We had an unusual night in Milwaukee, which was defeated by Charlotte in a record-breaking game. Brooklyn recovered from the loss to Chicago at the expense of New Orleans, Nikola Jokic recorded a triple double in Denver’s victory over Cleveland and Chicago, New York, Minnesota, Indiana and San Antonio also won. Next: Phoenix – Miami and Los Angeles Lakers – Atlanta.
Milwaukee (14:25) – Charlotte (29:11) 138:109
The Hornets scored 51 points in the first quarter (compared to the Bucks’ 28), tying the NBA record for a quarter set by Golden State against Denver in 2019 and setting their own club record in any quarter. It was also an unusual game for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who posted a season-high with just nine points in 22 minutes on 2-for-7 shooting from the field and 5-for-11 from the free throw line. Except for this game, the star only scored in double figures and until tonight his negative season high of points was 16.
After the promising advantage at the end of the first quarter, Charlotte pressed the pedal on the way to 60:84 at the half with 14 of 30 for three. Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 39 points, LaMlo Ball (12 assists) added 24 points, P.J. Washington 23 and Mason Plumlee 17, 15 rebounds and six assists. AJ Green scored 13 points for Milwaukee, 12 were for Jaro Holiday and Grayson Allen.
New Orleans (15:24) – Brooklyn (13:26) 108:102
Kyrie Irving hit an important 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to give the Nets a 100-106 lead en route to a victory in what was only the Pelicans’ fifth home loss of the season. Kevin Durant (10 rebounds) led Brooklyn with 33 points, Irving finished with 19, T.J. Warren came off the bench to score 15 and Royce O’Neal finished with 14. C.J. McCollum stood out in New Orleans with 28 points, 23 were for Naji Marshall.
Denver (13:26) – Cleveland (15:25) 108:121
The Cubs were stopped at the end of three consecutive victories in a game where the Nuggets already led by 17 points. As usual, Jokic was in the center of things with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, Jamal Murray added 18 points, Michael Porter Jr. 16, Kantebius Caldwell Pope 14, Bones Hyland and Bruce Brown 13 each and Aaron Gordon 12 along with 10 rebounds. Caris Levert led Cleveland without Donovan Mitchell with 22 points, Darius Garland had 21.
Philadelphia (15:23) – Chicago (21:18) 126:112
Zach Levine hit 11 3-pointers on 13 shots en route to 41 points that swept the Bulls and snapped the Sixers’ 11-game home streak. Nikola Vucevic (19 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists) helped him with a triple double, Patrick Williams scored 18 points and DeMar DeRozan 12. Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 26 points, Tobias Harris (11 rebounds) added 22 and James Harden finished 4 of 17 from the field on his way to 17 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Toronto (23:16) – New York (18:22) 112:108
The Knicks recorded their first win in Canada since 2015 and extended their winning streak to four. Julius Randle led New York with 32 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Branson added 26 and eight assists. For the Raptors, these were mainly Fred VanVleet with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Gary Trent Jr. who scored 27 points.
Minnesota (21:19) – Los Angeles Clippers (20:21) 115:128
The Timberwolves had to make do without Anthony Edwards in the final quarter after he was injured in the third and didn’t return, but that was nothing compared to the Clippers missing Paul George and Dewy Leonard. Rudy Gober (21 rebounds) and DeAngelo Russell scored 25 points each for Minnesota, Jayden McDaniels added 18. Norman Powell scored 21 points on the other hand.
Indiana (18:22) – Portland (19:19) 99:108
The Pacers celebrated with the help of Tyrese Halliburton (12 assists) who scored seven of his last 15 points in the last six minutes. Ben Mathurin scored 19 points for the winners, Myles Turner added 17, Isaiah Jackson 12 and Buddy Hield 11. Anferni Simmons led the scoring list for Portland with 20 points, Damian Lillard (eight assists) added 19, Jeremy Grant 15 And Yusuf Nurkic 14 along with 19 rebounds.
San Antonio (26:13) – Detroit (31:11) 109:121
The Spurs snapped a three-game losing streak even though Devin Vassell didn’t play and Keldon Johnson didn’t return to play after being injured near the end of the first half. Tara Jones scored 25 points, Romeo Langford added 15 and Malachi Burnham 14. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 21 points, Jayden Ivey added 20 and Killian Hayes 18.
Final Stats
Tre: 25p | 3r | 3a | 2s
Romeo: 15p | 2r
Malaki: 14p | 3a | 2r
Jack: 11 p 16r | 7a | 3b | 2s
Jeremy: 10p | 8r | 2a
J Rich: 9p | 5a | 2r
Stanley: 9p | 4r |2a
Zach: 9p | 4r | 2a
Doug: 9p | 3r
KJ: 8p pic.twitter.com/glQ0gDCCmB— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 7, 2023