On April 15, Beijing time, the NBA ushered in the last super game day, in eight games in the West, the Nuggets defeated the Grizzlies 122-104, the Thunder beat the Mavericks 135-86, the Clippers lost to the Rockets 105-116, the Warriors defeated the Jazz 123-116, and the Kings defeated the Trail Blazers 121-82. And the games between the Lakers and the Pelicans, the Suns and the Timberwolves are even more eye-catching to fans.
The Big Three Showdown, Mr. $525 Million Saves the Suns
At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, the Suns' big three had a showdown, one by one strong start, which quickly drove the offensive rhythm of the whole team, and they played a wave of 15-6 offensive climax, which caught the Timberwolves off guard. Although the Timberwolves hit consecutive three-pointers to try to stop the bleeding, Durant was hot and still helped the Suns extend the margin to double digits. At this point, Beal stepped up, hitting four consecutive three-pointers from the outside to help the Suns blast 44 points in a single quarter and extend the lead to 22 points in one fell swoop.
Entering the second quarter, the Suns' shooting percentage has decreased, and the Timberwolves are in average state on the offensive end. However, then, Conley, Walker and Reed hit three-pointers one after another, leading the team to chase consecutive points. Edwards began to use his physical advantage to attack the interior and help the Timberwolves close the gap, and finally at halftime, the Timberwolves narrowed the gap to 13 points.
In the second half, the Suns came up and played a wave of 10-1 small climax to open the score again. However, Gobert showed strong dominance on the inside, and he completed three 2+1 attacks in a row, scoring 11 points in a row, and responded strongly to the Suns' offense. The Timberwolves took advantage of the trend to chase the margin to single digits, but the Suns also quickly adjusted their form and continued to maintain an 11-point lead.
In the final quarter of the game, Beal completely broke out, and he teamed up with Allen to shoot on the outside one after another, helping the Suns play a wave of 24-11 offensive climax, and re-stretch the difference to more than 20 points. Subsequently, the two sides began to replace substitute players for training, and the game gradually lost suspense. In the end, the Suns won the game with a 125-106 victory over the Timberwolves. In this game, Mr. $525 million, Mr. Beal scored 36 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, saving the team for the second time. Booker had 23 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, Allen had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, and Durant had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals!
James went down to earth and assisted the offense
In the first quarter of the game between the Pelicans and the Pelicans, the Lakers players entered the game earlier, showed a strong desire to attack, and successfully took the lead. Under James' leadership, the Lakers offense was fluent, and the margin quickly stretched to double digits. It is worth mentioning that James handed out 8 assists in the first quarter alone, showing his excellent playmaking skills and court vision. Entering the second quarter, the Pelicans' offensive performance picked up and tried to close the gap. However, their performance on the defensive end was full of holes, allowing the Lakers to score 40 points in a single quarter. By halftime, the Lakers had a 17-point lead, showing great strength and teamwork.
Back in the second half, the Pelicans' offense stalled again, while the Lakers were still on the rise. With the joint efforts of James and his teammates, the point difference quickly exceeded 30 points. The game lost suspense early in the final quarter, and in the end, the Lakers defeated the Pelicans and successfully locked up the eighth spot in the West. In this game, Hachimura scored 11 points, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals, Reeves scored 20 points, Russell scored 19 points and 4 assists, and the hero of the win was James, who got 28 points, 11 boards, 17 assists and 5 steals of quasi-quadruple-double data, and grabbed rebounds in the offensive and defensive organizations, and the performance of the quadrilateral superstar. In addition, James set an all-time record in the first quarter, and after eight assists, James surpassed 11,000 assists in his regular season career, ranking fourth in history, behind Stockton, Kidd and Paul. Thick eyebrows scored 30 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, and retired from injury in the last quarter, but according to the latest news, thick eyebrows have some cramps, and it is not a big problem!
Final standings and situation in the western region:
Since then, the final standings in the West are as follows: the Thunder and Nuggets both have a 57-25 record, the Thunder are in first place, the Nuggets are in second, the Timberwolves are in third place with 56 wins and 26 losses, the Clippers are fourth at 51-31, the Mavericks are fifth at 50-32, the Suns are sixth at 49-33, the Pelicans are seventh at 49-33, the Lakers are eighth at 47-35, the Kings are ninth at 46-36, and the Warriors are tenth at 46-36.
In this way, the definite opponents in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs are the Mavericks and Clippers, the Suns and the Timberwolves. In the playoffs, the Pelicans will host the Lakers, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the seventh seed and the loser facing the winner between the Kings and the Warriors. In the last game, the Suns escaped from the play-in area, which is also in line with the league's desire, after all, once the Suns also enter the play-offs, then, there is a possibility that two top teams will be 1-2 out of the play-offs, and the league cannot afford to be injured! According to the author's prediction, if there is no problem with thick eyebrows injuries, then, they will be the first to break through from the play-offs, the Pelicans were stunned by the Lakers today, as a young team, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not be unbalanced in the life and death mentality, the author believes that the Warriors will win two in a row and advance to the playoffs as the eighth in the West.