In NBA Sunday action, the Los Angeles Lakers took an important victory at home even with Anthony Davis having a bad shooting night as Austin Reaves put together an amazing performance versus the Orlando Magic.
The sophomore guard finished with a career-high 35 points on 9-of-14 shooting being heavily involved in the crucial fourth quarter registering 13 points including 10 in the last 1:33 of the game.
The guard out of Oklahoma carried the Lakers as Davis finished the night with 6-of-15 makes from the field that translated in 16 points, adding 11 rebounds to his stat line.
Reaves was hyper aggressive for the Lakers all game long having 18 attempts from the free throw line, while the Orlando Magic finished the contest with 17 free throws. Reaves was what the Lakers needed with LeBron James missing another game.
The future NBA Hall of Famer has been out for three weeks now due to a right foot injury. The LA franchise remained the no. 10 seed in the West with a 35-37 thanks to Reaves’ heroics, who has been averaging 20.4 points on 59% shooting along with 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds in the last five.
Canada’s, OKC MVP leads Thunder to a huge win
The Oklahoma City Thunder has slowly became one of the sleeping giants in the Western Conference thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s amazing play. The Canadian guard, who became an NBA All-Star this season went for 40 points in Sunday’s contest vs. the higher seeded Phoenix Suns, and they are now one game away from the sixth seed in the NBA standings.
The Thunder won seven of their last nine and they are in pace to make at least the NBA’s play-in tournament in the tough West. In the latest 120-124 victory over Phoenix, SGA heard the home fans showering him with M-V-P chants as he made 12 of 24 field goals and 16 of 19 free throws.
He went on to ice the game with 10 seconds remaining and complete another amazing performance. In the last six games he appeared, Gilgeous-Alexander has been showcasing NBA MVP caliber performances averaging 35.0 points on 54/55/87 shooting splits registering also 3.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds. The Thunder went to win 5 of those six games.
Shai today:
40 PTS
5 REB
12-24 FG
16-19 FTOnly Westbrook and Durant have recorded more 35-point games in a season as a Thunder. pic.twitter.com/iaWcUXy5Z8
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 19, 2023
Dejounte Murray returns to San Antonio
The feelings between Dejounte Murray and the San Antonio Spurs might have been a little awkard since the trade that sent the veteran guard to Atlanta. However, both sides put those things aside Sunday as Murray received a warm welcome after the home team honored the point guard with a video highlighting his six seasons in SA.
Murray had 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds, but the Hawks dropped 24-point lead in the second half to eventualy lose a winnable game 118-126. The Spurs outscored the Hawks 65-35 in the second half as Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell had 29 points each for the winning side.
“There were a lot of emotions coming in, but more excited than emotions,” Murray said after the game. “I am not a guy that really cries. I believe it was closure for sure. We played them at home not too long ago, but that is really different coming to San Antonio and actually playing.
It was great to see a bunch of people I didn’t see back in Atlanta and also the fans. I am forever thankful and grateful. Just the fans, the majority, believed in me since I got here at 19 years old.”
