Thunder Losing Control of Their Playoff Destiny and Tuesday NBA Takeaways
The Oklahoma City Thunder walked into a buzz saw Tuesday night, leaving their playoff hopes resembling a fragile piece of splintered plywood.
Not only did the San Antonio Spurs wallop the Thunder, 113-88, but the New Orleans Pelicans also used a 36-23 third-quarter edge to fuel a 103-100 upset victory over the Golden State Warriors and moved into sole possession of the Western Conference's No. 8 seed.
With the win, New Orleans is in complete control of its destiny, contrary to what Dion Waiters told reporters following the loss, according to ESPN.com’s Royce Young and ESPN Stats & Info:
The Thunder have now lost six of their last seven games, while the Pelicans have won five of their last six, dating back to March 27.
| 1. Atlanta Hawks* | 58-19 | 0.0 | 1. Golden State Warriors* | 63-15 | 0.0 |
| 2. Cleveland Cavaliers* | 50-27 | 8.0 | 2. Houston Rockets* | 53-24 | 9.5 |
| 3. Chicago Bulls* | 46-31 | 12.0 | 3. Memphis Grizzlies* | 52-25 | 10.5 |
| 4. Toronto Raptors* | 45-32 | 13.0 | 4. Portland Trail Blazers* | 50-27 | 12.5 |
| 5. Washington Wizards* | 44-33 | 14.0 | 5. Los Angeles Clippers* | 53-26 | 10.5 |
| 6. Milwaukee Bucks | 38-39 | 20.0 | 6. San Antonio Spurs* | 52-26 | 11.0 |
| 7. Brooklyn Nets | 36-41 | 22.0 | 7. Dallas Mavericks* | 46-31 | 16.5 |
| 8. Boston Celtics | 35-42 | 23.0 | 8. New Orleans Pelicans | 42-35 | 20.5 |
| 9. Miami Heat | 35-43 | 23.5 | 9. Oklahoma City Thunder | 42-36 | 21.0 |
| 10. Indiana Pacers | 34-43 | 24.0 | 10. Phoenix Suns | 39-38 | 24.0 |
| 11. Charlotte Hornets | 33-44 | 25.0 | 11. Utah Jazz | 35-42 | 27.5 |
Led by 29 points (10-of-21 shooting), 10 rebounds, four blocks and two steals from Anthony Davis, New Orleans avoided a season-series sweep by the Warriors and doubled-down by pushing Oklahoma City closer to catastrophe.
Following the win, Davis reiterated that his team took offense to the Warriors' nonchalant approach versus a prospective first-round opponent:
The Pelicans' triumph was even more impressive considering they withstood a first-half three-point barrage from Stephen Curry (25 points, nine assists). The floor general's performance included one of his signature off-the-dribble maneuvers to close the opening half, as well as his best efforts to spoil the Pelicans' party with a game-tying three in crunch time:
With their postseason lives hanging in the balance, the Thunder couldn't muster a similar effort against the NBA's most terrifying machine of the moment.
From the jump, Oklahoma City looked outmatched, scoring a season-low 10 points in the first quarter while committing six turnovers. Things didn't get any easier on the eyes from there, as the Spurs' lead boiled to 30 in the fourth quarter.
For the second straight game, Kawhi Leonard tied his career high with 26 points (10-of-15 shooting), three steals and two assists.
Even if Russell Westbrook (17 points, six steals, four turnovers) had been able to consistently penetrate and put up one of his signature triple-doubles, the Thunder still would've suffered from a woeful lack of comparative harmony on both ends.
As a team, the Thunder shot 40.5 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from three against San Antonio's vise-like defense that hasn't allowed more than 100 points since March 24.
Those totals are the mark of a team that has been dogged by injury-induced shortcomings all season long, as The Oklahoman's Anthony Slater noted:
And now things get fascinating.
With New Orleans currently occupying the No. 8 seed, all five teams in the Southwest are on track to qualify for the postseason, with just one emerging out of the Northwest, as CBS Sports NBA noted:
Despite having lost control of its own destiny, Oklahoma City's now left with four games to salvage its season, with one of those contests slated to come against present postseason qualifiers. The Thunder will get a brief reprieve in the form of a Friday clash with the Sacramento Kings before back-to-back tilts against the Indiana Pacers and Portland Trail Blazers prior to closing with the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road.
The story differs for the Pelicans, whom the schedule-makers did no favors. New Orleans will get right back to it with a must-win outing against the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night, before closing with the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Timberwolves and Spurs, in that order.
With New Orleans surging and Oklahoma City stumbling, the Thunder have been left wishing they could be in position to control their own destiny, even if Westbrook sees things differently, per Young:
Time for a test of wills to decide this thing once and for all.
Around the Association
Miami Stays Afloat, Charlotte Sinks
At long last, the Miami Heat's losing streak is over.
With a 105-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, Miami snapped a four-game skid, thanks to 28 points (10-of-16 shooting) from Goran Dragic and 19 from Dwyane Wade.
According to the Heat's official Twitter account, Miami has been unbeatable when it scores that prolifically:
Luol Deng added 21 points despite undergoing an MRI on his left knee that momentarily put his season in question, per the Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman.
As Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick indicated, Miami's playoff hopes are still very much alive, while Charlotte is staring at inevitable disappointment with five games remaining:
Miami will look to keep treading water when it clashes with the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.
Atlanta Makes History
Balance, balance and more balance. That's how the Atlanta Hawks downed the Phoenix Suns, 96-69, and it's how they've racked up a franchise-record 58 wins.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore, Atlanta has now swept a third of the league's teams this season:
Even without Paul Millsap (shoulder sprain), Atlanta had no problem taking care of the Suns, using 16 points apiece from Mike Muscala, DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague to cruise past Phoenix.
Following a three-game losing streak, the Hawks have won five of their last seven games—not that they need to pad their lead atop the East anymore.
With home-court advantage wrapped up through the conference finals, the only remaining box Atlanta needs to check off is the first 60-win season in franchise history.
Sim Bhullar Checks in
The Hawks weren't the only team that made history Tuesday night.
As Bleacher Report documented, Sacramento Kings center Sim Bhullar became the first player of Indian descent to play in an NBA game, logging 16.1 seconds of fourth-quarter action in his team's 116-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves:
He may even be the team's new secret weapon, according to CBS Sports' Zach Harper:
Prior to Bhullar's entrance, Rudy Gay dropped 33 points in his return from a two-game absence due to a concussion, while Omri Casspi poured in 31 points to snap Sacramento's five-game losing streak.
Kevin Martin led all scorers with 37 points on 13-of-31 shooting, but it was 26 points from Andrew Wiggins (as well as 21 points and 11 dimes from fellow rookie Zach LaVine) that should have Timberwolves fans brimming with optimism.
Clippers Sweep Staples Center Derby
Make it four straight wins for the Los Angeles Clippers, who staved off the pesky Los Angeles Lakers, 105-100, to capture a season-series sweep of the Purple and Gold.
However, the win didn't come in particularly convincing fashion, a la Sunday's 106-78 romp.
Every member of the Clippers bench finished with a negative plus/minus rating as Doc Rivers' second unit was outscored, 27-19, by the Lakers reserves. In his return from a month-long calf injury, Jamal Crawford contributed just four points on 2-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes. B/R's Fred Katz noted the Clippers' bench was outplayed:
Consider that a major red flag as the postseason approaches.
J.J. Redick and Blake Griffin topped the scoring charts with 27 points apiece, but it was Chris Paul's 19-point, 10-assist double-double that kept the Clippers on balance throughout.
