FULL NBA Review From April 7, 2021

On a night where 18 teams took the floor, the most important game featured the top two teams in the Western Conference. In a battle of the current No.1 and No.2 seeds in the West, Phoenix outlasted Utah at home in an OT thriller. Donovan Mitchell had 41 points, including the OT-forcing 3-pointer and Devin Booker put up 35 while CP3 came up big down the stretch after drinking his “secret sauce.”

Boston rallied in the fourth quarter to hold off New York behind 32 points from Jaylen Brown and the GW-3PM from Marcus Smart. The highest-scoring game of the night featured Indiana and Minnesota, where Indy was able to hold off MIN’s fourth-quarter surge. KD made his return for Brooklyn in a blowout win over NOLA, and he went a perfect 5-5 off the bench in only 19 minutes during his first game back.

Nikola Jokic almost messed around and got a triple-double during Denver’s defeat of San Antonio while Houston pulled off a surprising upset over a hot Dallas squad. Memphis vs. Atlanta was supposed to be an even game but the Griz outscored ATL 43-23 in the third quarter on their way to an 18-point dub. Jalen McDaniels had a career-high 21 points for Charlotte, and they extended OKC’s losing streak. Bradley Beal made his return but Russell Westbrook stole the show with ANOTHER triple-double.

Here are the best NBA highlights, facts, performers, and takeaways from April 7th, 2021:

FINAL RESULTS

GAME OF THE DAY

Phoenix Suns (117) vs. Utah Jazz (113) [OT]

[Highlights] @SUNS (+115) d. JAZZ (-135) 117-113 [PHX +2 | o227]

[Highlights] @CELTICS (-150) d. KNICKS (+132) 101-99 [NYK +3 | u209]

[Highlights] @PACERS (-130) d. TIMBERWOLVES (+110) 141-137 [IND -2 | o235]

[Highlights] @ROCKETS (+429) d. MAVERICKS (-548) 102-93 [HOU +10.5 | u223.5]

[Highlights] @NUGGETS (-260) d. SPURS (+217) 106-96 [DEN -6.5 | u221.5]

[Highlights] HORNETS (-210) d. @THUNDER (+179) 113-102 [CHA -5.5 | o213.5]

[Highlights] WIZARDS (-160) d. @MAGIC (+140) 131-116 [WAS -3.5 | o222.5]

[Highlights] GRIZZLIES (+108) d. @HAWKS (-126) 131-113 [MEM +2 | o225.5]

[Highlights] @NETS (-384) d. PELICANS (+314) 139-111 [BKN -9 | o233.5]

NBA Game Odds via Vigit App

INTERESTING FACTS

Oklahoma City Thunder have recorded the t-worst point differential (-109) over a 3-game span in NBA history
Aleksej Pokusevski and Theo Maledon became the 1st teenage teammates with 25+ PTS each in OKC history
Trae Young has the 3rd most GP (29) with 30+ PTS & 10+ AST in a player’s 1st 3 seasons
TJ McConnell is the 1st player with multiple games of 15+ PTS/15+ AST off the bench in a season since 1983
RJ Barrett posted the t-2nd most 3PM (6) without a miss in Knicks franchise history
KD became the 2nd Nets player with 15+ PTS/5+ REB/5+ AST/100% FG/100% FT in 1 GP since 1984, joining LeVert
Embiid is averaging the 3rd most FTA/GP (11.8) during 1 season by a Center in NBA history, trailing only Shaq & Wilt

BEST HIGHLIGHTS

No-look 180 dime from KPJ

This Kevin Porter Jr. DIME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/euoqGpR6xX
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 8, 2021

Clutch buckets on Wednesday evening

Marcus Smart. CLUTCH. ❄️#Crunchtime pic.twitter.com/S5C5708Uwl
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 8, 2021

SPIDA FOR 3 TO TIE THINGS UP!@utahjazz 102@Suns 102

10.4 left, Suns ball on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/TH6iftQdi5
— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2021

TJ McConnell hits the DAGGER and stares down the Wolves bench pic.twitter.com/Is6GcH5OHx
— Sex Drugs PicknRoll (@Hoop_Hoop_News) April 8, 2021

Crazy handles from Kyrie & Howard

Kyrie fakes the shorts off of Steven Adams and nails the jumper.

Stream it LIVE: https://t.co/C0O9ubjD9H pic.twitter.com/3xt0nAygxB
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 8, 2021

Denver’s bench was LOVING Markus Howard’s crossover 🤧 pic.twitter.com/fYpjaLm13z
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 8, 2021

Blake shows he’s still got hops

BLAKE PUTTING ON A SHOW 🔥

(via @YESNetwork)pic.twitter.com/9fSfzm8cqh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 8, 2021

TOP PERFORMERS

[Highlights] PG Russell Westbrook, WAS (W @ORL): 23 PTS (8-11 FG | 3-3 3PT), 15 AST, 14 REB, 1 BLK, 0 STL, 5 TO

[Highlights] G Donovan Mitchell, UTA (L @PHX): 41 PTS (16-35 FG | 4-12 3PT), 3 AST, 8 REB, 0 BLK, 0 STL, 1 TO

[Highlights] C Nikola Jokic, DEN (W v.SA): 25 PTS (11-18 FG | 0-2 3PT), 10 AST, 9 REB, 0 BLK, 1 STL, 6 TO

[Highlights] G T.J. McConnell, IND (W v.MIN): 19 PTS (9-12 FG | 1-1 3PT), 15 AST, 3 REB, 0 BLK, 2 STL, 4 TO

[Highlights] PG Chris Paul, PHX (W v.UTA): 29 PTS (12-24 FG | 3-7 3PT), 9 AST, 4 REB, 0 BLK, 1 STL, 5 TO

NBA TOP PERFORMERS

MAIN TAKEAWAY

CHRIS PAUL IS THE REAL MVP OF THE PHOENIX SUNS

The Phoenix Suns matched up against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night in a matchup of the top teams in the Western Conference, and the game lived up to the hype. Phoenix outlasted Utah 117-113 in overtime. Devin Booker led the team with 35 points, but it was Chris Paul who really shined once again when they needed him.

Chris Paul tallied 29 points and nine assists on 12-24 shooting and 3-7 from beyond the arc. It took Booker seven more shots and eight more free throws to score just six more points than Paul did. Additionally, Paul had the highest +/- on the team at +17, while Booker was seventh on the team in this category at +0. More importantly, it was CP3 who was consistently draining shots down the stretch and put the game away with two clutch free throws in OT while Booker’s sole missed FTA on the night gave Utah life.

This goes to show that although Booker scores more points throughout the game, Paul is the true catalyst of this Phoenix squad. The 35-year-old turned a team that hadn’t made the playoffs for an entire decade into a top-2 seed in the loaded Western Conference. This is a roster that hasn’t seen major improvements in recent years, but with the addition of Chris Paul, is now a force to be reckoned with. The leadership, IQ, and clutch play Paul has brought to this squad is the reason he is Phoenix’s real MVP.

COLORS KEY | FULL SUNS OUTLOOK