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Today may be April Fool’s day, but we’re not joking when we tell you that the NBA playoffs begin this month. We’re almost there! 🙏
Lucky for us, there’s still plenty of meaningful basketball to catch you up on while we wait. Let’s dive in.
Today’s Lineup
🚀 Launch Mode
The Rockets win their third straight in a tight west playoff hunt.
⚡ Thunder Up!
The Thunder win a thriller over the Pistons in OT.
🕰️ Wayback Wednesday
Taking a look back at some of the greatest Final Four games!
🎉 Happy birthday Brook Lopez, Tyrese Proctor, Mitchell Robinson! 🎉
Enjoy’s Toast of the Week🍸🏀
We're raising a glass with our friends over at Stratusphere Gin to the player who put on the best show this week. First up: Luka Dončić.
41 points, 8 boards, 3 steals, and a block to put away the Nets. That's 15 games of 40+ this season, the most by a Laker since Kobe had 18 in '06-07.
The step-backs, the dimes, the "how did he just do that" moments. This is the kind of stretch you celebrate. So grab a glass of Stratusphere Gin and raise one to the Magic Man himself.
Who's getting the toast next week?
Game Recaps
Rockets jump out to early lead, stay hot to defeat Knicks 111-94
Sometimes, it’s how you start AND how you finish.
The Rockets got out to an early 12-1 lead in their win over the Knicks and simply never looked back. Kevin Durant (27 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST) kicked things off with a 10-0 run on his own, and was able to use his fast start to guide Houston to its third straight win.
Tari Eason, who got the start in this one, is showing real signs of life over the past few games, and that continued last night as he went for 17 points on 3/6 from behind the line. If Houston is going to make a deep run in the playoffs, they’re going to need this version of Eason.
This was a big loss for New York, who are now 2.5 games behind Boston for the number two seed in the East, with time running out to catch them. It was a struggle for the Knicks offensively in the loss, with Jalen Brunson and KAT combining for just 12 for 31 from the field.
The fight for seeding in both conferences is getting more intense with each passing day. Simply put….every. win. counts.
🏀 🏀 🏀
Shai drops 47 points in 114-110 OT win over Pistons in battle of the #1 Seeds
When the number one seeds from each conference matchup, it’s going to be absolute cinema. The Pistons and Thunder gave us exactly that on Monday. 🍿
After Detroit took a seven point lead down the stretch in the fourth quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (47 points, 12/19 FG, 21/25 FT) went into MVP mode. He scored six straight points to cut the lead to one, and with the game tied at 101 in the final seconds, he nailed a step-back three to put OKC up by three. One problem, though….he was called for an offensive foul on the shot, and the game went to OT. 😳
The (somewhat) surprising late foul call did not rattle Shai and the defending champs. OKC squeaked out the win in OT, their 60th on the season, the first team in the league to reach that mark.
For the Pistons, this was a tough loss, as they were without their MVP in Cade Cunningham, along with Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris, and Isaiah Stewart. Even so, they still gave the champs all they had. With just a few games to go in the regular season and the number one seed out east practically locked up, Pistons fans are focused on entering the playoffs healthy and gearing up for a potential deep playoff run.
Not only was this game a banger, but we also got a post-game banger quote from Shai:
🏀 🏀 🏀
Elsewhere around the NBA:
Oh, Victor Wembanyama made the NBA record books? It must be a day that ends in Y. Wemby (41 PTS, 16 REB, 3 BLK) recorded the fastest double-double in NBA history in the Spurs’ 129-114 win over the Bulls on Monday, securing the statline in just 8 minutes and 31 seconds of action on the court. The MVP candidate’s monster game, along with Stephon Castle’s outing (21 PTS, 8 REB, 10 AST) guided the Spurs to the ninth straight win, as they continue to chase OKC for that number one seed out west…..
