Grudge match between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks lived up to expectations as the Suns run away with a 128-105 victory. You could feel the playoff atmosphere from your living room. The playoffs are close but this matchup was the real deal with vitality running its way though the arena. Outlasting their opponent, the Suns gave their fans a taste of what to expect when the games start to really matter. Frist quarterBefore the Knicks were able to waste their first timeout, Suns fans began to rise and cheer after Chris Paul drained a three to put the Suns up 10-3 over the Knicks. What was a weird first couple possessions and a quick chat between Paul and Deandre Ayton, the Suns offense began to open up when a aggressive Ayton was unlocked. Both the Knicks and Suns were on the other side of aggression. Clutch Paul started the game with explosive moves and Ayton is was making himself available in the paint https://www.phoenixfanstoreonline.com/Pet_Jerseys-53, and able to create passing lanes for his teammates. Jae Crowder made his return, and drained his first three of the game, with the Suns fans sounding like 10,000 on their feet and cheering. Passes were zipping to Ayton in the paint, while he was able to pull off great looks at the rim. On the other side of the ball, Julius Randle was nearly unstoppable. If he were to run out of gas, that might be the best way of stopping him. You could say the same about Derrick Rose, who made his way to the rim easily. Suns coach Monty Williams burned his first timeout after the Knicks took the lead 24-23 after Devin Booker forced up a bad look from three, Reggie Bullock was able to sink one from the corner on the other side of the floor. A dominant first quarter start from the Suns ended with the Knicks picking up their defense and taking a 33-30 lead into the second quarter. Second quarterPaul and the Suns bench started the second quarter, and I think Paul likes the connection between him and Frank Kaminski with two nice assists to the big man in the paint. The task of completing offensive possessions to one of the better high IQ bench in the NBA, Paul was having fun in opportunities for open shots by teammates and himself https://www.phoenixfanstoreonline.com/Charles_Barkley_Flag-65. It was still difficult to navigate the Knicks defense, who were not allowing second chances at a another position and continued to get to the rim on offense to take a 46-41 lead into another Suns timeout. The Knicks were able to take away the passing lanes from the Suns leading to turnovers on multiple possessions. The defense from the Knicks made it seem like the Suns would be unable to score again. Double teams seemed like triple teams and panic started to overcome some of the Suns players until Booker was able to get to the line on back to back possessions. Cam Payne closed the gap to four, with a corner three assisted by Crowder, after the Suns fell behind by as much as 11. Timeout to the Knicks. Timeout was needed and the Kicks came back out to kick the lead back up to seven. There was a sense of calmness to both the Suns and Knicks when their offenses needed to get better looks and to go on a run. Any rush of a run and gun offense led to turnovers, but the Kicks were able to enter halftime with a 63-56 lead https://www.phoenixfanstoreonline.com/Abdel_Nader_Pet_Jersey-54. Third quarterTwo MUCH needed three pointers from the Suns cut the lead to four, and the Knicks had to turn right back around and call a timeout. The disappearance of Booker needs to be found in the third quarter. With teammates filling the void, it was looking like Booker would need to help and create his shot to get the Suns back in it. Mikal Bridges started to feel himself with two threes to start the third and Booker headed to the line with another foul drawn. If the shots are not falling for Booker, getting to the line is the next best thing. 70-67 Knicks. Ayton was absolutely setting the tone on offense, leading to great defense. Usually it would be the other way around but Paul was able to find Ayton on possession after possession. Dunk after dunk, Ayton was the talk of the third quarter. Never letting up, Paul and Ayton had some of the best two-man game we have seen this season in a five minute stretch. So close to tying or taking the lead, the Suns were unable to capitalize on open shots and great looks from the paint. With a minute left in the third quarter, the Knicks still led 88-81. With a Torrey Craig put back bucket and a steal on the inbounds pass Cameron Payne T-Shirt, Payne gave the Suns the lead entering the fourth quarter! An insane finish to the quarter. Fourth quarterCrowder opened the fourth quarter with a three, then gets a technical called for calling out the Knicks bench. . . then he follows it up with another three and just walks away. 101-93 Suns team rebounding with Ayton out of the game, paved to an offensive explosion. Three after three has the Suns starting to pull away. A dirty play by Taj Gibson is always needed in a Suns game. With things going the Suns way, Gibson looked to land and elbow leading to a flagrant foul-1. In live action, it looked dirty but on replay it may have been an accident, but I really don care. Meaningful basketball is back in the Valley and it is worth fighting for. Paul, who was then fired up, started to really take over. The bench did their part, now Paul and the starters began to wrap things up. The expectation to have Booker help out offensively did not happen, but it did not matter with the rest of the team stepping up in big ways. Tempers were flaring and the bench were clearing. . . but because the Suns were up 125-105 with two minutes left in the game. Suns win 128-105.

