🏀 Fourth Quarter Fox Strikes Again

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Happy Friday, folks! You made it this far, and now you’re going to power through today before sitting on the couch for like 38 hours straight watching basketball…we assume. (No judgement. Make sure to stretch every once in a while, though.) We had another chapter in the Warriors/Grizzlies rivalry (even though one side won’t call it that) and a great primetime game to close out Thursday. Lots to talk about. Let’s get to it! 🤘 

Today’s Lineup

Lockdown Lopez: Bucks big man sets record for blocks in a game this year 🛑

KD To Miss Time: Durant will be out at least two weeks with an ankle sprain 🙏 

The Week’s Best: A junkyard dog sparked a big comeback for Cleveland 🐕

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Last Night’s Action

Oubre, Hornets hold off Pistons 113-103

Kelly Oubre, Jr. might get a sneaky payday this summer. The eighth-year pro has been great for Charlotte (22-46) this season, picking up a lot of slack when the Hornets have dealt with injuries—which has been very often. James Wiseman (16 &13) continues to be a nice surprise for Detroit (15-52). If you watched this full game: respect. Or maybe we’re scared of you. Or maybe both.

Lopez records nine blocks, Bucks survive Nets 118-113 in thriller

Trying to score on Brook Lopez? Not something we recommend! There’s a little Enjoy Basketball tip for ya. The DPOY candidate posted a silly 24/10/9 blocks, and Milwaukee (48-18) needed every one of those swats. Brooklyn (37-29) almost pulled off a massive second-half comeback thanks to the energetic play of Cam Thomas, David Duke, and Dru Smith. Really. It’s the Big 3 Brooklyn always envisioned.

Pacers overcome career night from Jabari Smith Jr., beat Rockets in OT 134-125

The Pacers (30-37) nearly let this one get away from them, and it might just have if not for one meddling point guard. Tyrese Haliburton is just unfair sometimes. 19 assists to just one turnover? That’s a ratio that would make even Chris Paul blush.

And despite the loss for the Rockets (15-51), what a night for Jabari Smith Jr.! Last year's third-overall pick has caught flak for his inconsistent shooting early in his career. But last night, he quieted the crowd tonight with a great display of shot-making down the stretch. Our favorite has to be this tough-as-nails three to send it to OT.

Jazz smooth offensive performance secures 129-124 win over Magic

All aboard! Because the Lauri Markannen Most Improved train is moments away from leaving the station. The Finnish forward creeps closer toward locking up the award with each passing game, and dropping 31 in a Jazz (32-35) W over the Magic (27-40) certainly helps. Just watch the big man run in transition: truly, a thing of beauty. And props to Paolo Banchero for officially breaking his three-point curse! From 1-for-33 in February to 3-for-4 tonight, not bad.

Dillon-Draymond beef simmers as Grizzlies crush Warriors 131-110

Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks have been going back and forth for days, and everyone was waiting to see tensions boil over tonight. Instead, we got a superb all-around Grizzlies (39-26) performance in a blowout win over the Warriors (34-33) and...whatever this is.

But that’s not all. Dillon had a little something to say after the final buzzer as well. Adam Silver, we hope you wrote a seven-game series of this into the script.

Kings hold on for 122-117 win despite Knicks furious second-half comeback

De’Aaron Fox is the best show in late-night TV. Fox—AKA Mr. Fourth Quarter, King Of The Clutch, or Swipa—scored 15 in the final frame as Sacramento (39-26) survived a New York (39-29) rally to capture an exhilarating win at Golden One Center. They know when to play cohesive team ball and when to rely on their star. They’re well-coached. They have bench players like Malik Monk, who can win a game by themselves. They’re all bought in. Beam Team are contenders, simple as that.

Wednesday Night Notes

Kevin Durant may have tweaked his ankle during warmups, but that didn’t stop the Suns from absolutely running over the Thunder behind 44 points from Devin Booker. CJ McCollum put the Pelicans on his back with 16 straight points to close out their win over the Mavericks. And the Clippers got an important home win against the Raptors (along with a rare Kawhi poster), but the real story was Fred VanVleet absolutely eviscerating the refs in the post-game press conference. The league office probably isn't going to like that one. 😬

Elsewhere, some acrobatic moves from Kyle Kuzma and a career-high 43 from Kristaps Porzingis weren’t enough to push the Wizards over the Hawks, Zach LaVine and the Bulls handed the Nuggets a rare loss at home, Darius Garland's dazzling footwork put a pin in the Cavaliers gritty four-point win over the Heat, and the Celtics kept Damian Lillard and the Blazers offense in check to secure a 22 point W.

Latest Basketball News

Kevin Durant out at least two weeks with left ankle sprain

Suns fans got to experience the magic of Kevin Durant for all of three games before this unfortunate slip happened during warmups. Luckily, it shouldn’t affect his playoff ability (fingers crossed), but KD will still miss out on valuable time to gel with his new teammates in Phoenix before the postseason. At 37-29, the Suns are just 3.5 games ahead of a spot in the play-in tournament, and they’ll have to fight tooth and nail without their star player to maintain position.

Performance of the Week

Yes, in a game that featured a 40-piece from Donovan Mitchell and double-doubles from both Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, the MVP was Lamar Stevens. After not playing the first three quarters, Stevens entered Monday night’s game for the first time at the beginning of the fourth quarter, then proceeded to post a +18, grab eight rebounds (SIX of them offensive), and spark a massive comeback which ended in an electrifying Cleveland win. The Cavs give out a junkyard dog chain after wins; this was the definition of a junkyard dog performance.

Frozen Moments

• Woah, Jaden Hardy, just take it easy, man…

• The Human Torch playing for the Phoenix Suns. Hm. That makes sense!

• Jalen Green knows that the basket doesn’t move, so…

Good Reads

Greg Oden’s Long Walk Home - Mirin Fader (The Ringer)

‘I can never say thank you enough’: How Kevin Love’s openness about mental health changed lives - Chris Manning (SB Nation NBA)

What We’re Enjoying

The High-Low: Are you a basketball film freak? Is there a sick play you remember from last night's game, but you just can't find the vid online? Do you want to look at every play Tacko Fall has ever made on an NBA court? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’ll love The High-Low, a basketball film site that gives you access to clips of every single NBA play since 2014-15.

Signing Off

That’s all from us today! We hope everyone has a great weekend filled with college basketball and March Madness bracket research. This is your year!

Until next time,

-Quinn and Spencer

Trivia Answer: The player with the most 5+ block games since 2000 is Marcus Camby! The Cambyman had a whopping 120 games with five or more rejections.

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