PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
26 | 11 | 6 | 8/21 | 4/9 | 6/8 | 1 | 1 |
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the charge as the Boston Celtics got the win over the Detroit Pistons, 113-104. Fitting that it came over Detroit considering Boston has won 11 of their last 12 games with that lone loss coming against the Pistons. Brown led the team with 27 points while Tatum added 26 points and 11 rebounds. Sneaky performance from the bench as well as Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard each played 26 minutes and combined for 32 points. Boston looks to continue their winning ways as they head to Indiana to take on Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers tonight.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
25 | 7 | 3 | 11/19 | 1/6 | 2/3 | 0 | 0 |
In spite of the loss, rookie Cade Cunningham came to play and held his own. Cunningham finished with a team-high 25 points while shooting 11-of-19 from the floor. Detroit finished with five guys scoring in double figures including Marvin Bagley who had 14 off the bench. Quiet night for Jerami Grant who finished with 11 points despite a rough shooting night going 3-of-15 from the floor. This loss snapped the Pistons’ two game winning streak as they look to bounce back tonight as they host LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
36 | 7 | 4 | 14/21 | 0/0 | 8/12 | 2 | 3 |
Bam Adebayo spoils his former Olympics coach’s big night by dropping a season-high 36 points as the Miami Heat took down the San Antonio Spurs, 133-129. At one point the Heat were down by as much as 16 but they clawed back with help from Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. Butler scored 27 points in 30 minutes but did not play in the fourth quarter due to soreness. Herro came off the bench and added 27 points to help close the deal. With this win, the Heat improved to 40-21, the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Keita Bates-Diop
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
22 | 11 | 3 | 9/10 | 3/3 | 1/2 | 1 | 0 |
Gregg Popovich will have to wait at least one more game before he can supplant his old boss Don Nelson in the winning column. Popovich is tied with Nelson with 1,334 regular season wins and fell just short of taking the lead last night. In terms of his team’s performance, you could tell that his team wanted it for him. Six guys finished in double figures including Keita Bates-Diop, Devin Vassell, and Lonnie Walker who each had 22 points each. Tre Jones stepped up big in the absence of Dejounte Murray (out with knee contusion) and dropped 19 points, six rebounds and 11 assists before fouling out. Popovich and the Spurs continue their quest for this illustrious record-breaking win with another tough test ahead as they go on the road to take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
41 | 4 | 11 | 17/24 | 1/4 | 6/6 | 1 | 1 |
Trae Young returned to All-Star form by scoring 41 points along with 11 assists to lead the Hawks to a blowout victory over the Toronto Raptors, 127-100. This was a big bounce back game for Young who was only 3-of-17 in his last outing against the Chicago Bulls and finished this game going 17-of-24. This game was decided in the third quarter where Atlanta outscored Toronto 38 to 16. Four other players finished in double figures for the Hawks including young big-man Onyeka Okongwu, who scored 17 points with seven rebounds on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He also had a steal and three blocks with all of this coming in just 27 minutes off the bench. The Hawks look to make a strong push for the playoffs with a strong five-game Eastern Conference run ahead of them that includes the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Milwaukee Bucks.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
24 | 3 | 9 | 8/22 | 5/14 | 3/3 | 1 | 0 |
The Raptors entered this game with news that they would be without OG Anunoby due to a fracture in his right hand and that hurt them big time. Fred VanVleet led the team with 24 points and nine assists while Precious Achiuwa added 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Pascal Siakam finished with a quiet 14 points and ten rebounds while shooting 6-of-16 from the field. The quietest of all may have been Gary Trent Jr. who finished with only nine points while shooting 3-of-10 from the field. This loss is their second in a row, both coming on the road, and they have yet another road game ahead as they face the Brooklyn Nets in the first of back-to-back against them.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
18 | 14 | 0 | 7/8 | 0/0 | 4/4 | 3 | 0 |
No Darius Garland. No Rajon Rondo. No Caris LeVert. No problem as Jarrett Allen and the Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Washington Wizards to secure the 92-86 victory. Allen finished the game with 18 points, 14 rebounds and three steals while shooting nearly perfect all night. Lauri Markkanen led the team with 23 points while knocking down six threes. Cleveland also got big performances from Evan Mobley and Cedi Osman. Mobley finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks on the night. Osman came off the bench and scored 19 points in 28 minutes on the floor. This win snapped the Cavaliers’ three-game losing streak and now they look ahead as they host Karl Anthony-Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
34 | 13 | 2 | 13/22 | 8/11 | 0/0 | 1 | 2 |