Not tonight. The Brooklyn Nets came home to face the Portland Trailblazers on Friday and put up a pretty good fight. However, it wasn't enough as Portland came away with the win at Barclays. The L snapped their four game winning streak. The opponent today will be the Milwaukee Bucks. It's hard to call a three seed, division winner, and title contender a disappointment James Harden T-Shirt, but that's definitely been the narrative surrounding them this season. Nevertheless, they beat the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. Where to follow the gameABC and YES2 on TV. WFAN 101. 9 FM and ESPN on radio. Basketball and brunch so wee getting started after 3:30 PM https://www.brooklynfanstoreonline.com/Andre_Roberson_Flag-63. NetsDaily Clubhouse post-game. InjuriesSpencer Dinwiddie is out. James Harden is out but with the team. Nicolas Claxton is back from COVID protocols, but it unlikely hel play for at least a week. Bruce Brown is expected back for this one. Oh yeah, Kevin Durant, too. Giannis Antetokounmpo had to leave Wednesday game against the Rockets with an ankle injury and missed Friday's game. He's listed as probable for this one. The gameBrooklyn won the first game in January. Three games in four days. Three games in three different cities. The Nets and Bucks have been bouncing around from place to place the past few days so having a few days in one place will do their bodies some good. As we come down the stretch of this season, the Nets will do their best to hold the Bucks and 76ers at bay. The team says they're not that pressed to get the one seed, but it would (presumably) make for an easier playoff path and be a great reward to the players for weathering this season. The guard matchup today will be a marquee one. Jrue Holiday has been incredibly reliable when he's played this year and is a major upgrade over Eric Bledsoe. He can initiate the offense and score a little bit, but his defense is going to be his calling card come the playoffs https://www.brooklynfanstoreonline.com/Alize_Johnson_Pet_Jersey-60. He'll get to match up with Kyrie Irving this afternoon. Irving took Thursday off to rest and came back with a quality outing on Friday against the Blazers. Irving can score at all three levels and is a matchup nightmare for anyone who guards him. Irving didn't play the first time around, so he'll present another new wrinkle in Brooklyn's attack for Milwaukee to counter. Get your running shoes out. The Bucks are third in pace this season and the Nets are eleventh. Brooklyn is of course tops in offensive efficiency so if the game speeds up, they may have a slight advantage. Milwaukee has been experimenting a bit more with their defense this season and a challenge like today will help them figure out what they'd like to do come playoff time. Player to watch: Khris MiddletonCan Middleton be that second scoring option to push the Bucks to the Finals To his credit, he stepped up when Giannis got hurt in the bubble last fall and is shooting a career best 42. 6 percent from three point range this season. He can score from deep, is a decent finisher at the basket, is becoming more of a playmaker, and can get you a bucket when need be. Kevin Durant will be back for this contest. He wanted to play on Friday on the second leg of a back to back, but the Nets are conservative with players coming back from injury so he sat it out. He played 36 minutes against the Pacers and is a sure bet to be around that number today. With the playoffs starting to come into view, getting KD those reps against elite competition will help keep him sharp when the title chase officially begins. From the VaultIf the Nets and Bucks wind up facing each other in the playoffs, itl be their first matchup since 2003. More reading: Brew HoopBrooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn NetsMilwaukee Bucks Game Notes - Milwaukee BucksNets https://www.brooklynfanstoreonline.com/Deandre_Jordan_Face_Mask-82,

