Basketball Tips

Toronto have lost three of their last four games and are now in the #7 seed, meaning a play-in finish is looking increasingly likely. It’s been a real dip in form from Darko Rajaković’s men, and Monday’s 101-115 loss to Boston was an indicator of where they are at. Toronto were certainly in the hunt in the fourth, heading into three-quarter time down just 77-80, but they showed little resistance to Boston’s offence, giving up 35 fourth quarter points to lose this contest. It was a rough night from the big three of Toronto’s with Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and…

Atlanta have now won seven of their last eight games following a 141-107 blowout of Brooklyn on Saturday. Brooklyn never stood a chance, with the visitors racing out to a 13-2 lead, and the margin seldom dipped below double digits after that, making for a very easy win for Quin Snyder’s side. CJ McCollum top-scored with 25 points and seven assists, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker shot well again for 21 points and three blocks. Dyson Daniels racked up five steals to go with 11 points and six assists, and Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the…

Minnesota suffered another costly defeat at the pointy end of the regular season on Saturday, losing to Philadelphia 103-115. A dominant defensive effort in the first half from Minnesota saw the hosts head into the main break with just 41 points to their name. That helped Minnesota to a 10-point lead early in the third, but they went on to immediately concede a 4-17 run as part of a 24-42 third quarter, and there was no coming back from there. Anthony Edwards was awful in his return from injury, going 3/15 from the floor for eight points, three assists and…

Charlotte ended their two-game slide with a 117-86 thumping of Brooklyn on Wednesday. The tanking hosts never had a chance, being held to a terrible 92.2 offensive rating, while Charlotte recorded a 127.3 offensive rating of their own in the blowout win. Brandon Miller was the main man in this win, with 25 points and three assists, while Miles Bridges had 19 points, five rebounds and four steals. LaMelo Ball’s shooting was streaky again, as he finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, but Moussa Diabaté was much more solid with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Phoenix couldn’t…

Orlando held on for a 115-111 victory against Phoenix on Wednesday, as their defence turned it on in the clutch for the win. After leading by as many as 16 points in the first quarter and taking a 70-56 lead into the main break, their buffer had disappeared by three-quarter time. They locked down Phoenix in the final five minutes though, conceding just four points to win the game to take a half-game lead over Miami and Charlotte for the #8 seed. Jalen Suggs was Orlando’s best, with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals, along with six…

Houston have won a couple of games in a row and their 134-102 thumping of New Orleans on Monday was as good as they have looked in a long time. They notched up their fifth-best offensive rating of the season — 137.9 — and kept the hosts under wraps on the defensive end, making for a very comfortable win. A lot of Houston’s offensive success stemmed from their lack of turnovers and their success on the offensive glass, picking up 22 ORebs for 31 second-chance points. Alperen Şengün played a big role in that, finishing the game with seven ORebs…

Miami slipped to a potentially costly 118-135 defeat in Indiana on Monday, dropping them to a 39-36 record. Now in the #9 seed, Miami have the chance to make ground on the #7 seed Philadelphia on Tuesday, but they will need to show plenty of improvement. It was an 11-point fourth quarter that saw Miami lose Monday’s contest, as they completely crumbled to go a shocking 5/28 from the floor, including 0/8 from three, and that made it impossible for them to stay in the fight. Tyler Herro went scoreless in the fourth but finished with 31 points, three rebounds…

Toronto were rock solid in their 119-106 victory over New Orleans on Saturday, utilising a 30-19 second quarter to build a 59-44 lead, which they held onto for the rest of the contest. It was a strong defensive night from the team, led by a stellar two-way performance from Scottie Barnes. The young forward had 23 points, 12 assists, two steals and three blocks on the night, while bigs Jakob Poeltl and Sandro Mamukelashvili both had 18 points, one steal and one block. RJ Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter also finished on 18 points to help Toronto finish up with an…

Minnesota picked up another extremely valuable win without Anthony Edwards on Thursday, pulling off an unlikely overtime comeback to beat Houston 110-108. A dramatic and thrilling end to regulation saw the game head to OT, but Minnesota were extremely sluggish out the gates, conceding a 0-13 run to start the extra period. However, the hosts flipped the game on its head thanks to some unlikely contributors, in Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, getting Minny’s OT scoring started. The deficit was quickly trimmed to five points and Donte DiVincenzo tied the game with an off-steal three, before Julius Randle put Minnesota…

Boston bounced back from a disappointing offensive night against Minnesota to turn it on against Oklahoma City and pick up a 119-109 victory on Thursday. It was an impressive offensive night against the league’s best defence, recording a 122.9 offensive rating, and it was a 12-2 fourth quarter run that dealt the killer blow to the defending champions, as Jaylen Brown enjoyed plenty of scoring success. The forward ended with 31 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals, and got to the line for 14 free throw attempts, as his combination of shooting and power gave the visitors all…