NBA on Mar. 1: Bulls, Hawks put on 4-OT game, Bucks enter playoffs

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On the first day of March, the visiting Chicago Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks 168-161 at the State Farm Arena in a four-overtime game. The Milwaukee Bucks became the league's first team to make it into the 2018-19 playoffs after claiming a victory against the Los Angeles Lakers 131-120 at the Staples Center.

Bulls vs. Hawks, an exhausting game of records

Zach Lavine #8 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball in the game they win against the Atlanta Hawks, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo

Chicago's Zach Lavine nearly got a triple-double after he dropped 47 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Three of the team's players had double-double: Otto Porter 31points+10 rebounds, Lauri Markkanen 31points+17 rebounds, Robin Lopez 11points+11 rebounds. Kris Dunn also scored 14 points.

First-year rookie Trae Young got the court's highest 49 points and 16 assists for Atlanta. Dewayne Dedmon put down a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, and so did Alex Len who had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Taurean Prince scored 17 points while 42-year-old Vince Carter played almost 45 minutes to get 13 points and seven rebounds.

Trae Young (shirt No. 11) of the Hawks going against the defense by Lauri Markkanen (No. 34) and Lavine (No. 8) of the Bulls, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo

After three hours and 45 minutes, the game in Atlanta witnessed multiple records. Lavine's 47+9+9 not only set a new scoring record in his career, but also made him the first player to deliver such numbers for the Bulls after Michael Jordan. Young's 49+16 was also his new career high in scoring and the first time for a one-year rookie to score 45-plus points and 15-plus assists in one game.

This was the third time in NBA history for both teams to score over 160 points in one game. Atlanta and Chicago together scoring 329 points was the third highest scoring game in the league's history. It was the fourth four-OT game for the Bulls and fifth for the Hawks.

These records came at the cost of worn-out players. 20-year-old Young had to sit on the bench at the end of the game. 21-year-old Markkanen failed to finish an open dunk. 23-year-old Lavine got a cramp in his leg when he finished a layup. 25-year-old Porter Jr. was already staggering on the court.

The above reactions were all understandable since these young players all played more than 50, if not 55, minutes.

Vince Carter #15 of the Hawks dunks in the game against the Bulls, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo

But what about Carter? The 42-year-old "Air Canada" played 44 minutes and 53 seconds in the game. The last time he did this was in November 2008 with the New Jersey Nets. Back then Carter and Devin Harris made up the highest-scoring starting backcourt in the league. Back then he was still able to send the game into overtime with a 29-foot game-tying three pointer and finish a game-winning double-handed reverse dunk.

Lakers are one step away from a victory

Rajon Rondo #9 and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers in the game they lose to the Milwaukee Bucks 131-120, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo

Seven players scored double-digit points for Milwaukee. Eric Bledsoe had the highest 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Malcolm Brogdon put down 21 points. Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez got 18 and 11 points respectively. Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Brandon Ingram scored 31 points and eight rebounds for LA. So did LeBron James who also got seven rebounds and 10 assists. Rajon Rondo put down 20 points, eight rebounds and nine assists while Kyle Kuzma had 12 points. None of the rest of the players scored double-digit points.

Brandon Ingram (shirt No. 14) of the Lakers dunks in the game against the Bucks, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Lakers won only 30 of their 61 games before Friday and could not afford to lose many in the last 21 ones if the team still aimed for the playoffs. Though not many people expected them to defeat the Bucks which ranked No.1 in the whole league, the purple and gold actually did pretty well most of the game.

Rondo shot a career-high 12 times from the 3-pt line and made four of them. Ingram in the first half sank all his eight shots to get 16 points. The Lakers led after the second (65-59) and third quarter (94-93). After James made a three-pointer in the 45th minute, his team still led by two points (118-116).

Giannis Antetokounmpo (shirt No. 34) of the Bucks dunks in the game against the Lakers, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo

However, it only took 90 seconds to ruin the Lakers' efforts. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's turnover plus two missed shots by Ingram and James led to an 8-0 run by the Bucks. When the home team realized what happened, the game was already a foregone conclusion.

Other games on Friday included: (away teams come first)

Charlotte Hornets 123-112 Brooklyn Nets

Portland Trail Blazers 117-119 Toronto Raptors

Washington Wizards 96-107 Boston Celtics

New Orleans Pelicans 130-116 Phoenix Suns

Los Angeles Clippers 116-109 Sacramento Kings