Dallas Mavericks at Washington Wizards 109-87
Dallas rolled up without Kristaps Porzingis to face the Bradley Beal-less Wizards, and won on the second night of their back-to-back.
Luka Doncic, for the Mavs, came close to a triple-double with 26 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. He also had one steal to go along with that and shot 50% from the field. Overall, it was a very balanced scoring effort from the Mavs who had six players (including Doncic) in double figures. Jalen Brunson had another solid game with 19 points, three assists, and two steals.
On the other side of the court, Russell Westbrook was five assists short of a triple-double (26 points, 14 rebounds), while backup point guard, Raul Neto, also had an impressive game in which he scored 16 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out two assists. Robin Lopez also reached double figures with 18 points, while also having four rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat 101-115
The Heat appear to have started rolling at the right time to start climbing the ranks in the East. Last night, they added another win against the Cavs.
In a game for the Cavs where Darius Garland got ejected, we saw him score 12 points, have eight assists and two steals while his running mate, Collin Sexton, scored 26 points, grabbed three rebounds, dimed up his teammates three times while also having three steals on the back of 64.7% shooting from the field. Kevin Love, who thankfully stayed on the court this game, recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Isaac Okoro scored 17 points with three rebounds, a steal, and a block.
For the Heat, Jimmy Butler poured in 15 points with 11 dimes and six rebounds, while Bam Adebayo also had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Sharpshooter Duncan Robinson also had a good game in which he sunk six threes, grabbed three rebounds, and had one steal. Trevor Ariza, Tyler Herro, Goran Dragic, and Nemanja Bjelica all also reached double figures in scoring.
New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons 125-81
The Knicks needed this win and came out of the gates scorching hot scoring 41 points in the first quarter on their way to an emphatic W.
Julius Randle, the first time NBA All-Star snapped out of his rut tonight and scored 29 points off the back of five triples, while also grabbing eight rebounds and racking up three assists. Reggie Bullock also had a great performance with 22 points and five rebounds, sinking six shots from beyond the arc. Elfrid Payton surprisingly had his best game of the season with 11 points, six rebounds, and nine assists as well as two steals. Obi Toppin also continued to show signs of life tonight, scoring eight points in 15 minutes of action while also grabbing two boards and having one dime.
A rough outing for the Pistons where we saw Jerami Grant score 16 and grab four boards with two assists while Mason Plumlee nearly hit a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Hamidou Diallo was one of the few bright spots as well with 14 points, three rebounds and an assist while Killian Hayes finally made his return. He went scoreless but hauled in five rebounds and dished out three assists.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Philadelphia 76ers 113-122
On the night when the Sixers got their MVP candidate, Joel Embiid, back he gets put on a poster by rival Karl-Anthony Towns. Ultimately, though, that did not mean much as the Sixers willed themselves to victory.
KAT had a marvelous game last night in which he scored 39 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out five assists, blocked one shot, and sunk four triples while shooting 47.8& from the field. Anthony Edwards scored 27 points, but did not do much else while Jordan McLaughlin almost had a double-double with 12 points and nine assists as well as six rebounds filling in for Ricky Rubio.
The returning Embiid played 28 minutes and scored 24 points and hauled in eight rebounds while blocking three shots. Ben Simmons had 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Tobias Harris had a team-high 32 points and also grabbed five rebounds with a steal and a block to go along as well.
Indiana Pacers at San Antonio Spurs 139-133
The Pacers pulled off an impressive win without Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon in overtime against the Spurs in San Antonio.
For the Pacers, Caris LeVert scored 26 and dished out nine dimes while also stealing the balls three times. Myles Turner also had a solid outing with four blocks, seven rebounds, and 18 points. TJ McConnell in 34 minutes put up 18 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists as he continues to impress.
The Spurs got 25 points and six dimes from DeMar DeRozan and a 20/10 double-double from Keldon Johnson while Dejounte Murray scored 20, grabbed five rebounds, and had five assists with three steals as well.
Orlando Magic at Utah Jazz 91-137
The Jazz picked up a pretty routine win in a blowout over the Orlando Magic last night.
Six people scored in double digits for the Magic in this game. Wendell Carter Jr. posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while RJ Hampton flirted with a double-double at 12 points and eight rebounds. He also had two assists, a steal, and a block. Chuma Okeke had another solid outing with 16 points, five boards, and a steal as well as a block.
The Jazz did not need anyone to come out first gear. Donovan Mitchell only played 21 minutes and scored 22 and got three steals while sinking six triples. Rudy Gobert also played 20 minutes and put up 11 points and six boards while both Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points. Jordan Clarkson was also noteworthy with 15 points and nine dimes.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Portland Trailblazers 85-133
Another blowout win last night in the NBA. In this one, Dame and the Blazers put a beating on the OKC Thunder.
Moses Brown for the Thunder posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while Tony Bradley had a 14/8/2/1/1 stat line. A good night for the bigs of OKC. Aleksej Pokusevski had a mediocre night with eight points, four assists, and a steal while Kenrich Williams scored 18 and grabbed five rebounds.
Damian Lillard only scored 16 and this was still a blowout. Crazy! A very balanced effort from the Blazers last night when CJ McCollum scored 20 and grabbed four rebounds with four dimes. Jusuf Nurkic had nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in just 17 minutes of action. Backup center Enes Kanter had an excellent game with an impressive 17 rebounds and 12 points with four assists and a steal.
Milwaukee Bucks at Sacramento Kings 129-128
The Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks narrowly escaped with a victory out of Sacramento.
In the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday stepped up with 33 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high 11 assists. Brook Lopez also had an impressive scoring night with 26 points on the back of two triples. Khris Middleton also contributed with 16 points, two steals, and five assists.
For the Kings, Rookie of the Year candidate, Tyrese Haliburton scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, and racked up 11 assists. De’Aaron Fox poured in 27 points, stole the ball once, and dished out six dimes while shooting 41.7% from the field. Newly acquired Terence Davis also exploded for 27 points while Harrison Barnes stuffed the stat sheet with four steals, nine points, three assists, and four rebounds.
