It was a day of stunners in the NBA on Sunday as three underdogs got the better of their fancied opponents. Here’s a recap of these three upsets:
Sixers Stun Warriors, Break Nine-Game Losing Streak
Nothing had been going right for the Philadelphia 76ers (21-38) over a span of nine games, but they were clicking on all cylinders on Sunday’s NBA action as they stunned the Jimmy Butler-less Golden State Warriors (32-28), 126-119, at Wells Fargo Center.
Quentin Grimes typified the Sixers’ great game, pouring in a career-high 44 points—eight more than his previous career-best of 36—on 18-for-24 shooting from the field. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 20 points, while Guerschon Yabusele chipped in 17 off the Philly bench.
Paul George contributed as well with 17 points, including a high-arching jumper at the top of the key over Draymond Green that put the Sixers up, 124-119, with 29 seconds left.
Steph Curry paced the Warriors with 29 points and had a rare dunk in the fourth quarter to bring Golden State to within 109-104. Quentin Post had 16 points and 9 rebounds as he continued his emergence. Gui Santos added 14 off the bench but committed a crucial turnover in those final 29 seconds.
Up next:
Sixers vs. Portland Trail Blazers on March 4
Warriors vs. Charlotte Hornets on March 4
Spurs Shock Grizzlies on De’Aaron Fox Game-Winner
Trade deadline acquisition De’Aaron Fox hit the game-winning elbow jumper to power the San Antonio Spurs (25-33) to a 130-128 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies (38-22) at FedEx Forum. It is Memphis’ second consecutive last-second loss after they fell to the New York Knicks in nearly the same way.
Fox finished with 20 points and 7 assists, while Devin Vassell chipped in 20 points and 6 boards. Rookie Stephon Castle came off the bench to topscore for the Spurs with 24 points on top of 7 assists, while Jeremy Sochan put up 18 markers and 11 boards, also off the bench.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led all scorers with 42 and also banked in a triple to tie the game at 128 with time down to 22.3 seconds. That set up Fox’s heroics to give the Spurs the walk-off win. Jaylen Wells added 16 for the Grizzlies, who were without Ja Morant.
With the loss the Grizzlies dropped to fourth in the standings and pushed the Los Angeles to third in the West.
Up next:
Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder on March 3
Grizzlies vs. Atlanta Hawks on March 4
Kings Handle Rockets Despite Early Injury to Domantas Sabonis
DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine fired 21 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Sacramento Kings (31-28) to a 113-103 victory over the Houston Rockets (37-23) at Toyota Center.
DeRozan and LaVine also combined for 8 rebounds and 10 assists to help ease the loss off Domantas Sabonis, who left the game very early due to a hamstring injury. Malik Monk added 16 points, while Keon Ellis and Jonas Valanciunas came off the bench to score a combined 27 points. Valanciunas also had 14 rebounds, while Ellis added 5 rebounds and 5 steals.
Alperen Sengun had 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Rockets, who were within 84-82 in the fourth when the Kings wen on a 13-3 run to build a 97-85 cushion. Jalen Green added 24 and Tori Eason chipped in 14 off the Rockets bench.
Up next:
Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks on March 4
Rockets vs. Thunder on March 4
