Trailing by as many as 21, the Wolves roared back to beat the Bulls on the road.
The first quarter of this game felt like the low point. All of the Wolves flaws were on display on national television, and it was ugly. Their interior defense was toothless, their ball-handling sloppy, and their shot selection abysmal. Six minutes in, the Wolves trailed 26-6, and looked like the worst team in the league.
Career highs in points and assists from Payton led the Magic’s monster offensive performance on the road.
It’s unclear when the Magic’s defense is going to return to the standard they established in recent weeks, but for now they’re relying on their offense to carry them, and it’s never looked better. Thanks to Elfrid Payton’s outstanding performance off the bench, scoring 26 and dishing 14 assists, both career highs, as well as big scoring nights from Serge Ibaka (29) and Evan Fournier (23), the Magic were able to win a shootout in Atlanta, 131-120.
The Pelicans just didn’t have enough firepower on the court.
In a game where the Clippers were rested and hosting one of the league’s worst teams, and the Pelicans were playing without both Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, there isn’t much that the home team could do to exceed expectations.
Kyrie Irving didn’t play, but that was hardly a problem for the Cavs
The Cleveland Cavaliers are now 18-5. They are the NBA champs. There are some soft spots in the armor, perhaps, but this is a very good team. A year ago at this time, Kyrie Irving was coming back from a devastating knee injury. Many had expected Kevin Love to assert himself in Irving’s absence, show the multi-faceted offensive game that made him a superstar in Minnesota.
The Spurs set multiple season highs in a drubbing of the Brooklyn Nets.
Over the last eight games, the Spurs have been the league’s worst scoring team in the first quarter. Apparently they got that message, because they started significantly better against the Nets, leading 20-17 while shooting 60% of their shots by the 5:15 mark. The hot shooting continued, and the result was a 41-26 lead at the end of the quarter, led by Kawhi Leonard’s 9 points and 4 rebounds.
In a game with its share of groans, the Clippers break the law and get a hard fought victory.
Man, this game.
This game was absolutely loaded. It was mostly an offensive display from both teams aside from a nice defensive effort from Portland during a chunk of the second quarter, but it was quite a show to watch.
It's the second night of a back-to-back for both teams.
One night after squeaking by the Thunder in Oklahoma City, the Rockets return home to battle the cross-state rival Dallas Mavericks tonight in Houston. The Rockets could certainly have tired legs after the hard-fought match with the Thunder, but the Mavs are also on the second game of a back-to-back, so no excuses.
Houston wins its seventh straight behind Harden’s near triple-double
After losing to Brooklyn in both meetings last year, the Rockets put their losses behind them and beat the Nets 122-118.
Houston was leading most of the way, thanks to a strong 29-point first quarter. The Rockets were up 10 at halftime and were leading by 15 at one point, but the Nets hung in there and claimed a lead with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, the Rockets were able to edge out a win from six Eric Gordon points in the final two minutes and great defensive plays from Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley.
Miami kept it interesting, but the Bulls outmatched them
After a nerve-filled win in his first trip back to Miami this season, Dwyane Wade led the Bulls to a 105-100 victory in his first career home game against the Heat. He finished with 28 points (on 11 of 24 shooting), three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in another tightly contested matchup with his former franchise.
