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NBA's Top Stats, Best Highlights, Updated Playoff Picture from Aug. 9 Results
August 10, 2020
The final week of seeding games inside the NBA's Orlando bubble will be all about the race for the Western Conference's No. 8 seed.
Portland and San Antonio gained more ground on Memphis Saturday, while New Orleans and Sacramento were officially eliminated from contention.
Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan produced standout performances for their respective sides to move within a game of the struggling Grizzlies.
The difference between eighth-place Memphis and Phoenix in 11th place is 1.5 games. Memphis, Portland and San Antonio have two games remaining, while the Suns have three left to play.
Over in the Eastern Conference, Toronto and Boston earned victories to further solidify their spots alongside Milwaukee in the top tier of contenders.
The Raptors and Celtics are locked into the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, so if they win their first-round matchups, they would face off in the East semifinals.
Oklahoma City 121, Washington 103
Danilo Gallinari (OKC): 20 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Darius Bazley (OKC): 23 PTS, 7 REB
Jerome Robinson (WSH): 19 PTS, 6 AST, 2 REB
Darius Bazley exploded for 23 points off the bench to extend Washington's miserable stay inside the bubble.
The 23 points marked a career high for the Oklahoma City guard, who had 29 points in four previous appearances in Orlando.
The Thunder had six players reach double digits, with Danilo Gallinari joining Bazley in the 20-point column.
Oklahoma City's victory moved it into a half-game lead over the Utah Jazz for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.
The Wizards have two games left against Milwaukee and Boston to avoid going winless inside the bubble. The only good news going into those matchups might be the willingness to rest players with East seeds already locked into place.
Toronto 108, Memphis 99
Pascal Siakam (TOR): 26 PTS, 3 AST, 1 REB
Norman Powell (TOR): 16 PTS, 4 AST, 2 REB
Serge Ibaka (TOR): 12 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST
Dillon Brooks (MEM): 25 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST
Ja Morant (MEM): 17 PTS, 10 AST, 4 REB
Toronto's impressive all-around performance put more pressure on Memphis' playoff hopes.
Nick Nurse's team broke the game open with a 40-point second quarter and followed that up by conceding only 17 points in the third.
Pascal Siakam knocked down a quartet of three-point shots on his way to a game-high 26 points.
Toronto received terrific production off the bench from Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell, who combined for 28 points. Ibaka also brought down 12 rebounds to record a double-double.
Ja Morant put up 17 points and 10 assists, but he could not do enough to make up for the absence of points from Jonas Valanciunas, who was shut out in 27 minutes.
The combination of Memphis' fifth bubble loss and wins by Portland and San Antonio cut the Grizzlies' advantage over both teams further.
San Antonio 122, New Orleans 113
DeMar DeRozan (SA): 27 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST
Rudy Gay (SA): 19 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST
JJ Redick (NO): 31 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST
Zion Williamson (NO): 25 PTS, 7 REB
DeMar DeRozan powered a 41-point fourth quarter to keep San Antonio in the mix for the play-in series.
DeRozan scored 15 of his 27 points in the final 12 minutes to help the Spurs rally back after a 19-point third.
DeRozan and Dejounte Murray were supported by strong bench performances out of Rudy Gay and Marco Belinelli.
Gay produced his second 19-point outing in the bubble and his fifth double-digit point total since the resumption of play.
New Orleans also received a massive contribution out of one of its veterans off the bench, as JJ Redick put up 31 points on eight three-point shots.
Unfortunately for Redick, his postseason streak ended at 13 years in a row through the combination of New Orleans' loss and Portland's victory over Philadelphia.
Boston 122, Orlando 119 (Final/Overtime)
Gordon Hayward (BOS); 31 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST
Jayson Tatum (BOS): 29 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST
Jaylen Brown (BOS): 19 PTS, 12 REB
Nikola Vucevic (ORL): 26 PTS, 11 REB
Terence Ross (ORL): 18 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST
Jayson Tatum scored five points in the final 37 seconds of the fourth quarter to force overtime between Boston and Orlando.
Tatum scored an additional five points in overtime to eke out a victory for the third-ranked team in the East.
