As the week closed out, here in the NBA, we saw teams who had been caught in a losing streak, find some day light and get back in the win column.
It was battle for the East as the Indiana Pacer took on the Milwaukee Bucks and this game was a blow out. Although Domantas Sabonis had another double double with 33 points and 12 rebound, he and his teams performance was not enough to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo from dropping a triple double with 21 points 14 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Bucks win the game.
After their loss to Brooklyn, the Los Angeles Clippers have gotten right back on the horse. Just 24 hours after the loss they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers who have one of the best defensive teams in the league, but even with Andre Drummond back in the line-up, that did not stop Kawhi Leonard and Paul George from combining for 60 points between the two of them, and the Clips from winning the game 121-99.
The Washington Wizards got another win last night as they played the Eastern Conference Champs in the Miami Heat. And while the game was close right through until the end, Bradley Beal continued his outstanding play which has garnered him the highest scoring average this season out of any player in the
NBA. He scored 32 points, without the help of Russel Westbrook who was absent that game, to take the win over the Heat.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been struggling this season without Karl Anthony Towns who has been out most of the games. They are 5-16 to start the season, and while there is time to improve their roster, they can’t seem to get a win over anyone. As they played the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, they played a fairly good game, but could not prevent DeMar DeRozan from scoring 30 points to take the W, and keep the Wolves in the losing column.
The Pelicans have finally got a win. After struggling for most of the season they won 123-101, a blowout, against the Phoenix Suns. This is surprising because Phoenix is one of the top teams in the league this season and they didn’t play a particularly bad game. The Pelicans simply outrebounded and outscored the Suns, leading to the victory.
The Celtics seem to be stuck at 111. On Tuesday night they won against the Warriors 111-107, and on Wednesday night they lost to the Sacremento Kings 116-111. The Kings who haven’t had much promise the past few seasons, seem to be finding success through De’Aaron Fox and other young player who seem to be getting better every year.
On Wednesday night the Philadelphia 76er’s played the Charolette Hornets, and while Lamelo Ball tried hard right until the end to bring his team back in the game, the Hornets couldn’t prevent a loss 118-111.
Within 24 hours, not only were the 76er’s playing again, but this time it was against the Trail-Blazers who were missing Damion Lillard. But the lack of Lillard didn’t stop Portland from putting Philadelphia back in the losing column, as every player for the Blazers stepped up to take the W, 121-105.
The Dallas Mavericks after being in a dry spell, were finally able to get a win Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks 122-116, with Luka Donćic having 27 points and 14 assists. The celebration however was short lived because on Thursday night, the Mavericks played the Golden State Warriors and the were blown out by 31 points. Kelly Oubre Jr, an up and coming player for the Warriors, scored 40 points on 66% shooting to help his team take the W.
The Atlanta Hawks however, after losing to the Mavericks, stayed in the losing column on Thursday night as they faced the Utah Jazz. Jordan Clarkson had a big game off the bench scoring 23 points and hitting 5 three pointers to help Utah blow out the Hawks 112-91.
Over in Houston, the Rockets headed up against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a match-up that left them with a record of 10-10 for the season. With the absence of John Wall, the Rockets are missing their main fire power, leading to the loss, 104-87.
John Wall was back in the line-up for Houston Thursday night as they played back-back, taking on the Memphis Grizzlies, and gaining the win with John Wall dropping 24 points to lead his team to the W 115-103.
The Los Angeles Lakers, who are tied with the second best record in the league and one loss behind the Utah Jazz, went up against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. The Lakers blew out the Nuggets 114-93. LeBron James, in his 18th year in the league, dropped a triple double with 27 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists, to help his team win the game and keep up their fantastic start to the season.
This has been the Friday Edition of Briefly In Depth
Check back in Monday for the Weekend Edition
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