Welcome to The Rundown! Today, we take an in depth look at last night’s games and pick our Player of the Night.
Celtics beat Warriors in battle of the league’s best teams
Nick Billion: As I figured, last night’s game did not disappoint. What looked like a potential early blowout, ended up being a game that came down to the final minute. Credit to the Celtics for coming back from being down 17 to pull out the win. Defense played a major factor as Curry Was not effective in this game. It was also a good night for Jaylen Brown, as he had a big part of the Celtics win in the 3rd. The Celtics are now up to a 14 game win streak and look harder to beat each day.
Craig Brallier: I know that Boston has the best defense in the league, but I didn’t expect them to be that good, especially against the team that could very well be one of the best of all time in Golden State. The defense was so good, that they picked up the win, even with Kyrie Irving shooting 25% from the field. On offense, great games from Al Horford and Jaylen Brown helped pick up Irving’s shooting woes. Brad Stevens already has my vote for coach of the year, the amount of great role players on this team is crazy and they have Irving who is the ultimate closer. There is a very good possibility that we see these two teams playing each other in June.
Harden, Rockets go off for 142 on Suns
NB: This game was all Rockets as they dropped 90 in the first half. Harden lead the way with 48 points. Also important to not, Chris Paul made his return and got himself a double-double. Nothing but positives for the Rockets in this one. On the other side, the young Suns roster continues to struggle. It’s like the situation with the Bulls, winning isn’t going to come right away, but every game is still a learning opportunity.
CB: Harden has jumped right into the MVP race early. He has been nothing short of sensational ever since they lost CP3 in the first game, and that didn’t stop when Paul came back. 48 points, and the team shot very well from the floor. The Suns didn’t have a bad game by any means, they just don’t have James Harden scoring 40+ on their roster. Defensively, this was a tough game to watch. It looked a lot like the All-Star game or the Drew League. Instant offense, zero D. But it was fun to watch, and that’s a hell of a win for Houston.
Player of the Night
Unanimous: James Harden – 48 PTS, 7 AST, 54% from the field, 6 of 11 from three in win VS Suns.
That’ll do it for The Rundown this week! Come back Monday, where we’ll recap the biggest stories over the weekend.