Detroit Pistons CRUSH Atlanta Hawks as Cade Cunningham SHINES and Stewart POWERS Win

Detroit Pistons CRUSH Atlanta Hawks as Cade Cunningham SHINES and Stewart POWERS Win

Another fun and amazing night of basketball again around the NBA on Friday night as Steph Curry puts up 39 points. The Pistons get a win over the Atlanta Hawks. And we’re going to break it down all and more on tonight’s Locked On NBA game night. When that final buzzer rings, you know it’s time for Locked On Game Night. All the postgame reactions to every game across the league every single night with insights only the hosts at Locked On can provide. It’s the true NBA fans one stop for all the action. Every game, every night. It’s Locked on NBA Game Night. Tipping off now. Thanks for tuning in to Locked on NBA Game Night. Members of the Locked on Podcast Network, the number one podcast network in the entire world. Now, I’m Hayes. I’m joined by myo my co-host as I am every Friday night. That is Swiper, one of the co-host of Locked on Nuggets. What’s going on, Swiper? Man, living man. What a great great NBA night. Uh this is a great little preview we have to the NBA Cup semi-finals tomorrow. So this is good basketball. Yeah, for sure. NBA Cup semi-finals is going to be fun. We got a night of basketball to talk about and the first game on the docket that we’re going to talk about tonight is the Pistons getting a win over the Atlanta Hawks 142 115. Before we break it down, we’re going to jump right into the host of Locked on Pistons and that’s Cahill. Host of Locked on Pistons podcast. Cahill here. Pistons fans have been wanting to see a big blowout for the Detroit Pistons. Not a game where they’re in control, then let go of the rope a little bit. Now you’re in a close game again at the end. They wanted to see just a straightup blowout. Dominated team from start to end. And they got that here tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. They were once up by 35 points plus in this game. They end up winning 142 to 115. And they got contributions from everybody. They had eight players score in double figures. They had 11 players score eight or more. Everyone played in this game. Kade only had to play 22 minutes. He didn’t have to do much in those minutes. He was just dominating them by picking them apart in the half court, running like a CP3 floor general type of game. Only had one turnover in this game. They dominated the Atlanta Hawks. If anyone wants to know, if anyone wants an example of the Pistons just physically imposing their will on the offensive end of the floor and just out musling a team in the paint, not on the defensive end, but on the offensive end of the floor, play them this game cuz they completely dominated. and just were about 10 times more the physical team than the Atlanta Hawks. The Pistons, the Hawks had no answer for the Pistons strength and they dominated here. The Pistons getting a dominant win according to Cuckah Hill there. Isaiah Stewart scored 17 points. Uh the Detroit Pistons have just been on a tear. So it feels like teams are still are are people around are still doubting how good this team is and if they can legitimately come out the East this year. How you feeling after this win? It was a great game, especially given the fact that the Hawks, you know, they’re they’re not as good as they were when they first started um when Trey Young went down, but they’re still balling. They kill Alexander Walker’s having an incredible season. And you know, Jaylen Johnson, somebody I’ve been talking about a lot. I think this kid is going to be in on track to make an all-star game this year. But, you know, as always though, Kate Cunningham didn’t even have to do a lot today. the ask wasn’t super high just because they were in control of the game from basically, you know, it got to a point in the in the second quarter where they just kind of started to really pull away. It was close at the start and then about midway through the quarter, they had about a 55 to 41 lead and then from that point on they just kind of kept taking over the possessions, hitting the shots they needed to hit and even when Atlanta went on a run, they just found a way to continue to hit key shots. So, some of this is with Detroit, you know, when they start getting momentum, the way that they play, their defense is already super locked in, but man, when they start going on these runs, they start getting on transition, the crowd starts going crazy, the bench mob starts going. They’re just one of those teams this year that they just are full of energy. They’re full of life, and they believe in what they’ve done. Obviously, JB Vickers Staff has done an incredible job. And tonight, again, it’s just another testament to just how good this team is because the Atlanta Hawks are no pushover. And I think for a lot of folks, the Atlanta Hawks are a surprise team. I think they’re going to end up being one of the six seeds uh in the Eastern Conference this year. But Detroit, you know, they’re just a team on a mission, man. Like there’s a real world where the Detroit Pistons, and I know this is going to sound crazy for some people, y’all. There’s a world where the Pistons are like 60 win, 61 win team this year. And you know to flip that narrative