Every day in the NBA there is a lot to unpack, so every weekday morning throughout the season we will give you the three things you need to know from the last 24 hours in the NBA.
1) The kids are alright. Young Lakers exploit struggling Thunder defense to pull off overtime upset. Up until a few days ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder had the best defense in the NBA this season (and they are still currently second). Paul George has looked like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, fighting over picks on the perimeter and being disruptive, while Stephen Adams has owned the paint.
However, the Thunder have hit a slump, losing 5-of-6, and in those six the Thunder have allowed 119.8 points per 100 possessions — 16 more per 100 than they did most of the season.
The maligned Laker “kids” — still playing without LeBron James — exploited that defense. The Lakers moved the ball (37 assists on 50 made buckets) and hit 19-of-40 from three.
Kyle Kuzma had 32 points, Lonzo Ball had five of his 18 points in overtime (plus he had 10 assists on the night), and Ivica Zubac owned the paint, coming off the bench to score a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds.
The Lakers should have won the game in regulation, but the officials blew a call. The Lakers were up 122-119 with 2.9 seconds left but the Thunder had one last chance. Luke Walton gave the instructions to foul before a shot, but Russell Westbrook drove past Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ball switched on to him. Ball fouled before Westbrook started his shooting motion, but the referees whistled it as in the act and awarded him three free throws (which Westbrook hit to force OT).
However, upon review, it was clear Westbrook was not in a shooting motion when Ball fouled him, and the officials owned up to that after the game.
After the game, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said the problem with the Thunder defense in this slump is they are not defending out to the three-point line.
The Thunder are allowing just two more threes per game in this slump (and one more per 100 possessions), but teams are hitting them at a higher rate — 34.9 percent for the season but 43.1 percent in the last six. Some of that is just bad luck for OKC (the Lakers are not that good a three-point shooting team but the shots fell for them Thursday), and some of it is not contesting those shots as well.
Don’t worry about the Thunder long term, they will get their defense turned around. Mid-season slumps happen. But they have slid back into the big group in the middle of the Western Conference and it’s going to be a battle for seeding the rest of the way.
2) With the game on the line, Raptors turn to Pascal Siakam, who drives and hits game-winner for Toronto. Kawhi Leonard sat this one out, but Kyle Lowry — a likely All-Star in the East — was on the floor. So with the game tied against Phoenix in the final seconds, who did Toronto turn to for the game-winner?
Pascal Siakam, of course. On a clear-out.
And he nailed it.
Siakam was destroying the Suns in the first half and was the Raptors best player on the night. He has made huge strides this season and is in the mix for Most Improved Player this season. Shots like that help his cause.
3) Wizards beat Knicks in London on a game-winning goaltending call. The NBA went to London Thursday — distracting a troubled nation from the Brexit disaster by giving them the Wizards vs. the Knicks…. sorry about that — and Londoners got to see the most unusual ending to an NBA game this season.
New York led 100-99 (thanks to a Noah Vonleh hook shot) but Oklahoma City had one last shot, and everyone in the building knew Bradley Beal would get the rock. Scott Brooks drew up a play that had Beal starting in the backcourt and sprinting into the frontcourt to get the inbound pass, and he did but the defense rotated to Beal, so he passed to Thomas Bryant rolling down the lane wide open. Bryant put up the finger roll and…
The officials got that right, it was a goaltend by Allonzo Trier — the ball is just starting its downward trajectory, and it may have been over the cylinder. Give the Wizards the win.
Washington has won 3-of-4 and are 6-4 since John Wall was sidelined with his foot injury, and the team is now just two games out of the playoffs in the East. Owner Ted Leonsis said in London the team will not tank, so maybe the rumored trades around the Wizards don’t happen as they make a push for the postseason.
from Viral Update News http://bit.ly/2HmkNN9
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