LeBron James and Caitlin Clark Continue Breaking Records
The Boston Celtics Experience a High and Low in a Span of Three Days!
FUN FACT FRIDAY
The sport of basketball began when James Naismith separated his class into two teams and nailed two peach baskets to the balcony, about 10 feet off the floor, in the school gym. The class was given a soccer ball and told that it would count as a goal if they got it in the net.
NBA: Cavaliers Mount Come Back to End Celtics’ 11-Game Winning Streak
Coming into Tuesday night’s game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (RMFH) in Cleveland, OH, the Boston Celtics had won 11 straight games, and it looked like they were poised to make it 12 straight wins, as the Cleveland Cavaliers were without All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell and forward Max Strus due to knee injuries. The Celtics rolled into RMFH boasting the best record not just in the Eastern Conference, but in all of the NBA at 48-12. As such, they were a -8.5 point favorite.
With nine minutes remaining in regulation, the Cavaliers trailed the Celtics 93-71. According to ESPN, the Cavs had just a 0.1% chance to win at this point in the game. But then, the Cavs would proceed to outscore the Celtics 34-11 en route to a pulse-pounding 105-104 victory. According to the Cavaliers on X (Twitter), their 22-point fourth-quarter comeback was their largest in franchise history. Forward Dean Wade played a critical role in the Cavs’ comeback, as he scored 20 of his career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Wade made five 3-pointers and outscored the Celtics by himself 20-17 in the fourth. The victory by the Cavaliers snapped the Celtics’ 11-game winning streak.
I was at Tuesday night’s game between the Celtics and Cavaliers and I still can’t believe what I saw. Check out my video below of the final 3:30 so that you can get a taste of what it was like at RMFH as the Cavs came all the way to beat the Celtics.
Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers is a Rivalry!
I might be in the minority here, but I fully believe that Celtics vs. Cavaliers is a rivalry! Dating back to 2008, they’ve played each other in the playoffs five times: 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2018. In ‘08 and ‘18, the series went all the way to a Game 7 (the Celtics won 97-92 in ‘08 and the Cavs won 87-79 in ‘18). In ‘08, Cavs superstar forward LeBron James and Celtics star forward Paul Pierce put on a heck of a duel, as Pierce had 41 points and James had 45 points. Last season, the Cavs won the regular season series against the Celtics 3-1, however, three of the four games in the series went into overtime. This made for great entertainment and energized both cities for their teams! I would LOVE to see these two teams play each other in the playoffs this season.
Women’s College Basketball: The Legend of Caitlin Clark Continues to Grow!
Iowa Hawkeyes superstar guard Caitlin Clark just continues to capture the imagination of fans and media members alike. When the Hawkeyes go on the road, fans will form huge lines that extend at least two or three blocks down the street to get into the arena because they want to see Clark.
This past Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA, it was a Top 6 showdown as the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes took on the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes. It was Clark’s Senior Day, as she had announced earlier in the week that she would be forgoing her extra year (she was allotted the extra year due to Covid) and entering the WNBA Draft. Since Sunday was Clark’s final home game, she needed to go out with a bang, and boy did she ever! Clark needed just 18 points to surpass “Pistol” Pete Maravich and become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball; men’s and women’s! Clark stepped to the free-throw line late in the first half with the opportunity to break the record, and she calmly and promptly made both to become the ALL-TIME NCAA SCORING LEADER!
The Caitlin Clark Effect
The Caitlin Clark Effect is a very real thing.