from where they were two years ago to making the playoffs last year being the six seed and then stepping into the NBA this year. Now they’re 20 and five. They’re 15 and five within their own conference as well. They’re 11 and2 at home. They’re on a three-game winning streak at this point. They look good. They play together. They’re sound. This is just a really physical, really dominant team that’s just finding its rhythm right now. So shout out to them, man. They’re playing really good basketball and tonight was a testament of a great team win. Yeah, they’re playing excellent basketball and I think that the Pistons and you know Kate Cunningham is is I I would think in any other normal season would be an MVP candidate. He’s top top 10 or 11 in scoring. He’s the second uh in assist guy in the league. His defense is taking huge steps. This is a legit legit team that has a chance to win the East. Uh Swiper, I want to talk a little bit about the Atlanta Hawks. They had made changes to the team and you know we had talked about before you know coming into this season they wanted to see how Trey Young fits with those young guys before they maybe make a decision to move on from Trey. He did get an extension. Uh looking at Jaylen Johnson his third straight triple double. Nil Alexander Walker has been an amazing acquisition for them. Do you think that they are eventually going to move on from Trey? I know we haven’t gotten a lot of them this season but do you think they’re going to eventually move on from Trey to get other pieces that kind of fit this young this young core that they’re building here? That’s such a tough question because there’s so many people within the Atlanta Network that are they’re just really hesitant to move on from Trey because you know for them the team was constructed to have Trey in it and you know Nil Alexander Walker was supposed to be a player that was coming off the bench or Zachary Rishet depending on how they’re going to work those lineups but I think a lot of this is they have found an identity now they’re slipping a little bit they’re just five and five in the last 10 games so maybe some of the newness has worn off but they definitely would benefit benefit from having an additional creator on the floor. But I’m really curious to see how Trey Young works alongside of this version of the team with Nquille and Jaylen Johnson kind of taking over as like the the twoman punch for this team offensively and obviously Kristoff Porzingis as well. So I think they definitely are probably going to end up, you know, moving him unless it’s just like he comes back and he’s on an allNBA tear and then they want to give him a max contract obviously in the summer. But, you know, he’s on track to, you know, potentially like to be a a free agent. And that’s just a lot of money to play with, especially when you’re a team that is really looking to make sure you just have assets in the building and that you can continue to build around the roster and such that you have. I mean, he’s a player option for next year. You know, do you want to play around with that? And then, you know, because he probably not going to take $48 million because he can get more money, at least more money guaranteed long term. So, it’s a tricky situation for the Atlanta Hawks. For sure. For sure. Let’s move over to the next game. Jazz get a win over the the Memphis Grizzlies 131-26. These are both teams that are struggling at this point in the season. Um Lauren Markin scores 26 points in this game. How you feeling about this one? A good win for the Jazz. Uh you know, the person that I’ve been high on on that team for a while is Keonte George. And I will say that he’s taken tremendous steps. And obviously people that know me, you know, I am a Baylor graduate. So I have been big on Keonte for quite some time now. I I always felt like he has some Jamal Murray in him. Uh but he’s a really good player, man. And he’s developed a lot this year. Like 39 points for Keonte George, five of nine from three, 12 of 20, and then 10 of 10 from the free throw line, but eight assists as well. He’s just the point guard I think that they’ve been looking for. You know, Isaiah Collier came on the team last year and a lot of people felt like, man, he was going to take over the load uh for what Kante was supposed to be. But again, you know, maturation, development, it matters a lot in this league. and Lori Mark today with nine of 22, he had 26. But I’m telling you, man, like they’re they have some blue chips on that roster. And I think, you know, Jazz fans, obviously, if you’re listening to this, you you might have a difference of opinion here, but I think the fact that you got a I mean, Kante is in his third year now, bro. And he’s he’s averaging 23, seven assists a game. He’s shooting 44% from the field, 34% from three. Like, you know, you can work on that. Like you can work on shooting some shooting splits and you can work on figuring out like how to take more efficient shots as time goes on, but he’s shooting 91% from the line. Like this is a building block. Like so you have a legitimate blue chip building building block at the point guard position next to Lori. Bro, I I really think Jazz fans should feel really encouraged about some