January 26th, 2021
Game of the Day:
The Boston Celtics absolutely demolished the Kings with a final score of 128-75. Jayson Tatum had 36 points, Jaylen Brown had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Robert Williams had 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Josh Richardson had 14 points off the bench. The Kings, on the other hand, had no one score more than 15 points; their leading scorer was Buddy Hield, with 11.
This was the third time this season that Tatum and Brown each scored 30 points. The only other duo in Celtics’ history to score 30+ points in three or more games was the duo of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale.
(Almost) Game of the Day:
The Washington Wizards were on track for a blowout against the Clippers as big as the Celtics’ blowout against the Kings. But, to start the second half, the Clippers went on a run, and Washington couldn’t answer. This would continue all throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters, until Luke Kennard hit a deep clutch three and another on which he was fouled (to tie the game). The Wizards’ fate was sealed when Montrezl Harrell fumbled a full-court pass.
The 35-point deficit is the second largest that has been overcome in the modern play-by-play era. There was absolutely no way the Clippers should have won without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Bradley Beal had 23 points, Kyle Kuzma had 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Daniel Gafford, and Trez each put up 12 points. They were up by seven points with only 20 seconds left; and they still lost. The Clippers are the only team to come back from a seven-point deficit in 20 seconds, other then the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.
Stat(s) of the Day:
Many players made statistical history tonight. Let’s review a few:
Cade Cunningham dropped 34 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, and made 6 three-pointers, making him the third rookie in the past 40 years to lead his team in all six of these stats. The other two? Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson.
Joel Embiid had his 4th straight game with at least 35 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the 4th player to have a streak that long. There’s only one player with a five-game streak of at least 35 points and 10 rebounds, and his name is Karl Malone.
Nikola Jokic became the only player in NBA history to grab 5,000 rebounds and dish out 3,000 assists in the first 500 games of his career.
The MVP race this year is going to be a great one, and I can think of several candidates off the top of my head who easily deserve the award.
Don’t forget to follow the NBA Blog, and as always, have an awesome day!
NBA Blog 