Kyle Lowry Trying to Save Toronto Raptors' Season and Other Friday NBA Takeaways
The Toronto Raptors, who had lost nine of their last 10 games heading into a Friday night affair with the Miami Heat, desperately need a spark as they try to remain near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Kyle Lowry seems determined to give them one.
Coming off a 32-point showing three nights earlier, the bulldog of a point guard showed up in a big way once more. This time, he put the world on quadruple-double watch, ultimately falling short but showing off his two-way prowess all the while in Toronto's 102-92 victory.
When the final buzzer sounded, Lowry walked off his stage with one of the more impressive lines of the season: 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, seven steals and a block. Better yet, he did so while shooting 7-of-12 from the field, making five of his eight tries from beyond the arc and turning the ball over only four times, despite it always finding its way into his hands.
His night also included this long-range looper:
Hey, when you're on, you're on.
How unique are those numbers? Well, the last player to reach all of those counting stats was Chris Paul. And this is what the point guard looked like when he put up such a performance in January 2009, because he definitely wasn't wearing Los Angeles Clippers threads.
In fact, since 1985-86, only eight different players had met the necessary marks:
- Larry Bird
- Baron Davis
- Clyde Drexler
- Kevin Garnett
- Chris Paul
- Micheal Ray Richardson
- Alvin Robertson
- Metta World Peace
Now, Lowry makes nine. And what timing he has.
Had the Raptors fallen to Miami, they'd only boast a one-game lead over the Washington Wizards, who should be playing better basketball as Bradley Beal continues to adjust upon his return from a stress injury in his leg. Now, they have more cushion between themselves and the Wiz, but they're also only a game shy of the Chicago Bulls—who couldn't get the job done on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets—for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference.
Over the last few weeks, Lowry had been awful. There's no need to sugar-coat it, as the floor general himself admitted he was playing like "trash." His shot was off, and he looked as if he'd run entirely out of gas. But on Tuesday, Lowry took his play up a notch, which fired up his Raptors teammates. At least, that's what Toronto coach Dwane Casey said, per TSN's Josh Lewenberg:
And against Miami on Friday, he played an impassioned game and found quite a bit of success. As Holly MacKenzie wrote for NBA.com after Lowry led a spirited—but ultimately ill-fated—comeback attempt against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, the point guard is acting as a leader:
"Since arriving in Toronto three seasons ago, Lowry has matured on and off the court. His fiery competitiveness is part of what makes him such a tough player to try and stop. That same intensity was on display in San Antonio, but rather than it working as a negative, players understood his frustrations because they were frustrated as well. Rather than taking his words as a player pointing fingers, they took it as a call to action for the group as a whole.
"
If anyone is going to save this season for Toronto, it will be Lowry.
Don't get me wrong. The Raptors will need solid showings from DeMar DeRozan. Jonas Valanciunas must continue improving, and the rest of the squad has to start connecting on their shots once more. But Lowry remains the central figure, and it's a burden he's apparently willing to accept.
This rejuvenated, quad-dub-challenging version of himself could help make one of the first half's better teams into a threatening presence once again. Anything less, and the Raptors won't be going far beyond the last game of the regular season.
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION
The Triple-Double Train Is Still Rolling
Eight games, six triple-doubles for Russell Westbrook. This time, the Minnesota Timberwolves were his victim of choice.
The uber-athletic point guard finished with 29 points, 10 boards and 12 dimes in the 113-99 victory, and that gives him yet another one of those remarkable box scores. Most importantly, his Oklahoma City Thunder emerged with the win, one that helps them keep pace with the red-hot New Orleans Pelicans in the marquee battle for No. 8 in the Western Conference.
The win is especially vital because this individual feat might not stand for too long. This is the play that saw Westbrook get credit from the hometown scoring team for an offensive rebound and subsequent missed shot, giving him his 10th successful board of the night:
Fishy, right?
