Recapping the Most Re-watchable Games from the 2020 NBA Season
Revisiting a fun, historic, and exciting 2019–2020 NBA season
All box score and team stats are from either NBA.com or ESPN
The 2019–2020 NBA Season had many great teams, with both the Eastern and Western Conference being competitive. As a result, there were many great performances that led to many great games being played. Some games were notable for their storylines; others featured incredible individual performances.
Without further ado, here are five games from the 2019–2020 NBA season to re-watch, as the season is on pause.
1. The Lakers-Clippers Duel on Opening Night
The beginning of the Lakers-Clippers rivalry on opening night did not disappoint
Recap:
The boos were out before the game even started. It was opening night in the NBA, and the Lakers-Clippers rivalry was already brewing.
When Kawhi Leonard took the microphone to usher in a new era of Clippers basketball, one with even more promise than the “Lob City” teams featuring Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, the Laker fans in the capacity crowd let him know that Los Angeles was forever a Lakers town. And thus, the rivalry was born.
The Lakers, with their immaculate length and athleticism, took over early, holding a 13–2 lead–their largest of the night. It didn’t take long for Clippers coach Doc Rivers to pull the plug on his starting lineup, bringing in Montrezl Harrell and Louis Williams to add an offensive punch.
The result was a major Clippers run that culminated in a 40-point second quarter, capped off by a stretch where Leonard converted seven consecutive field goals.
Going into halftime, the Clippers led 62–54. Anthony Davis of the Lakers had a strong first half, as his post scoring was overwhelming for the Clippers–but Davis uncharacteristically struggled from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, LeBron at times struggled with the length and speed of the LAC defense; this issue was compounded by Patrick Beverley appearing to hit James in the groin.
When the Lakers came roaring back to tie the game at 85 entering the fourth quarter, it was neither James nor Davis who brought them back–it was Danny Green.
Green was a signing from the defending champion Toronto Raptors, and his “3&D” skillset shined, as he hit five three-pointers in the third quarter alone–including a four-point play– while being Frank Vogel’s top choice to defend Leonard.
Ultimately, in the fourth quarter, the Lakers stumbled while the Clippers persevered. James had three turnovers in the fourth, and the lack of experience between him and his teammates was apparent. The Clippers, on the contrary, leaned heavily on the chemistry between Williams and Harrell to propel them down the stretch.
On the night, the Clippers bench finished with 60 points, obliterating the meager 19 put up by the Lakers’ reserves.
At the end of the game, James and Davis went straight for to the Laker locker room, while Green, a close friend of Leonard dating back to their days on the Spurs, shared an embrace with his new in-town rival.
Final Score: Lakers 102–112 Clippers
First Quarter: Lakers 25 — Clippers 22
Second Quarter: Lakers 30 — Clippers 20
Third Quarter: Lakers 23 — Clippers 35
Fourth Quarter: Lakers 20 — Clippers 25
Box Score: (Starters)
Team Stats:
2. The Infamous Lakers-Clippers Christmas Clash
Kawhi Leonard’s spectacular performance, LeBron James’ struggles, and a memorable finish to the Lakers-Clippers Christmas Day classic
Recap:
Everything looked optimistic for the Lakers on Christmas Day. Despite mild injury concerns for both LeBron James (groin) and Anthony Davis (ankle), hopes were high in “La La Land.”
These hopes took a major hit early in the first quarter, when Patrick Beverley stuck out his knee on a drive, hitting James in the inner thigh/groin area that he was already nursing an injury for.
Remember, exactly one year earlier, James tore his groin muscle against the Warriors–and now injuries were again becoming a concern for him and the Lakers.
However, the Lakers weathered the storm, mostly due to an explosive first half from Kyle Kuzma, the third-year forward who struggled for most of the season, but finished with 25 points in a resounding performance.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard was absolutely dominant, with none of James, Davis, Danny Green, or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope being effective at guarding him. Over and over, he showed his refined isolation skillset, particularly his skill from three-point range, where he finished 5/7.
Despite James settling for jump-shots repeatedly after being injured (shooting 12 threes on the night, almost twice his season average), L.A. went on a 17–2 run, capped off by Davis intercepting a pass and almost converting a buzzer-beating, fallaway three-pointer going into intermission.
In the third quarter, the Clippers, led by Leonard and Montrezl Harrell (18 points), resiliently fought their way back into the game after trailing by as much as 15 points.
“We just kind of hung in there,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said after the game. “Almost felt like we were biding our time and just trying to make a run. That’s something you have to have when things aren’t going great for you. You just got to hang in there, and I thought we did that tonight.”