The Atlanta Hawks enjoyed a much better 2015-16 season than the Orlando Magic. Atlanta finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals while the Magic missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season. For two days in early-February however, the Magic were a thorn in Atlanta side. One day after Nikola Vucevic hit the game-winner for the Magic in Orlando, they rallied from 20 points down to beat the Hawks in overtime at Philips Arena, 117-110. The Hawks were 30-23 as they made the short trip back from Orlando on Feb. 8, 2016. Orlando was just 22-28. For much of the night, the scoreboard seemed to reflect the teams records. With less than three minutes to play in the first quarter, the Magic were on the short end of a 28-8 score https://www.storeorlando.com/Cole_Anthony_Pillow_Cover-76. Orlando was able to get as close as seven in the second quarter, but the Atlanta lead was double digits most of the way. At the end of three, the Hawks led 83-72. The day prior, it was the Magic who led by 11 after three quarters before Atlanta drew even in the final minute. Orlando would win the game on Vucevic game-winner, but the Hawks could not find those heroics the following night in Atlanta. Vucevic scored 25 of his game-high 28 points after halftime and was key in the Orlando comeback. The center scored six points as the Magic opened the final quarter on a 22-9 run to take their first lead of the night. That came on a basket and a three-pointer from Mario Hezonja. Orlando led 96-94, but the final three-plus minutes would feature two ties and three lead changes. With 14 seconds to go, Hezonja again came up with a clutch three-pointer to give the Magic a 101-100 lead. Paul Millsap however, was able to get to the free throw line on the ensuing Atlanta possession with a chance to put the Hawks back in front with 11 seconds to go Grant Hill Face Mask. Millsap split a pair of free throws, but prevented the Magic from winning in regulation with a block on Victor Oladipo winning attempt before the buzzer sounded. To overtime, the teams went. The Magic seized control to start the extra period with a 6-0 run. Field goals from Hezonja and Vucevic bookended a pair of Aaron Gordon free throws https://www.storeorlando.com/Shaquille_Oneal_Pet_Jersey-143. Vucevic would add five free throws of his own during the extra period, but back-to-back three-pointers from Millsap and Kyle Korver drew the Hawks to within two. Enter Evan Fournier. With 31 seconds remaining and the shot clock winding down, Fournier knocked down a critical three-pointer to put the Magic up 115-110. Atlanta never scored again as the Magic left with their second win over Atlanta in as many nights. To go with Vucevic 28 points and 13 rebounds, guard Elfrid Payton tallied 20 points, seven assists and three steals for the Magic. Fournier added 16 points while Hezonja and Jason Smith each added 14. Gordon tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards https://www.storeorlando.com/Otto_Porter_Jr_Pillow_Cover-132. Al Horford paced Atlanta with 27 points while Millsap and Jeff Teague added 22 and 21 points, respectively. Millsap grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. The victory pulled the Magic to within five games of . 500, but that as close as they would get for the remainder of the season. It also gave Orlando its biggest comeback win of the season. It happened on this day five years ago.