But triple-double or not, we can't let the point guard escape without pointing out some of the negatives, as his lines are more historically unique than historically beneficial to his team.
Turnovers continue to pile up for Westbrook, who may seriously need to think about taking a step back and letting his teammates help him out a bit more. It's an old argument, but it's more applicable than ever now that this eight-turnover showing gave him his fewest cough-ups in the last three outings.
Plus, there was this notable lowlight:
Westbrook's recent tear has been remarkable, and we have to give him a lot of credit for turning on the nitrous in Kevin Durant's absence. But he hasn't been perfect by any stretch of the imagination and has plenty of room for improvement. We can appreciate his historical one-man efforts while still acknowledging that, after all.
Mavericks Getting Back on Track?
For the Dallas Mavericks, it was one of those nights where everything went right.
After a competitive first quarter, the previously struggling Mavs went on an absolute tear, eviscerating the Los Angeles Clippers en route to a 129-99 blowout victory. Seven players finished with double-digit points, including 19 from Charlie Villanueva and a game-high 22 from Chandler Parsons.
The small forward, who only recently returned to the lineup, was the clear star of the night, draining five triples and one old-fashioned three-point play that serves as a nice summary of the night:
When that's falling, you know things are going your way.
But for the Mavericks, losers of five games in their previous seven outings, this had to be an encouraging night. Not only did a healthy Parsons make a big difference, but the depth showed up in both the frontcourt and the backcourt. Even more importantly, Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis had efficient shooting nights, starting to break out of lengthy slumps.
Will this be a turning point for a team that has been massively outclassed on both ends in recent weeks? That remains to be seen, though this was certainly a performance filled with good feelings for the team that still sits at No. 6 in the brutal Western Conference.
Dominant DeMarcus Cousins Can't Get it Done
The Philadelphia 76ers are supposed to be a softball on the schedule, but they tripped up George Karl's defenseless Sacramento Kings with a rare win in front of their hometown Philadelphia faithful. But even in victory, the efforts of players like Nerlens Noel (16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists) and Robert Covington (24 points on 17 shots) were overshadowed by a certain Sacramento big man.
Though the rest of the Kings weren't up for any heavy lifting, Cousins exploded for 39 points, 24 rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block on 12-of-24 shooting from the field and an even 20 trips to the stripe. His impressive night was punctuated by this and-one slam:
No player this season had gone for 30 and 20, which was last achieved by Anthony Davis against the Boston Celtics on March 16, 2014. Thirty-nine and 24? No one has done that since Chris Webber in 2001.
In fact, since Basketball-Reference's Play Finder data began in 1985-86, Webber, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Joe Barry Carroll are the only ones to achieve the feat. And fortunately for Cousins' pride, Olajuwon's performance came in defeat as well.
Shoutout to Evan Turner
Evan Turner's performance for the Boston Celtics has been largely flying under the radar, but it's impossible to ignore how he flat-out torched the Orlando Magic on Friday. In a defensive battle that ended in a 95-88 Beantown victory, the swingman exploded for 30 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens had some nice words for Turner after the game, via the franchise's Twitter account:
His shooting stroke had been off in the early stages of March, but that wasn't the case on Friday night. Thirty points gives him a new high-water mark for the season, topping his Jan. 3 outing against the Chicago Bulls by a single made free throw.
Did DeAndre Jordan Make History?
The Clippers big man has been having a historic rebounding season, going on an absolute tear while Blake Griffin rehabs his surgically repaired elbow. But on Friday night, he may have done something no one else ever has, and it started when, well, he did something he never had.
Prior to this game against the Mavericks, Jordan had taken seven three-point attempts in his career and made none of them. Eight proved to be the magic number, as he scored the team's first three points of the game:
Later in the first quarter, he did what's almost the exact opposite of a made triple.
He air-balled a free throw:
So readers, can any of you find evidence of a player making a three and finding nothing but air on a charity shot in the same quarter? Hell, even the same game will suffice.
Note: All stats come from Basketball-Reference.
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