James Harden had the ball at the top of the key with the Houston Rockets down one point to the San Antonio Spurs with five seconds to play. He drove by Kawhi Leonard to his left and took off for a layup. Tim Duncan was there, however, his fingers extended just enough to get a piece of the ball for a block. Duncan grabbed the rebound and the Spurs won, 104-103.
2015 NBA Scores: The Spurs would like home court in a playoff series and 3 other things we learned Friday
Tim Duncan saved the day yet again for the Spurs to beat the Rockets in a thriller, plus three other things we learned Friday.
It was the Spurs’ 10th win in a row, and second in three days against the Rockets. The win moved them to 54-26, which bumped them up from the No. 6 seed in the West up to No. 3. The loss for the Rockets, meanwhile, dropped them to 53-26 and from second place all the way to sixth. If the season ended Friday, the Spurs and the Rockets would tip off in the first round of the playoffs.
After losing by 12 points on Wednesday (and trailing by as much as 22), the Rockets jumped out to a 12-0 lead on Friday. They led 30-23 at the end of the first quarter, but the Spurs fought back to trail by just two at halftime.
Then the Spurs took over. They outscored the Rockets 34-27 in the third thanks to great shooting and the timeless play of Duncan. The Rockets, to their credit, didn't go away, even when the Spurs intentionally fouled Josh Smith on multiple occasions to send him to the line in the fourth.
The Rockets shot 53 free throws, of which Josh Smith took 26 and made just 12. The hack-a-Smith hurt the flow of the game for both teams, but Houston fought to stay close. Despite an off night of shooting, Harden scored the Rockets’ final five points to give them a chance to win. But that’s when he ran into Duncan.
(h/t The Cauldron)
Duncan led the Spurs with 29 points and 10 rebounds on 12-of-15 shooting, and Leonard added 18 points and nine rebounds. He and Danny Green’s defense held Harden to 16 points on 5-of-19 shooting, though Harden did have 10 assists.
The playoff picture in the West is still fuzzy. Just one game separates four teams fighting for the No. 2 seed. As things stand, the Memphis Grizzlies are in second, the Spurs are third, the Portland Trail Blazers are fourth (because they won their division they are automatically a top-four seed), the Los Angeles Clippers are fifth and the Rockets are sixth.
This was the last Friday of the NBA’s regular season. With just five days left in the season, the fact that those four teams could end up in any position is what makes the game so great.
3 other things we learned
The New Orleans Pelicans are holding on tight to the final playoff spot in the West. The Pelicans beat the Phoenix Suns, 90-75, despite an injury scare for Anthony Davis. He sat out most of the second and third quarters after suffering a blow to the throat, but returned for the fourth.
The Pelicans control their own destiny in the fight for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are right on their heels. The Thunder handled an undermanned Sacramento Kings team, 116-103 on Friday. Both teams are 43-36, with the Pelicans holding a head-to-head tiebreaker. Unfortunately for them, they close out the season with a tougher schedule than the Thunder, taking on the Rockets, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Spurs. The Thunder face the Indiana Pacers, Trail Blazers and Timberwolves.
Stephen Curry had another good night in the race for MVP. One night after Curry went off for 41 points and 10 assists -- on 17-of-23 shooting mind you -- on Thursday, his MVP-worthy counterparts had solid, but unremarkable, performances. Harden struggled against the Spurs, Davis had 19 points and nine rebounds in just 23 minutes, and Russell Westbrook had a ho-hum (by his standards) 27 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
Each of these players has had multiple jaw-dropping performances, but the fact that Curry's most recent came this late in the season when voters are really thinking about their choices certainly doesn't hurt. Though he might want to look out for Danilo Gallinari -- he put up 47 points on Friday.
The Eastern Conference playoffs might be fun to watch, too. The key word there is might. The Eastern Conference has turned ugly in the second half of the season -- aside from the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards are backing their way into the playoffs. The Raptors snuck by the Orlando Magic and the Wizards were blown out by the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
If the season ended today, the Hawks would face the Nets, the Cavaliers would take on the Boston Celtics, the Raptors would get the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Chicago Bulls would take on the Wizards. (The Pacers still could sneak into the playoffs sitting just one game back of the Celtics and Nets.) The Nets are as hot as any team in the East and could give the Hawks somewhat of a scare. Meanwhile, the Celtics beat the undermanned Cavaliers on Friday, and the other four teams may be equally capable of brilliance or disaster.
The shaking out of the Eastern Conference should make for fun basketball, even if it would be better to fast forward straight to a Hawks-Cavaliers Eastern Conference Finals.
Play of the night
(h/t Ananth Pandian)
Somehow, Giannis Antetokounmpo still surprises. This block, open-court juke and flying dunk are a perfect snapshot of everything the Greak Freak brings to the court. He can play defense, he can play like a point guard, and he can throw down like a dunk contest competitor. He'll get his chance to show off even more in the playoffs. The Bucks' win over the New York Knicks solidified their hold on the No. 6 seed in the East.
3 fun things
Scores
Raptors 101, Magic 99 (Raptors HQ recap | Orlando Pinstriped Post recap)
Pacers 107, Pistons 103 (Indy Cornrows recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap)
Hawks 104, Hornets 80 (Peachtree Hoops recap | At the Hive recap)
Celtics 99, Cavaliers 90 (Celtics Blog recap | Fear the Sword recap)
Nets 117, Wizards 80 (Nets Daily recap | Bullets Forever recap)
Bucks 99, Knicks 91 (Brew Hoop recap | Posting and Toasting recap)
Pelicans 90, Suns 75 (The Bird Writes recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap)
Spurs 104, Rockets 103 (Pounding the Rock recap | The Dream Shake recap)
Thunder 116, Kings 103 (Welcome to Loud City recap | Sactown Royalty recap)
Mavericks 144, Nuggets 143 (Mavs Money Ball recap | Denver Stiffs recap)
Grizzlies 89, Jazz 88 (Grizzly Bear Blues recap | SLC Dunk recap)
Lakers 106, Timberwolves 98 (Silver Screen and Roll recap | Canis Hoopus recap)
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