Things weren’t going particularly great for either squad overall, as on a night where LeBron went 9/24 and 2/12 from three, Paul George went 5/18, and Lou Williams went 1/6 for six points, only Leonard stepped up with a superstar effort.
The game was still seemed to be in the Lakers hands; things changed when the Clippers went on a 7–0 run with five minutes to go, capped off by a Leonard triple. Soon after, on transition layup, Lou Williams appeared to blow an open layup when a highly debatable foul was called on Anthony Davis, who lightly tapped Williams en route to the hoop.
Even after James missed a free throw to cut the lead deficit down to two, with the Lakers trailing 109–106, they still had a chance to tie the game, with James bringing the ball up against Kawhi Leonard. What happened next remains as a stain on the Lakers’ otherwise shining 2019–2020 season.
LeBron received multiple screens, eventually having Patrick Beverley guarding him. After holding the ball over his head, trying to prevent the pesky Beverley from poking the ball away, he tried a step three–only for the 6’1″ guard to knock the ball away.
Doc Rivers and the Clippers frantically called for a replay–where, it was clear that the ball came off of James’ hand last. After two free throws, the game was over.
Leonard became the 10th player to record 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists on a Christmas Day game, while also setting a Clippers Christmas Day record for points. James, Davis, and the Lakers, meanwhile, dropped their fourth game in row, marking a low point in their resurgent season.
Final Score: Lakers 102–112 Clippers
First Quarter: Lakers 33– Clippers 31
Second Quarter: Lakers 30 — Clippers 20
Third Quarter: Lakers 23 — Clippers 35
Fourth Quarter: Lakers 20 — Clippers 25
Box Score: (Starters)
Team Stats:
3. The Zion Williamson Debut
The NBA debut of Zion Williamson with the New Orleans Pelicans started slowly — but it ended with an unforgettable, historic finish
Recap:
The debut of Zion Williamson, the Pelicans’ first overall selection, may have started slowly–-but boy did it end memorably.
There were flashes of Williamson’s ability–a few slick passes, some athletic contests on defense–but for the most part, in the first quarter, he played passively as Lonzo Ball controlled the offense for New Orleans.
When Williamson scored his first basket, on an aggressive rebound and put-back, the fans inside the packed Smoothie King Arena erupted with delight.
But due to some strict minutes restrictions from the Pelicans’ medical staff, Williamson only played in four-minute spurts, to avoid wearing out his surgically-repaired knee, which kept him out for months on end.
“Zion,” as he is more commonly referred to as, has been consistently compared to the likes of LeBron James, Blake Griffin, and other high-end, immensely athletic players since being drafted out of Duke. Whether or not injuries will derail that potential remains to be seen (more on that here), but, as this game showed, he has franchise-player potential.
For the Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge was utterly dominant, scoring 32 points on 12/20 shooting. None of Williamson, Derrick Favors, or Jaxson Hayes could stop him.
With the game on the line, Aldridge forced his way to the free-throw line to put San Antonio up four, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
But this game wasn’t memorable because of Aldridge, Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, or any other player outside of #1 for New Orleans.
When the fourth quarter opened, Zion had only five points — a disappointment for a player of his caliber.
But Williamson, who is not known as a three-point shooter, hit a three with just under nine minutes to go in the fourth, piquing the curiosity of NBA fans around the world. Then, the “Zion Show” began.
He scored ten straight points in exactly one minute and thirty seconds, making two three-pointers, converting a lob from Ball, and finishing a strong put-back layup. But the damage wasn’t done.
Williamson hit two more three-pointers, putting him at an impressive 4/4 on the night, and by the time he scored his 22nd and final point of the night, on a free throw, the entire arena was showering him in “M-V-P” chants.
Hopefully, this debut–which goes down with the likes of LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, and other historic rookie debuts–is only the beginning of the “Zion Era” in the NBA.
Final Score: Spurs 121 — Pelicans 117
First Quarter: Spurs 31 — Pelicans 24
Second Quarter: Spurs 29 — Pelicans 27
Third Quarter: Spurs 34 — Pelicans 31
Fourth Quarter: Spurs 27 — Pelicans 35
Box Score: (Starters)
Team Stats
4. 2020 NBA Recap: The Celtics vs. Clippers OT Battle
In a star-studded, high-intensity matchup between two of the league’s top teams, the Celtics vs. the Clippers was one of the best games of 2020
Recap:
In the last game before a much needed All-Star break for both teams, the matchup of the Celtics vs. the Clippers put on a show in one of the best NBA games in 2020. With both teams having a host of excellent two-way players, the game figured to have an exciting outcome.
