Some unexpected teams reigned victorious as the week came to a close. We saw teams with great records fall to teams with terrible records, as well as some major come backs in the fourth quarter of games. Let’s hop right into it.
The Detroit Pistons, who have been struggling this season, were able to gain a surprising win on Wednesday when they faced the Toronto Raptors. Although Norman Powell scored 43 points on the night, the Pistons out-rebounded the Raptors by 24 rebounds, which led to the 116-112 victory.
The Brooklyn Nets took on the Indiana Pacers, and the only one of Brooklyn’s big three that played that night was James Harden. He dropped a triple-double with 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists to help the Nets take a commanding win, 124-115.
The Milwaukee Bucks played the Philadelphia 76er’s who are still missing Joel Embiid. Regardless, the 76er’s still dominated the Bucks through the first 3 quarters, but Giannis Antetokounmpo came alive in the 4th quarter. He had 32 points and 15 rebounds on the night to help his team get back in the game and push it into overtime, where the Bucks won, 109-105.
The Washington Wizards took on the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, and this match-up was a tight one. Although Russel Westbrook cashed in a triple-double with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists, every starter for the Kings was in double-digit scoring which led to the narrow win, 121-119.
The next night however, the Wizards took on the best team in the league, the Utah Jazz. Like the night before, Russel Westbrook posted a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists, but this time he was accompanied by 43 points from Bradley Beal. This duo over-powered the Jazz and Donovan Mitchell who had 42 points on the night, to bring a very unexpected win back to Washington, 131-122.
On Wednesday night the Boston Celtics lost to one of the worst teams in the league in the Cleveland Cavaliers. While Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 29 and 28 points respectively, 4 out of the 5 starters for the Cavs had double digit scoring, leading to another unlikely win, 117-110.
The San Antonio Spurs matched up against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday for an interesting game. While the Spurs were missing DeMar DeRozan and the Bulls played a much better game in terms of rebounding and passing, the Bulls lost the game by seven points, 106-99.
The Houston Rockets are on a 17-game losing streak and it continued in their game against the Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry only had 18 points on the night and Draymond Green had a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, but that was all that was necessary to beat the struggling Rockets, 108-94.
The Memphis Grizzlies took on the Miami Heat in a low-scoring game. While Jimmy Butler only had 24 points on the night, that was the most points that any player had. Both teams had horrendous nights shooting the ball, but the Grizzlies were the best of the worst and they won the game 89-85.
The Charolette Hornets had a rough couple of nights as they played back-to-back games, the first of which was against the Denver Nuggets. Although it was an entertaining game to watch, the Hornets got blown out by a score of 129-104.
The Hornets went on to play the Los Angels Lakers on Thursday night, and LaMelo Ball had a great night, leading his team in scoring, having 26 points and 7 assists. Lebron James, however, made a statement, dropping 37 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists to shut down Charlotte, 116-105.
The Los Angeles Clippers played the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, and this game did not go their way. They had a rough night trying to score, while on the other end of the floor, they couldn’t stop the Cavs. Luka Donćic scored 42 points, as well as all the starters for the Mavericks in double digit scoring, to close out the Clips, 105-89.
The Atlanta Hawks took on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday and blew them out. With no one scoring over 20 points for OKC the Hawks won the game, 116-93.
The New York Knicks, who were coming off a depressing loss to the Brooklyn Nets, faced off against the Orlando Magic. With the much awaited return of Aaron Gordon, the Knicks put a damper on it by beating the Magic by one point, 94-93.
The Phoenix Suns, who are one of the best teams in the league, took on the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are one of worst teams in the league. With Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony Towns each dropping over 40 points, they were able to get the very unexpected win over the Suns 123-119.
The New Orleans Pelicans took on the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Pelicans are struggling for a win. With Damion Lillard putting the Blazers on his back and scoring 36 points, he carried them to a victory against the young Pelicans, 101-93.
This has been the weeks conclusion of Briefly In Depth.
Check back on Tuesday for the Weekend Edition.