NBA Valentine's Day Massacres: 4 Blowouts From Past 5 Seasons
Valentine’s Day is not all sunshine and roses for every team in the NBA. While some savor champagne after the final buzzer, others leave the court with nothing but a bad taste in their mouth not even the richest of chocolates can cure. The past half-decade has seen a handful of teams experience a huge heartbreak on this calendar date. Let’s look back at the biggest beatdown from each of the past four times the league had games on February 14.
2022 – Houston Rockets 101 @ Utah Jazz 135 – 34-point Margin
The Utah Jazz scored the night’s biggest blowout with a nine-game slate that saw seven decided by double-digits and three teams lose by more than 24. Houston came into Vivint Arena with a 15-40 record but did have a win there less than a month earlier. Well, hell hath no fury like a hometeam scorned as the Jazz poured it on en route to a 34-point victory. Utah went above and beyond the -15.5-point spread for the easy cover.
Donovan Mitchell torched the Rockets for a game-high 30 points to extend Utah’s win streak to six while handing Houston a fifth straight loss and defeats in nine of 10.
2021 – Orlando Magic 90 @ Phoenix Suns 109 – 29-point Margin
While Valentine’s Day is usually around the trade deadline and/or All-Star break, the NBA was only seven weeks into its 72-game season in 2021. With the COVID-19 pandemic pushing the 2020 NBA Finals to the Fall of the previous year, the league experienced the shortest offseason in its history. Even a third of the way in, it wasn’t hard to tell the Orlando Magic were not very good.
The Magic came into Phoenix to meet the Suns as +11.5-point road dogs, having already lost 17 games. Phoenix was one of the top teams in the West and would play for the NBA title a few months later.
On this night, as is the case many a night, Devin Booker led the way with a game-high 27-points, while Chris Paul dished out nine assists and DeAndre Ayton grabbed 13 boards. The 29-point deficit was the biggest on the night, with five other games decided by double-digits.
2020 – NBA All-Star Break
Having no regular season games on Valentine’s Day was just a tiny heartbreaker compared to what was on the horizon for NBA fans and the entire world. Less than a month later, the season would be canceled after center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.
2019 – Charlotte Hornets 89 @ Orlando Magic 127 – 38-point Margin
A quiet three-game schedule in 2019 produced the most one-sided affair on our list as the Orlando Magic surprisingly dropped nearly 130 on the Charlotte Hornets. Orlando came in as -4-point home favorites in what should have been a closely contested matchup of two sub-.500 teams.
The Magic came in hot, though, as winners of six of seven, while Charlotte had beaten Orlando in 13 previous straight meetings.
Charlotte shot bricks from the onset, missing all 17 attempts from beyond the arc while putting up just 36 points by halftime. Conversely, Orlando shot 54 percent from the floor and 47 from deep to build a 35-point lead after 24 minutes.
With the game all but over by half, Orlando had the luxury of spreading it around as six players scored in double-figures once all was said and done.
If you teased Orlando to -37.5, good on you because no one could have predicted this Valentine’s Day massacre.
2018 – Toronto Raptors 122 @ Chicago Bulls 98 – 34-point Margin
The Toronto Raptors got the final rose out of a dozen games back on February 14, 2018. Toronto is the only road team on our list to get the biggest victory on Love Day.
The Dinos turned things around in the second quarter after falling behind by six at the United Center following the opening frame. Pascal Siakam led the charge with eight of the Raptors’ 34 second-quarter points. At the same time, Chicago went ice cold and shot just 25 percent from the field in the Q.
A double-digit advantage at the break ballooned in the second half as the Raptors completed the season sweep of Chicago, comfortably covering the -7-point spread.
Will 2023 Provide a Valentine’s Day Massacre?
With a five-game block of games tonight, the largest spread stands between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s hard to believe the team with the league’s best record (41-16) could become this year’s addition to this list, but the banged-up Celtics will be in tough as near double-digit dogs in Milwaukee.
Without top Celts Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, the second-place Bucks are -9.5-point home favorites over Boston.
The LA Clippers are the next biggest favorite on tonight’s board, with a -7.5-point spread to cover against the visiting Golden State Warriors, while the Toronto Raptors are a -7-point home favorite versus the Orlando Magic.
Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