In sports, you will get knocked down…but it’s important you get back up. That’s exactly what the Orlando Magic did on Tuesday, defeating the Suns 115-111 after coming off a brutal 52 point loss to the Raptors on Sunday. The Magic got it done in large part due to the dynamic trio of Paolo Banchero (19 PTS, 9 REB, 8 AST) Desmond Bane (21 PTS), and Jalen Suggs (20 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST), and stay within the thick of the east playoff/play-in race.
Monday night was a win in more ways than one for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yes, they walked out with a massive 124-94 win over the Mavericks, but the bigger win was the return of Anthony Edwards after an extended absence due to injury. It was Ayo Dosunmu who stole the show for the Wolves. The former Bull went OFF for 18 points, 15, and 12 dimes, proving how right the Minnesota front office was for acquiring him at this years deadline…
🧠 Daily Trivia 🧠
Who holds the record for the fastest Triple Double recorded in NBA history?
Wayback Wednesday
We’re just three days away from Final Four weekend! With how INSANE the tournament has been so far, it’s likely we’re going to be getting more heaters on Saturday.
In the meantime, lets’s take a look back at three of the best Final Four games in NCAA history for this week’s edition of Wayback Wednesday! 🔥
Duke vs UNLV, 1991: Due to the university’s historic basketball pedigree, it feels strange to refer to Duke as a major underdog. However, that’s just how dominant the 1991 UNLV Rebels were. Coming off the 1990 National Championship where UNLV destroyed Duke by 30 points, the Rebels brought back their squad that was led by Larry Johnson and Greg Anthony. The Rebels went undefeated in 1990-91, and had won 45 consecutive games dating back to the prior season. That unreal run came to a surprising close in the 1991 Final Four thanks to the Duke Blue Devils, who pulled off a two point upset win on the backs of Duke legends Christian Laettner and Grant Hill, avenging their title loss from the season prior!
Mississippi State vs UConn, 2017: While we’re on the topic of historic upsets, Mississippi State’s upset over UConn in the 2017 Women’s Final Four absolutely cannot be left out. Going into the matchup, UConn had won 111 consecutive games (no, that is not a typo). The Huskies had cruised through the sport for years, and not a soul gave Miss. St a shot at even coming close in this one. But the Bulldogs found themselves in a tied game with the ball and 12 seconds to go, with a chance to upset one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports. It was 5’5” guard Morgan William who made CBB history, drilling a contested jumper at the buzzer to knock off the Huskies, placing a stamp on one of the most shocking games ever in college basketball!
UCLA vs Gonzaga, 2021: After a year off from March Madness in 2020 due to COVID, the 2021 tournament was obliged to give us some wild madness to make up for the hiatus from the year prior. UCLA and Gonzaga’s Final Four matchup gave us hoops fans that madness…and then some. Though UCLA was an 11 seed, they were not your regular cinderella, as they had a squad led by Johnny Juzang, Jamie Jaquez Jr, and Tyger Campbell. On the Gonzaga side, the team boasted multiple future NBA studs such as Jalen Suggs, Drew Timme, Corey Kispert, and Andrew Nembhart. These two teams went down to the wire and had to go to overtime to decide the winner. Juzang got to the basket and tied the game with a few seconds to go, and the game was heading for double OT….or so we thought. Suggs had other plans, racing downcourt and launched a halfcourt heave that banked off the glass and sunk through the net at the buzzer, sending the Zags to the Title game in one of the wildest finishes you’ll ever see:
Three in the Key
🏀 Not a bad STAT…
Congrats to Amar’e Stoudemire on being inducted into the Hall of Fame!
😱 Throwback Beard!
Re-watch this classic OKC James Harden performance!
What We’re Enjoying
It's as simple as one word.
In the latest Kenny for Real video, our guy Kenny takes a look at one word that describes each NBA team. Give it a watch to find out the word for your squad!
Signing Off
That’s all for today, Enjoyers! Thanks for making us a part of your day. It’s a new month, let’s make April our best one yet!
See you on Friday!
Bobby Kasmire
