NBA
Premier NBA Highlights From Thursday (August 13, 2020)
View Thursday’s top NBA highlights including teams battling for a play-in berth, stars stepping up, and more!
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A full load of games in Thursday’s slate led to many premier highlights and intense matchups around the league. The Suns accomplished bubble perfection as they capped off their season with a pristine 8-0 record in the bubble. Memphis maintained their composure in their play-in clinching matchup, claiming the win convincingly. And in the main event, Portland fought hard to edge out Brooklyn to clinch the West’s No. 8 seed. From powerful dunks to elite-level shooting, all of Thursday’s noteworthy events can be found here.
Enjoy the best highlights from Thursday’s NBA action:
All-Bubble First Team shoe-in Damian Lillard kept his “Logo Lillard” tag line intact by casually launching multiple shots from near half-court on his way to his fourth 40+ point game in Orlando. Unfortunately for Phoenix, his long-range daggers were enough to clinch a spot in the play-in tournament for the Blazers, officially ending the Suns’ season.
42 POINTS. 12 ASSISTS. 8 TRIPLES.@Dame_Lillard and the @trailblazers clinch the top seed in the Western Conference Play-In! #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/D41IE8NoR0
— NBA (@NBA) August 14, 2020
After navigating a rocky road through an eight-game seeding process, the Grizz clinched a berth in the Western Conference play-in with a dominant victory over Milwaukee where Ja Morant and Jonas Valanciunas became the first pair of Grizzlies to snag triple-doubles in the same game.
Ja and Valanciunas both get triple-doubles to keep the Grizzlies in the playoff race 😤
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 13, 2020
Jonas: 26 PTS | 19 REB | 12 AST (career-high)
Morant: 12 PTS | 13 REB | 10 AST pic.twitter.com/dkkxQaEiC6
The inconceivable happened in Orlando as the Phoenix Suns closed out their final regular-season game on a high note, achieving an 8-0 record during the NBA’s restart. This perfect record comes at the hands of Devin Booker who lit up the scoring column with off-balanced mid-range shots and slashes to the hole in Thursday’s action.
8⃣-0⃣ in Orlando!@DevinBook (27 PTS) leads the @Suns to a PERFECT record in Seeding Games! #RisePHX #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/uRYz3tVwLL
— NBA (@NBA) August 13, 2020
Spurred on by the incredible shooting of Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings knocked down a franchise-high-tying 21 triples on the Lakers who fell at the hands of Sacramento’s downtown avalanche.
👑 2⃣1⃣ threes! 👑
— NBA (@NBA) August 13, 2020
The @SacramentoKings tie a franchise record from deep! #SacramentoProud #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/ehDWAEjqcN
Caris LeVert has been the focal point of Brooklyn’s offensive scheme in Orlando with the Nets’ high-powered scorers not in the bubble. He unleashed his uncanny leaning mid-range shot and clutch drives to the basket on Thursday, showing that he can be a primary scorer with 37 total points.
Caris continues to show out in the bubble 😤
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 14, 2020
Posted 18 PTS and 7 AST in the first half pic.twitter.com/oN6JCZbXRN
Caris LeVert can't be stopped 🍿 pic.twitter.com/Z56zQhO72R
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 14, 2020
Duke pride Jabari Parker raised up and spiked down jarring jams to cap off the Kings’ thumping win over their California rival Lakers who were without Anthony Davis.
Jabari Parker ELEVATION. ✈️
— NBA (@NBA) August 13, 2020
📲💻: https://t.co/N7YH6TOnFD pic.twitter.com/6FnK05OjTN
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1293979245539024896?s=20
The Jazz were already locked into the No.6 seed entering the day, but that didn’t stop Juwan Morgan from getting flashy by dropping the dime to Eubanks for the flush.
worth the 🅷🆈🅿🅴 🤪 pic.twitter.com/qyYqWiYyKY
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) August 14, 2020
worth another l👀k#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/0RmS0AzYBq
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) August 14, 2020
In a back-and-forth battle with Boston, Washington’s Thomas Bryant made a steady contribution with 9 rebounds and 26 points on 66% shooting in the Wizards’ final time suiting up until the 2020-21 season begins.
💪 @nolimittb31 (26 PTS, career-high 4 STL) leads the @WashWizards to a season-ending win! #RepTheDistrict #WholeNewGame
— NBA (@NBA) August 13, 2020
26 PTS | 9 REB | 4 STL | 2 BLK | 2 3PM pic.twitter.com/Tv404JZAM5
In a triumphant effort, the Grizzlies’ SF Kyle Anderson found a hole in the Bucks’ defense as he laid a picture-perfect behind the back pass into the hands of Valanciunas who capitalized on the opportunity for the simple lay in.
free flowin' basketball: that's the stuff we do like.
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) August 13, 2020
📺: @GrizzliesOnFSSE pic.twitter.com/YTzka8LsPS
A team that has struggled to be consistent from behind the arc since entering the bubble, the L.A. Lakers netted eight threes in the first quarter of their final regular-season game potentially serving as a good omen as they gear up for the playoffs.
The Lakers torched the net with eight threes in the first quarter 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5sQRbS7GKe
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 13, 2020
Full game highlights of today’s close games will be posted here once they conclude.
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