Welcome to the B-Ball Brunch. Enjoy reading about my NBA musings about last night during your brunch hours.
The Houston Rockets scored a lot of points.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ned Dishman/Getty Images.)
Yeah, we know the World Series of Baseball was on last night. But in a hilarious twist, the professional basketball teams from the World Series teams (Houston and Washington) were ALSO playing each other. And it was some fantastic sports-entertainment. No, not WWE, but you do know that sports ARE entertainment, right?
So this game that took place in the nation’s capital? Lots and lots of scoring happened that you would think this was a bordello. No, but really, a lot of points were scored. The game ended in a 159-158 tally in favor of Houston. The Wizards couldn’t get a shot off after James Harden missed his free throw (his only miss from the stripe!).
Yeah, you read that right. 159-158. That is a total of 317 points.
Where does that rank amongst the highest scoring games EVER in the NBA?
This was an actual REGULATION score. In games that finished in regulation, Houston/Washington fell three points shy of tying the record. Golden State defeated Denver in a 162-158 (320 total) classic in Nov. 2, 1990. Second place was another game in Denver; the Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 163-155 (318 total), in a Jan. 11, 1984 contest. That would make Rockets/Wizards third place in regulation games.
In OVERALL games? Well, we remember what happened last year, right? The Bulls defeated the Hawks in Atlanta but they needed four overtime periods to do it. The final score? 168-161 (329 total points). And by the way, that was only the FOURTH most points scored in an NBA game. The honor for most points goes to a game in, surprise, DENVER. The Pistons went on a three-overtime marathon with the Nuggets that ended in a 186-184 (370 total) finish. Including all the games that went to overtime, Rockets/Wizards have the 9th most points ever in an NBA game. So if you watched that game, you witnessed some history!
Harden finished with 59 points, which is easily the season-high for individual points in a game. Bradley Beal wasn’t too bad; he scored 46 points. Also, Wizards first round pick Rui Hachimura put in 23 points (Asians gotta stick together). As for Russell Westbrook? Of course, he had a triple-double (17-10-12).
It’s already insane enough that the Wizards shot .626 from the field. But another record that this game had? They tied the mark for most combined three-pointers in a game. Wizards had 23 three-pointers (three short of the record) while the Rockets sank 20. Their 43 threes tie a record that the Warriors and Pelicans did earlier this year on Jan. 16.
Those numbers are dizzying. Too bad, that the Wizards lost the game. Oh, well. At least, the city won the World Series. That’s not too shabby.
Bullet Passes
There were some radical things happening that I don’t even know where to start.
*Okay, it was the battle of the undefeated between the Wolves and the Sixers. The game was getting out of hand and the Sixers were breaking the game open.
Well, it even got MORE out of hand!
(VIDEO CREDIT: ESPN.)
Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid got tangled up and decided to have a wrestling match on the court. During that fracas, Ben Simmons got in the middle and we all thought he was choking Towns. And honestly, maybe he did a little bit because he did put his arm around his neck and it looked like Towns struggled to breathe as he pounded the floor once. But the “choke” didn’t really last for a second; it was more to get KAT to calm down.
But there was so much going on. Mike Scott was giving Embiid props. KAT’s mom was NOT happy. Embiid went on to say that he ain’t no bitch. Man, oh, man.
I expect a couple of games for both guys. Maybe three or four? I didn’t see any punches thrown but escalating the situation doesn’t help their case. After much mulling, Simmons probably might escape unscathed. He didn’t get ejected in the game to begin with.
Oh, and the beef continued in social media!
KAT also posted on Instagram. This one isn’t going to end anytime soon.
We are here for ALL OF IT.
(By the way, the Sixers won the game. Now we are down to TWO undefeated teams.)
*The Warriors trailed the Suns last night, 50-19. Can you believe that? And when it rains, it pours. Stephen Curry had a bad landing after driving on Aron Baynes in the third quarter. He tried to save himself by landing on his hands but then Baynes also landed on his arm, which probably caused the break.
The Dubs went on to lose the game and are now 1-3. Curry will probably be out a couple of months minimum but we’ll see if he needs surgery to repair his hand or not.
It also poses an interesting conundrum for the Warriors. It’s still REALLY early in the season so I don’t want to call it a lost season just yet. I say they should see what they have with D’Angelo Russell and Draymond Green as their main core. Their other vets like Alec Burks, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Kevon Looney should be back soon. And then they can make a decision by the time December 15 gets there, when teams are allowed to trade the free agents that they signed.
But if the Warriors think they still have a window with their core of Green and the brothers Splash? Then they should just treat this as a… dynasty interruption.
*Mike Conley got his basketball powers back! Conley went for 18 of his 29 points in the third quarter and helped defeat the Kawhi-less Clippers. In Conley’s first four games, he was averaging a not-so-great 7.8 points per while shooting an awful 20 percent from the field. At least, we can say this slump is over.
*Yeah, Kawhi Leonard rested. The Clippers have another game tonight (this time, against his old Spurs team at home). I know some oldheads question this thinking but we already know Kawhi’s injury history. The Clips are playing for April, May, and June. At this point, Leonard is probably going to play 60-65 games per season for the rest of the way. Unless he makes it a personal goal to play all 82 someday.
*The Raptors are 4-1 and that’s largely thanks to their new franchise cornerstone, Pascal Siakam. He scored 30 points against the Pistons, bringing his average to 28.0 points per game. I feel like he’s relishing his new role as the #1 option so far.
*The Pacers defeated the Nets last night. There are ZERO winless teams in the East. Too bad, that Sacramento still can’t win; they lost against Charlotte. The Pelicans were idle last night but they are still 0-4.
*Dirk Nowitzki has a street named after him! This is cool.
There it is Nowitzki Way!!! pic.twitter.com/zwn0E28GhN
— Mark Followill (@MFollowill) October 30, 2019
Watch This Play
Collin Sexton makes a clutch play and throws one down on Wendell Carter, Jr.
Collin Sexton gives it to Wendell Carter, Jr. pic.twitter.com/pSC8MR4JB6
— 𝐑𝐞𝐲-𝐑𝐞𝐲 🤞🏾✌🏾 (@TheNoLookPass) October 31, 2019
Cavs are 2-2 now! Pretty good!
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.