Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers 115-127
The Lakers held down the fort against a very depleted Utah Jazz team that was without Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to name a few.
The Jazz needed contributions from their role players and bench mob and some did step up. Jordan Clarkson, Sixth Man of The Year candidate, scored 27 points off the back of five triples while also getting five rebounds, dishing out four dimes, and stealing the ball once. Joe Ingles had an impressive outing with a double-double of 20 points and 14 assists while also getting three steals. Ersan Ilyasova took advantage of all the minutes tonight and scored 20 points with six threes while also hauling in five boards and stealing the ball an impressive four times.
The Lakers had three players score 25 or more points. Andre Drummond flirted with a double-double of 27/8 while also stealing the ball twice and getting three dimes. Dennis Schroder had an excellent game scoring 27 points, handing out eight assists, and grabbing six rebounds, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 on 44.4% efficiency and also had five rebounds and two steals.
Detroit Pistons at Washington Wizards 100-121
The Washington Wizards continued their play-in tournament push last night with a home victory against the Detroit Pistons.
Isaiah Stewart continues to impress for the Pistons. Last night, the rookie had another double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while also racking up two blocks. Jerami Grant scored 14 and dished out four dimes in nearly 30 minutes of action while Mason Plumlee played only 16 minutes and scored just two points and grabbed seven rebounds. Frank Jackson also had a solid outing with 19 points and two rebounds on 61.5% shooting.
For the Wizards, we once again saw Russell Westbrook post a triple-double of 15 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists with two steals as well. Bradley Beal poured on 37 points, stole the ball twice, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out three assists. Robin Lopez reached double digits in scoring with 15 while also grabbing five rebounds as well, while Ish Smith scored 16 and dished out five dimes.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls 96-106
The Chicago Bulls picked up a much, much-needed win last night against the Cavs after their fall in the standings.
For the Cavaliers, Collin Sexton put up 22 points with five rebounds and two assists while Darius Garland had an excellent game with 22 points, 12 assists, a steal and also sank four triples. Jarrett Allen also put up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Love also had a 14/11 double-double while Larry Nance Jr. stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, four rebounds, six assists and a steal.
As for the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic scored 25 points and racked up seven rebounds to go with two steals and five dimes. Lauri Markkanen finally had a better than average game with 16 points and six rebounds and a steal while Patrick Williams scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds while also dishing out three assists to go along with a steal and a block. Coby White also had a near double-double with eight points and nine assists.
Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics 114-119
The Boston Celtics defeat the Golden State Warriors in a very fun game where Jayson Tatum and Steph Curry absolutely dueled it out to help their teams.
Steph Curry scored an insane 47 points on 55.6% shooting to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Andrew Wiggins also contributed with 22 points and two rebounds and a steal. Draymond Green once again did a bit of everything, scoring five points, grabbed five rebounds, and had 10 assists, a steal, and a block. Juan Toscano-Anderson deserves to be mentioned as well just because of that hustle play, which led to a Curry triple but made him head back to the locker room to get himself treated.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum had an incredible game in which he scored 44, grabbed 10 rebounds, stole the ball twice, and dished out three assists. Kemba Walker also picked up some slack in the absence of Jaylen Brown, scoring 26 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists as well as two steals. Marcus Smart had a solid game with 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Memphis Grizzlies at Milwaukee Bucks 128-115
The Memphis Grizzlies completed the shock of the night with an upset victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee.
It was an all hands on deck effort for the Grizzlies as they had six players in double digits. Grayson Allen had the team-high 26 points to go along with two steals and four rebounds. Dillon Brooks also scored 21 points on the back of 60% shooting while Slo-Mo Kyle Anderson did a triple eight, eight points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Jonas Valnciunas also had a standout game with a near double-double of 17 points and eight boards. Ja Morant once again disappointed with 13 points, six assists, and six rebounds on 31.2% efficiency.
For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and eight assists. Khris Middleton posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists while Jrue Holiday contributed with 17 points, seven assists, and two steals. Splash Mountain Brook Lopez also had a good night with 17 points off the back of four triple but alas, not enough for the Bucks in a losing effort.
San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns 111-85
The short-handed Spurs pulled off the second upset of last night with their victory over the Suns in Phoenix.
Six Spurs players scored double-digit points. Rudy Gay had the team-high 19 points. Rookie Devin Vassell also had a good scoring night with 18 points to go with three rebounds and two assists while Drew Eubanks put up a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds to go with two assists and two steals. Dejounte Murray also stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal as well as a block.
For the underwhelming Suns, nobody really stood out. Devin Booker scored 15 and stole the ball twice while also grabbing three rebounds. Deandre Ayton had a mere eight points but grabbed nine rebounds. Even Chris Paul was off his game with just six points and six assists. The surprise of the night for the Suns though was Jevon Carter, who scored a team-high 17 points to go along with rebounds and a steal. Overall, a night to forget for the Valley Boys.
