It’s finally over.
The 2013-14 NBA regular season continued on Saturday, March 29, and the results were quite significant. The worst losing streak in league history finally came to a close, a championship contender secured a postseason berth and a legendary force saw their success reach new heights.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Michael Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young both scored 21 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-98 win over the Detroit Pistons. Greg Monroe posted 20 points and 10 rebounds, but Philadelphia started out hot and didn’t cool down.
With its win, the Sixers snapped an NBA record 26-game losing streak. It’s Philly’s first win since January 22 and its first home victory since January 15.
2. The Los Angeles Clippers lost Blake Griffin and Glen Davis for differing reasons, but still managed to defeat the Houston Rockets 118-107 on the road. Chris Paul posted 30 points and 12 assists as Griffin left due to back spasms and head coach Doc Rivers had Glen Davis escorted off of the bench to the locker room.
Most significantly, the victory enabled the Clippers to secure a postseason berth.
3. The San Antonio Spurs put on a defensive clinic en route to a 96-80 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Marco Belinelli scored 18 points and Tim Duncan tallied 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four blocks in just 25 minutes, while the Pelicans shot 39.5 percent from the field.
The Spurs have won 17 consecutive games, which ties a franchise record.
4. John Wall scored 25 points to lead the Washington Wizards to a 101-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. It was another big win for Washington, which has won two games in as many days over teams that are currently in position to make the playoffs.
With Philadelphia winning and Atlanta falling short, the Hawks are now in sole possession of the longest losing streak in the NBA at six straight games.
5. The Miami Heat shot just 43.2 percent from the field, but still managed to dominate the Milwaukee Bucks 88-67. Five separate players scored in double-figures for the Heat, with Chris Bosh leading the charge with 14 points in 26 minutes.
The win gave Miami 50 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2004-05 and 2005-06. Dwyane Wade and company won the NBA championship the latter season.
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Bonus Facts
- Six separate players scored in double-figures as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings 103-100.
- This is the first time since 1992-93 that the Clippers have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
The Blake Griffin and Glen Davis being out, deserves a Blog of its own.
Griffin suffered back spasms. LeBron had back spasms last week.
LeBron is playing again. We will see if Griffin is back right away.
However, one team, the Brooklyn Nets, has 2 players – Kirilenko and now KG who have back spasms (no mention of nerve root damage or inflammation) yet miss around 25 and15 games, and counting, respectively. Are some teams training and medical staff better at treating injuries? More information is needed, as the NBA is very secretive about medical treatments.
Big Baby was escorted by security off the bench and to the locker room, because he was emotionally out of control. Doc Rivers felt that Baby was a distraction in the game and on the bench, and eventually said get this Baby out of here.
Rivers was correct as Clippers went from a 15 pt deficit to an extend run, and the lead.