NBA highlights on Apr. 3: Wade's last playoffs in danger

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The 2018-19 NBA regular season had 12 games on Wednesday. The Miami Heat lost to the Boston Celtics 112-102 at the American Airlines Arena, their second defeat in three days. The Denver Nuggets claimed a big win against the San Antonio Spurs 113-85 at the Pepsi Center, maintaining their lead of 1.5 wins over the Houston Rockets as No.2 in the Western Conference.

Will Wade be able to say goodbye in the playoffs?

Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat shoots in the game they lose against the Boston Celtics 112-102 at the American Airlines Arena, April 3, 2019. /VCG Photo

Gordon Hayward scored the court's most 25 points from the bench for Boston thanks to the 12 free throws he made. Kyrie Irving and Al Horford contributed respectively 23 and 21 points. Jayson Tatum had 16 points while Aron Baynes got 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Dion Waiters claimed Miami's highest 21 points while Bam Adebayo scored 12 points and 12 rebounds. Goran Dragic and Kelly Olynyk had individually 11 and 10 points. Hassan Whiteside contributed a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds off the bench while Dwyane put down 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Gordon Hayward #20 of the Celtics shoots in the game against the Heat, April 3, 2019. /VCG Photo

Thanks to Wednesday's victory, the Celtics swept the Heat this season. What excited them more than the win was that Hayward seemed to get the best himself back. Eleven of his 25 points came from the last quarter before which Boston only led by two (83-81). More importantly, Hayward earned 13 free throws in the game (and made 12 of them), showing the toughness he had been well-known for when he built up his reputation with the Utah Jazz.

By contrast, Miami would not like the loss. First, they slipped to No.9 in the Eastern Conference because of it. Second, the team's key player Josh Richardson was injured in the game. Third, if they cannot make it back to top 8, Wade's last dance will have to end before the playoffs, which will be a big pity for both him and the fans.

Popovich gets mischievous again

Gregg Popovich is the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. /VCG Photo

Nikola Jokic was one assist away from dropping a triple-double for Denver (20 points+11 rebounds+nine assists). Jamal Murray had 14 points and 11 assists while Gary Harris and Will Barton both got 11 points. Monte Morris and Malik Beasley each scored 19 points from the bench.

San Antonio only had four players score double-digit points. LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan scored respectively 16 and 11 points from the first-lineup. Lonnie Walker contributed 16 points from the bench while Davis Bertans had 11.

Nikola Jokic (R) of the Denver Nuggets defends La Marcus Aldridge (L) of the San Antonio Spurs in the game at the Pepsi Center, April 3, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Spurs played one of their worst games recently as they trailed largely in assists (15-41), three-pointers (5-12), field goal rate (38.27 percent to 54.02 percent), 3-pt percent (18.52 percent to 36.36 percent) and points in the paint (44-58).

The Nuggets' defensive strategy worked well. Every time Aldridge or DeRozan or anyone tried to post up in the low block, there was always an extra defense, often Mason Plumlee, double teaming the ball handler, forcing him to pass the ball to the shooters outside who, as it so happened, could not bury the open shots.

Popovich (L2) of the Spurs argues with the referee (R2) of the game, April 3, 2019. /VCG Photo

What did not help San Antonio either was that their head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected 63 seconds into the game by receiving two technical fouls. Actually it was simply 10 seconds between him starting to argue with the referee and the referee giving him the second T.

However, in spite of a disappointing loss, Popovich again showed his humor in the post-game interview. When Denver's head coach Michael Malone was answering the question, the Spur boss suddenly joined them, leading to the following conversation:

Malone: "We were just talking about an NBA record that was set tonight."

Popovich: "What was the record? What happened?"

Malone: "Somebody got thrown out in 63 seconds."

Popovich: "Are you serious? That person must have hit somebody. Somebody get hit tonight? Somebody get cursed at or anything?"

Harden again matches NBA legends

James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets celebrates in the game they win against the Los Angeles Clippers 135-103 at the Staples Center, April 3, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 135-103 at the Staples Center, claiming their fourth win in a row in the second back-to-back game. Thanks to his 31 points and seven assists, James Harden saw his numbers reach 2,700 points+500 assists, becoming the third player to do that in NBA history after Nate Archibald (1972-73 season) and Michael Jordan (1989-90 season).

Though the Rockets remained hopeful for replacing the Nuggets as No.2 in the West, it's only theoretical. Denver currently lead by 1.5 wins (52 wins-26 losses) and still have four games to go. Houston (51w-28l) have three games left and their most probable opponent on the first round of the playoffs are still the Clippers.

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

Indiana Pacers 108-89 Detroit Pistons

New York Knicks 100-114 Orlando Magic

Chicago Bulls 115-114 Washington Wizards

Philadelphia 76ers 122-130 Atlanta Hawks

Toronto Raptors 115-105 Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets 115-109 New Orleans Pelicans

Minnesota Timberwolves 110-108 Dallas Mavericks

Utah Jazz 118-97 Phoenix Suns

Memphis Grizzlies 89-116 Portland Trail Blazers