Friday NBA Roundup: Third-Quarter Dominance Separating Warriors out West

Like Eminem searching for the real Slim Shady, the Golden State Warriors are still waiting for a Western Conference challenger to please stand up.

The Memphis Grizzlies looked like they might be ready to rise to their feet and contest Golden State's season-long claim to the throne atop the NBA's tougher half—maybe not in the standings, where the Warriors owned an eight-and-a-half-game advantage coming into Friday, but certainly on the court.

Through two quarters, that seemed to be the case. Memphis went into the locker room within five points of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Co. The Grizzlies actually outshot the Warriors in the first half (47.6 percent to 46.5 percent), thanks in part to Mike Conley nailing seven of nine from the floor for his 16 points.

Then the Dubs did to the Grizzlies what they've done to the rest of the league all year: They mopped the floor with them in the third quarter. Curry erupted for 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting (4-of-6 from three), Golden State held Memphis to just 16 points in the frame, and the Warriors went into the fourth quarter with a 20-point advantage on the way to a 107-84 win.

All told, it was just another dominant night for the Warriors in a season full of them.

Golden State has led the league in pace-adjusted point differential for most of 2014-15, but its play in third frames has been particularly impressive. According to NBA.com, the Dubs have drubbed their opponents by 16.6 points per 100 possessions in third quarters. The next-best mark belongs to the Los Angeles Clippers at 8.8 points per 100 possessions.

Even that understates just how great Golden State has been lately after the break. Over their last three games, as noted by GSW Stats, the Warriors have outscored their foes by an average of 18 points in the third, while holding them to 24 percent shooting from the field.

We're not talking about Golden State piling on patsies, either. Portland, Washington and now Memphis—each all basically set for the postseason—have all felt the Warriors' third-quarter wrath. In the Grizzlies' case, they were the last of the league's 29 other teams that Golden State hadn't beaten during their impressive campaign.

Now, the Grizzlies appear to be just another piece of taxidermy to be hung proudly in the Warriors' well-adorned game room. Among their other decorations: a franchise-record-tying 59 wins, including a Warriors-best 25 on the road; the team's first Pacific Division crown since 1975-76; a virtual lock on the NBA's best mark. Bleacher Report NBA highlighted the Warriors' record-setting season:

"We might be a little subdued, but I think everybody is proud of what we've done," Stephen Curry said after Golden State clinched its division against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press (via ESPN). "We still have 11 games left to keep getting better so I think everybody is focused on that. But I think everybody is pretty happy right now."

That tally of contests left until the playoffs is now down to 10. The list of teams capable of challenging the Warriors out West seems to be dwindling, as well.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State's likely first-round opponent, looks more like road kill instead of a dark horse now that Kevin Durant is done for the season—and for several months thereafter, according to a Thunder press release—on account of his troublesome right foot.

Golden State could see the rival Clippers in the second round, though how much of a challenge Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and their cohort could offer is questionable, at best.

The Warriors nearly knocked the Clippers out of the first round last year, despite missing Andrew Bogut's rim protection on defense and being mired in Mark Jackson's old-school attack on offense. These two teams will meet for the fourth and final time on Tuesday, with the Dubs angling for a 3-1 season-series lead.

If the Trail Blazers advance instead, Golden State can glean confidence from its two wins over Portland already and whatever comes of their meeting on April 9, with Wesley Matthews now absent with an Achilles injury.

What about the Western Conference Finals? Should the Warriors fear the San Antonio Spurs, with whom they've split their two meetings to date? Might Golden State fret against a Houston Rockets squad that, despite getting swept by the Dubs during the regular season, figures to be more formidable with Dwight Howard back in the fold? Could the Grizzlies rebound from Friday's outing to mount a challenge in the April 13 redux or whenever these two powers meet thereafter?

The brutal West has plenty of questions for any team hoping to advance to the Finals. So far, though, the Warriors seem to have all the answers.

Hawks Come Home, Stay Home

The Atlanta Hawks returned from a quick trip to Orlando to take care of some inevitable business.

No, not getting Georgia native 2 Chainz to entertain the Philips Arena faithful, though that certainly added to the festivities. The team's official Twitter account noted 2 Chainz announcing team clinching No. 1:

Rather, with ATL rap royalty in the house, the Hawks clinched home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, courtesy of a 99-86 stomping of the Miami Heat. 

The victory came despite Jeff Teague spending the night resting an ankle he tweaked against the Magic on Wednesday. Good thing Dennis Schroder (12 points, 11 assists, two turnovers) has developed into such a reasonable facsimile of the man he backs up.

In any case, the Hawks will start the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the East for the first time since 1994. That year also doubles as the last time Atlanta had won its division prior to this year.

And with three more wins in their last 10 games, the Hawks will set a new franchise mark for single-season victories.

Wall Loses First Battle, Wins the War

Despite a remarkable near-triple-double from Mo Williams, it was John Wall who won the point guard war in the Washington Wizards' 110-107 double-overtime victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

During the first 47 minutes and change, Wall lost the first battle. The Hornets appeared to have the game on ice in the final minutes, thanks largely to Al Jefferson and Williams' play off the bench. But with 3.3 seconds left on the clock, the former Kentucky Wildcat completed a quick comeback with a game-tying jumper that ultimately forced a second battle—overtime.

And he wasn't done yet.

A three-pointer from the 1-guard opened Washington's scoring in the first extra period, though that wouldn't be enough to end this hard-fought defensive struggle. Fortunately for the Wizards, the second overtime session would do the trick, and it was Wall who did all the heavy lifting, scoring seven of his team's nine points in the decisive five minutes.