of the stuff they’re finding in the draft right now. And I know they’ve been they haven’t found their their guy, but I think Keante, Ace Bailey, Lori Marketing, like that’s a really nice trio to build on. Yeah. I mean, they got something that that they’re going there. They recently been mentioned as a team that could be interested in Jonathan Kaminga, too. I don’t know how that fits in with what they’re doing, but they got some nice interesting young pieces down there with Utah. And I just think whenever Utah decides to finally make that switch from being a team that’s bottoming out to stack draft picks and actually start trying to win, they’re going to find themselves to have a nice young core there. Of course, Ace Bailey and those type of players are there as well. The Grizzlies are in a tail spin. But before we talk about them, we do got a short here. We’re going to play this one. This one is from David Lock. Keonte George’s careerhigh leads the Utah Jazz to a win in Memphis on John Morance’s return. was Ben host locked on P stepped up David Lock of locked on Jazz Keonte George had 27 in the first half finished with 39 on what continues to be a breakout year for Keont’s averaging 22 points in his third season and is likely the most improved player in the NBA right now he went 10 of 10 from the free throw line he’s shooting over 90% of the line and he’s increased his free throws from four to nearly eight a game this year in his breakout but it was Isaiah Collier second half that changed the game for the Jazz. Collier has been struggling this year in his second season. Came out had eight assists to go along with five points. Four of his eight assists. Went to Kevin Love, who was originally drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies, but traded on draft night. And Kevin Love in since 2008, he’s been doing this. And Love hit four threes that brought the Jazz back. They win it 130, 126 here in Memphis. John Morant returned had 21 points and 10 assists tonight for the Grizzlies who of course were without Zack Edy who’s out for over a month. Jazz get the win their second win in their last three road games. David Lock for locked on Jazz. How do you feel about the Memphis Grizzlies this season? Swipe them. Yeah, it’s tough because you know I just spoke to somebody about this the other day. I think that they have found, you know, with Jaylen Wells, you know, on this roster, Zack Edy has proven to be really good, and then Cedric Coward, that’s like they have real, they have real game for the future. And I think that Jiren Jackson Jr. obviously, you know, you want to talk about a split community on a player. Uh, I think he, you know, it’s just, you know, it’s not the best JJ year. You know, last year by this time, really through the first twothirds of the year, I thought he was about to make an allNBA team. You know, he was playing that well. His post game was crazy. like the defense was good, the offense was there. So, they just are kind of discombobulated right now. And then obviously John Morant their perceived best player, you know, seven to 20 from the field, 205 from three, five of seven from the free throw line, 10 assist. Look, man, I just I don’t want to say the NBA’s passed him up that he cuz he’s still like he’s still an extremely talented player. he can still go get back to that place of being the next thing in the league cuz you know there was a there was a while their job was like you know and Edwards Jac Alexander like the the league is about be Jos you know and so there’s a world where he’s able to get back into like all NBA talks but he just isn’t playing the way that you want him to play right now he’s just super inefficient um and again I just think the love of basketball whatever that thing was that was making him great it’s just not there right now but I think this it’s just with the Grizzlies roster they’re just greatly underperforming how good they we thought they were going to be. Now, I thought they would be like an eight seed or something this year and obviously they’re not even at right now. Yeah, the the Memphis Grizzlies is going to have to do something. I know they traded Desmond Bane. It just seems like they have they missed that window that they had between the John uh suspension and injuries and everything that they missed that window where it looked like they were going to be a team competing in the Western Conference for years. But, you know, we’ll see if they can regain that. But, uh we are going to continue talking about NBA Friday night. We’re talk about the the Wolves getting a a win over the Warriors tonight. But first, we do got to get into a message from Zachdoc. Guys, it’s 2025, almost 2026, and those days of waiting for something to become a full-blown emergency before you see a doctor, well, they’re they’re over. No more walking it off for 6 months. No more pretending like that weird shoulder stiffness is just sleeping wrong. It’s time to take your health serious. And Zachdoc makes that easier than ever because staying healthy is more than hitting the gym and eating right. It’s getting things checked out when things feel off. Make it simple to keep your health a priority even with a busy schedule. I’ve used I used to schedule appointments