Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. We jot down NBA and WNBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Damian Lillard scored his third 60-point game of the season.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Kim Klement/AP.)
I’ve said many times that Damian Lillard getting on fire is one of the coolest things in basketball. Heck, in all of sports. When someone is scoring a ton of points in any situation, it’s just such a sight. We know that when Lillard is about to make a run (particularly in the 4th quarter), everyone calls it Dame Time. Well, it seems like Dame Time has been going on all season.
Tuesday was such a time. Lillard blitzed the Mavericks with 61 points. This was a game AFTER he dropped 51 against the Sixers. Lillard has led the Blazers to a 5-2 record in the Disney bubble and the 8th seed. They are now in control of their own destiny along with Memphis.
Lillard is averaging 37.0 points and 9.3 assists in the bubble. He could very well win the Player of the Seeding Games. In his last four games, he’s averaged 44.8 points per game! I was marveling at James Harden’s scoring when he did that.
But the pandemic has made me forget pretty much everything. In fact, this kind of went a little unnoticed because it was happening at a tragic time. But Lillard did this from the week of January 20-26 (that last day is still difficult to believe):
(PHOTO CREDIT: NBA.)
52.7 POINTS PER GAME FOR THE WEEK. That week began when he dropped 61 against the Warriors. He scored 47 against Dallas (poor Dallas). And then it ended with a somber 50-point performance in a win against Indiana. The game happened hours after Kobe Bryant passed away.
Lillard’s run would continue the next week. He’d repeat as Player of the Week for the week of January 27 to February 3. His average for those two weeks altogether? 48.8 points, 7.2 boards, and 10.2 assists. The Blazers went 5-1 in that stretch. I even forgot I wrote about it.
I’ve seen Michael Jordan erupt like that. Kobe Bryant was fiery like that, too. We’ve seen LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry bury shot after shot in long stretches. Damian Lillard can get molten hot like all of those mentioned. You can even argue his fire is the hottest out of all of them. But man, is it so fun to watch. This is NBA Jam on fire in real life. Dame is the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to have three 60-point games in the same season.
But as Dame even mentioned, he didn’t go to the bubble to waste his time. Win the last regular season game. Then win the play-in series. Then we can see some extended Dame time against the Lakers.
MAN, THAT WOULD BE REALLY FUN.
Bullet Passes
The Las Vegas Aces are getting scarier as they have won five straight games to push their record to 6-2. A’ja Wilson didn’t have a particularly great shooting game (12 points after going 5 for 17) but she did grab 11 boards. I still think she’s a leading candidate for this year’s MVP.
I’m starting to like what Sydney Wiese is bringing to the Sparks. She’s averaging 16.7 PPG in her last three games and has shot .667 from the field while going 10 for 15 from three (also .667). Their win against the Liberty is their first streak of any kind (two wins in a row!) as they have alternated with wins and losses their first 7 games.
The Washington Mystics continue to crash down as they have lost their 5th straight game in an ugly contest against the Minnesota Lynx. The Mystics shot .295 as they built a brickhouse that turned into a rubble in the Wubble.
I know some people just wait for the decline for some players but I still don’t and don’t want to see it with Sylvia Fowles. She leads the league in boards with 11.3 per game and has upped her scoring to 16.7 points this season. Keep being great, Syl.
We are reminded ourselves every day about this terrible pandemic. I still worry about the athletes playing sports. But then family members from the Phoenix Suns players introduced them before the game through video and it’s just one of the most heartwarming things I’ve seen in a while.
The Suns surprised their players with starting lineups announced by their families at home ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QP72UuqdS7
— ESPN (@espn) August 11, 2020
Bless their hearts.
By the way, the Suns continue their path of carnage. They handled the Sixers and are now 7-0 in the bubble. Unfortunately, an 8-0 bubble record still won’t guarantee them a play-in spot. They’ll have to win and either the Blazers or/and the Grizzlies have to lose (a win and losses from both teams would give them the 8th spot).
That is why the Grizz losing to the Celtics was so crucial. Also, the Spurs kept their slim chances alive in a win over Houston.
While the other games had nothing at stake, we did see Giannis Antetokounmpo give Mo Wagner a headbutt.
Here’s the whole Moe Wagner – Giannis Antetokounmpo headbutt incident pic.twitter.com/OzBIuyoWeI
— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 12, 2020
We’ll see if Giannis gets disciplined further after the ejection. Oh, of course, the Wizards lost. The D.C. basketball teams are on a freefall.
NBA Scoreboard
BRK 108 (35-36) v ORL 96 (32-40)
HOU 105 (44-26) v SA 123 (32-38)
PHX 130 (33-39) v PHI 117 (42-29)
BOS 122 (48-23) v MEM 107 (33-39)
POR 134 (34-39) v DAL 131 (43-31)
NO 106 (30-41) v SAC 112 (30-41)
MIL 126 (56-16) v WAS 113 (24-47)
Double U Scoreboard
LV 98 (6-2) v IND 79 (3-5)
WAS 48 (3-5) v MIN 68 (6-2)
NY 78 (1-7) v LA 93 (5-3)
Watch This Play
Devin Booker on the break would close the book on the Sixers.
(VIDEO CREDIT: Bleacher Report.)
With the left-handed stuff, too!
Please take care, everyone in the Bubble and the Wubble!
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.