The Dallas Mavericks have clinched their first win of the season in their fifth game against Memphis Grizzlies. The Cleveland Cavaliers embarrassed themselves in Brooklyn. LeBron James showed nerves at the free-throw line. The Golden State Warriors narrowly escaped the next bankruptcy and narrowly defeated the Toronto Raptors.
Frank Kaminsky is in impressive form. The Big Man was the top scorer of the Hornets with 20 points coming from the bank and played a major role in the clear success. The foundation was laid in the second quarter. Charlotte won this section with 35:16 and did not let the 24-point lead be taken away at the break.
For the first time this season, the Hornets were able to rely on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who was released from the team after his grandmother’s death. The forward, however, played with a Restriction and in ten minutes it only scored 2 points (1/6 FG). Rookie Dwayne Bacon slipped out of the Starting Five instead. This was once again led by Kemba Walker (19). In addition to him, Dwight Howard was particularly convincing, with 15 points and 19 rebounds once again dominating the boards. It was his fourth 15-rebound game in series. In Charlotte, Emeka Okafor was the last to do so in 2007.
Also gratifying from Hornet’s point of view: Malik Monk made his best game so far and scored 17 points. Head coach Steve Clifford will be even more pleased with the excellent defense. The offensively potent Denver was kept well below 100 points, and Denver only scored eight of his 31 attempts from the three-line.
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Only Gary Harris (18,4/9 threesome) had a soft hand from the perimeter. Nikola Jokic scored 18 points and 11 rebounds, a double-double, but didn’t play a single assist. Coach Mike Malone was extremely upset about his team,”We’re not so good that we can win a game like this without any real effort. They’re professionals who get paid for it. Hard tobacco and proof that after the third defeat, the house blessing is misplaced at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
Stan van Gundy has coached several games, but something like that was something special for him, too:”Maybe I’ve seen a similar imbalance before, but it’s very, very rare,” said the switching game. While Detroit scored 24 points in Transition, the Wolves didn’t put a single one on the scoreboard. Right, 0 Fast Break Points.
Coach Tom Thibodeau was pissed off after the match:”You get your ass kicked every night in this league if you don’t play without any stakes,” I guess that’s what Wolves over 45 minutes voted for. After three minutes, the visitors led 9-0, but then all the dams broke with the climax in the second quarter, which was won by the pistons with 40:18. Tobias Harris, who scored 14 points (6/6 FG) in these twelve minutes, was outstanding.
With a total of 34 points (Career High) he confirmed the strong impression of the first games. In addition to him, Avery Bradley (20) and Andre Drummond convinced with 15 points and 15 rebounds. For the first time this season, the center awarded a free throw. A quota of 50 percent with six attempts sounds more like a statline from the Big Man.
The Wolves, however, where Shabazz Muhammad was again the starter five for Jimmy Butler, were almost completely disappointed. Except for the trio Andrew Wiggins (21), Karl-Anthony Towns (23) and Jeff Teague (18) there was not enough. If you take these three players away, Minnesota only hit 13 of 43 throws.
3:05 minutes left to play, Ben Simmons (14 points, 7/17 FG, 7 rebounds, 9 assists) gave the Sixers a seemingly comfortable 104:96 lead. But then Philly was out of the game and Houston worked his way back into the game. 30 seconds before the end, James Harden scored just two points with And-One, while Philadelphia went on to commit a shotclock violation. That’s what the Rockets used. Harden played with Eric Gordon, who let Joel Embiid get out of the line by pumping fake and then used the horn to throw the distance throw to victory.
“You must be prepared for this. If he doesn’t go in, it’s just like that,”the hero of the day philosophized after the game. The Shooting Guard was also top scorer of Houston with 29 points. He fired 16 times from a distance, five of which went through the Reuse. Without Chris Paul, who was further injured, Harden determined the Rockets game. 27 points, 13 assists and 8 turnovers were recorded for the beard.
In addition to the two guards, Clint Capela also showed a strong performance against Embiid. The Swiss played 16 points, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks and was able to keep Philly’s process in check. He had problems with foul in the first half, but still got 21 points and 6 rebounds. We are young, but this must not be an excuse. We can do better and learn from it,”the center promised.
Coach Brett Brown also found that his team had unnecessarily abandoned the game. Interesting in the final phase: Embiid didn’t take a litter in the last four minutes and it wasn’t Simmons who took the responsibility in the crunchtime. Instead it was Jerryd Bayless (9) who hit nothing but air with his litter.
Best scorer of the Sixers was JJ… Redick with 22 points. Robert Covington contributed 20 points.
Page 1: Gordon sinks Philly with the Buzzer – Crises in Denver and Minny
Page 2: Cavs embarrassing – Dallas wins first win of the season
Page 3: Warriors decide crime thriller against Raptors – OT-Drama at the Lakers