quickly when I didn’t want to wait for weeks. It helps you stay on top of your health before something becomes a bigger problem. The app is quick, clean, and honestly removes all the stress of finding the right doctor. going to be into more locked on NBA game night right after this. All right, Swiper. Uh, with that said, man, let’s get into it. Uh, the Wolves get a big win today. This game came down to the wire. Uh, the lead switched a bunch of times in the fourth quarter of this game. Seemed like the Warriors were going to have it uh before the the Wolves came marching back. They eventually win this game. How you feel about Swiper? Well, uh, on player choice, actually the other day we did a 2018 reddraft, and I think I took Dante Tvenzo at like 14 overall to the Nuggets. I want to change that. Um, I think this version of Dante Deendo deserves to be number one overall in 2018 over Luca, over SGA because when he gets into this this shooting bag that he has and he’s able to like just go on these runs, he just becomes like it really it started as Nick Knicks fans remember it started during that Knicks season that led into the first round versus the 76ers and Dante was hitting just these haywire act shots. He did that today y’all to close the game. And if you didn’t get a chance to watch this game, go watch it because the momentum shifting plays he had. He was a plus 16 today. Plus 16. That was better than anybody else on the roster for the Wolves today and better than anybody else in the game. Now, that three-point shot he hit, you know, the it’s it’s a it’s a basically a two-point game, Hayes, with like 27 seconds left and he just gets a contested three, mind you, and buries it. And then for some reason, Jimmy Butler, you know, they’re in a switch situation where they’re trying to get Steph uh kind of in an action and Jimmy Butler’s playing drop. And at this point, the the the Warriors had a one-point lead. And he plays too far off from Dante, man. And Dante dribbling to his left right at the top of the key. Swack. And I just knew it. I said, “H like those just the plays you don’t want to give the Wolves because once they start getting confident, the Avalanche starts going.” But y’all, Steph Curry, man, 14 to 28 today, 39 points, hay, five assists. He was exceptional today. Exceptional in this game. And in this game, y’all, they went on like a 16-4 run to in order to get the lead in the first place. And the threes that Steph hit, I’m talking about huge, huge step backs. And my favorite play of the game, Hayes, Steph Curry gets the ball at the top of the key. He does a flyby for one player. Rudy Gobear then tries to run out and do a contest. He gets a fly by on Rudy Goar and then buries the three. And it’s just like, you know, you can just see people waving all over the floor not to give Steph an opportunity to shoot the ball. And you know, DeAnthony Melton had some some possessions down the stretch of the game where it actually ended up working out where he was trying to drive and attack because they were front and face guarding Steph Curry and they were like double teaming off ball. And so at that point, it’s like, okay, the rim protection is not here. Rudy’s not here. Let me attack. And it didn’t work out at the very end of the game, but it worked out in a couple different possessions. Um, and shout out to Quinton Post, man. Like Quinton Post, you know, he continues to like really expand his game. He’s four of 11 for three today, bro. He’s moving, bro. He’s becoming like a legitimate center in this league. I did not think he was going to get to this point. Oh, and maybe like he just didn’t have the the natural body type you would think, but he’s been a good rim protector this year. Really good three-point shooter, which you already knew that he was. So, it definitely sucks for the Warriors that they weren’t able to get this win. But, I will say, man, like the Minnesota Timberwolves are 16-9. So despite the fact that they started the year off the way they did and with all the things they had with injuries and then aunt being out for a little bit and just where the roster’s been and then not being able to beat above 500 teams, the Wolves have bounced back. They are six and four in their last 10. And y’all don’t look now, but the Wolves are on pace to win 50 plus games again with the San Antonio Spurs, with the Lakers, and with Houston all set to win between like 59 to 50 games right now. So, the Wolves are cooking. They’re moving. The Warriors falls to 13 and 13, but they’re still in the playing. But man, bro, like the Western Conference is so deep. Like Jimmy Butler and Steph, like the even the as good as they’re playing, they still might have to come out of the playing just to even get into the playoffs. Yeah. I mean, think the thing with like the Western Conferences is going to be a a mad dash again, especially after we get through January. But the Wolves just are always this team that just always they stay good enough and then they turn it on at the end of the season and then in the playoffs they’ve been to two straight Western Conference finals. Of course, we’ve heard that they’re trying to find a point guard to kind of help them get over that hump. Uh which is a huge hump to get over