NBA
FULL NBA Review From March 23, 2021
See the full NBA Game Reviews from Tuesday, March 23, 2021 with entertaining highlights, interesting facts, valuable takeaways, and more!
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The Nets are looking like they deserve to be NBA Finals favorites, as they beat the Portland Trail Blazers on the road without Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant. James Harden had an impressive 25 points and 17 assists. The Phoenix Suns stayed red-hot, beating the Miami Heat, and now boast an impressive 21-5 record in their last 26 games, which is the best in the NBA during that span. Meanwhile, Miami lost their fourth in a row and have officially cooled off from their own hot streak.
Nikola Jokic showed once again why he is one of the leading candidates for the MVP this year, posting yet another triple-double in a win over Orlando. The Lake Show lost by 17 to New Orleans, and are clearly missing Lebron, as the Lakers are now 0-3 without him this season. This is not to take away from the fact that Brandon Ingram had 36 points, with Zion adding 27 and setting a NBA record for the most consecutive games with 20+ points by a player under 21, surpassing LeBron and Luka.
To round out the rest of Tuesday night’s action, Julius Randle had 37 for New York in a blowout win vs. Washington, keeping the Knicks in the Eastern Conference playoff picture (currently in 7th). Golden State is missing Steph Curry, as they fell to Philly at home. The Curry-less Warriors are now 1-4 without their 2x MVP this season, but almost managed to mount a 24-point comeback vs. PHI.
Here are the best NBA highlights, facts, performers, and takeaways from March 23rd, 2021:
Brooklyn Nets (116) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (112)
[Highlights] NETS (+144; $11.02) d. @BLAZERS (-165; $10.40) 116-112 [BKN +3.5 | u231.5]
[Highlights] 76ERS (-170; $10.99) d. @WARRIORS (+151; $8.74) 108-98 [PHI -4 | u219]
[Highlights] SUNS (-125; $13.87) d. @HEAT (+106; $8.98) 110-100 [PHX -2 | u214]
[Highlights] NUGGETS (-326; $10.50) d. @MAGIC (+272; $7.00) 110-99 [DEN -7.5 | u217.5]
[Highlights] @PELICANS (-227; $8.69) d. LAKERS (+196; $10.15) 128-111 [NOP -5.5 | o221.5]
[Highlights] @KNICKS (-149; $15.43) d. WIZARDS (+135; $8.77) 131-113 [NYK -3 | o221]
Mitchell Robinson got UP 💥 pic.twitter.com/YrHVkMd0yw
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 24, 2021
Immanuel Quickley’s step-back is too smooth 😧 pic.twitter.com/eIledcb7W4
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 24, 2021
This DJJ lob 😮 pic.twitter.com/sznVmSdqT5
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 24, 2021
Campazzo dropping no-look dimes 🤭 pic.twitter.com/03EdcESjuN
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 23, 2021
Classic Nikola manipulation pic.twitter.com/Hn7gFjM8an
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 23, 2021
The Harden-Griffin connection 👀 pic.twitter.com/6hehkgTfmX
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 24, 2021
[Highlights] C Nikola Jokic, DEN (W @ORL): 28 PTS (11-17 FG | 2-4 3PT), 10 AST, 15 REB, 1 BLK, 2 STL, 3 TO
[Highlights] SF Brandon Ingram, NO (W v.LAL): 36 PTS (14-21 FG | 4-6 3PT), 4 AST, 3 REB, 0 BLK, 0 STL, 1 TO
[Highlights] PF Julius Randle, NYK (W v.WAS): 37 PTS (13-24 FG | 7-10 3PT), 2 AST, 6 REB, 0 BLK, 0 STL, 3 TO
[Highlights] PF Zion Williamson, NO (W v.LAL): 27 PTS (9-13 FG | 0-0 3PT), 5 AST, 9 REB, 0 BLK, 1 STL, 1 TO
[Highlights] C Enes Kanter, POR (L v.BKN): 19 PTS (6-8 FG | 0-0 3PT), 6 AST, 19 REB, 1 BLK, 0 STL, 0 TO
GETTING THE COVID VACCINE MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO PORTLAND COMING UP SHORT
The NBA is encouraging the players and staff to get their COVID vaccinations, and are even lifting restrictions on what players can and can’t do if they have the vaccine. The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the first teams to get their first dose, and had to turn around and play the Finals favorites 24 hours later, which could contributed to an uncharacteristic poor crunch-time performance from Mr. Clutch himself, Damian Lillard.
Lillard and the Blazers were in a great spot to beat Brooklyn on Tuesday night, who were without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. However, the one man on this team, or maybe in the entire league, that comes up big in the clutch time and time again to lift his team to victories did not do so, and the entire team fell short as a result. Lillard went 0-2 from the field with two turnovers in the final 5:30 of the game.
These negative outcomes late in the game are very unlike Lillard, and it may be reasonable to think that playing an NBA game just 24 hours after receiving the vaccine could have had something to do with it. As more teams begin to get the vaccine, it may be reasonable for the NBA to implement a safety protocol that prohibits teams from playing the day of or the day after receiving the vaccine.
It will be interesting to see if this could affect any other teams in the future, but it’s a noteworthy development nonetheless considering it might have turned out to be the kryptonite for the NBA’s most heroic player.
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