NBA Game Reviews: February 5, 2021

After a day full of blowouts on Thursday, Friday more than made up for it with an abundance of games coming down to the wire. Most notably, the Celtics and Clippers battled in a back-and-fourth primetime matchup that saw the Clippers blow a 16-point lead as the Celtics surged in the second half that was capped off by Kemba Walker’s heroics. D-Lo also played hero for Minnesota with the game-winning 3-pointer to answer Al Horford‘s clutch game-tying shot.

Myles Turner tried to wear the cape for Indiana, but failed to convert the go-ahead layup in the final seconds vs. the Pelicans. Nikola Vucevic had the best game of his career while leading Orlando to a close victory over Chicago. Kevin Durant’s long-standing starting streak finally ended due to COVID protocols, which can be blamed for Brooklyn’s loss to Toronto, who are now heating up.

Utah and Indiana both set franchise records with their outstanding 3-point shooting, but the Jazz were the team that came out victorious in their matchup, overcoming a breakout performance by LaMelo Ball. Cp3 and the Suns handled their business against the Pistons while the reigning 2x MVP led the Bucks to a big win in Cleveland, and the Miami Heat finally got back on track with a revenge victory vs. Washington.

Here are the best NBA highlights, facts, performers, and takeaways from February 5th, 2021:

FINAL RESULTS

GAME OF THE DAY

Boston Celtics (119) [GW-FG] vs. Los Angeles Clippers (115)

[Highlights] CELTICS (+230; $8.75) d. @CLIPPERS (+230; $11.51) 119-115 (GW-FG) [BOS +6.5 | o219]

[Highlights] PELICANS (+109; $8.79) d. @PACERS (-109; $9.76) 114-113 [NOP -1.5 | u228]

[Highlights] T-WOLVES (+102; $6.66) d. @THUNDER (-102; $9.12) 106-103 (GW-3PM) [MIN -1 | u220]

[Highlights] @MAGIC (+125; $8.14) d. BULLS (-125; $10.08) 123-119 [ORL +2.5 | o225]

[Highlights] RAPTORS (+204; $7.82) d. @NETS (-204; $9.75) 123-117 [TOR +5.5 | o239.5]

[Highlights] JAZZ (-312; $12.80) d. @HORNETS (+312; $14.35) 138-121 [UTA -8 | o223.5]

[Highlights] @SUNS (-273; $11.94) d. PISTONS (+273; $8.48) 109-92 [PHX -7.5 | u214]

[Highlights] BUCKS (-474; $9.64) d. @CAVALIERS (+474; $12.37) 123-105 [MIL -10.5 | o227.5]

[Highlights] @HEAT (-257; $6.04) d. WIZARDS (+257; $7.79) 122-95 [MIA -7 | u230]

NBA Game Odds via Vigit App

NBA Stock Prices via FANDEX

INTERESTING FACTS

Indiana Pacers set a franchise record with 20 3PM as the 30th and final team to reach the 20 3PM threshold
Pacers are tied with the Lakers for the fewest GP (1) all-time with 20+ 3PM
Utah Jazz drained a franchise-record 26 3PM as they’ve won 14 of their last 15 GP
Jazz are currently making the most 3PM per game (16.7) among teams shooting 40%+ in NBA history
Bradley Beal had the most FGA (0-12) in a half without 1 FGM over the last 25 seasons, tying OJ Mayo in 2018
KD has the most PPG (30.8) through a player’s 1st 17 GP with the Nets since they moved to the NBA in 1976-77
Kevin Durant had the 4th longest GS (866) streak to start a career among players to debut in the last 50 years
Zion Williamson has the 2nd most PTS (1,009) through a player’s 1st 44 career GP over the last 30 years
James Harden is the 1st player to record 10+ AST in 9 of his 1st 10 GP with a new team since 1996-97
Toronto Raptors held James Harden to his lowest FGA in a game (8) since 2016
LaMelo Ball tied Alonzo Mourning for the most PTS by a Hornets rookie (34) since 1993
Fred VanVleet has 1+ 3PM in 54 straight GP, extending his Raptors franchise record
Most 30+pt double-doubles in Raptors history: 1. Chris Bosh (30), 2. Vince Carter (17), Pascal Siakam (9)

