NBA
April 8, 2017

Post Up: Record Books

Hawks 114 (41-38), Cavs 100 (51-28)

One night after taking down the Celtics, Tim Hardaway Jr. and the Hawks convincingly dismantled the Cavs. Atlanta was eating on offense, shooting 50% from the floor, making 16 three-pointers and dishing 39 assists on 45 field goals. Hardaway scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to drive the dagger through the Cavs’ fans. Hardaway led the Hawks in scoring with Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard and Dennis Schroder all sat out.

Raptors 96 (49-31), Heat 94 (38-41)

DeMar DeRozan caught fire, scoring 38 points, including 9 points in the fourth, to help the Raptors survive the Heat. James Johnson scored 22 to lead five Miami players in double-figures, but they couldn’t get stops in the closing moments and they also turned the ball over seven times in the fourth quarter. Miami’s now a game out of the eighth seed in the East.

Grizzlies 101 (43-37), Knicks 88 (30-50)

Mike Conley drilled 7 three-pointers on his way to 31 points. Though the Knicks were without Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis because of nagging injuries, the Grizzles clamped down on defense, holding them to 6-28 three-point shooting. Memphis, on the other hand, shot 15-27 from outside the arc. With this win, they clinched the seventh seed in the West, setting up a playoff matchup with the Spurs.

Pistons 114 (36-43), Rockets 109 (53-26)

Boban Marjanovic came off the bench to have a career-high 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds, punishing the Rockets, who were without Clint Capela (rest). Stanley Johnson (13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 32.4 seconds left before adding two free throws to seal the road victory. James Harden had 33 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in the loss.

Spurs 102 (61-18), Mavs 89 (32-47)

The Spurs rested Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and Pau Gasol, clearing the way for rookies Bryn Forbes and Davis Bertans to get buckets. Forbes put in 27 and Bertans hit 5 three’s on his way to 19 points. The Spurs recovered from an early 16-point deficit with their 58 rebounds and by holding the Mavs to 8 third quarter points and 29% shooting in the second half.

Jazz 120 (49-30), Wolves 114 (31-48)

The Jazz clinched their first division title in nine seasons behind a career-best 39 points from Gordon Hayward, 22 points from reserve Joe Johnson, 16 points from Rudy Gobert and 11 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds from Joe Ingles. Utah had to contend with a combined 83 points from Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Ricky Rubio. But the Wolves couldn’t slow down the Jazz’s offensive attack. Utah shot 60% for the game and made 14-25 three-pointers.

Nuggets 122 (38-41), Pelicans 106 (33-46)

Jamal Murray shot 10-14 from the floor to pour in 30 points. Nikola Jokic added 23 and Gary Harris had 20, too. Denver destroyed New Orleans on the glass and had 12 more assists. Anthony Davis scored 25 in the loss.

Suns 120 (23-57), Thunder 99 (45-34)

Devin Booker scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half, after Russell Westbrook was threatening to pull the Thunder back into the lead. Because of Russ’ slow start–2-13 shooting, 6 turnovers, 6 points in the first half–OKC dug a big hole that they couldn’t get out of.

But Westbrook’s name is officially in the record books as only the second player to ever average a triple-double. Insane.

Lakers 98 (24-55), Kings 94 (31-48)

Julius Randle scored 25 points and Corey Brewer stole an inbounds pass with 5 seconds to play, was fouled and made both free throws to lead the Lakers to win. There were 17 lead changes and 11 ties, but it was Randle’s 10-14 shooting that was eventually the difference-maker.

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