Two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams made their presence known in this week’s NBA on TNT doubleheader.
Hello and welcome to another edition of Thursday Night Thoughts (TNT) on Friday! In this space I will give my takes on both games of the NBA’s premiere weekly broadcast. Do you have any thoughts on last night’s doubleheader? Hit me up on Twitter and let me know!
Philadelphia 76ers 111, Dallas Mavericks 97
A Philadelphia 76ers team that has been strong at home upheld their fortress in this decisive win over the Dallas Mavericks. The game started off competitive early, but got out of hand halfway through the second quarter. Philadelphia held a slight 33-32 lead with 6:23 remaining in the second frame then reeled off a 19-3 run, creating an amount of separation that proved to be insurmountable for the Mavericks.
Philadelphia tips off their four-game homestand with a bang. They asserted their dominance inside, outclassing Dallas 50-26 in the paint. The 76ers also forced a season-high 22 turnovers and capitalized on them by scoring 22 points off of those concessions. More importantly, they had that many takeaways while only surrendering eight giveaways, a season-low.
The Sixers continue their domination at home, improving to 14-2 at Wells Fargo Center in 2020-21. They hold the second-best record and the fifth-best net rating at home in the league. They’ll have the opportunity to bolster their standing on Saturday when they face a Cleveland Cavaliers team that has won back-to-back games, but had a 10-game losing streak before that.
For Dallas, it was an ugly start to a three-game road trip. It looked like the lethargic Mavs we saw the last time they were on TNT as opposed to the version that went 6-1 between appearances. Those 22 giveaways are a season-high, beating out their previous worst by five. The funny thing is that the Mavs kept pace with Philly from beyond the arc (13-of-34 while the 76ers’ went 12-of-29) and at the line (20-of-23 to the Sixers’ 21-of-25). In the end, however, the team that allows 67.3 percent shooting in the restricted area (fourth-worst mark in the league) were burned again when defending the key.
This loss was a huge step back for a Dallas team that seemed to be finding their footing. They fall back below .500 at 15-16. Their next game is another tough matchup, as they face the Brooklyn Nets on ABC Primetime Saturday.
Milwaukee Bucks 129, New Orleans Pelicans 125
Not much defense to be had in this game. Just a good, old-fashioned shootout at Fiserv Forum. This is one of those games where it comes down to who flinches first. The Pelicans lost this standoff, as they botched a possession that would have allowed them to tie the game. The result is another win for the third-best home team in the NBA, and a stinging loss for the upstart visitors.
Milwaukee dictated the pace of this game, blowing out New Orleans 21-4 on fastbreak points. The Bucks logged their third consecutive game of at least 120 points, led by their star duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo (38 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) and Khris Middleton (31 points, seven rebounds, and six assists).
Giannis got a few of his buckets in transition at the expense of an unfortified Giannis Wall. However, he also utilized plenty of rim runs and bullying post-ups to staff the stat sheet. Going 8-of-10 from the free throw line also helps. Middleton also went against type, with only two of his 14 made field goals coming from three-point range. Instead, he found plenty of opportunities to score in the mid-range, going 9-of-15 on two-pointers outside of the restricted area.
New Orleans, to their credit, really competed with Milwaukee despite this being the second game of a back-to-back. It really just came down to a huge mistake in the clutch, as the Pels couldn’t figure out how to manufacture an open three-pointer with time running out. All the team can do is learn from that and move on.
While the Bucks literally ran New Orleans out of the gym in transition, the Pelicans were able to keep up with Milwaukee thanks to second chance points. They blitzed the Bucks 25-6 on second chance opportunities, despite only edging them out in offensive rebounds 12-8. That second chance point total is a season-high, and that’s a special level of hustle and recalibration to convert that many points while grabbing your normal amount of O-boards (though “normal” for New Orleans is league-leading).
While this loss may be rough, the Pelicans have the chance to close out their first half road schedule on a high note. They have a date at the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night before embarking on a six-game homestand that continues through the first week of the second half.
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