When The NBA Turns Into A CIRCUS SHOW...

Описание: The NBA turned into a circus show last night.
And we also had 2 incredible games in Oklahoma and San Antonio.
But we gotta start in OKC where the Thunder jumped on the Raptors early, and I mean literally.
This was hilarious. Props to Mamu for not taking it seriously. After losing to the Pacers in a wild finish just 2 days ago, the reigning champs were struggling to obtain control against Toronto as well. This game saw 17 lead changes and 9 ties, so we must go straight to crunchtime.
Without Jay-Dub and Ajay Mitchell, Shai was the sole scoring threat, so the Raptors made him work for every point.
He splits the free throws and the Thunder are up by only 2 points. Then, Immanuel Quickley got in the right spot at the right time.
On the other end, Dort finds Aaron Wiggins up top for a wide open look as well, but his shot rims out, and now the Raptors are on a hunt.
BANG BANG! Quickley drains the 2nd - 3 in a row from the same spot to put Toronto up by 4.
And with the entire defense focused on Shai on the next play, the Thunder got lucky that this airball by Williams ended in the hands of Chet Holmgren who lays it in to cut the lead in half.
So, up by 2 with 40 seconds to play, Ingram goes not only against Wiggins, but the entire arena as well.
BI misses the solid look, and now the Thunder can tie or take the lead out of the timeout.
The only thing is…
WOW! Barnes erases the shot by Holmgren and coach Rajakovic calls a timeout to prepare his team for the crucial possession. Down 2, OKC must foul and they sent Jamal Shead to the line who’s a 78% free throw shooter. With 2 they’re safe, but he misses the 1st one, and now the pressure is taking over him…
Shead misses both shots, but Scottie comes to the rescue with a huge offensive board, giving Quickley the honors to seal the deal at the foul line. And Quick does just that, putting the stamp on this game with his 23rd point of the night. Ever since someone mentioned his name in trade talks, he’s balling, and so are the Raptors, taking down the best team in the league on their home floor, making their 4th win in a row.
And the Spurs who won 4 of their last 5 games, were confident against the Pelicans at home, but things didn’t turn out quite the way they wanted. Zion was blowing past Wemby at will in the 2nd quarter, scoring 10 of his 24 points. And the Pels were up by 9 before the break. Part of the reason behind this is the miserable 27% the Spurs have shot from deep. On the contrary, this guy nailed it from half court to win 10k. That was probably the luckiest fan shot ever.
Anyway, Zion continued torturing Wemby in the 2nd half as well.
He’s just too quick and too strong for Victor. New Orleans dominated inside the paint, outscoring the Spurs 56 to 32 down low, which got them up by 20. However, San Antonio wouldn’t raise the white flag just yet. Okay, a little 5-0 run to end the 3rd quarter, no big deal right? Well, they expanded it a lot in the final frame, until they got the entire crowd on its feet. Let’s GO! Keldon caps off an electric 16-0 run to close the gap to just 3 points. It’s on now! And after missing his first 7 shots from downtown, Wemby hits 2 in a row! De’Aaron Fox joins the party!
Swipa ties the game, completing the 20 point comeback. So, with the momentum fully on their side, the Spurs kept the pressure high! Get this! San Antonio completed an unbelievable 29 to 5 stretch in less than 10 minutes of action, to go from minus 19 to up by 5. There’s no way the Pels can survive this tectonic shift. Well, don’t say it twice.
That was a crucial stop by Missi which Zion converted on the offensive end to tie the game.
And after the timeout, the Pelicans continued turning defense into offense. New Orleans responds with a gutsy 11-1 blitz to retake the lead in the clutch. And speaking of clutch, the bald guys - Wemby and Keldon fumbled 4 straight free throws for San Antonio when they needed it the most.
So, when you miss a golden opportunity like that, the punishment awaits around the corner.
Yves Missi delivers the exclamation point, dunking over Victor to put his team up by 7.
And after a couple of free throws which Zion calmly knocked down, the game was already out of reach for the Spurs.