NBA
FULL NBA Review From May 7, 2021
See the full NBA Game Reviews from Friday, May 7, 2021 with entertaining highlights, interesting facts, valuable takeaways, and more!
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All of the teams in the West seeded five through seven were in action on Friday night, and the race to avoid the play-in tournament is heating up. Portland and the LA Lakers squared off, coming into the night as seventh and sixth respectively. Damian Lillard’s 38 points and clutch shots secured them the win, bumping them up to sixth and the Lakers fell to seventh. Dallas, who was in fifth at the beginning of the night, won their third in a row over Cleveland and stayed in fifth.
Bojan Bogdanovic had a career-high 48 points on 16/23 shooting for Utah in their win over Denver to stay atop of the Western Conference. Phoenix’s stellar fourth quarter propelled them to victory over New York, keeping the gap between them and Utah to one game. Milwaukee’s win over Houston moved them into a tie for second with Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference. The top spot still belongs to Philadelphia, who won again versus New Orleans at home thanks to 37 points from Joel Embiid.
San Antonio won an important game over Sacramento on the road, strengthening their play-in odds, and giving their opposition a small window of hope. Jimmy Butler chirped at his old teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, showing the beef is still there as Miami got the last laugh with a nine-point victory at home. In a couple Eastern conference matchups, Charlotte took care of Orlando to stay in eighth, and Chicago crushed the C’s, hanging onto a glimmer of hope to sneak into the play-in tournament.
Here are the best NBA highlights, facts, performers, and takeaways from May 7th, 2021:
New Orleans Pelicans (109) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (107)
[Highlights] @76ERS (-330; $11.41) d. PELICANS (+273; $8.93) 109-107 [NOP +7.5 | u227]
[Highlights] @BLAZERS (-324; $10.76) d. LAKERS (+270; $8.62) 106-101 [LAL +7.5 | u222.5]
[Highlights] @JAZZ (-175; $13.12) d. NUGGETS (+155; $10.94) 127-120 [UTA -4 | o216.5]
[Highlights] @BUCKS (-2256; $9.56) d. ROCKETS (+1163; $4.02) 141-133 [HOU +16.5 | o232]
[Highlights] @HEAT (-259; $8.49) d. TIMBERWOLVES (+220; $8.06) 121-112 [MIA -6.5 | o226.5]
[Highlights] SPURS (-200; $11.92) d. @KINGS (+170; $11.28) 113-104 [SAS -4.5 | u223.5]
[Highlights] @HORNETS (-315; $15.36) d. MAGIC (+262; $6.81) 122-112 [CHA -7.5 | o215]
[Highlights] @MAVERICKS (-500; $10.04) d. CAVALIERS (+395; $9.97) 110-90 [DAL -10 | u219.5]
[Highlights] @BULLS (+154; $10.05) d. CELTICS (-170; $8.26) 121-99 [CHI +4 | u224.5]
[Highlights] @SUNS (-260; $14.63) d. KNICKS (+221; $17.91) 128-105 [PHX -6.5 | o216.5]
MPJ got UP 👀 pic.twitter.com/kmp7iYSmes
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 8, 2021
Moe Harkless put 'em on a poster 😤 pic.twitter.com/pcHjbc49Nc
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 8, 2021
Kenyon Martin Jr. ELEVATED 😳 pic.twitter.com/VCWMXJ30nP
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 8, 2021
TREY BURKE FROM HALF-COURT 🎯 pic.twitter.com/KW9PdZYtBh
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 8, 2021
[Highlights] F Bojan Bogdanovic, UTA (W v.DEN): 48 PTS (16-23 FG | 8-11 3P), 2 AST, 8 REB, 0 BLK, 2 STL, 5 TO
[Highlights] PG Damian Lillard, POR (W v.LAL): 38 PTS (12-18 FG | 5-9 3P), 7 AST, 4 REB, 0 BLK, 2 STL, 4 TO
[Highlights] C Joel Embiid, PHI (W v.NOP): 37 PTS (11-20 FG | 3-4 3P), 3 AST, 13 REB, 2 BLK, 0 STL, 3 TO
[Highlights] C Nikola Vucevic, CHI (W v.BOS): 18 PTS (7-16 FG | 2-5 3P), 10 AST, 14 REB, 1 BLK, 2 STL, 4 TO
[Highlights] C Nikola Jokic, DEN (L @UTA): 24 PTS (9-11 FG | 2-2 3P), 13 AST, 9 REB, 1 BLK, 0 STL, 5 TO
GETTING THE 5TH VS. 7TH SEED IN THE WEST MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE
Coming into Friday night’s matchups, the five through seven spots in the Western Conference were all within a game of each other. All three teams (Dallas, LA Lakers, Portland) were in action during the evening. Entering the night, the order was Mavs, Lakers, Blazers. Dallas won to stay in fifth, but Lillard’s team took on the Lake show and came out victorious behind 38 points from Dame Time, which bumped them to sixth and sent the Lebron-less Lakers to seventh.
Given the new postseason format this season due to COVID, the difference between sixth and seventh place is a whole lot greater. The team who finishes in seventh will be forced to participate in a play-in tournament to even get into the actual playoff field. If this squad loses two games in a row, their entire season is over. This seems a bit harsh, but it was put in place to give more teams an opportunity due to the NBA cutting 10 games this year from 82 to 72.
Finishing in fifth place in the West this year makes a team’s life a whole lot easier. This position would likely match up with Denver, who recently lost star player Jamal Murray. They are now considered to be one of, if not the weakest team in the Western Conference playoff field without their clutch playmaker. Essentially, the difference between fifth and seventh this season is the opportunity to have a favorable first-round matchup versus being two games away from elimination. Every game matters for these three teams down the stretch with the 5th seed vs. 7th seed making ALL the difference.
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