The Jazz came out slow tonight and fell to an early double-digit deficit as Giannis Antetokounmposcored at will nearly every time down the court. He bullied Rudy Gobert in the paint (with a few favorable no-calls and more than a little leeway on a few clear-outs with his shoulder or forearm). Gobert was frustrated, it affected his play, and tonight ended as arguably his worst game of the season (a team worst -36 tonight).
In a rocking arena in Toronto, the Blazers and Raptors played a wild game that went down to the final seconds. But in the end, Portland came up short 119-117 (Box score), falling to 4-1 on their ongoing 7-game road trip. Here were a few key details from the game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder put a scare into the Denver Nuggets with a strong fourth quarter spurt, but the Nuggets pulled away late to go to 3-0 on the season against the Thunder with a 121-112 victory. Nikola Jokic just missed a triple double with 36 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds, and both Jamal Murray and Will Barton scored 20+ points with crucial buckets across all four quarters. Denver built an 18 point lead at one point but - reminiscent of times last year - fumbled it away in the fourth.
Adam Silver thought it was obvious. Forty-year-old Dirk Nowitzki is playing his 21st NBA season for the Dallas Mavericks, and he has looked like someone who’s spent two decades playing this rigorous sport. It’s the reason why the NBA commissioner made both Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade special roster additions to the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.
It was a battle of two banged up teams in Chicago, but the Bucks, featuring debuts by Isaiah Canaanand Bonzie Colson, secure a road victory and a season series sweep.
Not that it looked like it’d be easy right out of the gates. Milwaukee seemed unable to match Chicago’s energy and keep the likes of Zach LaVine contained on numerous possessions. The Bulls would put up 38 points in the first, but the Bucks charged right back with 38 of their own in the second quarter on the way to a 63-54 lead at the half.
It looked as if the Houston Rockets were going to suffer another one of those disheartening losses to an under .500 team. It was the second half, they were down double digits, and the defense couldn’t stop a thing.
The Denver Nuggets opened their four game homestand with an afternoon game against the Los Angeles Clippers. The lazy nature of a Sunday afternoon fit the mood of the game which was often times sloppy, overly officiated and quickly became lopsided. Luckily for the Nuggets, it was lopsided in their way. They get big performances from Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic and never really leave the game in doubt. The Nuggets win going away 123-96
It took an extra five minutes, but the Milwaukee Bucks prevailed with their ninth straight road win with a 141-140 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out the last game against the Bulls with knee soreness was pretty quiet tonight by his standards. In what appeared to be a load management game, he finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in 24 minutes.
Paul George is averaging 38.9 points per game during the month
Paul George hit a running, high-arcing shot in the final second to cap one of the most incredible NBA games of the season, a 148-147, double-overtime win for the Thunder over the Jazz on Friday night in Oklahoma City.
