What did TNT offer us in the final Thursday night doubleheader slate of the regular season?
Hello and welcome to the final edition of Thursday Night Thoughts (TNT) on Friday! In this space I 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!
Miami Heat 106, Philadelphia 76ers 94
Over the past two seasons, it feels as if the 76ers put out flat performances every time I watch them. They’re first in the Eastern Conference, led by MVP candidate Joel Embiid and DPOY candidate Ben Simmons, and yet they lay an egg whenever I finally tune in to check them out. What gives!?
The Sixers were particularly brutal on this Thursday night. The Heat hit them in the mouth with a 38-22 first quarter and the 76ers never made a significant push to respond. Philadelphia played this game with very little energy. Miami was the hungrier team from start to finish.
The 76ers’ stars didn’t shine at all. Embiid and Simmons combined for just 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Embiid, in particular, may still be recovering from a flu that sidelined him for their previous game at Indiana. However, if you’re on the court, you have to persevere, and I still feel like there are ways to affect the game even if the buckets aren’t there. Instead, Joel came away with one assist, four turnovers, and three fouls. It’s no surprise that it all adds up to a -1.4 Game Score, by far his worst of the season.
It wasn’t just Embiid, though. The whole team looked flat! Coupling this loss with their last game at Indiana, the Sixers finished with 94 points in both games of their two-game road trip. They will end their season with two home games against the Orlando Magic, so perhaps that will be a palette cleanser. However, this game, and the two-game trip in general, was very unbecoming of a championship-contending team.
Miami, meanwhile, looked great in their home finale. Their swarming defense, aggression on the offensive glass, and hot shooting from the corner three helped them gain and retain their sizable lead all the way through the final buzzer.
The Heat’s collective energy helped them collect six blocks and pull down a massive 37.5 offensive rebounding percentage. Normally, the Heat take in just 24.1 percent of their own misses, the third-fewest in the NBA! Also, while Miami was better in general from 3-point range — 13-of-35 (37.5 percent) to Philly’s 7-of-25 (28.0 percent) — the Heat were particularly on from the corners. They went 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) from the region while Philadelphia only shot 3-of-11 (27.3 percent).
While this game left me concerned about Philadelphia’s title hopes, I was definitely reminded why Miami managed to grind their way to the 2020 NBA Finals. I’m not certain if they have the firepower to make a return trip, but this game lets me know they won’t be an easy out in the postseason.
Phoenix Suns 118, Portland Trail Blazers 117
This game was a positive change of pace from Game 1, as both teams chose to compete in this matchup. And what game this was!
It was ultimately decided down the stretch at the free throw line. Dario Saric went 1-of-4 from the line in the fourth, putting the game in doubt for Phoenix. Robert Covington went on to go 0-of-2 with five seconds left in the fourth and the opportunity to extend Portland’s 117-116 lead. This allowed Devin Booker to hit the go-ahead freebies when he was fouled on a floating mid-range jumper. Practice your free throws, kids!
The headline entering this game was the elite backcourt battle we were primed to have. Both duos delivered on the hype! While the Suns won the game, the Blazers starting backcourt came out victorious in this faceoff. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum outscored Chris Paul & Devin Booker, 68-44.
Lillard finished with a game-high 41 points, including 24 in the fourth quarter. McCollum came away with 27, 20 of those coming in the first half. Paul shot a phenomenal 11-of-14 from the field and ended up with 26 points. Unfortunately, Booker struggled from the field, shooting 5-of-17 and finishing with 18 points.
With Phoenix’s starting guards falling short in their own mini-battle, and Deandre Ayton missing his first game of the season (sore left knee), a few other Suns players would have to step up if they wanted to win on Thursday night. Mikal Bridges and Cameron Payne served as they cavalry, with both of them dropping 21 points with identical 66.7 percent shooting marks. Meanwhile, the third-highest scorer for Portland was Robert Covington with 16.
When it comes to these high-level matchups, it’s almost always a given that the stars are going to have good games. Instead, it’s a matter of which role players are going to step up to push their team past the finish line. On this night, it was Bridges, Payne, and some timely free throws that got the job done for the Suns.
This game was a blast, but sadly the chances are fairly slim that they’ll meet again in the playoffs. If they do, we’ll be in for a fun series. If they don’t, these two teams still showed individually that they are ready for postseason basketball.
1 thought on “TNT on Friday: 76ers/Heat, Trail Blazers/Suns”