It was quite the eventful slate of NBA games on Sunday night for a multitude of reasons, including seeding implications, which we'll dive into today with the latest edition of The Morning Dunk.
Mavericks Overcome 22-Point Deficit, Continue Hot Streak
Momentum is everything with the postseason just around the corner, and the Dallas Mavericks have it in spades.
Kyrie Irving finished with a season-high 48 points, and Dante Exum drilled a 3-pointer as time expired to force overtime in an eventual 147-138 win over the Houston Rockets at the American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks trailed by as many as 22 points in the second quarter, and are now 22-7 SU since Irving returned to the lineup following a thumb injury.
DANTE EXUM SENDS GAME TO OT WITH BUZZER BEATER THREE 😱 pic.twitter.com/KK6jyj1QTy
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2024
The win was Dallas' third in a row, 10th in its last 11 games, and 14th in its last 16. Houston, meanwhile, has dropped five-consecutive games after winning 11 in a row, and is now officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Maxey Goes For 52 In 2OT Victory
With Joel Embiid sitting out to continue the recovery on his surgically-repaired left knee, Tyrese Maxey stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park with a career-best performance.
The odds-on favorite to capture 2024 Most Improved Player honors scored a career-high 52 points in 54 minutes of action as the Philadelphia 76ers went the distance to outlast the San Antonio Spurs in double overtime, 133-126.
This is the third time this season that Maxey has finished with 50 or more points after not doing so once in each of his first three seasons.
Tyrese Maxey set a new career-high with 52 PTS to give the Sixers their 5th straight win 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2024
PHI moves to the 7th seed and is 1 GB IND for 6th! pic.twitter.com/4ZAqxOTat1
Stemming from this victory, Philadelphia now slides past the Miami Heat to move into the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and one game back of the Indiana Pacers for a sixth seed which gets the team out of the play-in tournament.
George Leads Epic Comeback As Clippers Prevail
With the Los Angeles Clippers trailing 94-68 with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter, one would think that the end result was all but determined.
Paul George evidently had other plans, scoring 23 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter as the Clippers overcame a 26-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-118 at Crypto.com Arena.
The win was Los Angeles' 50th of the season, marking the first time since 2016-17 that the franchise has reached that mark.
"I always say play the game until there's zero on the clock.”
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 8, 2024
Paul George drops Mobley, hits the game winner and then blocks Garland. PG also had 39 PTS (23 in the 4th), 11 REB, 7 AST. pic.twitter.com/3J1J2ry1oG
The Clippers maintain a two-game lead over the Mavericks for the fourth seed in the West, which would guarantee home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
