The Golden State Warriors extended their winning streak to five games with a close 110-106 win over the significantly short-handed Brooklyn Nets. That’s despite another rough shooting night from struggling superstar Stephen Curry.
Meanwhile, Joel Embiid powered the Philadelphia 76ers to his fourth win in a row as he continues to strengthen his NBA MVP credentials.
Pre-season MVP favourite Luka Doncic is also looking dominant as his Dallas Mavericks continue to climb the Western Conference standings.
Read on below for SBOTOP’s top three takeaways from another action-packed night of NBA matchups.
Stephen Curry’s struggles a worrying sign for Warriors
The Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets 110-106 to get their fifth straight win. However, it was quite concerning that they just barely held off a Nets team that was missing superstars Kevin Durant and James Harden.
Stephen Curry had another rough shooting night for the Warriors as he had just 19 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the field and went 3-of-10 on 3-pointers. Splash Brother Klay Thompson also struggled with just 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
Luckily for the Warriors, their supporting cast – led by surprise All-Star starter Andrew Wiggins (24 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks) – stepped up to get the win.
But the Warriors’ NBA 2022 odds of winning the title rely on Curry’s ability to play like a superstar, and it has now been two months since he has done so. Curry has been shooting under 40 per cent from the field over the last two months, by far the longest shooting slump of his career.
The absence of big man Draymond Green over the last few weeks has no doubt affected Curry’s performance. But still, a superstar of his calibre must find a way to overcome those sorts of obstacles.
The Warriors will be hoping the upcoming All-Star break is just what Curry needs to return to his best form because they don’t figure to be top title contenders if his shooting struggles continue later into the season.
Embiid continues to enhance MVP case
While Curry’s case for MVP gets weaker amid his shooting woes, Joel Embiid just keeps adding to his credentials.
The All-Star big man had another big game with 36 points and 12 rebounds in a 103-101 win over the Sacramento Kings, the Sixers’ fourth straight win.
It was a nice bounce-back performance from Embiid, who was held to just 26 points on 9-of-20 shooting in a blowout win over the Lakers last time out.
Embiid has been on an absolute tear over the last few months. He’s averaging 34 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 54 per cent over his last 20 games. The Sixers have gone 15-5 during that time and are very much in contention for a top-four seed in the very competitive Eastern Conference.
Embiid, who was an MVP front-runner last season before an injury took him out of the running, has taken his offensive game to a much higher level of efficiency this year and has been almost unstoppable in recent weeks.
With Embiid’s extensive injury history, the threat of another long layoff is always there. The Sixers would struggle mightily to remain competitive without Embiid, especially with Ben Simmons no longer around to help pick up the slack.
But as long as Embiid is healthy and in this sort of form, he will be a top MVP candidate and the Sixers will be a good bet to claim a top seed in the East.
Doncic, Mavericks becoming the real deal?
Don’t look now, but Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are on a roll and are closing in on a top-four seed. The Mavs are coming off back-to-back blowout wins over the Trail Blazers (132-112) and old coach Rick Carlisle’s Pacers (132-105) and are now just one game behind the Utah Jazz for the No. 4 seed in the West.
Doncic led the way with a 30-point, 12-assist double-double against the Pacers, while Reggie Bullock added 23 points off the bench.
Doncic, who had quite a slow start to the season, is still quite inconsistent in terms of his shooting, but his influence remains undeniable. He’s averaging close to a triple-double in January (24.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 9.2 APG), which are more like the MVP-calibre numbers many were expecting of him this season.
The Mavs still have some issues to deal with, though. Tim Hardaway Jr. could miss the rest of the regular season with the recent NBA 2022 news of his broken foot, while big man Kristaps Porzingis – who left the Pacers win early with a sore knee – is a constant injury concern.
But head coach Jason Kidd has the team playing much better defence, and if Doncic plays at the MVP level he is capable of reaching, that could still be a deadly combination moving forward.
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