“$140: The current average price of an Indiana Fever ticket on Vivid Seats, up 133% from last year’s $60 average. The Fever finished 10th out of 12 in the WNBA and had the league’s second-lowest attendance in 2023, hence a lack of competitive pricing, but nothing’s changed besides Clark’s draft decision — and she hasn’t even officially been chosen yet with the Fever’s No. 1 overall pick.” (Indiana Fever report increase in ticket sales and interest thanks to Caitlin Clark)
“$487: The current get-in price for the Fever’s home opener against the New York Liberty on May 16th. Indianapolis has a unique home court advantage through its proximity to Iowa City — Fever fans are prepared to drive an average of 314 miles to watch games compared to 237 miles last year, a jump which could reflect the influx of Iowa fans ready to hop on the Indiana bandwagon.” (Indiana Fever report increase in ticket sales and interest thanks to Caitlin Clark)
NBA: LeBron Reaches 40,000 Career Points, but the Lakers Lose to the Nuggets Again
On Saturday night, LeBron James continued to add to his legacy as he became the first player in NBA history to score 40,000 career points. He went into Saturday night’s game against the defending champion Denver Nuggets only needing nine points to reach the milestone. LeBron reached the 40,000-point milestone with just under 11 minutes to go in the second quarter on a layup in which he was being defended by Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. Once LeBron reached the 40,000-point milestone, the Lakers needed to go out and win the basketball game so that LeBron could celebrate the achievement in a victory.
But the defending champion Nuggets weren’t interested in all the festivities that went along with LeBron’s milestone, because Denver went into Crypto.com Arena and defeated Los Angeles 124-114. The Nuggets swept the regular season series against the Lakers 3-0. Denver has now won eight straight games against Los Angeles dating back to Jan 9, 2023. The Nuggets would then sweep the Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals lasr season. This was the second time this season that the Nuggets have gone into LA and spoiled a special night for the Lakers as Denver also spoiled Kobe Bryant’s statue unveiling back on Feb. 8, 2024, by a score of 114-106.
The bottom line is this: If the Lakers are set to have a special night in LA because of a statue unveiling, banner raising, a player reaching a major milestone, etc. they shouldn’t play the Nuggets.
NBA: Clippers Edge Timerbwolves in a Defensive and Physical Matchup
The Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves are Top-4 in the Western Conference standings, and they’re both within striking distance of the No.1 seed. As of Wednesday, March 6, the T-Wolves are first in the conference at 43-19 while the Clippers are fourth in the conference at 39-21. These two teams engaged in a physical and defensive battle at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN on Sunday, Mar. 3, in which the Clippers ultimately prevailed 89-88. The Clippers are the first team to win scoring fewer than 90 points this season (the previous low was 93).
NBA: Celtics Avenge ‘22 Finals Loss to Warriors in a BIG Way
In the 2022 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in six games to. capture their seventh championship in franchise history and it was also Golden State’s fourth title in nine years (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022). The Celtics haven’t forgotten about the loss to the Warriors in ‘22, so Boston took out their frustration on Golden State in a BIG WAY on Sunday, Mar. 3 at the TD Garden in Boston, MA.
The Celtics dismantled the Warriors 140-88. The Celtics held their largest halftime lead in franchise history at 44 points (82-38). Boston extended the lead to 51 early in the third quarter. The Celtics are the first team in NBA history to have three 50+ point wins in the same season. Boston beat the Indiana Pacers 155-104, the Brooklyn Nets 136-86, and the Warriors 140-88. Boston's only bigger blowout wins were 133-77 at Chicago on Dec. 8, 2018, and 128-75 over visiting Sacramento on Jan. 25, 2022.
Josh’s Random Thoughts: The Tar Heels and Blue Devils Lock Horns This Saturday!
When the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils collide on the basketball court, I’m going to find a way to watch it because I absolutely this rivalry! They are two of the blue bloods in Men’s College Basketball, they’ve won a combined 11 National Championships, and they both have a number of retired jerseys, and they’ve had legendary head coaches. UNC won the first meeting of the season back on Feb. 3 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC 93-84 behind Armando Bacot’s 25 points and Harrison Ingram’s 21 points (he went 5-9 on 3-pointers). Now the No.7 Tar Heels (24-6) and the No.9 Blue Devils (24-6) will lock horns once again, this time at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC on Saturday, Mar 9.
“The two programs, whose home arenas are separated by just 11 miles of pine tree-lined streets, share a rivalry with a deep and rich history. Not only are the Blue Devils and Tar Heels two of the top five all-time programs in the sport, but also have played each other frequently, going all the way back to their first meeting in 1920.” (Duke-North Carolina basketball rivalry: Do Blue Devils or Tar Heels lead the all-time series?)
Tipoff between the No.7 Tar Heels and the No.9 Blue Devils is set for 6:30 pm EST on ESPN this Saturday, Mar 9.