Before Tatum took over, Gordon Hayward shined for the Celtics. He produced 31 points while shooting 12-of-18 from the field.
The total was the second highest of the season for Hayward behind a 39-point performance against Cleveland November 5.
Despite not having Aaron Gordon in the lineup, the Magic fought hard with Nikola Vucevic and James Ennis III both recording double-doubles.
Orlando now has two games to prepare for the postseason. The Magic are expected to start the first round against Milwaukee.
Portland 124, Philadelphia 121
Damian Lillard (POR): 51 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB
Carmelo Anthony (POR): 20 PTS, 7 REB
Josh Richardson (PHI): 34 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB
Alec Burks (PHI: 20 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST
Damian Lillard made sure he did not let his poor close to Saturday's game against the L.A. Clippers affect him Sunday.
The Trail Blazers star went off for 51 points to pull Portland closer to Memphis in the race for the No. 8 seed.
The only other Portland player to reach 20 points was Carmelo Anthony, who moved into 15th on the NBA's all-time scoring chart past Paul Pierce.
Josh Richardson and Alec Burks combined for 54 points to keep the Sixers in the contest, but they were short-handed with Ben Simmons out and Joel Embiid getting injured during the game.
Portland has two games left against Dallas and Brooklyn to overtake the Grizzlies for the eighth seed.
Gaining the No. 8 seed is important because that team only has to win a single game in the play-in series. The No. 9 seed has to win twice.
Philadelphia is still in the mix for the East's No. 4 seed, but its path to that placing may be hard with Embiid possibly joining Simmons on the sideline.
Houston 129, Sacramento 112
Austin Rivers (HOU): 41 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST
James Harden (HOU): 32 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST
De'Aaron Fox (SAC): 26 PTS, 9 AST, 2 REB
Austin Rivers created a rare occurrence in which neither James Harden nor Russell Westbrook was Houston's leading scorer.
Rivers came off the bench to torch the Kings for 41 points, 18 of which came from three-point range.
The high level of production was a welcome sight with Westbrook sidelined and Danuel House and P.J. Tucker combining for three points out of the starting lineup.
Before Sunday, Rivers put up 31 points in four games in Orlando and hadjust a pair of 20-point performances this season.
Harden was his normal self in the backcourt, eclipsing the 30-point mark for the third time in five games.
Sacramento received another solid output from De'Aaron Fox, but Bogdan Bogdanovic was limited to 13 points, and its record in the bubble fell to 1-4.
Brooklyn 129, Los Angeles Clippers 120
Caris LeVert (BKN): 27 PTS, 13 AST, 4 REB
Joe Harris (BKN): 25 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST
Tyler Johnson (BKN): 21 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST
Kawhi Leonard (LAC): 39 PTS, 6 AST, 2 REB
Brooklyn continues to be the most pleasant surprise in the Eastern Conference.
The Nets fended off a challenge from Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers to finish Sunday's seven-game slate with a nine-point victory.
Caris LeVert and Joe Harris got off to fast starts to help the Nets score 45 points in the opening stanza.
Brooklyn shot 85.7 percent from the field in the first 12 minutes to set a new season best across the league, per NBA Stats:
Kawhi Leonard clawed the Los Angeles Clippers back into the contest with a personal 11-0 run in the third quarter.
The Nets answered that with a 10-3 run and opened up a 10-point gap at the start of the fourth period.
Four of Brooklyn's five starters reached double digits and Tyler Johnson added 21 points off the bench to help push the team's bubble record to 4-2.
Updated Playoff Picture
Eastern Conference
1. Milwaukee (55-15)
2. Toronto (50-19)
3. Boston (47-23)
4. Miami (43-27)
5. Indiana (43-27)
6. Philadelphia (42-28)
7. Brooklyn (34-36)
8. Orlando (32-39)
9. Washington (24-46)
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers (51-18)
2. Los Angeles Clippers (47-23)
3. Denver (46-24)
4. Houston (43-25)
5. Oklahoma City (43-26)
6. Utah (43-27)
7. Dallas (42-30)
8. Memphis (33-38)
9. Portland (33-39)
10. San Antonio (31-38)
11. Phoenix (31-39)
12. New Orleans (30-40)
13. Sacramento (29-40)
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.