandre Ayton (ankle) and Cameron Payne (right foot) exited before halftime. Mikal Bridges had 18 points, but did his damage primarily from the free-throw line; he was 4-of-24 from the field and 2-of-19 from three.
These are significant concerns, albeit fixable ones. But variables, which these all are, can turn a season on its head. Phoenix has time. But as that time continues to slip away, so, too, do their chances to contend later on.
