I hope you had a fun weekend, because it has been one over in the NBA. Let’s hop right into it. Karl Anthony Towns was back in the line-up for Minnesota on Friday night as they faced the Charlette Hornets. He scored 25 points and 8 rebounds in 30 minutes of play. Terry Rozier went off, dropping 41 points while LaMelo Ball had 20 points and 11 rebounds to seal the deal and take the W over the T-wolves. Minnesota went on to get back in the the W column on Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors as they won 116-112. The Wolves had an all around consistent game, with all the starters in double digit scoring. The Charolette Hornets played the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, and with the absence of the Cody Martin, Caleb Martin, and Gordon Hayward, the Spurs won the game 122-110 with 4 of the Spurs players scoring in double digits coming off the bench. Before their Sunday night match up, the Spurs faced the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and they came out on top there too. The Hawks couldn’t really get their offense going, and to add to that, 7 of the Spurs players including all of the starters were in double digit scoring. The Atlanta Hawks didn’t get much better the next night. On Saturday they played the Indiana Pacers, and although the Hawks had 6 players in double digit scoring, and an all around consistent night, Indiana simply outscored them to take the W 125-113. The New York Knicks on Saturday night, took on the Houston Rockets. PJ Tucker struggling to get a bucket sums up the Rockets performance, and the Knicks took the W 121-99. The Washington Wizards went 50/50 this weekend. First they faced the New York Knicks on Friday night, who have been finding success this season. Bradley Beal was absent and it took its toll with the Wizards losing 109-91. The Wizards came back Sunday night however, against the Boston Celtics. With Bradley Beal back in the line-up, dropping 50 points, and with Jason Tatum having a terrible night, the Wizards won a much needed victory 104-91. This hadn’t been the first loss for the Celtics for the weekend. Before taking on the Wizards they faced the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Although Jason Tatum dropped 33 points on the night, a surprise hero for the Piston in Saddiq Bey had 30 points to help close out the Celtics 108-102. The Detroit Pistons went on to have another impressive win on Sunday night as they faced the young New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans who have had no trouble scoring in the first half, seem to be letting their leads slip away in the second half. And predictably it happened again that night, as the Pistons won 123-112. I wish I could say that that was the only loss for the Pelicans that weekend. But in Friday’s match-up against the Dallas Mavericks, they lost 143-130. Luka Donćic dropped 46 points, 8 rebounds, and 12 assists to win the game for the Mavs. Luka Donćic did crash land on Sunday though, as he had a 44 point game against the Portland Trail Blazers. This game went down to the wire with Damion Lillard scoring 34 points and the go ahead bucket. Luka had an open three pointer to tie the game but the ball rimmed out, and the Blazers won 121-118. This made a perfect weekend for the Portland Trailblazers. On Friday they took on the Cleveland Cavalier and they won that game easily 129-110. The Cavaliers did not have an easy weekend. After Portland on Friday, they played the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday and even with the absence of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the Cavs lost that game as well 128-111. The Los Angeles Clippers, before defeating the Cavs, played the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. Although Paul George was sitting out this game, the Clippers had no problem winning the game 125-106, as Kawhi Leonard had 33 points to seal the deal. The Denver Nuggets played the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday and the game went down to the wire. The Nuggets were down by 3 with a 1:30 to go on the clock, and they were able to pull ahead and win the game 97-95, with Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray having 22 points a piece. Oklahoma City redeemed themselves on Sunday though, against the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple double with 24 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists, but it was not enough to stop OKC - who’s 5 starters were all in double digit scoring - from winning the game, 114-109. That wasn’t the first loss of the weekend for the Bucks. On Friday night they took on the Utah Jazz who have the best record in the league and they showed why. The Jazz had 4 players with over 25 points and that sealed the game with the Jazz taking the W 129-115. The Jazz won the following night in their match up against the Miami Heat. Jimmy Butler struggled to score, having an unusual 15 points on 37% shooting. This affected his team greatly and the Heat lost 112-94. After beating OKC, the Denver Nuggets went on to play the Los Angels Lakers on Sunday night. Anthony Davis left in the second quarter due to straining his achilles, and it took its toll on the Lakers, with the Nuggets snapping their 7 game win streak to win the game 122-105. Before the Lakers lost to the Nuggets, they faced the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. With Anthony Davis and LeBron James combining for 63 points, the Lakers won the game by 10 points 115-105. The Memphis Grizzlies got back into the W column on Sunday night in their match up against the Sacramento Kings. Seven of the Grizzlies players were in double digit scoring, and with the lack of rebounding and passing for the Kings, Memphis won 124-110. The Orlando Magic went 50/50 over the weekend. They played the Sacramento Kings on Friday night and with De’Aaron Fox sitting out, and Nikola Vucević scoring 42 points, the Magic won the game 123-112. The Magic did go on to lose on Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns. The Suns, who have been great all season, had a consistent scoring night to close out the Magic, 109-90. The Suns had a perfect weekend. Before they beat the Magic on Sunday they faced the best in the East - the Philadelphia 76er’s - on Saturday. This game was close through 3 quarters, but with Devin Booker scoring 36 points and Chris Paul coming up clutch in the fourth quarter, the Suns won that game too, 120-111. And Lastly, the Brooklyn Nets took on the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. With Kevin Durant back in the line-up and James Harden having 16 assists, it was easy to see how this team is meshing together and trying to be a championship contender. They held Stephen Curry to 2-9 from three point land, and the Nets won the game 134-117. This has been the Weekend Edition of Briefly In Depth Check back in Wednesday for the Mid-Week Report
Yaakov Pliner
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