His final line? Thirty-two points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and plenty of big moments.

With the Wizards reeling as they headed into this game—they were losers in each of their last four outings—the timing of Wall's showing couldn't have been better.

Contributed by Adam Fromal

Clippers Clinch Franchise Record

It was only a matter of time until the Los Angeles Clippers secured another playoff berth. The Clippers came into Friday needing just one win to do so, and a date with the Philadelphia 76ers all but guaranteed that time would come.

Not surprisingly, the Clippers stomped the Sixers in Philly, 119-98, despite allowing rookie big man Nerlens Noel to score a career-high 30 points and grab 14 boards. But Noel's stat line didn't matter much, what with Chris Paul tallying 25 points and seven assists, Blake Griffin leading L.A. with eight helpers and DeAndre Jordan dominating the interior to the tune of 17 points and 20 boards.

Those efforts combined to give the Clippers something they've never enjoyed before: a fourth straight ticket to the postseason.

Spurs Avenge Loss to Mavericks

If not for the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs would be riding a six-game winning streak right now. Instead, they're "merely" victorious in five of their last six outings, after a 94-76 slamming of the Mavs on Friday.

Per usual, San Antonio did it by spreading the wealth. Five Spurs scored in double figures, led by Boris Diaw's 19 points off the bench. Of San Antonio's 37 field goals, 28 were assisted.

More impressively, the Spurs made sure Monta Ellis didn't torch them this time around. After piling up 38 points in Big D on Tuesday against San Antonio, Ellis managed just 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the Alamo City.

With that, the Spurs now own a game-and-a-half lead on the Mavs in the Western Conference standings, with another game-and-a-half separating them from the fifth-seeded Clippers.

Iso Joe Keeping Nets in the Hunt

Joe Johnson isn't just going to give up.

Heading into the NBA's busy slate of games on Friday night, the 30-40 Brooklyn Nets were tied with the Charlotte Hornets for the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference. But after a surprising 106-98 win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Nets, now 31-40, are still within striking distance of the playoffs.

Despite another 20-point outing from Brook Lopez, Johnson was the star of the show. The shooting guard recorded 20 points, five boards and nine assists on 7-of-14 shooting. Plus, he turned the ball over just once. Per the team, the Johnson's nine assist set a couple of records:

The Nets bench did much of the heavy lifting against the East's No. 2 seed, with Jarrett Jack, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alen Anderson all breaking into double digits. And still, it was Johnson's play—the constant isolations that actually worked and a notable 30-foot bucket—that stood out most.

But as the veteran 2-guard knows all too well from his many years in the Association, this was only the first step of many as the Nets try to sneak into the NBA's second season. They're still in the midst of an uphill climb, even if this unexpected win helps out rather significantly.

Contributed by Adam Fromal

Reggie Jackson Goes Mini-Westbrook

John Raoux/Associated Press

Reggie Jackson long looked like Russell Westbrook-lite when the two were manning the backcourt in Oklahoma City. Nowadays, Jackson's starting to look even more like his old teammate, despite departing for a starting spot with the Detroit Pistons at the trade deadline.

Jackson was once again Westbrook-esque with the way he stuffed the stat sheet against the Orlando Magic on Friday. The Boston College product piled up 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists—his second triple-double in his last five games.

To be sure, Jackson's excellence extends beyond those two contests. Over his last six outings, Jackson has averaged 21.2 points, 11.8 assists and 6.8 rebounds. More importantly, the Pistons have won five of those six, including Friday's 111-97 decision in Orlando.

Record-Setting Wiggins

With Nikola Mirotic coming on strong in March and Nerlens Noel continuing to improve on both ends of the floor for the Philadelphia 76ers, the Rookie of the Year race might be getting a little closer than Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins would like. It was time for him to do something special, and that's exactly what he did Friday.

And we're not just talking about his big dunk over Josh Smith.

In 41 minutes of action during a 10-point loss to the Houston Rockets, the athletic swingman dropped a 31-spot, knocking down nine of his 17 looks from the field and going 12-of-15 at the stripe. Those numbers may not look like they'd lead to a franchise record, but they did indeed, according to the team's official Twitter account:

Wiggins' first 30-point outing came against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 17, as he exploded for 31 against the overmatched defense in the Pepsi Center. He'd break past the barrier again eight games later, making the Cleveland Cavaliers feel a twinge of regret as he put up a career-best 33.

Now, each of the last two performances have come against James Harden and the Houston Rockets. And as a result, Isaiah Rider, who had three 30-point games during his rookie season in 1993-94, is no longer tied with this first-year phenom for single-game scoring performances.

Contributed by Adam Fromal

Boogie Balls Out vs. Brow

Layne Murdoch Jr./Getty Images

Anthony Davis has dominated all of his foes during his breakout campaign.

Well...almost all of them.

DeMarcus Cousins has had his fair share of success against his fellow Kentucky product. Friday's game between the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans was no exception.

Boogie bullied his way to 39 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks while contending with the Brow and Omer Asik down low. That impressive line accounted for Cousins' 44th double-double of the year—second only to Pau Gasol's 47.

Unfortunately for the Kings, Cousins' incredible night still wasn't nearly enough to earn a win in New Orleans. The Pelicans pulled away for a 102-88 victory over Sacramento, bolstered by Davis' 24 points, nine rebounds and six blocks. The result evened the all-time series between the NBA's best young bigs at five wins apiece.

Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.

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