BEST HIGHLIGHTS

D-Lo drained the game-winner

D-LO WITH ICE IN HIS VEINS 🥶 #Crunchtime pic.twitter.com/Hpg2mYFPtw
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 6, 2021

Horford tied it up vs. T-Wolves

Horford ties it up! 👀#Crunchtime pic.twitter.com/24rJ8liFrx
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 6, 2021

Cardiac Kemba came through for BOS

KEMBA GIVES BOSTON THE LEAD ☘️ pic.twitter.com/0nRVPqlLt8
— ESPN (@espn) February 6, 2021

Spida and LaMelo exchanged step backs

Too smooth from Spida. 🕷 🕷 pic.twitter.com/0sKnGpLT0w
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) February 6, 2021

That's tough, LaMelo 👌 pic.twitter.com/CBelpizdpk
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 6, 2021

Reigning 2x MVP swatted it 2x

Not once.....BUT TWICE!!@Giannis_An34 x #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/Pvlqcc3ZFR
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) February 6, 2021

CP3 had Josh Jackson shook

@theivpointplay counter: 🏀🏀🏀🏀

Chris Paul has Josh Jackson looking lost in PHX. https://t.co/K5EwtTiTKj pic.twitter.com/Q8pDiLa7OF
— David (@theIVpointplay) February 6, 2021

No-go on the ‘Fro

Jarrett Allen STUFFS 'em! ❌ pic.twitter.com/ARXXtqwVfg
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 6, 2021

TOP PERFORMERS

[Highlights] C Nikola Vucevic, ORL (W v.CHI): 43 PTS (17-29 FG | 4-10 FG), 4 AST, 19 REB, 1 BLK, 0 STL, 1 TO

[Highlights] PG LaMelo Ball, CHA (L v.UTA): 34 PTS (14-27 FG | 4-9 3PT), 8 AST, 4 REB, 1 BLK, 2 STL, 0 TO

[Highlights] PF Pascal Siakam, TOR (W @BKN): 33 PTS (12-23 FG | 0-2 3PT), 6 AST, 11 REB, 1 BLK, 3 STL, 0 TO

[Highlights] F Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (W @CLE): 33 PTS (13-25 FG | 1-3 3PT), 4 AST, 12 REB, 4 BLK, 1 STL, 3 TO

[Highlights] SF Bojan Bogdanovic, UTA (W @CHA): 31 PTS (10-15 FG | 7-10 3PT), 5 AST, 7 REB, 0 BLK, 0 STL, 0 TO

NBA TOP PERFORMERS

MAIN TAKEAWAY

1. Kemba Walker is the biggest x-factor in the Eastern Conference this season

At this point, Celtics fans know what they’re going to get from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as the two young J’s have developed into consistent All-Star caliber performers. It’s their third star that warrants far less confidence due to his rocky production, dating back to last year’s playoffs. Kemba Walker was a clutch legend in College at the University of Connecticut with his legacy cemented as ‘Cardiac Kemba’ through one of the most iconic shots in CBB history.

However, since joining the NBA, Walker hadn’t faced real high-pressure situations until his ninth season when he joined Boston before their Eastern Conference Finals run in 2020. He completely underwhelmed in his first extended taste of postseason action on both sides of the ball, which could have been due to the knee injury he was dealing with.

That lingering injury was still bothering him at the beginning of the 2020-21 season as he missed the first dozen games before returning on somewhat of a minutes restriction. Kemba hasn’t looked like himself this season at all with his PPG (16.1), APG (4.3), FG% (38.3), and 3P% (29.8) all being the lowest of his career or since his lackluster rookie season, where he was mostly coming off the bench.

When Walker is on, he’s an All-Star caliber PG like the one that showed up vs. the Clippers on Friday, helping lead Boston to victory in Brown’s absence over one of the best teams in the league. However, he’s also supplemented those kind of performances with some of the worst production in the fourth quarter this season and various no-shows. He’s the key to Boston taking the next step and finally getting past the ECF since the ‘Big 3’ era which makes him the biggest x-factor in the East, if not the entire league.

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