Big games, big performances and a particularly big injury defined this week in the NBA. Let’s take a look back.
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On Friday night, Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans traveled to Oklahoma City to take on the middling Thunder.
The Thunder have struggled to find their rhythm amidst injuries to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook this season. The Pelicans have hovered around the West’s eighth spot for much of the season, and as the Thunder have struggled without their stars.
In OKC on Friday, these two West sleepers were pitted against each other at virtually full strength.
Westbrook made it clear from the beginning that he would not let the Thunder go quietly in this one, scoring 14 in the opening quarter. Durant scored nine straight in the second and the Thunder held a meager 3 point lead at the half.
Davis took things over after halftime, scoring 12 in the third period. Tyreke Evans was all over the place in this game, scoring, rebound and assisting his way to a 22-10-16 triple-double.
Westbrook put together a heck of a night, scoring a career-high 48 points on his way to a near triple double. Durant added 27 points of his own. It was enough to keep things close and set up a dramatic finale.
With Oklahoma City down three and time running out, Russell Westbrook drew a foul on a 3-point shot. Westbrook hit all three to tie the game with just over a second remaining.
Off a timeout, the Pelicans struggled to inbound the ball before Anthony Davis grabbed the pass at the top of the arc.
Ducking under the outstretched arm of Durant, Davis double-clutched before releasing a wild three that fell in at the buzzer. Davis finished with 41 points and 10 rebounds.
Also on Friday, the league’s two best teams faced off against each other in Atlanta when the Hawks hosted the Golden State Warriors.
Despite the number of times the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers have been on TV, it was these two teams facing off in what has to be the biggest game of the season’s first half.
Golden State took a page out of the Atlanta playbook in the first quarter with eight different Warriors scoring in the period. The Warriors held a four-point advantage heading into the second period.
Atlanta's second unit outplayed the Warriors bench in the second quarter, highlighted by a pair of 3s from former Warriors guard Kent Bazemore. An 8-4 run to end the half gave the Hawks a one-point lead at the break.
Klay Thompson hit three shots from distance in the third period to keep the Warriors in the game.
The Warriors relied heavily on Thompson, as Stephen Curry was held in check by the stellar defense of Jeff Teague. Curry finished the game with 26 points, but needed 19 shots to do it.
Draymond Green absolutely dominated the boards for the Warriors, snatching 20 rebounds for the game. The teams exchanged the lead through the third quarter before back-to-back 3s from Mike Scott gave the Hawks the lead for good.
Atlanta took this one, 124-116.
Once again, team play and defense were the keys to victory for the Hawks, even in this high-scoring affair.
Seven Hawks players scored 11 or more points in the game, compared to only four Warriors players scoring in double-figures. Atlanta had nearly twice the number of steals as the Warriors as well.
If these two teams can somehow both find their way to the NBA Finals, basketball fans the world over would be in for one heck of a treat.
On Sunday night, it was reported that Los Angeles Clippers star power forward Blake Griffin will miss two-to-six weeks while he undergoes surgery to clean out a staph infection in his right elbow.
The injury couldn’t come at a worse time for the Clippers, who are closing down a rough road trip.
LA has gone 1-5 so far with one game left to play in Dallas versus the Mavericks on their annual Grammy road trip before they head home to face the Houston Rockets before the All-Star break begins.
The injury, of course, means that Griffin will not be representing the Clips in New York at the All-Star Game. For many, justice was served when Damian Lillard was named as his replacement.
If Griffin misses more than the minimum of two weeks, the Clippers could be in real trouble as they face off against the San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies (twice) and the Rockets in the week after the break.
Hassan Whiteside is phenomenal, and is not slowing down. Since exploding onto the scene with a monstrous triple-double a couple of weeks back, Whiteside has kept up the pace especially as it concerns blocks.
Whiteside is blocking 11 percent of Heat opponents’ two-point shots while he is on the court. That is historically amazing.
In the five games since his triple-double, he has had four double-doubles, a game where he accumulated 24 rebounds, and on Wednesday he scored 24 points and ripped 20 rebounds.
If Whiteside’s run started even a month earlier, he probably would have garnered All-Star buzz. That is how good this guy has been.
