NBA Hoosiers (Aug. 13): Thomas Bryant Closes Out Restart With 26-Point Game
This has been the most unusual of NBA seasons, and this eight-game restart inside a bubble in Orlando is something we've never seen before.
But a handful of players have still stood out and turns some heads, and right near the top of that list is Thomas Bryant. The former Hoosier who plays for the Washington Wizards has had several big game, and he went out in style on Thursday. Bryant had 26 points and nine rebounds in the Wizards' 96-90 victory over the Boston Celtics in their final game of the regular season.
“It feels good. It was not the expectations we had or wanted, but it feels good to close it out with a win,” Bryant said.
The Wizards had the worst record of any of the 22 teams who were invited to finish out the season inside the bubble, and they lost their first seven games playing without their two stars, guards John Wall and Bradley Beal. Bryant has stepped up nicely, and it felt good to leave the bubble with a victory.
“Today was a good closeout game. It was a fight game, and it was a game where you could easily start thinking about where we’re going to be tonight when we land in D.C.,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “But our guys, we battled, we fought, we stayed in it.''
The Celtics are in the playoffs, so they rested all of their starters in this final regular-season game. That meant former Indiana star Romeo Langford got his first start since the season resumed. The rookie played 30 minutes, and scored six points on 3-of-9 shooting.
It was his first lengthy run of the restart. He had played only 42 minutes in four games previously.
THURSDAY'S OTHER INDIANA PLAYERS
Yogi Ferrell, Sacramento Kings
- Thursday's game: Yogi Ferrell got to play 20 minutes in the Kings' final game of the season, which was good because he had seen only 25 minutes of action in the restart. He played well, scoring 11 points and having three steals. He was 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-4 from the three-point line. The Kings did not make the playoffs.
Juwan Morgan, Utah Jazz
- Thursday's game: Juwan Morgan also saw a lot of playing time on Thursday, scoring six points in 22 minutes off the bench in Utah's 118-112 win over the San Antonio Spurs. During the restart, he's scored 17 points total. The Jazz finished the regular season at 44-28 and have qualified for the playoffs. They are the No. 6-seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
INDIANA'S OTHER PLAYERS IN THE NBA
Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
- Next game: Friday at 4 p.m. vs. the Miami Heat.
- Team status: The Pacers and Heat are both 44-28, and outside of the bubble, this would have been a huge game for home-court advantage. Now, it doesn't matter. The winner gets the No. 4 seed, and they'll see each other again next week in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors
- Next game: Friday at 1:30 p.m. vs. the Denver Nuggets.
- Team status: The Raptors are 52-19 and the defending NBA champions are locked in to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They'll see the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs next week.
Noah Vonleh, Denver Nuggets
- Next game: Friday at 1:30 p.m. vs. the Toronto Raptors.
- Team status: The Nuggets are 46-26 and locked in to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets
- Next game: Friday at 9 p.m. vs. the Philadelphia 76ers
- Team status: The Rockets have made the playoffs and will play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round in the 4-5 matchup in the Western Conference playoffs.
Best NBA Video from Thursday
In an extensive Q&A, NBA commissioner Adam Silver talks about how everything has gone in the bubble so far as the league wraps up the regular season and gets set to start the playoffs.
