The week of March 16 gave us the league-leading Spurs and Warriors battling it out in San Antonio, which led to the Spurs continuing their 45 game home win streak. The Spurs are now three games back of the league-leading Warriors, and home court advantage could be huge as the season winds down. Let's get into the 10 things from this past week.
1. The Spurs defeated the Warriors
The Spurs remained undefeated at home in the 2015-16 season, winning their 45th straight home game against the first place Warriors. The Spurs used their version of a small ball lineup to counter to Warriors fast-paced style of play. With Tim Duncan only playing eight minutes, new signee LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds. The Spurs started versatile big man Boris Diaw at center, and he finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds, helping show that a two big man lineup can work against the Warriors. Kawhi Leonard had a casual 18 point, 14 rebound game along with playing his glove-like defense.
The Spurs were able to dictate the game, leading by 11 points before halftime. The Warriors closed the gap to be tied going into the fourth quarter, but with Steph Curry shooting only 1/12 from three point range, it was tough for the Warriors to climb ahead of the lock down Spurs defense. The two teams will face each other two more times this season, as the Warriors attempt the close in on 72 wins and the Spurs attempt to close the three game gap between the two teams.
2. “LeBron needs Riley”
The Heat thrashed the Cavs in Miami on Saturday night at the tune of a 122-101 beat down. While up by 30, the Heat fans chanted “LeBron needs Riley,” referring to Miami Heat owner Pat Riley, mocking the star forward who is “trying to get one for the Land.” LeBron didn’t have a bad game, finishing with 26 points and shooting 65 percent from the field. His supporting cast struggled, though; mainly Kevin Love, who finished with 7 points after getting into foul trouble after three minutes. The Cavs continue to struggle on defense, something head coach Tyron Lue was supposedly going to be able to improve.
Let’s not take away from the Heat’s performance, though, led by Goran Dragic, who finished with 18 points and 11 assists. Dwyane Wade finished with 24 points, including his 20,000th of his career. Joe Johnson, once a target of the Cavs, continued his hot shooting hitting four of six shots from deep. The Heat could look to challenge the Cavs in the playoffs. Now that they are healthy, the Eastern Conference could be heating up.
"LeBron needs Riley" now being chanted.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) March 20, 2016
3. Russell Westbrook is ferocious
Russell Westbrook dunks the basketball unlike anyone in the league right now, and he does it emphatically. Westbrook threw down a tomahawk jam against the Celtics last Wednesday night and, with the help of Kevin Durant, defeated one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Westbrook continues to ball out this season, averaging 24 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game, along with a league-leading 14 triple-doubles (the Thunder being 14-0 in those games). The Thunder need to pick their pace back up in order to hold off the 4th seed Clippers, as they have struggled since the All-Star break, going only 7-8 in that span.
4. Mirza Teletovic hit a game winner
Teletovic hit the game-winning shot over the outstretched arm of the T-Wolves Karl Anthony Towns. In a battle of teams fighting for draft picks, the big KAT could only watch as Teletovic helped the Suns inch closer to the T-Wolves at the bottom of the standings.
5. Andrew Bogut made a three pointer
Of course this happened.
6. The Nets and 76ers had a trash-talking battle about draft picks
Trash talk is terrible, but hey, the 76ers aren’t wrong, they do have more draft picks. It remains to be seen how many front court players they will draft with those picks, though. It’s all about assets, right?
#Sixers fans chanting at #Nets: 'We've got draft picks.'
— Tom Moore (@tmoore76ers) March 16, 2016
7. Paul George threw down a 360 dunk… during a timeout
The whistle blew, but the action did not stop, as Paul George threw down a nasty 360 dunk during a stoppage of play. It is great to see this from George, who has been under the radar a bit this season, as he continues to gain his confidence after one of the nastiest sports injuries ever. The more Paul George dunks we can all have in our lives, the better off we are. Keep banging out PG13.
8. San Antonio Slalom
This is Spurs basketball. Perfect execution of a play to get the shooter free for an easy three points. Watch as Patty Mills gives the ball up and then weaves through the trees in the paint in a maze of screens in order to get himself open. Fantastic basketball.
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9. “J.J., you’re not that good”
A hilarious heckler was caught on the broadcast of the Clippers-Spurs game, yelling at J.J. Redick to make him aware that he’s not that good. In fact, Redick is having a fantastic season this year for the Clippers. Since the Blake Griffin injury on Christmas Day, Redick has averaged 18.1 points per game, to go along with 49.8 percent shooting from long range. Redick is, in fact, very good, but this still made for a funny moment.
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10. Drake doing Drake things
Is anyone actually sure that Drake isn’t a member of the Raptors team? Look at that intensity as Drake attempts to work mind games on Justin Holiday and forces him into a five second violation. That kind of hustle and energy could be huge for the Raptors in the playoffs.
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