February 19, 2021 Results:

What we got right:

NBA:

Chicago at Philadelphia - Joel Embiid scored a career high 50 points in leading the 76ers to a 112-105 victory over the Bulls. Embiid couldn’t be stopped, and Zach LaVine couldn’t keep up with him. He tried to, but he went just 9-28 from the field. Embiid also added 17 rebounds in what was his best game as a professional.

Atlanta at Boston - The Celtics exacted some revenge, and earned a split in their two games against the Hawks with a 121-109 win on Friday night. Kemba Walker scored a season high 28 points as the Celtics held a 25 point lead at halftime and cruised the rest of the way. Trae Young scored 31 points in the loss for Atlanta.

Toronto at Minnesota - This game set basketball back 20 years. Toronto won this game despite shooting 32% from the field and committing 15 turnovers. Norman Powell scored 31 points for the Raptors in the 86-81 victory, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 for the Timberwolves. Toronto moved its record to 15-15 this season, the first time they are at .500 in 2021.

What we got wrong:

NBA:

Golden State at Orlando - Stephen Curry scored 29 points, but it took him 29 shots to do it, and the inefficiency was one of the big reasons why the Warriors lost this game. Orlando got a triple double from Nikola Vucevic in the win, while Evan Fournier and Terrance Ross had 28 and 24 points respectively for the Magic.

Denver at Cleveland - That is nine straight losses for the Cavaliers, and another game they weren’t competitive in. Jamal Murray scored a career high 50 points, Nikola Jokic had another triple double, and the Nuggets snapped their two game losing streak. Denver needs to win games like this to keep pace in the Western Conference, and they got it done here.

Detroit at Memphis - As soon as we say nice things about the Pistons, they come out and lay an egg against the Grizzlies. Ja Morant had 29 points, 21 of which came in the second half, in the 109-95 win for the Grizzlies. Memphis won this game despite shooting 5-20 from three point land, but they did make eleven more free throws than the Pistons.

Oklahoma City at Milwaukee - Milwaukee bounced back nicely from a five game losing streak, beating the Thunder 98-85. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 19 rebounds for the win, which was huge for the Bucks. This was Milwaukee’s best game defensively, as they held the Thunder to just 36% shooting. Oklahoma City isn’t good offensively, but this was worse than usual.

Phoenix at New Orleans - This game was stupid. The Pelicans had an 11 point lead entering the fourth quarter and lost by 18. The Suns outscored the Pelicans 41-12 (!!) in the fourth quarter to turn a double digit deficit into a 132-114 victory. Chris Paul had 15 points and a season high 19 assists in the victory for the Suns.

Utah at Los Angeles Clippers - The Jazz lost for just the second time since January 6th, falling to the short-handed Clippers 116-112. Even without Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers got the win against the best team in the NBA. Paul George did return in this game, and added 15 points in 26 minutes. Donovan Mitchell scored 29 of his game high 35 points in the second half, but the comeback bid fell just short.