You’ve officially made it to the halfway point of the week. Be proud, don’t give up now, and get your Hump Day started off right with the latest edition of The Morning Dunk because NBA news and highlights are good for the soul.
Monk Seals Warriors' Fate
Just call him Kung Lao, because this Monk gave the Golden State Warriors the ultimate Fatality on Tuesday night.
Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk, who currently has +1600 odds in the Sixth Man of the Year race, poured 21 points on the Warriors off the bench in a narrow 124-123 victory at the Golden 1 Center. Golden State still managed to cover the spread as the two-point underdogs.
Monk punctuated his performance with a game-winning bucket off glass falling away with 7.4 seconds remaining to put the Kings in front for good after falling behind by as many as 24 points. Sacramento secured Group C in the West with the win and advance to take on the New Orleans Pelicans in the knockout stage of the In-Season Tournament.
Malik Monk with the wild game winner in the Kings 24-point comeback vs the Warriors.
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 29, 2023
“I just love playing basketball. Anytime I step on the court, I’m happy. But doing that in the In-Season Tournament, the first one, it was just great.”
pic.twitter.com/ByK7CSq6ic
Doncic Honors Dirk
It was perfect, poetic, and right on the money ... whether intentional or not.
Luka Doncic had a near triple-double of 41 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists as the Dallas Mavericks held off the Houston Rockets 121-115, therefore preventing Houston from advancing in the In-Season Tournament.
Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki was in attendance for the matchup, and with Doncic’s scoring total matching the No. 41 Nowitzki wore throughout his storied career, the finishing line couldn’t have been any sweeter.
Dirk Nowitzki starting the "MVP" chant for Luka Doncic at the AAC. Legendary. 🐐 #MFFL | @dallasmavs on @BallySportsSW 📺 | @Swish41 pic.twitter.com/DsTkASMCrg
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) November 29, 2023
Only Nikola Jokic (+200) currently has better odds than Doncic (+550) for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.
Celtics Deploy Hack-A-Drummond
If you were rooting for the Boston Celtics to cover as the 12.5-point favorites against the Chicago Bulls, then Boston did you a favor in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's contest.
Despite holding a 32-point lead, the Celtics elected to start intentionally fouling center Andre Drummond in order to maintain a high enough point differential to advance in the In-Season Tournament.
Celtics were intentionally fouling Andre Drummond while up 32 POINTS with 7:02 in the 4Q
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 29, 2023
Joe Mazzulla had to explain to Billy Donovan they needed to win by 23 to have a chance to advance 😂 pic.twitter.com/4rEoWvHfus
The strategy ultimately paid off, as Boston won a three-team tiebreaker with both the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets to win Group C and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics took the game 124-97, needing a 23-point difference to move on.
