NBA Cup — Day 5

 Hello, I’m Carlos Andres Segrera, and this is the NBA from the mind of a high schooler.

Last night’s slate of games were a great way to start off my Thanksgiving break, and another reminder as to why I’m so grateful for the game of basketball.

You wouldn’t expect one to watch the worst team in the league very often, but the Wizards always have the 7 p.m. game. Last night I watched the first quarter of Bulls-Wizards, waiting for the Heat game to start. I was expecting a close game after what I saw in the first quarter that ended 29 to 21 in the favor of the Wizards, but the final score was 127 to 108 in the favor of the Bulls. So what happened? The Bulls scored 40 to the Wizards’ 18 in the second quarter and were able to carry that momentum with them for the rest of the game. Vucevic, Coby White, and Zach Lavine combined for 58, and Vuc brought down 12 boards. While the Wizards advanced their losing streak to 12, there were some bright spots for them this game, in the form of rookie Alex Sarr. Sarr had 20, 7, and 3 and shot 4-5 from beyond the arc. The vet Malcolm Brogdon also had a solid game, but besides those two everyone else on the team made it easy to see why they are on a 12-game losing streak. The Bulls now find themselves atop the NBA Cup group with the most parity, East: Group C, in front of the Hawks, Celtics, and Cavs. The Wizards are officially out of contention for the Vegas portion of Cup play.

My boys, the Heat, were tugging at my heartstrings last night. The Bucks were up as much as 22, but we were able to bring it back just to not get a shot off with a little over a second left in the game with an opportunity to tie it up. Dame Dolla knocked down 10 of his 17 triples. Dame had 25 at the half and was able to extend that to 37 by the time the final buzzer sounded. Brook Lopez had the most impactful 13 points I’ve ever witnessed and was honestly shocked when I saw the box score showed he didn’t even crack 15. Brook went 5 for 6 from the field and 3 for 3 from downtown, but each of those three-pointers had the weight of 20. A different veteran big had a “less great” performance, and that was Kevin Love for the Heat. Kevin, in 7 minutes, somehow got off 5 shots, and missed every single one. Jimmy Butler tried to keep us in this game, getting to the line at, and finishing the night with 23, 4, and 5. Milwaukee won 106 to 103 and advanced their win streak to 5. The Bucks advance to 3-0 in Cup play, and the Heat 1-2, while having a +10 point differential.

In an overtime thriller, the Rockets outdid the Timberwolves, winning 117 to 111. Alperen Sengun had a 22-point triple-double, but his efficiency was nothing to write home about. Matching up with Al-P on the Timberwolves’ side of things, Rudy Gobert had 16 rebounds and 1 very clutch block. Gobert rejected Sengun’s shot attempt at the rim with seconds left allowing Anthony Edwards to get a game-winning attempt at the other end, which he missed. Edwards, following the trend of other players on the night, was rather inefficient but dropped 29 with 10 rebounds regardless. Bench production for the Timberwolves was off the charts. Naz Reid, reigning 6th Man of the Year, had 19 and 7, while knocking down 3 triples. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 13 on 6 for 7 shooting. The third and final man off the bench was Rob Dillingham, who absorbed some of the injured Mike Conley’s minutes, had a very balanced game with 12 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. Dillon Brooks, who has had a solid last three games, tied a team high in scoring for the evening with 22, firing off 7 shots from three and hitting 4 of them. The Rockets clinched West: Group A, knocking out the Clippers, Blazers, Timberwolves, and Kings.

Victor Wembanyama, who last week set a personal record for most three-pointers attempted in a game with 16, neared that last night with 14 (only 10 less than the all-time record). Wemby only knocked down 6 of his attempts last night, but went 13 for 23 from the field. He ended the night with 34 points in the Spurs’ 128 to 115 victory over the Jazz. Rookie guard Stephon Castle rattled off 23 of his own and the Spurs had 4 other guys in double figures. The Wemby 3-point experiment is definitely being performed and if the Frenchman can add a consistent three-point shot to his game, no one will be able to hold this man. The Jazz had 5 guys with 14+, but it was Keyonte George who led the team with 26, while shooting 9 for 16 from the field and 6 for 12 from range. Off the bench for the Jazz, Brice Sensabaugh had 16 going 4-7 from deep. Overall it was the Spurs’ shot volume that brought them ahead in this matchup, especially that from beyond the arc. The Spurs advance to 2-1 in Cup play, while the Jazz remain defeated.

The Lakers, who got blown out by the Nuggets on Saturday, decided to run it back last night losing 100 to 127 against the Suns. Anthony Davis continued his dominance last night with 25, 15, and 5 with 4 blocks and the King was on triple-double watch, like he has been in pretty much every game of the season. For the Suns, the so-called Big Three actually looked like a Big Three last night. KD and Bradley Beal had 23 each and D-Book outdid them slightly with 26 and 10. No one on the Lakers could get it going from triple, conversely the Suns shot a smooth 40%. These two teams, alongside the Spurs, are tied up at the top of West: Group B all at 2-1. With one game left in group play for each team, it’s going to be a true dogfight to decide who comes out on top. The Suns lead the three teams in point differential with +19 and the Spurs and Suns have their last game against one another.

That’s going to cap this Cup recap. You’ll hear from me next, this Saturday.