NBA
FULL NBA Review From April 21, 2021
See the full NBA Game Reviews from Wednesday, April 21, 2021 with entertaining highlights, interesting facts, valuable takeaways, and more!
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With almost every MVP candidate getting injured this season, Nikola Jokic took advantage of the opportunity once again by leading Denver in points, rebounds, and assists during their one-point victory over Portland. Phoenix outlasted Philadelphia in a battle of two of the league’s best teams as Joel Embiid almost made the shot of the century, but his full court prayer rimmed out. Steph Curry finally went cold, leading to a Washington dub over Golden State, and a clutch three from Buddy Hield sealed the victory for Sacramento over Minnesota.
New York extended the NBA’s leading win streak to eight in an overtime win over Atlanta. Indiana’s double-digit halftime lead was enough to keep OKC’s long losing streak intact. Brooklyn was missing KD and Harden, as they went on to lose to Toronto on the road. Dallas put a halt to their four-game home losing streak in a win over Detroit.
In a contest without Kawhi Leonard or Paul George, Luke Kennard shined with 28 points for LAC, who would go on to beat Memphis. Chicago struggled with the absence of Zach LaVine, losing to Cleveland. Miami played solid defense, holding San Antonio to 87 points in their 20-point victory. The team with the best record in the NBA, Utah, took care of business versus the team with the worst record, Houston, without breaking too much of a sweat.
Here are the best NBA highlights, facts, performers, and takeaways from April 21st, 2021:
Denver Nuggets (106) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (105)
[Highlights] @NUGGETS (-130) d. BLAZERS (+110) 106-105 [POR +1.5 | u230]
Buddy Buckets coming up clutch 😤 pic.twitter.com/Lmzlmglf4o
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 22, 2021
JULIUS RANDLE 💪
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) April 22, 2021
(Via @nyknicks)
pic.twitter.com/TVegCscfUH
CP3 with an absolute DIME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lIdpCzcUyj
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 22, 2021
Embiid was THIS CLOSE to hitting a game-tying full-court shot 😳 pic.twitter.com/6tJc9b7Ue2
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 22, 2021
[Highlights] PF Julius Randle, NYK (W v.ATL): 40 PTS (11-21 FG | 6-8 3P), 6 AST, 11 REB, 0 BLK, 1 STL, 4 TO
[Highlights] C Joel Embiid, PHI (L v.PHX): 38 PTS (14-23 FG | 3-5 3P), 4 AST, 17 REB, 1 BLK, 1 STL, 8 TO
[Highlights] G Malcolm Brogdon, IND (W v.OKC): 29 PTS (11-23 FG | 3-8 3P), 7 AST, 15 REB, 0 BLK, 1 STL, 3 TO
[Highlights] C Clint Capela, ATL (L @NYK): 25 PTS (12-17 FG | 0-0 3P), 1 AST, 22 REB, 1 BLK, 2 STL, 0 TO
[Highlights] G Luka Doncic, DAL (W v.DET): 30 PTS (10-22 FG | 4-11 3P), 9 AST, 10 REB, 0 BLK, 2 STL, 3 TO
NIKOLA JOKIC IS CEMENTING HIS MVP CASE IN JAMAL MURRAY’S ABSENCE
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets beat Portland in a close matchup on Wednesday night, and it was the Joker who stole the show. Jokic led the team in points, rebounds, and assists. Jamal Murray was recently ruled out for the season with a torn ACL against Golden State on April 12th, and Jokic has had no problem picking up the slack.
In the four games Murray has been out thus far, the Joker has led his team in points three times, rebounds three times, and assists in all four games. He’s had a triple-double once and a double-double three times. On top of this, Denver has won every single game since Murray’s absence (4-0), and the 2020-21 MVP is the main reason why.
Before Murray’s injury, Jokic was the odds-on favorite to win the league’s MVP award, and these last four games without their star guard have helped him cement his case. With the Joker averaging nearly a triple-double this year (26.4 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 8.7 APG), it is clearly his award to lose. Jokic has been playing at the highest level all year, but his performances in the past four games without Murray in four straight wins over teams like Miami and Portland further prove why he deserves to be this season’s league MVP.
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