Injuries plagued both teams, however, as the Celtics were missing Jaylen Brown, their young, athletic star, who was out with a calf contusion, and Patrick Beverley for the Clippers was out with a groin injury.
These injury issues only compounded themselves early on, when Paul George had to leave to game in the second quarter with a hamstring strain. The Clippers have been on of the most injury-hit teams all-season long, and George’s latest injury only added to their issues.
In the first quarter, Marcus Smart got off to an explosive start, scoring his team’s first 10 points. Meanwhile, the Celtics had no answers for stopping Kawhi Leonard early on, who finished with 15 points in the first quarter alone.
In the second quarter, while Boston held Leonard to just two points, Montrezl Harrell dominated, garnering 16 points on 5/5 shooting in the first half, while simply overpowering Grant Williams, Enes Kanter, and Boston’s backup bigs.
In the third, Marcus Smart and Lou Williams both had strong quarter. Smart, though streaky at times, had seven points in the frame, including a tough fadeaway jumper to beat the shot-clock buzzer. Williams not the other hand, took the reigns of the offense with George out with an injury and Leonard on the bench to score seven points of his own.
To end the third quarter, Jayson Tatum, who was on fire all night long, put on a show: first, he drove by his defender for an emphatic one-handed slam dunk, secondly, he hit a tough step-back three over Landry Shamet.
The intensity picked up in the fourth quarter as the Celtics desperately tried to protect their dwindling lead. Tatum and Williams were absolutely dominant, as neither team could stop each other.
In one stretch, near the end of the fourth quarter, Tatum and Williams exchanged baskets on four consecutive possessions. But with Boston up 114–111, it was neither Williams nor Leonard who ended up being the hero for the Clippers — it was Marcus Morris Sr.
Morris Sr. was quiet all-night long, symptomatic of his struggles to adjust from being the #1 option in New York to being the #4 or #5 option on the Clippers. But he has a knack for making clutch shots, and when the ball was passed to him after Leonard missed a contested three, he calmly shot a three-pointer of his own and drilled it.
After Leonard picked up an offensive foul trying to hit a game-winning shot, and Kemba Walker missed a step-back jumper, the game went into overtime.
In the first overtime, Tatum and Smart scored all 13 points for Boston, with Smart hitting a crucial three-pointer and Tatum nearly putting the game away with two impressive driving layups.
Meanwhile, Williams continued to be a thorn in the C’s side, hitting difficult jump-shots and runners to keep L.A. within striking distance. Once again, however, the Clippers found themselves down three, 124–127.
And just like at the end of regulation, it was a role player who saved the Clippers. After a potential four-point play for “Sweet Lou” was waived off by the officials in a controversial call, L.A. inbounded the ball to Landry Shamet.
Shamet, who was acquired from the Sixers last season as a three-point specialist, calmly dribbled across the court before shooting a deep, contested three over Tatum to knot the score at 127, taking the two contenders to a second overtime.
It was in the second OT where the most memorable play of the game occurred. Isolated on the wing against Shamet, Celtics star guard Kemba Walker, who struggled all night long, made an exquisite step-back crossover. The move left Shamet in the dust and brought “oohs and ahhs” from the TD Garden crowd as he buried his fourth three-pointer of the night.
The Celtics dominated the ending of the second overtime. With two minutes to go, Tatum crossed over on Shamet before driving right at Montrezl Harrell and making a tough layup through contact. As he flexed his muscles and yelled at the Celtics home crowd, his team gained all of the momentum needed to win the game.
The overtime was finished when Gordon Hayward, who also struggled with his shot all-night long, hit a clutch three-pointer, blocked Lou Williams, and then hit two free-throws, putting the game on ice at 139–132.
Afterward, all of the commentators were commenting on Tatum’s improved confidence, which had led to an explosive offensive performance.
“He’s more assertive. They are trusting him [Tatum] and he is trusting himself.”
Kawhi Leonard on Jayson Tatum’s improvement, via ESPN
Final: Clippers 133 — Celtics 141
First Quarter: Clippers 32 — Celtics 30
Second Quarter: Clippers 26 — Celtics 30
Third Quarter: Clippers 29 — Celtics 31
Fourth Quarter: Clippers 27 — Celtics 23
First Overtime (OT): Clippers 13 — Celtics 13
Second OT: Clippers 6 — Celtics 14
Box Score (Seven-Man Rotation):
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Team Stats:
5. The 2020 Lakers vs. Celtics Rivalry
A storied rivalry between the league’s two most storied franchises, the Lakers and Celtics, lived up to its billing in 2020
Recap:
The names on the backs of the jerseys might be different. No longer is it Bird and McHale vs. Johnson and Abdul-Jabaar, but still, on February 23rd, the Lakers vs. Celtics rivalry brought us an instant-classic game from the 2020 season.
