With his team in a shooting slump to start the season and 3 of 21 from 3-point range during the first half Monday night, Los Angeles Clippers coach Ty Lue kept his message simple at halftime.
“There was nowhere to go but up,” he said.
Even though the Clippers faced a nine-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, they found their shooting touch just in time and were able to rally for a 99-94 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Boston Celtics (2-5, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Orlando Magic (2-6, 13th in the Eastern Conference)
Orlando, Florida; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT
The Orlando Magic host the Boston Celtics.
Orlando finished 13-29 in Eastern Conference action and 11-25 at home during the 2020-21 season. The Magic allowed opponents to score 113.3 points per game and shoot 47.1% from the field last season.
LaMelo Ball had 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 13 of his 26 points in the decisive fourth quarter and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 125-113 on Sunday night.
Miles Bridges added 19 points and a career-high nine assists, and P.J. Washington had 17 points to help give coach James Borrego his 100th career victory.
Charlotte finished 20 of 42 from 3-point range.
Denver Nuggets (4-3, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (4-3, fifth in the Western Conference)
Memphis, Tennessee; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EDT
The Memphis Grizzlies host the Denver Nuggets.
Memphis went 38-34 overall and 19-23 in Western Conference action last season. The Grizzlies averaged 26.9 assists per game on 42.8 made field goals last season.
Donovan Mitchell helped the Utah Jazz bounce back from their first loss of the season.
Mitchell scored 28 points and the Jazz beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 107-95 on Sunday to hand the defending NBA champions their third straight loss.
Both teams were playing for the second straight night, as the Bucks fell 102-93 to San Antonio and the Jazz lost 107-99 at Chicago. Utah was undefeated before that trip to Chicago.
Atlanta Hawks (4-3, ninth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Brooklyn Nets (4-3, eighth in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
The Brooklyn Nets host the Atlanta Hawks.
Brooklyn went 48-24 overall and 26-16 in Eastern Conference action last season. The Nets averaged 118.6 points per game while allowing opponents to score 114.1 last season.
James Harden had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists to power the Brooklyn Nets to a 117-91 rout of the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.
Harden is Brooklyn’s all-time leader with 13 triple-doubles, and joined Larry Bird for second on the NBA’s all-time list with 59.
“James was great,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said.
Portland Trail Blazers (3-4, ninth in the Western Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (4-4, 10th in the Eastern Conference)
Cleveland; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDTPortland will try to stop its three-game road slide when the Trail Blazers visit Cleveland.
Cleveland finished 21-50 overall last season while going 13-23 at home. The Cavaliers averaged 103.8 points per game last season, 51.0 in the paint, 16.3 off of turnovers and 11.2 on fast breaks.
LeBron James will miss the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night because of a sore right ankle.
James was injured Sunday night in a victory over Memphis and missed the Lakers’ 125-121 overtime win at San Antonio on Tuesday night.
