San Antonio Spurs 102-95 Toronto Raptors
A Toronto Raptors team without the All-Star back court duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan put up a fight at the AT&T arena in San Antonio, but eventually, it was the Spurs who got the better of them. It was actually not a fair fight with San Antonio playing all their men and the Raptors playing without their two best.
Nonetheless, the game still had to be played and the Spurs never let go of a first quarter eight point lead to eventually seal the game.
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LaMarcus Aldridge has been getting more comfortable with each passing game. He had 31 points and 15 rebounds on 12 of 18 shooting. The below stat is a clear indication that Aldridge is beginning to thrive in the Spurs system:
Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard filled the stat sheet with his 33 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. The depleted Raptors were led in the scoring by rookie Norman Powell’s 17 points, while back court mate Cory Joseph had 16 points and 7 assists.
The win helps the Spurs register a franchise record 64th win and remain undefeated at home, pushing their season home streak to 39 and overall to 48. The game had no playoff implications.
Indiana Pacers 115-102 Philadelphia 76ers
The Indiana Pacers stayed in the hunt for the seventh seed in the East with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers, courtesy of 41 point fourth quarter by the Pacers. The game was neck and neck for most of the 48 minutes. Paul George led Indiana with his 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists while C.J. Miles played the role of a super sub, scoring 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting in just 21 minutes.
Once again, Philly tried their best but it just wasn’t enough to seal the deal. Four of their five starters scored in double figures, they assisted on 23 of their 34 field goals but were quite simply undone when Indiana outscored them by 16 in the final period to seal the game.
With five games remaining, the Pacers only have to keep winning to snatch the seventh seed back from the Pistons. Although Detroit are currently in seventh, they have played one more game, and Indiana holds the advantage on the back of their season series record of 2-1 against them.
Detroit Pistons 94-90 Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls were practically out of the playoff race but are still competing, making it a must win for the Detroit Pistons – and win they did.
Jimmy Butler recorded his first career triple double with 28 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 stelas and 2 blocks. The Bulls even got 16 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks from Pau Gasol but nobody else stepped up to stop the Pistons.
Meanwhile for Detroit, all five starters scored in double digits led by 22 points from Reggie Jackson.
Recently acquired Tobias Harris continued his recent good run with the team registering 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. As for now, the Pistons remain in fourth but they will need to win all their remaining games and hope the Pacers drop one in order to stay in seventh.
The Bulls loss meant that the Charlotte Hornets clinched their Playoff berth.
Portland Trailblazers 110-93 Miami Heat
Four of Portland’s five starters scored in double figures as the Trailblazers iced the game early when they outscored the Miami Heat 39-20 in the second quarter.
The Heat were on the final game of the three-game West Coast road trip and entered Portland’s arena without Dwyane Wade. Luol Deng (14 points, 13 rebounds) and Hassan Whiteside (20 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks) registered double doubles, but the Heat simply lacked the firepower to compete with the Trailblazers.
The loss meant the Heat slipped from third to sixth seed in the East, but the Bulls’ loss earlier in the day helped the Heat get back to the playoffs, their seventh in their last eight years and the first since LeBron James left for Cleveland in the summer of 2014.
C.J. McCollum had a game high 24 points to along with his 7 assists and 4 steals, while center Mason Plumlee filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
The win helps Portland distance themselves from the battle for the bottom two playoff spots in the West. With five games to go, the Trailblazers are on a four game winning streak and have a couple of favorable games remaining, which more or less seals the sixth seed in the West for Portland.
Sacramento Kings 115-106 Denver Nuggets
Rudy Gay (SAC): 25 pts, 9 rebs, 3 asts
Darren Collison (SAC): 14 pts, 8 asts, 4 rebs
