Scoreboard
- Celtics 132, Raptors 125
- Wizards 119, Clippers 117
- Knicks 114, Pistons 104
- Nuggets 113, Pacers 103
- Bucks 112, Grizzlies 111
- Heat 103, Pelicans 93
- Thunder 107, Spurs 102
- Suns 120, Warriors 98
- Trailblazers 123, Kings 119
What went down
The only thing more electrifying than a clutch basket is the clapback clutch basket. It’s when, after a go-ahead clutch basket is delivered, the opposing team doesn’t call timeout and frantically stampedes to the other end for a go-ahead clapback.
That’s exactly what Jrue Holiday of the Milwaukee Bucks did to the Memphis Grizzlies, who looked good after Ja Morant (35 points) gave them the lead with seven seconds left.
Then Holiday ran the floor and with so much poise, sank a game-winning jumper with two seconds left.
Ja Morant and Jrue Holiday trade CLUTCH buckets in the final seconds as the @Bucks top Memphis in a thriller! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LdzHB5BHHg
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2021
The best thing about this (there’s more?!) is that the same exact thing happened at halftime, when Ja hit a big shot to cut the Bucks lead to eight. Jrue answered with a buzzer-beating layup. Two clapbacks! Basketball is awesome.
Big-time baller
It came in a loss, but two Toronto Raptors played big time: Kyle Lowry, dishing out a career-high and franchise-tying 19 assists, and Chris Boucher, dropping a career-high 30 points off the bench.
No Raptor is an All-Star this year and obviously the Ls influenced that, but Lowry and Boucher won’t go into the break not swinging.
In the same vein, Damian Lillard scorched the Sacramento Kings with 44 points on eight 3s, two of which came in the last two minutes of the close game. The nets at Portland’s Moda Center deserve a much-needed break.
What he said
LeBron James after the All-Star draft, where two Utah All-Stars were picked last:
"There’s no slander to the Utah Jazz. You’ve got to understand, just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah. As great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we would never pick those guys in video games."
Did you see that?
RARE: We got a quick smile from Coach tonight 😅 pic.twitter.com/Vp4BzoBuXu
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 5, 2021
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau broke the character of strict coach Tom Thibodeau and became jokester Thibs for a brief moment after a win versus the Detroit Pistons.
Thibs was asked about his plans for the All-Star break and he replied with, “Turks and Caicos,” followed by a big grin. Turks and Caicos is an island near the Bahamas. Not sure if it’s the visual of blue waters or the fact that the Knicks are fifth in the East at 19-18 heading into the break that made him smile. Probably both.
