Tonight (between Thursday and Friday) the NBA league returned from the All-Star break with nine games, which provided quite a bit of drama, and as usual – also great individual performances.
Tonight’s results:
Cleveland (24:38) – Denver (18:42) 115:109
Indiana (35:26) – Boston (17:43) 142:138 (at the end of overtime)
Orlando (35:25) – Detroit (45:15) 106:108
Philadelphia (19:39) – Memphis (23:35) 105:110
Toronto (31:29) – New Orleans (30:30) 110:115
Dallas (29:31) – San Antonio (46:14) 116:142
Utah (31:30) – Oklahoma (30:28) 119:120 (at the end of overtime)
No. Lakers (32:28) – Golden State (30:29) 111:124
Sacramento (25:33) – Portland (31:28) 116:133
Cleveland (24:38) – Denver (18:42) 115:109
Nikola Jokic recorded his 13th triple-double in the last 16 games and his 22nd overall this season. The Nuggets are perfect every game it happens to be, and tonight was no different as they recorded their fourth straight win. The great Serbian center had 24 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, Michael Porter Jr. led the scoring with 25. Evan Mobley scored 31 and pulled down 9 rebounds which were not enough for the Cubs to prevent a second consecutive loss, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland contributed 22 points each.
Indiana (35:26) – Boston (17:43) 142:138 (at the end of overtime)
The scoreboard showed a 138-138 tie with 56 seconds left in overtime, but Jayson Tatum scored the game’s final 4 points and finished with 31 total, along with 12 rebounds and 7 assists, to spoil a career-high night for Myles Turner. The Indiana big man matched his personal best with 40 points, hit a career-high 8 three-pointers and also pulled down 10 rebounds, but the Pacers suffered their sixth loss in seven games. Jaylen Brown also excelled with 30 points and 11 rebounds, Malcolm Brogdon contributed 24 and 7 assists from the bench.
Orlando (35:25) – Detroit (45:15) 106:108
The battle between the two stragglers from the East ended with a winning basket on the buzzer-beater by Wendell Carter Jr., who corrected Paulo Bancro’s foul and sent the Pistons to count three consecutive losses. Franz Wagner led the Magic with 21 points, Carter Jr. added 14 and 14 rebounds. 25 points from Jayden Ivey were not enough for the guest.
Philadelphia (19:39) – Memphis (23:35) 105:110
Memphis held a record lead of 17 points and was up 12 in the third quarter, but the Sixers recorded a comeback that was completed when Joel Embiid made it 100:100 with three minutes to go, and ended with a three-pointer with which Tobias Harris set up a final turnaround with 39 seconds left on the way to Philly’s fifth straight victory. James Harden led the scorers of the host with 31 points along with 7 rebounds and 7 assists, Embiid forgot the fact that he was playing sick, with a tremendous statistical line of 27 points, 19 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 blocks, and Harris finished with 20 points. Desmond Bain stood out in Memphis with 25, Ja Morant settled for only 15.
Toronto (31:29) – New Orleans (30:30) 110:115
Without Fred VanVleet, who was ruled out for personal reasons near the start of the game, the Raptors won their sixth in seven games thanks to 26 points from Pascal Siakam and 21 from Jacob Flatel, the latter adding a career-high 18 rebounds. Brandon Ingram’s 36 and CJ McCollum’s 23 didn’t help the Pelicans, who chased for most of the game and only minimized damage towards the end.
Dallas (29:31) – San Antonio (46:14) 116:142
The return from the All-Star break gave Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving an invitational opponent to record their first joint victory since the latter joined the Mavericks, who delivered their best shooting night of the season in terms of points and percentage from beyond the arc. The Slovenian scored 28, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 7 assists, his linemate helped with 23 points and Dallas shot 22 times for 3 for 52%, which led to the extension of the longest losing streak in Spurs history to 15 overall, and 20 in the last 21 games . Malachi Burnham scored 23 for San Antonio.