The curtain opens on the 2021 season today and with each team, there will be things to watch. Some teams seem to have finally arrived for their turn in the national spotlight (hello, White Sox and Padres). Others are burgeoning behemoths looking to run roughshod over the league (yes you, Yankees and Dodgers). Rookies are ready to make their name, veterans are looking to make another run at record books. And of course, wee all watching to see how players respond to both the uptick in playing time after a shortened 2020 and to new protocols while traveling the country this year.With the Phillies Ramon Rosso Face Mask, there are a plethora of things we will be watching this season https://www.philadelphiagearstore.com/Roman_Quinn_Hoodie-109. These five storylines though seem to be the ones that will make or break their season.Bryce balky backBryce Harper has been great since arriving in Philadelphia. In two seasons, his .262/.385/.518 line has been good for a 134 OPS+, more than enough for what this team needed. Defensively, he took a step back after a fine 2019 season, but wasn at the depths of hys Hoskins, left fielder bad. He has been a constant presence in the middle of the order, seemingly making everyone around him in the lineup better. Yet last year back injury is worrisome. There were times last year when he was playing in a tremendous amount of pain hitting, fielding and running during games. Even when it hurt him to swing the bat, he still showed up as a productive batter during the stretch run, even homering twice in a game against Washington when the team needed a win at the end. Once the season was over, he took some rest to care for his back, still was brought along slowly as spring training began. We even got some stories about how Harper had to re-learn how to throw a baseball during spring this year, which sounds rather alarming when you read it again. Itl be paramount to this team lineup that Harper remain in it. Should something happen to him with his back and he has to miss a stretch of time, itl leave a major hole in the lineup that no matter how good someone else is, it won measure up to what Harper would bring to the team.The bullpen as a strength?First rule of The Good Phight: we do not talk about the bullpen of 2020.Second rule of The Good Phight: we DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE BULLPEN OF 2020.Seriously, why re-hash what was a swirling dump heap of stool over and over again? Sure itl be a topic of conversation whenever they are on a national broadcast because it an easy talking point for those that do not cover the team with any regularity Ryan Howard Pet Jersey. But wee done with it. Let focus on this year.Seemingly on the sly, Dave Dombrowski and team have built what might be, could be, an effective bullpen that can be relied on to get outs with regularity. There will be night when they melt down because every bullpen has nights where they melt down. But with the cast of characters they have assembled this year, you can squint and see Jose Alvarado locking up those high leverage innings. You can see Archie Bradley getting 3, 4, even 5 outs each time he on the mound. You can see Conner Brogdon finally becoming that team developed bullpen weapon that brings high octane gas. You can see Jojo Romh wait.At least Girardi will have options this year that don involve him throwing a dart at a board to decide who to bring in next.Hoskins Jekyll or Hoskins Hyde?162125112139What do those numbers stand for? Il wait a second.If you guessed the OPS+ for Hoskins these past four years, congratulations, you win.Hoskins always seems to frustrate the fanbase when he goes on his patented cold streaks where we get infield fly after infield fly. Hel wave at the slider off the plate with such regularity, it has a metronomic feel to it. The batting streak will extend to 2 for 25, 3 for 34 and so on. People will call for demotion and openly wonder whether or not he has future here. Then hel get hot and carry the team on his back for two weeks. And everyone will fall in love again.Hoskins is a key member of this offense this year. We more or less know what wel get from Harper, Didi Gregorius and J.T. Realmuto https://www.philadelphiagearstore.com/Greg_Luzinski_Flag-291. Jean Segura will probably hit somewhere between .270 and .290 with some power sprinkled in. Alec Bohm showed what he can do last year, but he also quite young. But Hoskins might be the fulcrum of the offense. Should he show any kind of consistency this season, this lineup gets deep. His ability to hit for power as well as grind out at bats that makes the pitcher throw six and seven pitches each time is invaluable to this lineup. If he falls more towards his 2019 line, it might be time to start wondering about what to beyond this year.Center field. Someone has to play it.All spring, the question about playing time centered on who would man the center field expanse of Citizens Bank Park. Five men went in and only two emerged. The team decided that they would keep the competition more or less internal rather than decide to spend money on a player like Jackie Bradley, Jr. The money that would have been paid to Bradley instead was spent on other parts of the team, meaning that whoever would be the starter would have to come from within.Now, with the dust settled, the team is looking at a quasi-platoon situation between Adam Haseley and Roman Quinn with the manager seemingly to prefer Quinn. Injuries are a running joke with him, but wel have to assume that he is healthy and ready to go to begin the season. If either of them falters, at least with Odubel Herrera and Mickey Moniak, we know that there is competent depth in the minors should it be needed. The team probably isn counting on a whole lot of production from their spot in the lineup Zack Wheeler Pillow Cover, but if they can stay healthy, there no reason the shouldn expect 3-4 combined WAR between them.Can a defense be offensive?The team defense was not good last year. Even in a shortened season with smaller sample sizes than usual, the evidence was there that this team, both statistically and anecdotally, were not good with the leather.This year....it doesn look like itl be much better. Bohm is at third and if he is average, itl be huge for him. Gregorius and Segura up the middle are decent enough, but don rank near the top of any list. The best option on the field defensively is behind the plate with Realmuto and while that great for the pitching staff, it not good for the overall picture of the team. The hope is that they aren bad enough to hurt the pitching, but rather that they are at least good enough to not be a huge detriment to the team.These are but a few of the possibly storylines wel be following this season. There will be others as it unfolds (can Aaron Nola get it together in September? Will Zach Eflin take that leap that is expected of him? What can Alec Bohm do for an encore?), so itl be exciting to watch https://www.philadelphiagearstore.com/Juan_Samuel_Pillow_Cover-333.

