The Warriors and Stephen Curry made serious history, Kobe Bryant went out with a bang and 60 points, and the Hawks squandered an opportunity and will face the Celtics in Round 1 of the playoffs. Dose breaks the busiest night of the year down. Follow me on Twitter here! And check out the Playoff Player Rankings if you have a playoff draft tonight or tomorrow. And maybe bump Festus Ezeli up a bit.
Warriors 125, Grizzlies 104 – The No. 1 Warriors will face the No. 8 Rockets in Round 1 after trouncing the Grizzlies en route to an historic 73-9 record, surpassing the Bulls’ classic record of a 72-win season. Stephen Curry racked up 46 points and hit 10 3-pointers, finishing with an all-time high 402 of them in an unreal season. A shout out to my buddy Yuri Ono, who is the biggest Dubs fan I know personally, and I’m so happy she was in the house for the historic night.
The No. 7 Grizzlies will face the No. 2 Spurs in Round 1. Tony Allen sat out for the Grizzlies with a hamstring injury, leaving him a little iffy for the playoffs. The Grizzlies tried to stop the Warriors, but only Zach Randolph with 24 points really showed up for the starters. Lance Stephenson had 22 off the bench and the Grizzlies are just too injured to do much in the playoffs. A sweep is likely coming.
Lakers 101, Jazz 96 – Kobe Bryant rained on the Warriors’ parade by going off for 60 points and leading the Lakers to a comeback win in his final game. He attempted 50 shots to do it, but it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever watched live in a sporting event. “Mamba out,” indeed! And if he wasn’t 6-of-21 from downtown, his shooting would have been much more respectable, but his fourth quarter was amazing and a blast to watch. Goodbye and best wishes, Mamba. Shout out to my buddy Brian McPherson, who is the biggest Kobe fan I know. I’m sure he had an incredible and emotional night at Mamba’s magnificent finale. Don’t get those kicks dirty, my friend.
Derrick Favors (knee) and Rudy Gobert (knee) were both out and it didn’t matter, as the Rockets slammed the door closed on their playoff hopes by crushing the Kings earlier. Trey Lyles led the way with 18 points, Gordon Hayward scored 17 and the Jazz are going fishing.
Editor’s Note: This is your chance to try FanDuel risk free! Sign up today and if you lose your first contest, you’ll be refunded the entry fee up to $10. Play now!
Raptors 103, Nets 96 – The No. 2 Raptors will host the No. 7 Pacers in Round 1. The Raps started their bench, with the exception of Norman Powell, who went off for 30 points, nine boards, five assists, a steal and five 3-pointers on 12-of-18 shooting. He’s a waiver-wire MVP candidate for what he did for his fantasy owners down the stretch.
The Nets started some scrubs and got 29 points, six boards and seven triples from Bojan Bogdanovic, so good job if you played him tonight. The Nets secured the third-worst record in the league, so tanking congrats are in order.
Hornets 117, Magic 103 – No. 6 Charlotte will get the No. 3 Heat in Round 1. The Hornets starters played extremely limited minutes and still got an easy win. Al Jefferson had 26 on 11-of-15 shooting off the bench and is playing well again.
The Magic got 22 a piece from Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon, while Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja were disappointing for the Magic. They’re ‘going fishing.’
Rockets 116, Kings 81 – The No. 8 Rockets will face the No. 1 Warriors in Round 1 of the playoffs. They played to win and James Harden dropped 38 on the Kings, Dwight Howard double-doubled and Patrick Beverley had a career-best 12 assists to go along with six steals. Good luck against GSW, guys.
One of the stories of the night will be the struggles of Seth Curry for the Kings, who hit just 3-of-18 shots for 10 points, six boards, five assists and five turnovers. Ouch. He got me in most of my DFS leagues, but Kobe and Curry carried me through to some wins. Kosta Koufos double-doubled and Ben McLemore scored 24 as the Kings’ disastrous season mercifully came to an end. And it appears that George Karl has been, or will be, fired by the Kings.
Pacers 97, Bucks 92 – The No. 7 Pacers will get the No. 2 Raptors in Round 1. They started the bench and Solomon Hill had 25 points, seven 3-pointers, six boards, three assists and four steals, so props to you if you used him last night. Myles Turner started, but had just four points in 22 minutes.
The Bucks played some of their guys, but Greg Monroe lasted just 13 minutes and Khris Middleton played eight minutes. That hurt in any league you used them in, but Giannis Antetokounmpo at least came through with a decent line. And despite the benchings, the Bucks’ bench did nothing.
Timberwolves 144, Pelicans 109 – I guess the big news coming out of Minnesota is that Sam Mitchell will be fired by the Wolves. I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do, as this is the guy who basically taught Kevin Garnett the ropes. But his old-school style doesn’t work with the kids and I was not a huge fan of how he messed with Zach LaVine this season, but I’m still a Sam Mitchell guy, and would have liked to see him continue to develop these kids next year. Gorgui Dieng, Karl-Anthony Towns, LaVine and Andrew Wiggins all went off in Sam’s finale, while Shabazz Muhammad hit 12-of-16 shots off the bench for 28 points. If you played Ricky Rubio last night, he overcame the seven points with 10 dimes, five steals and three 3-pointers.
