FloaterDaily Brief
Saturday, March 21, 1998Regular season · 4 games
← Mar 20CalendarMar 22 →

4 games, none went to overtime. Every winner was ahead or tied at every quarter break.

Final · Box score
Rockets103
Mavs95
Q1 Rockets +9; Q2 Rockets +12; Q3 Rockets +17; Q4 Rockets +8
Final · Box score
Cavs100
Clippers79
Q1 Cavs +16; Q2 Cavs +19; Q3 Cavs +27; Q4 Cavs +21
Final · Box score
Grizzlies88
Wolves102
Q1 Wolves 0; Q2 Wolves +8; Q3 Wolves +7; Q4 Wolves +14
Final · Box score
Sonics102
Suns109
Q1 Suns +5; Q2 Suns +3; Q3 Suns +10; Q4 Suns +7
On this day · 1996–97Mar 21, 1997: 9 games. Top scorer: Michael Jordan (Bulls-Pacers), 36 points.
Mar 21 in other seasons2026202520242023202220212019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991996
The lead · Sonics-Suns

Phoenix gets past Seattle

Kevin Garnett goes for 22 points

Game flow · Suns margin at each break
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0+5+3+10+7Suns AHEAD ↑Sonics AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Sonics26292522102
Suns31273219109
Who led
Clifford RobinsonPoints, last 10 games: 11, 22, 11, 8, 13, 22, 10, 18, 18, 29Suns29 PTS · 5 REB · 6 AST
Rex ChapmanPoints, last 10 games: 8, 16, 9, 13, 14, 4, 14, 17, 14, 28Suns28 PTS · 5 REB · 3 AST
Gary PaytonPoints, last 10 games: 12, 6, 22, 22, 24, 13, 27, 12, 13, 30Sonics30 PTS · 6 REB · 5 AST
Vin BakerPoints, last 10 games: 15, 14, 25, 27, 15, 10, 21, 17, 8, 16Sonics16 PTS · 8 REB · 2 AST
Second story · Rockets-Mavs

Houston leads Dallas wire to wire

Houston was ahead at every break and won 103–95. Best quarter: the second, 30–27. Charles Barkley led Houston with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists.

The whole night · final margins
Suns over Sonics7Rockets over Mavs8Wolves over Grizzlies14Cavs over Clippers21Final margin, points. Pink = Rockets over Mavs.
The night in charts
Sonics-Suns combined for 211, 13 more than any other game
Points by game
Sonics-SunsSonics 102, Suns 109
211
Rockets-MavsRockets 103, Mavs 95
198
Grizzlies-WolvesGrizzlies 88, Wolves 102
190
Cavs-ClippersCavs 100, Clippers 79
179
Suns won the closest game by 7
Closest finishes
Sonics-SunsSonics 102, Suns 109
+7 Suns
Rockets-MavsRockets 103, Mavs 95
+8 Rockets
Grizzlies-WolvesGrizzlies 88, Wolves 102
+14 MIN
Cavs-ClippersCavs 100, Clippers 79
+21 Cavs
Henderson shot 10-of-13 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
HendersonCavs · 20 PTS, 4 REB, 2 STL
77% (10-13)
BarkleyRockets · 23 PTS, 13 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL
75% (9-12)
HakeemRockets · 20 PTS, 13 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK
69% (9-13)
BradleyMavs · 23 PTS, 9 REB, 4 STL, 1 BLK
69% (11-16)
Abdur-RahimGrizzlies · 31 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST
68% (13-19)
Final · Sonics-Suns
Sonics 102Suns 109
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Sonics26292522102
Suns31273219109
The story
Clifford Robinson's 29 points carried Phoenix past Seattle, 109-102

For Seattle, Gary Payton had 30 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST 29 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB · 11-18 FG, 2-2 3PT

The swing

The third quarter, 32-25, was where the Suns built it.

Suns lead by quarter
200 +5+3+10+7 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Grizzlies-Wolves
Grizzlies 88Wolves 102
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Grizzlies2617212488
Wolves26252031102
The story
Anthony Peeler had 17 points as Minnesota beat Vancouver 102-88

Michael Smith led Vancouver with 12 REB, 8 PTS, 2 AST 17 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST · 8-15 FG, 1-2 3PT

The swing

The Timberwolves won the second 25-17, their biggest quarter edge.

Wolves lead by quarter
200 0+8+7+14 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Cavs-Clippers
Cavs 100Clippers 79
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Cavs28213021100
Clippers1218222779
The story
Cleveland beat Los Angeles 100-79 behind 27 points and 13 rebounds from Shawn Kemp

Maurice Taylor paced Los Angeles: 17 PTS, 11 REB 27 PTS, 13 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL · 10-19 FG

The swing

A 28-12 first quarter did the most damage for the Cavaliers.

Cavs lead by quarter
300 +16+19+27+21 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+6.0points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
13.4Season avg19.4Last 5

19.4 points a game over his last five games, against 13.4 in 64 earlier games. Today: 29 points in 41 minutes.

Losing minutes
−9.2minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
25.9Season avg16.7Last 3

16.7 minutes a game over his last three games, against 25.9 in 34 earlier games. Today: 0 points in 18 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+15.2minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
16.8Season avg32Today

32 minutes today, against 16.8 a game in 52 earlier games. Line: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists.

Top performances

Shareef Abdur-Rahim leads the day with 31

Shareef Abdur-RahimPoints, last 10 games: 27, 30, 19, 17, 19, 23, 15, 21, 21, 31Grizzlies-Wolves · L
22.1 PPG season to date · +9.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Ties season high31 PTS · 7 REB · 1 AST
Gary PaytonPoints, last 10 games: 12, 6, 22, 22, 24, 13, 27, 12, 13, 30Sonics-Suns · L
19.0 PPG season to date · +11.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
30 PTS · 6 REB · 5 AST
Clifford RobinsonPoints, last 10 games: 11, 22, 11, 8, 13, 22, 10, 18, 18, 29Suns-Sonics · W
13.6 PPG season to date · +15.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
29 PTS · 5 REB · 6 AST
Rex ChapmanPoints, last 10 games: 8, 16, 9, 13, 14, 4, 14, 17, 14, 28Suns-Sonics · W
15.7 PPG season to date · +12.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
28 PTS · 5 REB · 3 AST
Shawn KempPoints, last 10 games: 28, 10, 19, 8, 6, 8, 22, 20, 19, 27Cavs-Clippers · W
18.0 PPG season to date · +9.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
27 PTS · 13 REB · 4 AST
Michael FinleyPoints, last 10 games: 17, 17, 24, 25, 32, 18, 20, 16, 14, 26Mavs-Rockets · L
21.2 PPG season to date · +4.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
26 PTS · 5 REB · 7 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Nick AndersonMagic+9.6 23.4 last 10 · 13.8 season
Elliot PerryBucks+7.8 14.6 last 10 · 6.8 season
Bryant ReevesGrizzlies+7.3 22.7 last 10 · 15.4 season
Cedric CeballosMavs+6.5 18.2 last 10 · 11.7 season
Derek FisherLakers+5.5 11.2 last 10 · 5.7 season
Cold
Rony SeikalyNets−7.5 7.0 last 10 · 14.5 season
Brent BarryHeat−7.3 4.7 last 10 · 12.0 season
Kobe BryantLakers−7.0 8.8 last 10 · 15.8 season
Dennis ScottSuns−6.6 5.3 last 10 · 11.9 season
Olden PolyniceKings−5.8 2.5 last 10 · 8.3 season