Third base hasn exactly been a position of luxury for the Mets over the years https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Brandon_Nimmo_Hoodie-72. That not to say that there haven been good third basemen, of course, but there been a whole lot of turnover for long stretches of time. But when David Wright, a highly-touted prospect who had grown up a Mets fan in Virginia, arrived, the Mets wound up not having to think about who would play third base for quite a while. Wright rookie year, his age-21 season in 2004, went very well, but he really took off in 2005 and played at such a high level both at the plate an in the field that it was almost hard to believe. From the beginning of the 2005 season through the end of the 2008 season, Wright hit . 311/. 394/. 534 with a 141 OPS+, 116 home runs, 86 stolen bases, three All-Star Game appearances, and two Gold Glove awards. Despite the fact that the Mets came up just short of making the World Series in 2006 and just short of making the playoffs in both 2007 and 2008 https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Samuel_Mcwilliams_T_shirt-48, Wright was an integral part of one of the best eras in Mets history, at least judging by the team overall regular season record. Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty ImagesThose first four full years were outstanding, but as Wright played through his mid-to-late twenties and hit the age of 30, he remained very, very good. From 2009 through 2013, he hit . 293/. 375/. 479 with a 134 OPS+, 92 home runs, 91 stolen bases, and four more All-Star Game appearances. During that stretch, his worst single season came in 2011, and even then, he finished the year with a 115 OPS+. Wright first truly down year came in 2014, as he hit just . 269/. 324/. 374 with eight home runs and a 101 OPS+. But he got off to a solid start in 2015, posting a . 796 OPS in April before going on the shelf with a seemingly innocuous injury. Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the end for Wright baseball career https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Yennsy_Diaz_Hoodie-119, as he was eventually diagnosed with spinal stenosis. That didn stop him from returning to the field that year, which he did in late August. Nor did it stop him from playing well, as Wright hit . 277/. 381/. 437 in 139 plate appearances to finish the regular season as the Mets won their second National League East title of his career. Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty ImagesThe fact that Wright got to play in the playoffs again that year was fantastic in and of itself. And while his overall production in those games wasn quite up to par with the hitter he had always been before the back injury, he hit a home run in Game 3 of the World Series, the only one of the five games the Mets won against the Royals. The rest of Wright career after that World Series consisted mostly of trying to manage his back condition, and when he was able to get on the field, he still played fairly well. Despite hitting just . 226 in 2016, Wright managed to put together a . 788 OPS and a 113 OPS+ Ray Knight Face Mask. Neither of those marks were anywhere near his best work, but for a player dealing with that level of injury, it was pretty damn impressive. Wright final appearance in a Mets game was more ceremony than competitive baseball, as he missed the entire 2017 season and all but two games at the end of the 2018 season. Those served as his send-off, which he had more than earned. Among third basemen in Mets history, Wright career is unmatched. These things aren always as simple as looking at who has the most WAR, but the fWAR leaders at the position in Mets history make it pretty clear, with Wright 52. 0 fWAR ahead of anyone else by more than twenty. And among all position players in Mets history, Wright ranks first in fWAR. Darryl Strawberry ranks second, trailing Wright substantially with 35. 5 fWAR. Like Johan Santana, who spent several years with the Mets himself, there a Hall of Fame case to be made for Wright. In this century, longevity has been a prerequisite to consideration for the hall, but some of the greatest players in baseball historyike Sandy Koufaxaw their careers shortened by injury. If the criteria were still focused on quality over quantity, Wright would have a pretty great case for getting in. Given the reality, though, it doesn seem like Wright will ever get that kind of consideration. But Wright number 5 should still be retired by the Mets sometime in the near future. Considering that he spent his entire career with the organization, played as well as he did, worked as hard as he did to keep playing despite his back injury, and decided to sign a team-friendly deal to be with the Mets for his entire career, he more than earned that honor. For now, David Wright status as the best third baseman and position player in Mets history remains unchallenged. It possible that someone will get there sometime down the road, but for now, Wright remains the GOAT.