Kyle Kuzma did everything he could in this game to try and lead his team to victory, but it just wasn’t enough. Kuzma finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds while knocking down a career-high eight threes. Unfortunately, Washington was held scoreless for nearly five and half minutes late in the game. Then even with Kuzma pulling the game to within one point with 1:11 left, Washington went on to miss their last four shots. The only other real contributor for the Wizards in this one was Daniel Gafford, who had 14 points and seven rebounds while shooting 7-of-9 from the field. This makes back-to-back heartbreaking losses for the Wizards and also was their third loss in their last four games. Washington hopes to get that first post All-Star break win soon as next up they host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
46 | 4 | 3 | 15/28 | 3/4 | 13/15 | 1 | 0 |
Ja Morant scored a career-high 46 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies over DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls, 116-110. 46 points for Morant also broke the franchise’s regular season record for points in a game. This game initially looked like a blowout as the Grizzlies were up by as much as 17 but in the fourth quarter, the Bulls battled back to within one point. One of the other biggest contributors for Memphis to hold off Chicago’s surge was Steven Adams, who finished the game with 12 points, 21 rebounds, five assists and two big blocks. His activity on the boards was huge especially with Jaren Jackson Jr. having a quiet night offensively with only eight points and four rebounds. Nonetheless, this was the Ja Morant show and he pulled out all the tricks in his bag to help his team get the win. This win snaps the Grizzlies’ two-game losing streak as they look to maintain their third-place spot in the Western Conference standings.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
31 | 7 | 3 | 10/29 | 2/2 | 9/10 | 2 | 1 |
The streak is officially broken. The Grizzlies defense did allow DeMar DeRozan to score 31 points (most of them coming in the fourth quarter), but he was held to only 10-of-29 (34.4%) from the floor. So, the streak of 35+ points on 50% shooting or better is over and in the process DeRozan even got ejected with his second technical foul in the closing moments of this game. Nonetheless, it was his fellow All-Star teammate Zach Lavine who helped keep this game close in the early going as he finished with 28 points while going 7-of-7 from the free throw line and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Coby White also had a strong night with 15 points off the bench. This loss snaps Chicago’s six-game winning streak as they look ahead to Monday where they will be taking on the Miami Heat in a battle for first place in the East.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
38 | 5 | 5 | 14/26 | 2/6 | 8/9 | 2 | 0 |
Brooklyn finally stopped the bleeding a bit on the back of a season-high 38 points from Kyrie Irving as the Nets held off the Milwaukee Bucks, 126-123. Irving may have led the charge, but this was an all-around team win. Seth Curry scored 19 points. Andre Drummond finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Even Bruce Brown and LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in as they combined for 26 points. Most importantly, it was Brown who knocked down a three-pointer to put the Nets ahead 118-116 with 1:38 left to play. This win was crucial for the Nets as they snapped a two-game losing streak and got what was only their third win in their last 15 games. Next up, Brooklyn hosts the Toronto Raptors in a game where they won’t be so lucky in regard to relying on Kyrie Irving.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
29 | 14 | 6 | 8/20 | 1/6 | 12/16 | 1 | 0 |
Monster performances by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, but the Bucks just came up short. Antetokounmpo finished the night with 29 points and 14 rebounds while actually having the opportunity to tie the game with a three in the final 2.1 seconds, but the attempt bounced off the rim. Portis channeled his inner Stephen Curry as he led the team with 30 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 11-of-18 from the field with eight threes. Rounding out the Bucks’ Big 3, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday combined for 45 points and each had seven assists apiece. This is their second straight loss at home to potential Eastern Conference contenders and they have the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat coming to town to close out their six-game home stand.
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
18 | 10 | 11 | 6/16 | 0/5 | 6/8 | 0 | 0 |
Nikola Jokic finished with a triple-double to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Sacramento Kings, 115-110. This triple-double was Jokic’s 16th of the season and the 73rd of his career. It was actually his tenth rebound in the final 19 seconds of the game that helped secure the win. That and of course Monte Morris knocking down a tiebreaking three not even ten seconds earlier. Morris finished the night with 21 points while Aaron Gordon also had a big night adding 23 points and nine rebounds. This was Denver’s second time beating the Kings in three nights. The Nuggets now look ahead to a new opponent as they take on the Portland Trail Blazers tonight.
De’Aaron Fox
PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
26 | 5 | 10 | 10/19 | 1/5 | 5/5 | 0 | 1 |
Tough loss for the Kings despite De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes combining for 50 points on the night. They also got a solid night from Domantas Sabonis who battled all night with Nikola Jokic as he finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. Sacramento continues to slide as they have lost their last four games and next up on the schedule they have the Oklahoma City Thunder.