Going into Tuesday's slate of games, there were two main candidates for "Game of the Night": the three-time defending Eastern Conference Champion (but currently fighting to stay above the five seed) Cleveland Cavaliers hosting the first-place-and-best-metrics-by-far in the East (but have yet to prove themselves worthy of that caliber in the playoffs) Toronto Raptors, or the defending champion Golden State Warriors (currently struggling, but featuring Kevin Durant) once again facing off against the Oklahoma City Thunder (fighting for playoff positioning, and featuring Russell Westbrook).
Both games essentially lived up to the billing, and either was worthy of leading off today. But, when in doubt, it's hard to go against the fire of another KD vs. Brodie battle, so let's go there. In fact, let's start at the top:
KD and Russ went after it. pic.twitter.com/hwM9et78DP
- SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2018
Westbrook put up the better numbers on the night, but Durant's squad went home with the win on the night ... a pattern that has to be familiar in this particular matchup. And even with Stephen Curry (knee) out, on Tuesday it was Durant's teammate who once again outplayed Westbrook's.
Klay Thompson, who recently returned from injury, proved that he's recovering his shooting touch, scoring 20 points (9-19 FG) with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 3-pointers and 4 TO. Quinn Cook was the other Warriors starter in double figures, scoring 12 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 FT) with 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 3-pointers. And Draymond Green, as always, did the little things to produce an impact that belied his scoring struggles (5 points, 0-4 FG, 5-6 FT, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 TO) to lead the Warriors' starters with a +/- of +5 on the night. The Warriors also had five players who produced between six and eight points off the bench.
The Thunder really struggled at the top, outside of Westbrook, as Paul George and Carmelo Anthony combined to shoot 9-for-35 from the field. George ended up with a solid all-around game (20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 3-pointers, 2 assists, 3 TO) while Anthony contributed 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 TO, but the inaccurate shooting on such high volume really sunk the Thunder's chances on Tuesday. Steven Adams crashed the offensive boards hard with eight offensive rebounds, but he was unable to get shots (or make his free throws when he got shots), as he produced a line of 7 points (3-6 FG, 1-6 FT), 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 TO.
Tuesday's game was a big one for the Warriors' mind state going into the playoffs, and it was a loss that dropped the Thunder from the 4-seed to the 6-seed out West for the day. But, it also was a game with big numbers that gave us a bit of excitement down the stretch as the long season starts to wind to a close.
Tuesday recap
Box scores
Highlights:
James Harden, Houston Rockets: 38 points (12-18 FG, 9-10 FT), 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 3-pointers, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 TO
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers: 35 points (13-21 FG, 9-9 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 1 assist
Ricky Rubio, Utah Jazz: 31 points (10-16 FG, 7-7 FT), 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 3-pointers, 2 TO
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: 29 points (11-22 FG, 7-8 FT), 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 5 TO
Dwight Howard, Charlotte Hornets: 23 points (7-11 FG, 9-13 FT), 17 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 3 TO
Lowlights:
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors: 5 points (2-11 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 TO
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets: 9 points (4-11 FG, 0-1 FT), 4 assists, 1 rebound, 1 3-pointer, 2 TO
Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic: 7 points (3-15 FG, 1-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 TO
D'Angelo Russell, Brooklyn Nets: 6 points (2-7 FG), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 3-pointers, 2 TO
Taurean Prince, Atlanta Hawks: 5 points (2-5 FG, 1-1 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 TO
Tuesday takeaways
As mentioned in the lede, the other huge game of the night was the Cavs against the Raptors. For the second straight game in their series, the Cavs were the victors behind a dominant performance from LeBron James (27 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 3-pointers). This game breaks down to the Cavaliers' starters (all over 12 points, two with double-doubles) against the Raptors' bench (five players who scored between seven and nine points). The Raptors' starters lost the game for them, specifically Lowry. Their bigs did show up well, though, with Jonas Valanciunas (17 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO) and Serge Ibaka (16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 3-pointers, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 TO).
Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said publicly that he was concerned about the team's momentum after the loss that broke their 11-game winning streak, and he responded by playing his full starting unit against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. The Rockets responded by performing exactly as they have all season, putting up big numbers as a team and dismantling their opponents. It's unlikely, in my opinion, that he runs the full starting unit out there very often from here on out because it would seem that he's proved his point and rest is still important.
Injuries of note
Damian Lillard twisted his left ankle during the fourth quarter on Tuesday, though he did finish the game. The Trail Blazers are pretty close to being slotted into the third spot out West, so it might behoove them to rest their best player until he's fully healthy moving into the playoffs.
Draymond rolled his left ankle on Tuesday, but said after the game that he would be fine. His shot was terrible on Tuesday, but it wasn't clear if the ankle played a part in that. It should also be noted that the Warriors are locked into the second seed, and it's possible that coach Steve Kerr could opt to rest his players for full health moving into the playoffs.
Terry Rozier was a late scratch on Tuesday with an ankle injury, after originally being listed as probable. Kadeem Allen started in his place but did very little in his 23 minutes. Al Horford led the team in assists in the absence of a traditional point guard, and the combination of Jaylen Brown (24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 3-pointer, 1 block, 3 TO), Jayson Tatum (20 points, 3 3-pointers, 3 steals, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 3 TO) and Horford (15 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 3-pointer, 1 TO) combined to do the heavy lifting in Rozier's absence on Monday. Consider Rozier questionable for Wednesday's game until more information is released.
Analytics advantage for Wednesday
The only game on Wednesday between two teams fighting for playoffs position is the Boston Celtics at the Raptors, so let's focus there. Not only are they still competing for playoff position, they are competing directly with each other, and both are coming off tough losses on Tuesday.
The big question for Wednesday is whether Rozier (ankle) will be able to play after sitting out Tuesday. If he's hobbled again, look for the Horford/Tatum/Brown triumvirate that combined for 59 points on Tuesday to have to carry the load again.
Top players to watch tonight
Reggie Jackson has quietly been reestablishing himself as a primary option for the Detroit Pistons, averaging 19.8 points during his past four games to complement the interior dominance of old running mate Andre Drummond. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, they're facing one of the hottest players in the NBA, as Ben Simmons has kept the Philadelphia 76ers scorching even with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric injured.