OKC, right? But like this is a team that you just can’t count out. The Wolves continue to play good. They continue to find ways to win basketball games with Ant, without Ant. This is a legit team. I just wonder like what do you think in your opinion the Wolves are are missing? I I know that they still got to get over OKC, but what is it just the point guard that you think will help them get over that hump and and get them to that next echelon or they missing something else with that team? Man, that’s a that’s a good question. Their defense has not been what it’s been historically. I’ll say that to start off. That’s probably one of the most notable things. And they’re 12th in defense on the year. Uh in the last 10 games, they’re also 12th in defense as well. So there’s just something not whether it’s Chris Finch and you know you know whether it’s just like it’s early season and so they’re just not committing this kind the kind of energy because they are a little bit older now you know I don’t know you know but their defense is going to have to obviously get back to where it needs to be now last 15 games they’re six in the NBA a 111.8 an eight uh defensive rating. So, obviously like they’re they’re moving forward at the very least and they’re getting better, but I would be curious to see kind of how they just continue to just utilize their lineups, but also their depths change. And I think the big thing that’s not being talked about with this team is, you know, them losing Alexander Walker for people that are not in Minnesota, they probably are underelling just how important he’s been to that team and to the roster and just kind of what they do all together. But not having that PA defender next to Anthony Edwards that can really like shore up a lot of those defensive responsibilities with Dante Dvenzo, they just are struggling a little bit. But obviously hopefully they’ll continue to figure it out. Man, I think the Wolves are a top five team in the NBA. So I’m probably a little higher on than most people hate. But I think if you ask me, Thunder, Nuggets, Rockets, Wolves, maybe Knicks, those are probably the five best teams in the league, I think. and Lakers obviously, but you know, depending where you want to do. Fair enough. Fair enough. We move into the next game. The Cavs going to win over the Wizards. We do have a short here from Danny Cunningham, the host of Locked on Cavs. Let’s go and play that now. Cavaliers get a win on Friday night, 130 to 126 over the Washington Wizards. And this is not what I would call a step in the right direction for the Cavs, but rather a crisis averted. They’ve not been playing great basketball entering the game. They just had five days off where they got some practice time. They got some film time. They got some time to come together as a team. And it was the same old story. They looked good at times. They looked horrible at times. And Donovan Mitchell had to bail them out. Donovan had 48 points in the game. He was spectacular. 24 of those 48 points came in the fourth quarter. But the fact the Cavs needed Donovan Mitchell to score 48 points in the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards probably not a great sign. Cavs defensively need to be so much better. They are very weak right now at the point of attack. Ultimately, it’s a win and you don’t apologize for those in the NBA, but it’s not a win that if you’re the Cavs, you necessarily feel great about. They’ll try and get another one on Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets and maybe they’ll look better in doing so on Sunday. Crisis Averted is right. Uh cris crisis averted is the right answer there. uh from Danny Cunningham. The Cavs are just they just don’t have it like they had it last season at all quite yet. I mean, there’s still enough runway for them to get it together now. I mean, luckily they still got this win, but like you let the Wizards push you to the brink. How you feeling, Swiper? Yeah, this is just a full season issue with the team and uh I don’t want to be derogatory because I don’t want to use the word soft because that’s not that’s not fair. I don’t think they’re they’re playing they’re being soft. They definitely look like they’re discombobulated. They just don’t look as smooth. Now on the season for Orlando fans, they’re 10th in net rating overall. So they’re still performing like a top 10 team. I just know for for Cleveland fans, it doesn’t feel like it because last year this team was putting teams away. There was no you’re going to be with us for a while. Even if it’s a scoring game, we’re going to score 10, 15, 20 more points than the Wizards when we need to. Donovan Mitchell has been great this year, but Darius Garland, obviously coming back from the injury, hasn’t been the same player as he was last year. And then you add in the fact that I think Evan Mobley hasn’t taken the step that they were hoping he was going to take this year. So, it’s a mix of things, man. I just think as a as a overall unit, they just have to continue to get better, and I think they will as the year goes on. Um, but hopefully Evan just continues to figure out how to play, especially these center position minutes, um, as they’re still waiting for kind of Jared Allen and all that