The Pelicans got 28 from James Ennis, 24 & 11 from Omer Asik and 22 and a full line from Toney Douglas. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more injured team, and they’re all just glad it’s over. Look for the Pelicans to bounce back next season.
Bulls 115, Sixers 105 – Nikola Mirotic went off for 32 points, seven boards, four assists, five steals, three blocks and seven 3-pointers, and you probably won if you played him. Justin Holiday scored 29 and the Bulls are anxious to go home and lick their wounds. Oh, and while Jimmy Butler scored just 10 points, he also had 12 rebounds and 10 assists for a rare triple-double.
Nerlens Noel disappointed with seven points, but did have six rebounds, three steals and three blocks, Robert Covington had 27 points and six treys, and Jerami Grant bounced back for 20 points, six boards, a steal, two blocks and two 3-pointers. Ish Smith filled the stat sheet, despite hitting just 4-of-13 shots, and Hollis Thompson added 21 off the bench. This was a good night to steer clear of Sixers not named Covington.
Spurs 96, Mavericks 91 – The No. 2 Spurs will get the No. 7 Grizzlies in Round 1. San Antonio started a makeshift squad and Boban Marjanovic made Mike Gallagher very happy with 22 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Congrats if you had to the guts to start him. Jonathan Simmons added 19 points off the bench, and the Spurs still won!
The No. 6 Mavs will face the No. 3 Thunder in Round 1 of the playoffs. David Lee left with a foot injury and didn’t return, but it’s only being called soreness and X-rays were negative. Hopefully he’s ready to go in Game 1 against OKC. Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 and Deron Williams is finally healthy again, finishing with 13 points and seven dimes in the loss. Raymond Felton had a sneaky 22 points off the bench and should tag team with Williams in the playoffs.
Pistons 112, Cavaliers 110 OT – The Pistons deployed their bench and got good games from Anthony Tolliver, Stanley Johnson, Aron Baynes and Steve Blake all put up decent numbers in the win. And Reggie Bullock, Spencer Dinwiddie and Jodie Meeks all played well off the bench. Meeks had been out since the first game of the season, so his 20 points were a big surprise.
The Cavaliers hold the No. 1 seed and will host the No. 8 Pistons in Round 1 and a rematch of the finale. They benched the studs and got 36 points out of Jordan McRae (who?) and a double-double from Timofey Mozgov off the bench. The Cavaliers didn’t show their hand tonight and Stan Van Gundy has his work cut out for him.
Wizards 109, Hawks 98 – Otto Porter hurt his hamstring in this one and didn’t return, but he’ll have several months to get over it. Ramon Sessions was money again with 22 points, six dimes and three 3-pointers in the win, and Marcus Thornton scored 14 in a start.
The Hawks finish with the No. 4 seed and get No. 5 Boston in Round 1. They’ll have home-court advantage, but Tim Hardaway Jr. went to the locker room with a hamstring injury and was limping badly. Other than that they’re healthy, although their egos are bruised after not being able to put away the short-handed Wizards, despite playing their studs heavy minutes. The good news for Atlanta is they get the Celtics instead of the Heat and still have home court, which might work out in their favor. In hindsight, coach Mike Budenholzer probably wishes he would have just rested his guys instead of turning them loose for 23 ugly turnovers.
Celtics 98, Heat 88 – The No. 5 Celtics get the No. 4 Hawks in Round 1. They overcame a 24-point deficit for a crazy win and Isaiah Thomas scored 21 despite shooting just 4-of-15. They are coming into a meeting with the Hawks with confidence, while the Hawks are wondering what happened against the Wizards.
The Heat blew a massive lead but still took the No. 3 seed and will face the No. 6 Hornets. They saw a balanced attack from Joe Johnson, Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade, but couldn’t put the Celtics away. Justise Winslow returned for seven points and 10 boards in 28 minutes.
Suns 114, Clippers 105 – The Suns got the win against a makeshift Clippers lineup, led by Jon Leuer’s 16 points and 14 rebounds in 20 minutes. P.J. Tucker was solid with 14 points and seven boards, and Mirza Teletovic stayed hot with 22 points, nine boards and two 3-pointers off the bench.
The No. 4 Clippers will face the No. 5 Blazers in Round 1 of the playoffs. The Clippers started their bench (mostly) and Austin Rivers had 16 points and a solid line, and Cole Aldrich helped DFS owners with 14 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and three blocks. Wes Johnson and C.J. Wilcox each scored 19 off the bench, not that it matters.
Blazers 107, Nuggets 99 – The No. 5 Blazers will face the No. 4 Clippers in Round 1. Damian Lillard scored 21 and C.J. McCollum had 17 in the win. The Blazers have their work cut out for them in Round 1 and will be looking for big things from Lillard, CJM, Al-Farouq Aminu, Moe Harkless, Mason Plumlee, Allen Crabbe and Ed Davis against the Clippers.
The Nuggets got a big game from Emmanuel Mudiay, and centers Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic both double-doubled in the loss. Gary Harris played through a groin injury and scored 16 points. Will Barton struggled in 25 minutes and Kenneth Faried graced us with 12 points, eight boards and two blocks in 19 minutes as the Nuggets prepare to go fishing. I may never draft Faried again.
That’s a wrap on another regular season. Thanks for stopping by and for your continued support! We work really hard to give you the best fantasy NBA coverage out there, and I’d like to think that we’re still really, really good at it.
Doc Out!