Though Kemba Walker sat out with an injury, the Celtics held steady with strong performances from their starting lineup. Meanwhile, L.A., per usual, was led by the two-headed monster of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The game wasn’t very exciting through one quarter, as L.A. jumped out to a nine-point lead.
But when Jayson Tatum checked back into the game to start the second quarter. He had one one point to begin the quarter, but he finished with 19 by the end of the half. More impressively, he scored on an absolute display of acrobatic finishes, graceful crossovers, and powerful spin moves — never settling for contested mid-range jumpers.
The night began in a bittersweet manner, with the sting of Kobe Bryant’s death still so clearly reverberating around the NBA. But the Celtics’ response, as a longtime Lakers rival, was beautiful.
C’s legend Bill Russell suited up in a #24 jersey with “Lakers” on the front and “Bryant” stitched across the back. Meanwhile, many players on the Celtics, including Tatum, wore purple arm-bands, which is just one of many objects associated with the Black Mamba.
Kevin Garnett, another notable Celtic, was in attendance. He notably chatted with former teammate Rajon Rondo before the game. Coincidentally, Rondo was excellent all night long, getting five assists while making some truly exquisite passes, and racking up five steals while being a pest on defense.
Heading into halftime, all any commentators at the game could talk about was the dominance of Tatum–who, like many, idolized Kobe Bryant as a child.
And in the third quarter, Tatum was just as special. He added 18 more points to his burgeoning scoring total, this time on a variety of step-back, highly difficult, step-back three-pointers to go along with his finishing at the rim.
L.A. tried putting Anthony Davis, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Danny Green, a former All-NBA defender, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, an athletic guard, on the scorching hot Tatum–but none were truly effective.
Things look most dire for L.A. when James took a hard hit from Daniel Theis early in the fourth quarter, wincing in pain on the ground. LeBron, over the past two seasons, has accumulated a number of injuries to his inner thigh and groin areas, including tearing it on Christmas in 2018, and this injury was yet another threat to the Lakers’ sterling 2020 campaign.
But James and the Lakers persevered, keeping pace with Boston. With just over 2 minutes to go, Anthony Davis and Gordon Hayward exchanged baskets, putting the score at 108–107 in favor of L.A.
After Davis missed an open layup, Jaylen Brown hit a corner three, putting Boston up two with 1:17 to go.
Then, things became controversial. James backed into Brown on a post-up, but when he shot his layup, the ball inexplicably rolled off the rim. Yet, the referee called a foul, to the disbelief of Brown, Tatum, and the Celtics.
Still, James only split the pair of free throws. On his second shot, a miss, the ball rolled out of bounds in a very close call; the referees ended up giving L.A. possession–giving LeBron a chance to close the game.
And with the game on the line, in this game’s most memorable moment, James, isolated on the right block, shot a tough fall-away jump-shot, and he buried it. The shot resembled Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, and it’s fitting that James, who took the mantle of the Lakers from Kobe, would pay tribute to Bryant by replicating his signature shot.
The controversy still wouldn’t end, however. On the Celtics’ last real offensive possession, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tried denying Tatum the ball, he appeared to foul Tatum, but no foul was called. After an Anthony Davis free throw, the Celtics were down two, at 112–114.
But they never got a shot off.
Tatum was called for an offensive foul after hitting Caldwell-Pope in the mouth while trying to get off a shot, and, just like that, the game was over.
While James, Davis, Tatum, and Brown don’t carry the same history as past Laker and Celtics greats, they do carry their franchises’ reputations — and as tonight show, they carry those reputations with pride.
”It’s just special to be part of this rivalry. ‘We understand that this has been going on since the `50s, `60s, `70s, `80s, `90s, all the way through. So to be a part of a rivalry, to be a part of a historical two-franchise group, this is special. … [We love] to represent this rivalry with the utmost respect and play this game the right way, as all the former players have done in the past.”
ESPN
Final Score: Celtics 112– Lakers 114
First Quarter: Celtics 19 — Lakers 28
Second Quarter: Celtics 35 — Lakers 28
Third Quarter: Celtics 33 — Lakers 31
Fourth Quarter: Celtics 25 — Lakers 27
Box Score: (Starters)
Team Stats:
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