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The top of East is shaping up to be a dogfight.
Sixers win sixth-straight, top Cavs, 118-109
This was an odd one, at least down the stretch. Joel Embiid — who finished with 36 points and 18 rebounds — fouled out with 4:12 remaining in the game, leaving the door open for the Cavs. That is, until the charging call for his sixth foul was overturned.
Embiid reentered the game and was vital to Philly’s close-out effort. In addition to his 30-and-18, he swatted four shots. That makes him the first player since Shaq to have at least 30 points and three blocks in four straight games.
James Harden added 28 points and Tyrese Maxey had 23 for the Sixers, while Caris LeVert (24 points) and Donovan Mitchell (21) led the way for the Jarrett-Allen-less Cavs, whose loss here lost them the season series, 1-2. Philly wins any tiebreaker for playoff seeding, which they’ll likely have either way, given the way Embiid keeps playing. At the moment, he leads the league in scoring with no signs of stopping.
50 from Steph not enough as Clippers beat Warriors, 134-126
The 2022-23 Warriors are an enigma. They can get a 50-point shooting masterclass from Steph Curry — 20-of-28 with a side of eight triples — and still fall to an up-and-down Clippers squad. Though they were hardly up and down on Wednesday; Kawhi Leonard continued his red-hot stretch, scoring 30 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in this one, while Paul George had 24 in his stead. Ivica Zubac (19 points, 16 boards), Russell Westbrook (15-9-7), Terance Mann (17), and Eric Gordon (16) all finished in double-figures.
That makes four in a row for the Clippers, who moved into fifth place in the West with the win.
Fox hits game-winner to lead Kings past Bulls, 117-114
These are not your father’s Sacramento Kings.
Sure, the Bulls are hardly banner competition. But to come back behind the weight of two great performances from your stars is vital for a contender, even against lesser opponents. In addition to his thriller of a game-winner, Fox scored 32 points on 12-for-17 shooting, hitting four 3-pointers; he’s scored 20 or more points in 14 of his last 16 games and is averaging 30-plus over that span. Domantas Sabonis racked up his second straight triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Kings inch closer to clinching a playoff berth for the first time since 2005-06.
Rockets win second straight (!!!), beat Lakers, 114-110
Austin Reaves led the way for the now-10th-seed Lakers with 24 points, but not even five other Lakers finishing in double-figures was enough to outpace Kevin Porter Jr. and the suddenly red-hot Rockets. KPJ dropped 27 to lead all scorers, while Jabari Smith Jr. — playing the best basketball of his rookie season over the last few weeks — added 18 to hand Houston its second win in a row. I don’t know if that’s a season-best streak, but I cannot imagine the party going on in H-Town right now.
Mavs outlast Spurs in OT despite near collapse, 137-128
Is basketball… better when the Spurs make things interesting?
Sure, Dallas threw away an easy win in regulation, but that’s a brilliant play call from Gregg Popovich to send this thriller to OT. Honestly, the regulation stunner might’ve been enough of a moral victory for the tanking Spurs, who were without starters Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Zach Collins in this one, and rolled over in the extra period to make way for an easy Mavs’ win after all. Christian Wood led the way with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Dwight Powell and Jaden Hardy had 22 points each and Josh Green added 21. The Luka-and-Kyrie-less Mavs ended a three-game losing streak with the victory.
Heat burn Grizzlies, 138-119
Just days after I laid out how hard Miami tends to make even its easiest battles, they get an easy battle. Bam Adebayo (26 points), Tyler Herro (24), Jimmy Butler (23), Max Strus (12), Caleb Martin (11), and Kevin Love and Gabe Vincent (10 each) all finished in double-figures. The Heat shot 59.8 percent from the field, a season-best, winning by 10-plus for just the sixth time this season. (Their last: Jan. 18 against the New Orleans Pelicans.)
Meanwhile, the off-court situation for Memphis is understandably the more significant news that comes out of this one — better yet, that came out before. Of course, we know that Ja Morant has been out of the lineup since March 3 due to various gun-related incidents, including his viral Instagram story that showed him holding a gun in a nightclub. Now, after concluding its investigation, the NBA has suspended Morant for eight games without pay for “conduct detrimental to the league.” Morant spent the last week in a counseling program in Florida.
After meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday, the decision was made that Morant will return on March 20 when the Grizzlies host the Mavericks.
Celtics survive Timberwolves, 104-102
Meanwhile, Boston can’t buy an easy one. The C’s had lost two in a row and five of their last nine entering Wednesday’s tilt with the T-Wolves. Then, that game happened, and Jayson Tatum shot four-of-16 while Marcus Smart shot four-of-12. Anthony Edwards finished with 28 and took things down to the wire in a game where no other member of Minnesota’s squad scored more than 15 points.
Thankfully, Jaylen Brown has been Boston’s best player for the better part of a month, and was able to score a game-high 35 and pull down 10 rebounds, giving Boston a much-needed win. If Miami could toss a gimme their way, I’m sure no one would mind.
