Western Conference Finals preview Paul only 8 points, the Suns lost to the Grizzlies nine-game winning streak to end! Covington exploded to slash career highs as the Clippers beat the defending champions! James scored 38 points, missing a three-point draw the Lakers lost the key battle!
Preview of the Western Show! The Grizzlies beat the Suns to win seven straight
The Suns' game against the Grizzlies is the focus of the season, on the one hand, the two teams have locked in the top two in the West in advance, and this campaign is also known as a preview of this season's Western Conference Finals. On the other hand, before this game, the Suns have won nine straight, and the Grizzlies have also won six in a row, after which one side will have a winning streak will be ended, and the Grizzlies boss Morant is still unable to play.
In the first quarter of the game, the Grizzlies, who were at home, made a strong start of 25:9, and the Suns relied on Booker's 12 points in the single quarter to chase points. In the second quarter, the Suns, who led the double-digit point difference, picked up, narrowing the gap to four points at the end of the quarter. In the third quarter, the two sides began a tug-of-war, and the Grizzlies blossomed with a one-point lead into the final quarter. In the final quarter, the Grizzlies suddenly broke out and played a small climax of 15:0, taking a lead of more than 10 points. Although Booker scored 18 points in the quarter, he was still unable to recover the defeat, and the Suns eventually lost 114-122 on the road.
Paul and Ayton became the key reasons for the Suns' loss, and after scoring a big double-double in two of the first three games, Paul played 32 minutes in this campaign, only 6 shots, only hit 2 of them, and got 8 points and 11 assists, while Ayton also scored only 9 points, which also led to Booker's 41 points becoming an empty cut. Booker had given everything he could in this game, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and 18 points again in the final quarter, but the team eventually lost this crucial game. For the Grizzlies, they blossomed again, with Brooks scoring a team-high 30 points and seven assists.
After this game, the Suns' nine-game winning streak was brought to an end, while the Grizzlies defeated strong opponents with their super team combat ability to score in double figures with seven players on the team, winning seven consecutive games. Although the outcome of this game can no longer affect the ranking of both sides, for the Grizzlies, it is a good boost for their self-confidence that they can win such a strong opponent without Morant.
Covington exploded! The Clippers beat the Bucks
Before this game, the defending champion Bucks were in high spirits, having won two straight games against the 76ers and nets, two strong opponents, and their opponents had just lost to the Bulls clippers in the previous game. However, most of the main players on both sides could not play in this game, including the Main Players such as George, Jackson, and Morris Jr. on the Clippers side, and four main players on the Bucks side.
In this situation, Kennard and Covington became the absolute main players of the Clippers in this battle. The two sides had already played each other in the first quarter, and the Clippers temporarily had a four-point lead in this quarter. In the second quarter, the Clippers' outside hand was extremely hot, and after a small 9-2 climax in the final quarter, the Clippers entered the second half with an 11-point lead. In the third quarter, the Bucks continued to slump on the offensive end, and on the defensive end, they failed to defend the Clippers' insoluble offense, allowing the opponent to score 41 points in the single quarter. In the final quarter, with Covington's three consecutive three-pointers, the game completely lost suspense, and the Clippers beat the defending champions 153:119, and their starting five-man combined scored 127 points.
In this game, although most of the Clippers' main players chose to take a break, they exploded a new record 153 points in the team's history, and in the second half of the game, they scored a crazy high score of 80 points. Among them, the outbreak in Covington is the most important reason. Covington played 45 minutes, shooting 11 of 18 of 15 of 24 three-pointers, a career-high 43 points, and the Clippers also scored five in double figures. While the game didn't mean much to the Clippers' rankings, it became a game that made the team's history.
Davis is back! James missed the Draw with the Lakers and lost the Pelicans
The Lakers' game against the Pelicans is also a focus battle in the West, and because the win gap between the two teams is very close, the losing side will fall directly to 11th place in the West. In this campaign, the Lakers' interior core Davis will usher in a comeback, after nearly two months, the "360 combination" will play again at the same time, and they will do their best to win this battle.
In the first quarter of the game, although the Lakers took the lead in entering the state, the Pelicans quickly rebounded and established a 5-point lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the two sides launched a tug-of-war, and the Lakers relied on James' play to tie the score in this quarter. Yi Bian fought again, the two sides alternated in the third quarter, and as Munch and McCollum faced each other in the final stage, the two sides were still inseparable in this quarter. In the final quarter, the Lakers maintained a long lead under the leadership of Westbrook, but in the final moments, Varan and McCollum helped the Pelicans play a small climax of 13:4, and with James drawing three points, the Lakers finally lost this crucial battle 111:114.
In this game, James once again played a game of all-out efforts, this time he played for 40 minutes, 13 of 23 shots madly cut down the full stats of 38 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, but only scored 2 points in the final quarter, and the last minute forced shot was not three points. Although Davis, who came back to face the old owner, had an excellent performance of 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, he also repeatedly missed key shots in the final quarter, and it can be said that both of them were exhausted at the last moment. Although Wei Shao, who scored 10 points in the final quarter, once helped the team to take the lead, he was also capped and thrown three times at key moments. In short, the Big Three failed to help the team win in the final quarter.
After losing this game, the Lakers suffered a five-game losing streak, not only with a 1.5-win gap between them and the Pelicans, on the other hand, they were also overtaken by the Spurs, temporarily falling to 11th place in the West. For them, with only four games left in the regular season and facing the Nuggets and Suns, it has become increasingly difficult for them to hit the playoffs.