NBA schedule: Several teams play final game before All-Star break

The Rockets were playing without All-Star James Harden, who was a late scratch with a sprained right ankle. He hurt the ankle during Tuesday night’s game against the Warriors and played through it, though he was noticeably limping. He went through warmups and decided not to push it, and now said he’s not a lock to play in the All-Star Game right in Houston. And WHO KNOWS what his status will be for the Shooting Stars!

B-R gave the Celtics an offensive rating of 84.8 and the Bulls 82.4. Just to give you an idea, the Clippers’ O-Rating against the Rockets was 109.6, and they didn’t even shoot 50 percent from the field in the game. This was an atrocious offensive performance.

Via Celticshub

He also added:

With Michael Jordan’s 50th birthday coming this weekend (what are you getting him? I got him jeans!), it seems everyone is getting pumped up for it. Sports Illustrated is doing a commemorative issue. ESPN is dedicating lots of coverage to it, too. Yes, there’s no escaping MJ reaching the big five-oh.

Kyrie Irving tried to answer in the waning seconds, but an awkward runner fell off to the left as he slipped and fell to the floor to end the game.

Ah well, you herp some and you derp some.

According to SB Nation’s own Blazers Edge, Matthews escaped a severe injury as subsequent X-rays on the ankle revealed no fracture. The Blazers have reported that he will not return, but despite that fact, it’s still the best-case scenario given the team’s circumstances.

It seems Brooklyn can’t match the JaValevator, getting burned with ease in transition and in the halfcourt as the wiry seven-footer finagles his way to the hoop for a pretty baseline dunk and a couple alley-oops. Word to the wise: get a body on McGee as soon as you can in the fastbreak.

And Brooklyn wept.

C’mon, Brandon. You’re just asking for the Noah Finger Guns with that kind of defense.

The Clippers (37-17) can play with anyone because of an offensive rating of 109 points per 100 possessions and a defense that gives up a fifth-best 102 points per 100 possessions, according to Basketball-Reference.com. That chameleon-esque style helped the Clippers win by playing at Houston’s speed in the teams’ first meeting that ended in a 117-109 Los Angeles win.

Houston guard James Harden sprained his ankle and is listed as a game-time decision on Wednesday. While he was previously reported to be out, Harden attended a meeting with the Rockets in the morning, received treatments, and was still holding out hope that he could give it a go, reports Houston Chronicle reporter Jonathan Feigen.

Fittingly, Thibodeau, the defensive-guru once the lead assistant on Rivers’ Boston staff, will face his former team in the T.D. Garden on Wednesday. Both teams, hit by the injury bug, are playing in their pre-All-Star finales with momentum on the line and, hopefully for each, healthier days ahead.

Yet it’s a testament to the two well-respected head coaches that the Celtics and Bulls are still relevant.

While a prior report stated that Granger would ultimately decide whether or not he was ready to return on Wednesday, as SB Nation’s Pacers blog, Indy Cornrows, notes, it feels like nobody wanted to push the forward onto the court prematurely.

Here’s the rest of the NBA schedule for Wednesday via SI.com (all times Eastern):

Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m.