First Pitch: 6:40 pm CDTTV: Bally Sports NorthRadio: WCCO 830 https://www.minnesotagearshop.com/Kirby_Puckett_T_shirt-9, Audacy, The Wolf 102. 9 FM, TIBN, twinsbeisbol. comKnow Thine Enemy: South Side SoxAfter another demoralizing defeat at the hands of the temporarily-Oakland() Athletics, the Twins carry no momentum into a series against the 1st-place White Sox. Chicago rolls into Target Field riding high, winners of 8 of their last 10 and holding the best record in baseball. On the other side, the Twins hold the worst record in baseball and will be starting Rob Refsnyder in centerfield https://www.minnesotagearshop.com/Bert_Blyleven_Pillow_Cover-157. The hits just keep rolling in for our beloved Twins, as their entire starting outfield is injured and their pitching staff continues to struggle. At least they can hit (except in clutch situations) and their infield is good (except in clutch situations). To sum it all up: there not a lot of encouraging things to talk about coming into a series against their rivals who just outscored them 26-13 in a three-game sweep last week. The Twins will be throwing lefty J. A. Happ, who got roughed up for 9 earned runs last time out, which was also against Chicago. This is unsurprising, as Chicago has absolutely mashed left-handed pitching over the last couple years. Unfortunately, it hard to expect a different result tonight. On the bright side, Chicago is throwing Dallas Keuchel, who gave up 6 earned to the Twins his last time out https://www.minnesotagearshop.com/Randy_Dobnak_Pet_Jersey-336. Lineups!

Box ScoreEntering Thursday series opener at Coors Field in Colorado, Brandon Woodruff had fired off 12 consecutive starts allowing two earned runs or fewer. The Rockies ended that streak in this contest, however, and handed Woodruff his third of the season. The damage came early, in the bottom of the first inning. Yonathan Daza got things rolling with a one-out single https://www.milwaukeefanstoreonline.com/Brent_Suter_Pillow_Cover-153. Woody then punched out Charlie Blackmon for the second out, but (future Brewer) Trevor Story singled to shortstop, then Ryan McMahon walked to load the bases. That brought up CJ Cron, and on a 1-1 count, he launched a 97 MPH fastball out over the fence in right field for a grand slam. To pour a little more salt in the wound, the next batter, Garrrett Hampson, also went deep. At the end of one inning, it was 5-0 Rockies. Woodruff settled in after that, navigating through five innings without allowing any more damage https://www.milwaukeefanstoreonline.com/Ray_Black_Pillow_Cover-305. He finished with the five runs allowed on five hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Unfortunately, he wouldn get much of any support from the offense, even in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field. Milwaukee didn record their first hit until the fourth inning and failed to push any runs across until the seventh, when the game was already out of hand. Eric Yardley replaced Woodruff in the sixth inning and his struggles continued. He gave up three singles and two runs, though only one was earned thanks to an Avi Garcia error in right field, leaving the score 7-0 by the time he was yanked. Hoby Milner (1 IP) and Hunter Strickland (1. 1 IP) also made scoreless appearances in this game. The Brewers did manage to post a three-spot in the seventh inning. Omar Narvaez, Pablo Reyes, and Jackie Bradley, Jr. all walked to load the bases, then Luis Urias hit a double with two outs that brought home all three runners to make it a 7-3 contest. That where this game ended, as the Brewers have now dropped four games in a row https://www.milwaukeefanstoreonline.com/Custom_T_shirt-23. Theyl look to snap the cold streak on Friday behind Corbin Burnes, who will face off against Anthony Senzatela in game two of the series beginning at 7:40 PM central.