kind of stuff. But again, Evan Mobley 23 and 13 today. You know, he has six assists, so that’s a better game. But you do expect that your DPI can help turn around your defense in the long term. Yeah. And I just worry with the Cavs that like for with a team as talented as the Cavs, you always think they’re going to find a way to turn it on. They’re going to find a way to turn it on, but eventually you run out of that that runway and you don’t. And you know, I mean, if they do decide if if they fall short this season, they’re gonna have some tough tough decisions to make in the offseason, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Um, anything on the Wizards before we move into our next break, sir? Uh, yeah, shout out to the Wizards, man. They continue to fight. Um, Kaan George, I like Kaan George, you know, had a good game. Bub Car also like, you know, you want to talk about somebody that like with some future starish potential, 27 points, five of 13 from three. He looked really good today as well. And obviously CJ McCollum. So, they got some good pieces there. Shout out to them. For sure. For sure. All right, we’re going to get come back after this break. We’re going to talk about the rest of the games, the three games we got left from NBA Friday night. Right on the other side of this. All right. Got to talk to you guys about another one of our sponsors and that is quote new year’s new systems. And this time, uh, this is the time when a lot of us look at the messier parts of running a business and think there has to be a better way. And there is. 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With FanDuel, you can place bets as the action unfolds. Every draft, every momentum, every swing, uh, every highlight moment. Live betting is the best when the game starts to shift. A receiver gets hot and defense tightens up or the momentum flips after a turnover. FanDuel lets you jump into the moment. Live spreads and money lines adjust instantly. Player props and updates uh, as guys heat up. You can you can bet next touchdown scores, drive results, totals, and more. It keeps you locked into every snap, every drive, and every possibility. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long with FanDuel. The game move fast and so can you. We’re locked on game night coming up next. All right, Spark, we got a couple of games left to get through for tonight, man. The first one that we want to talk about uh before we close out is the 76ers get a win over the Indiana Pacers. We do have a short here from the host of Locked on 76ers. Let’s go and play that now. Joe, keep the hands up there, Joel. Keep the hands up there. Don’t get fined. And he didn’t get fined. But you know what he did do against the Pacers? He dropped the season high 39 points with nine rebounds in a season high 32 minutes played in the 76ers 115 105 win over the Pacers. And yeah, the six- win Pacers. I get it. I don’t care. This is more about the Sixers seeing a guy like Joel Embiid be healthy and play at a high level for those 32 minutes. Also Paul George, how about him helping close out this game in the fourth quarter. A great drive on Pascal Seakum taking him from the top of the key to the rim, knocking down that layup. 23 points for Paul George in the victory. Then you also see 22 points from VJ Edgecom with 14 points in the first quarter to help the Sixers get going. And let’s not forget Dom Barlo also helping the Sixers close out this game in the fourth quarter. All right, Swiper. So, uh, Joel Embiid, Paul George. Paul George 23 points. Joel Embiid 39 points in this game. Like, this has to be feel really good for 76ers fans. There’s a question how much these guys are going to play. They get the win. Uh, no Maxi in this game. if you can get how many games of this do you need for Joel Embiid for the 76ers to be a legit threat in the East? Oh, brother, what a question. Um, yeah, I don’t know how many games you I I don’t I just I think it’s just depends on his health and his knee, you know, pain tolerance I think is the biggest thing for Embiid. You know, he’s obviously still such a spectacular talent. you know, just a year and a half ago, you know, he was regarded from some as the best in the world and he was regarded as the best scoreer in the league for some. So, it’s obviously not it’s still there. Like, it’s not been that long, but I think it’s just, you know, the comfort of his lower body is always going to be the question, you know, just is he on a nightto-ight basis, is he going to have full access to his arsenal? like today, you know, when he’s hitting jump shots like he was today, like he’s able to hit that pull-up game like he was and like he’s coming off of pin downs and getting post ups, you know, and then he’s just moving relatively well, like it’s just a different kind of dude to deal with. You know, he’s obviously he’s 7 foot one. He’s a massive human being and so I think for the rest of the league, you know, we’re all kind of hoping that he’s able to get back to that place because this is one of the most skilled players that’s ever graced the sport of basketball. So, I don’t know how many games they can hope to get from this from NB, but if they got if they got honestly if they got 10 games like this