Ja Morant and Westbrook Blunders + Nets Need Lottery Luck | Slam N Jam
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What are the top stories in the NBA this week?
Well, Andrew, the top story this week was the race to the finish line in the Western Conference with the fourth seed through eighth seed only separated by two games. First, it was a big week for the Wolves. The Wolves won all four of their games this week and did so loudly. In a win over the Pistons, we got a big old dust-up in only the second quarter. This started between Nas Reed and rookie Ron Holland. Confrontation between Reed and Holland quickly grew as Dante DiVincenzo, Beef Stew got into the mix, and the mass of players and coaches went into the first row under the basket. In the end, five players and two coaches were ejected from the game. Four players I mentioned plus Marcus Sasser were suspended a game, though Beef Stew got an extra one for his history of on-court beef. And in their very next game, the Wolves were involved in one of the more memorable games of the year, a double overtime win over the Nuggets in Denver, their sixth straight win over Denver going back to last year's playoffs.
For the Wolves, it was Anthony Edwards who scored 24 of his 34 in the fourth quarter in overtime, and Akeel Alexander-Walker scored 26, including five three-pointers and the game-winning free throws after Russell Westbrook fouled his three-point attempt as time expired in the second overtime. Now for the Nuggets, it was already a tough loss, but it was made even tougher because Nikola Jokic had one of his best games ever, putting up 61 points, which is a career high for Jokic and the most points scored by any player this season. He also had his customary 10 rebounds, 10 assists, making it the first ever 60 point triple double. And to add insult to injury, the Wolves game was the first night of a back-to-back for Denver. They had to play the Spurs the next night, and because Jokic had played 53 minutes, head coach Michael Malone opted to rest him, leading to a second straight loss.
The Nuggets remain third in the West, however, but just a half game up on the Lakers, while the Timberwolves have the same record as the Grizzlies, who are currently in sixth. Those two teams will meet next Thursday in a game that could decide the final guaranteed playoff spot.
How did the Wolves perform in their recent games?
Elsewhere in the West, the Golden State Warriors continued their charge up the standings, also winning all four of their games this week, including two crucial ones over the Grizzlies and the Lakers. In the win against the Grizzlies, Steph had 52-10-8, including 12 three-pointers. It was Steph's fourth career game with 12-plus three-pointers. He and Klay are the only players in NBA history who have done that more than once. Jimmy Butler scored 27 in the game, which was his highest as a Warrior, and Draymond had a 13-10-12 triple-double. Now in the win against the Lakers, Steph was good again, 37, but it was Brandon Pajemski who was the X-Factor, scoring 28, including a career-high 8 three-pointers.
In the 20 games Brandon Pajemski has played since the Jimmy Butler trade, Pods is averaging 14-6-3 while shooting 41% from three-point land. The Warriors have moved all the way up to the fifth spot, only a game back of the Lakers and a game and a half back of Denver. And by the time you hear this, Golden State will have had a huge matchup versus Denver on Friday night.
How does Andrew vs. the Beat trivia game work?
welcome to the saturday slam and jam here on the athletic nba daily on today's show we're talking about the most approved player our players of the week and mike smeltz joins the show to talk about the brooklyn nets uh before we get to al's top stories of the week we're going to direct you guys to our quick survey about your podcasting habits go to theathletic.com athletic survey25 Again, three lucky entries will get $100 to Amazon on a voucher. So you should go do that. If you're a longtime listener or even a new one, we'd love to hear from you, from all the slammers, all the jammers. Again, go to theathletic.com slash athletic slash survey25. That's theathletic.com slash athletic. Slash Survey 25.
Again, if you want this to be a review for Slammin' Jam specifically, you need to leave it for the Athletic NBA Daily. So please go do that. We would very much appreciate that. With me today, my good friend Alex Spears. Alex, tell me about the top stories this week.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What are the top stories in the NBA this week?
1:10–3:09
2
How did the Wolves perform in their recent games?
3:09–35:00
3
What were the highlights from the Ja Morant game?
35:00–41:38
4
What is the current state of the Brooklyn Nets?
41:38–54:52
5
Who should the Nets target in the upcoming draft?
54:52
6
What are the implications of the Nets' draft lottery position?
50:09
7
How does Andrew vs. the Beat trivia game work?
0:11–1:12:36