NBA
FULL NBA Review From March 4, 2021
See the full NBA Game Reviews from Thursday, March 4, 2021 with entertaining highlights, interesting facts, valuable takeaways, and more!
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On the final day of NBA games before the 2021 All-Star Break, LeBron James and Kevin Durant selected the All-Star starters and reserves to their respective teams with Giannis Antetokounmpo being the No.1 pick on the same night his Bucks pulled off a one-point victory over Memphis thanks to Jrue Holiday‘s GW-FG right after Ja Morant‘s.
Russell Westbrook got a clutch rebound to clinch DC’s big win over the Clippers as they enter the break on an 8-3 run after a disastrous start to the season. Damian Lillard took over down the stretch again with a 10-0 run by himself late in the 4th to fuel his 40-point performance where his teammate Enes Kanter had 20+ PTS and 20+ REB as well.
Isaiah Roby threw down a monstrous jam over the Spurs in OKC’s victory, Boston took down the depleted Raptors, and the Knicks ended the first half on a 7-2 run to be over .500 at the All-Star break for the first time since 2013. The Suns unsurprisingly blew out the Warriors without Steph or Draymond, Jimmy Butler led the Heat to reach .500 amidst a fire stretch to end the break, and the Big 3 in Denver took care of business against Indiana.
Here are the best NBA highlights, facts, performers, and takeaways from March 4th, 2021:
Milwaukee Bucks (112) [GW-FG] vs. Memphis Grizzlies (111)
[Highlights] BUCKS (-234; $9.19) d. @GRIZZLIES (+234; $11.45) 112-111 (GW-FG) [MEM +6 | u227]
[Highlights] @WIZARDS (+214; $9.88) d. CLIPPERS (-214; $9.98) 119-117 [WSH +5.5 | p236]
[Highlights] @BLAZERS (-175; $10.60) d. KINGS (+175; $9.57) 123-119 [SAC +4.5 | o237.5]
[Highlights] THUNDER (+260; $8.86) d. @SPURS (-260; $13.27) 107-102 [OKC +6.5 | u219.5]
[Highlights] @CELTICS (-337; $8.53) d. RAPTORS (+337; $8.49) 132-125 [TOR +8 | o220.5]
[Highlights] @KNICKS (-278; $15.49) d. PISTONS (+278; $10.46) 114-104 [NYK -7 | o208]
[Highlights] NUGGETS (-181; $10.43) d. @PACERS (+181; $8.70) 113-103 [DEN -4.5 | u227]
[Highlights] HEAT (+141; $8.51) d. @PELICANS (-141; $9.18) 103-93 [MIA +2.5 | u227.5]
[Highlights] @SUNS (-521; $13.70) d. WARRIORS (+521; $8.93) 120-98 [PHX -11.5 | u220.5]
Isaiah Roby TO THE RACK 💥@okcthunder 81@spurs 84 pic.twitter.com/rGlPH7qzZ4
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2021
Ja Morant and Jrue Holiday trade CLUTCH buckets in the final seconds as the @Bucks top Memphis in a thriller! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LdzHB5BHHg
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2021
HART FROM HALF COURT
— ESPN (@espn) March 5, 2021
(via @PelicansNBA)pic.twitter.com/KchyQUyxmx
Spin m🌀ve taking tonight's @JetBlue Play of the Game. pic.twitter.com/P21HFVzTR7
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 5, 2021
[Highlights] PG Damian Lillard, POR (W v.SAC): 44 PTS (13-26 FG | 8-15 3PT), 7 AST, 1 REB, 1 BLK, 0 STL, 0 TO
[Highlights] PF Julius Randle, NYK (W v.DET): 27 PTS (11-19 FG | 1-4 3PT), 7 AST, 16 REB, 1 BLK, 0 STL, 3 TO
[Highlights] SF Jimmy Butler, MIA (W @NO): 29 PTS (10-14 FG | 1-2 3PT), 9 AST, 3 REB, 0 BLK, 3 STL, 3 TO
[Highlights] C Enes Kanter, POR (W v.SAC): 22 PTS (11-15 FG | 0-0 3PT), 2 AST, 21 REB, 1 BLK, 1 STL, 3 TO
[Highlights] PG De’Aaron Fox, SAC (L @POR): 32 PTS (12-26 FG | 2-6 3PT), 12 AST, 8 REB, 1 BLK, 0 STL, 1 TO
JRUE HOLIDAY IS THE REASON MILWAUKEE IS AS DANGEROUS AS EVER
When Milwaukee gave up a lofty amount of picks for Jrue Holiday over the offseason, it served multiple purposes. The biggest one was to convince its all-world talent Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign with the Bucks long-term. Giving up Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and those future assets have already paid off because the Greek Freak signed his max extension and ensured MIL will be contending for years to come as long as he stays healthy.
The other main purpose of trading for Jrue Holiday was to add a standout two-way player who is the perfect fit to play alongside Giannis and Khris Middleton as an All-NBA caliber defender with an offensive skillset that’s capable of basically anything on a basketball court.
What has prevented the Bucks from turning regular-season No.1 seeds into Eastern Conference championships has been the team’s inability to perform as well in close games during late situations. It almost took an insurmountable 3-0 series lead over Kawhi‘s Raptors in 2019 but failed to hold on to multiple leads in a 2OT classic that swung the entire series.
Then against Miami in 2020, Game 1 was a one-point game with five minutes left before Jimmy Butler put the team on his back and Giannis couldn’t do the same. Game 2 came down to the wire where Milwaukee came up short again. The Bucks held a one-point lead with 4:20 left in Game 3 before collapsing for the third straight time.
Milwaukee needs to improve in these critical situations that decide champions and Jrue Holiday proved on Thursday once again, he’s the perfect man for the job. He answered Ja Morant‘s go-ahead layup with a game-winner of his own that gave the Bucks some momentum entering the All-Star Break as they’ve won six of their last seven games. Holiday will be huge for the Bucks as he’s not only a proven scorer in crunch time like Middleton, but he can also prevent the other team’s best playmaker from rising to the occasion themselves.
The reigning 2x MVP will always be the face of the team, the most productive player throughout the game, and receive the majority of the credit/blame. However, the addition of Jrue Holiday can make the difference in those season-changing moments that have decided the Bucks’ fortune in recent years and showed he can be relied upon to get the job done when it matters most.
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