from Embiid, they should be they should be like elated with that. Yeah, I mean, we’ll see. Uh, it’s good to get this game from Joel Embiid. I’m sure it was a moment of relief from him, too. Um, and we’ll see how many more of we of that we can get from him. But, we also got to talk about the Mavs. The Mavs get a 119 111 victory over the the Brooklyn Nets. We got a short here from Nick Ing State, host of Locked on Mavs here. Way too close for comfort in a game against the Brooklyn Nets. The Dallas Mavericks were tied with three minutes to go in this game. And you were thinking, all right, what is about to happen? There’s no way this Brooklyn Nets team is about to close out the Dallas Mavericks and find a way to get this win. And they didn’t. The Mavs get the win. They pull out this W. Anthony Davis looked really bad in the first half and then the second half just turned into Anthony Davis again. finished the game 24 points, 14 boards, three assists, three steals, three blocks. Uh, and just I mean was decided that Brooklyn the amount of times they sent help to him, tried to double team him, he was like, “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m Anthony Davis. I’m bigger. I’m better than anybody else.” And he can still look like Anthony Davis at times. Cooper Flag 22 points, five boards, eight assists in this one. And in his first half, first quarter, just came out firing in a way we have not seen him very often. Scored 12 points in that first quarter and did it mostly just on drives. He didn’t have a lot of jump shots in this game. This was not one where he was hitting a mid-range shot or even taking a lot of threes. He only took one three and he airballed it, but he only took one three in this game and the Mavs finished this one in a win. PJ Washington uh pretty good as well. Nine points in the fourth quarter. The Mavs needed him in a big way. And Max Christie 15 points off the bench, hit four threes, six boards. He’s doing a little something in this these Mavs games, but not a good one that you feel like really encouraged by, but a win is a win, I guess, for this team. A win is a win for that team. is a great way to end that short cuz that’s exactly what it is for the Dallas Mavericks. Been an interesting season for them. We’ll see what they do at the trade deadline. Anything on the map, Swiper? Uh, yeah, nothing on the map, but everything on Porter. Another 30-point game for Porter and he had 34 exactly tonight. Three assists, four rebounds, and he was 1220 from the field. So, talk about somebody stepping into a role and dominating. For sure. Last game of the night, the Bulls get a win over the Hornets. 129 126. Josh Giddy scores 26 points. Kobe White gives 20 points. The story line in this one was Nicolusvich, the Bull starting center, benched only seven minutes in the second half. He’s benched for the entirety of the fourth quarter. Zack Collins gives them some really good defensive moments. They’re able to pull out uh the victory there. I talk about the Bulls every day. Swiper, how you talk how you feel about the Bulls and Hornets, man? Yeah, man. Uh definitely a you know, a flip in the switch. You know, I was the Bulls were cooking uh to start the year off and then they came back down to earth and been terrible and then now obviously to get a good win. So, shout out to them, man. Josh Giddy continuing to have a MIP level season. 26 points, 11 assists for him today. That’s really good, man. Like, shout out to them. Yeah, absolutely. Shout out to him. Hopefully the Bulls can start stacking some more wins and against better teams as well. But that’s going to do it for Lockto NBA game night Friday night. We appreciate you guys for tuning in, man. Live NBA uh is available on every podcasting app and platform of your choice as well as YouTube, the Odyssey app, Amazon Fire TV, Roku TV. Uh basically anywhere you want to see us, you can get it. Me and Swap will be back here next Friday to recap everything again, y’all. Peace.

Haize and Swipa as they analyze a dominant Detroit Pistons win led by Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart, raising questions about the Pistons’ standing in the Eastern Conference. The conversation moves to the Atlanta Hawks’ future with Jalen Johnson, Nikhil Alexander-Walker, and speculation on a possible move away from Trae Young. Haize and Swipa then spotlight Keonte George’s breakout game and the Utah Jazz’s promising young core before examining the Memphis Grizzlies’ struggles despite Ja Morant’s return. They react to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ victory over the Golden State Warriors, highlighted by Dante DiVincenzo and Stephen Curry’s clutch plays. The show covers the Cleveland Cavaliers’ narrow escape against the Washington Wizards, fueled by Donovan Mitchell, and discusses the team’s defensive challenges. The hosts touch on the Philadelphia 76ers’ win over the Indiana Pacers, emphasizing Joel Embiid and Paul George’s strong outings. They wrap up with insights on the Dallas Mavericks’ close call against the Brooklyn Nets, Josh Giddey’s continued rise with the Chicago Bulls, and LaMelo Ball’s Hornets in a night full of standout NBA moments and big storylines

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