Toronto Raptors at New York Knicks 103-120
The New York Knickerbockers are absolutely streaking! They now have nine consecutive wins following the rout against the Raptors yesterday at MSG.
First for the Raps yesterday, Fred VanVleet had an exceptional night, scoring 27 points and dishing out 11 assists while OG Anunoby also contributed with 27 points while grabbing five boards and also stealing the ball twice. Pascal Siakam also had a pretty good game in which he put up 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists with a steal. Kyle Lowry, however, had an underwhelming game shooting 10% from the field and going 0-8 from beyond the arc. An obvious anomaly for a player of his caliber.
Julius Randle continued his Most Improved Player as well his All-NBA case dare I say yesterday. He scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while shooting 5-7 from beyond the arc! RJ Barrett also had a great game posting a 25/12 double-double while also dishing out four assists. Reggie Bullock continued his three-point party knocking down three more. Nerlens Noel only had one point but showed his worth on defense by swatting four shots and getting two steals while also hauling in five rebounds.
Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks 94-132
A routine win here for Giannis and the Bucks against a 76ers team that was without their two best players in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Actually, a routine blowout may I say.
For the Embiid and Simmons-less Sixers, they needed Tobias Harris to step up, but he only provided nine points on 40% shooting while also grabbing nine rebounds and two assists as well as a steal. Shake Milton scored 15 points and had three assists off the bench while Dwight Howard posted a 12 point and 12 rebound double-double.
In just 23 minutes of action, the two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo had a near triple-double with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists while also having two steals. Bobby Portis was also impressive with 17 points and eight boards while Jrue Holiday had an excellent defensive game stealing the ball four times and also diming up his teammates five times. Khris Middleton did not do much in nearly 20 minutes of game time as he finished with only four points, two rebounds, and an assist.
Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers 109-115
The Pacers continued their battle to stay in playoff contention with a home victory against the Detroit Pistons.
Mason Plumlee had the most eye-catching game and stat line of the night. He scored 17 points, dished out five assists, and hauled in a game-high and season-high 21 rebounds. Jerami Grant also had a great outing with 25 points, five rebounds, and four assists while Saddiq Bey flirted with a double-double but fell two points short after grabbing 10 boards and having two assists.
For the Pacers, Malcolm Brogdon led the charge with 26 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a block on 42.9% shooting. Caris LeVert poured in 25 points and had two steals and seven rebounds, while Oshae Brissett continued to fill in due to all the injuries in the frontcourt by racking up 11 rebounds to go with 11 points. TJ McConnell had another impressive game as well with 13 assists and five steals. Edmond Sumner also had one of his best games scoring 22 points, dishing out two assists, and getting one steal.
San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans 110-108
The Spurs picked up a very important victory last night in New Orleans against a struggling Pelicans team who continue to stay at the 11th seed in the Western Conference.
DeMar DeRozan had himself a night for the Spurs scoring 32 points, grabbing seven rebounds, eight assists, and a steal. Derrick White continued his excellent run of play with 22 points, two steals, one block, and five rebounds, while Keldon Johnson had a near double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Dejounte Murray also had another outing where he did a little bit of everything this time scoring 11 points, grabbing seven rebounds, getting five dimes, and stealing the ball three times.
For the Pelicans, Zion Williamson had yet again another incredible performance. Zion has been absolutely magnificent this season and has shown out every night. Last night he scored 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds on 56.5% efficiency. Brandon Ingram contributed with 24 points, six rebounds, and six assists while point guard Lonzo Ball scored 24 points, stole the ball twice, and dimed up his teammates four times. Steven Adams also had a nice night on the boards grabbing 10 of them to go along with his four points and three steals.
Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat 101-106
The spire of the Chicago Bulls continues. This time they got an L from Jimmy and the Miami Heat.
Nikola Vucevic at least continues to impress for Chicago. In this game, he scored 26 points and had 14 rebounds as well as six assists on 61.1% efficiency. Coby White also had a night to remember, at least for him, with 31 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. The rest was pretty much a balanced contribution from these Bulls as seen through Daniel Theis’s nine points and six rebounds and Lauri Markkanen’s nine points and five rebounds.
For the victorious Heat, we saw Jimmy Butler put up 20 points, eight assists, and a game-high four steals. Big man Bam Adebayo did his thing having a 20/10 game while Duncan Robinson scored 23 points off the back of seven triples. Kendrick Nunn also broke 20 points, putting up 22 and also grabbing five rebounds.
Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks 93-108
Luka and the Mavs without Kristaps Porzingis routed the Lakers without LeBron last night to propel them into the 6th seed in the West.
To start off with the boys from LA, Dennis Schroder posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 assists to go with a steal and four rebounds. Andre Drummond dominated the glass with 12 rebounds, while Kyle Kuzma scored 14 points and stole the ball twice. Ben McLemore had the highest point tally, though for the Lakers with 20 off the back of six triples and 58.3& shooting,
Luka Doncic didn’t have his best scoring night as he only put up 18 but he did pull the strings shown in his 13 assists. Dwight Powell had a team-high of 25 points that went along with nine rebounds and an assist. Dorian Finney-Smith also had an impressive outing with 21 points and seven rebounds on 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Utah Jazz 101-96
Would you look at that? The T-Wolves won a game of basketball. And against one of the best teams in the league, the Jazz!
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way for the Wolves with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while rookie Anthony Edwards scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and stole the ball a game-high five steals! D’Angelo Russell also contributed with 23 points, three rebounds, and two steals.
For the Jazz, Bojan Bogdanovic did the backpacking with 30 points to go along with four rebounds and a steal. Rudy Gobert nearly grabbed 20 rebounds but fell three short and Joe Ingles was the maestro dishing out seven assists to go along with his underwhelming three points.
Houston Rockets at Denver Nuggets 116-129
The Denver Nuggets closed out the night with a pretty straightforward win against a Rockets side that was without John Wall and Christian Wood.
The Rockets had six players that scored 14 points or more. Specifically, and surprisingly, I guess, DJ Wilson scored the team-high 25 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had three steals. Kelly Olynyk was out there playing point forward and racked up 11 assists while Anthony Lamb, a two-way contract player, played 30 minutes, scored 21 points, and shot 57.1% from the field. Kenyon Martin Jr. also contributed with 18 points, three steals, and four rebounds.
For the Nuggets, MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic posted a near triple-double with 24 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists with a steal and a block. Michael Porter Jr. though had the eye-catching 39 points to go with six rebounds, while Facundo Campazzo showed off his passing on his way to 13 assists while also stealing the ball three times. PJ Dozier also had a solid outing with 23 points, seven rebounds, two steals as well as two blocks!
