Around the NBA: Bucks do Warriors one better in quarters
There have been many wild offensive nights in the NBA this season, by individuals and by teams, and there are certainly more to come in the final two months. But Wednesday night was especially crazy. Consider:
The Golden State Warriors, in one blistering stretch against the San Antonio Spurs, made 24 of 25 shots — including 14 in a row — and scored 49 points in the third quarter alone in a 141-102 victory. And it might not have been the greatest team performance of the night.
The Milwaukee Bucks, rolling through the Eastern Conference with relative ease at this point, hung a 50-point first quarter and an 85-point first half on the Washington Wizards on their way to a 148-129 victory at home. It was the most points scored by a Bucks team in a quarter since 1991 and the third most in a quarter in franchise history. HECKLING GOLD: The skill of heckling from NBA fans has lost something over the years. Far too many buffoons trot out “you suck” and low-level junk such as that as a way to get under the skin of opponents. Indiana Pacers fans restored some dignity and humour to the craft this week during a blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers. As Brandon Ingram of the Lakers was shooting free throws, fans chanted “LeBron’s gonna trade you” — which is high-level heckling. HEAT STROKE: The Miami Heat have struggled through an up-and-down season for the most part, clinging to eighth in the East heading into Thursday night. They have established one measure of futility that will be hard to live down. When they were beaten Saturday at home by Indiana, it was their third home loss in four days. It was the second time they’d lost three in four at home this season. In their first 30 seasons combined, that happened three times. KING GEORGE V: Amid all the noise about James Harden’s year and the way Giannis Antetokounmpo is play and the histrionics surrounding Anthony Davis, Paul George is having what could be considered the quietest amazing year ever. Oklahoma City’s George finished off a streak of five straight games of 35 or more points on Tuesday against Orlando the longest streak in Thunder/ Seattle SuperSonics history. SIXTH SENSE: By many standards, Jamal Crawford of the Phoenix Suns has had one of the more amazing careers of the last two decades: more than 1,300 games, less than a third of them as a starter, and one of the greatest sixth men to ever play. He’s poised to pass Eddie Johnson on the all-time scoring list and will be become the all-time leading scorer off the bench with almost 20,000 points. And Crawford has never once made an all-star team.