Cleveland Cavaliers have no chance against the New Orleans Pelicans and the two-headed front court monster. DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis rage at will in the Cav zone. Meanwhile Russell Westbrook sets the next record against the Bulls, the Celtics beat the Heat with a strong Daniel Theis and the Clippers lose their first game of the season.
At the beginning of the season, there seems to be a lot of sand in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ gear box. Against the Pelicans, the third bankruptcy of the last four games hailed – and more than earned. LeBron James and Co. simply had nothing to oppose the two-headed big-men monster of the Pelicans.
DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis dominated the opponent’s zone at will, the Pelicans scored a total of 70 (!) points in the paint (Cavs: 38), with outstanding man being Cousins, who played a strong triple double with 29 points (11/20 FG), 12 rebounds and 10 assists. As if that wasn’t enough,”The Brow” was an additional 30 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“If we play like this every night, we have a very good chance of becoming the team we want to be,”said a euphoric cousin, who was rightly celebrated at the end of his replacement. The Big Men of the Pelicans could finally enjoy the support from the Backcourt against the Cavs.
Both Jrue Holiday (19 points, 7 Assists) and E’ Twaun Moore (24 points, 10/13 FG) convinced with strong performances. New Orleans, for example, managed to secure a 13-point lead in the first half of the season. The Cavaliers’ subsequent comeback was countered by the Pelicans with a strong final quarter, which the hosts won with 34:18.
That was too much for Cleveland. Although Kevin Love showed a good performance with 26 points (7/12 FG, 5/6 threesomes) and 11 rebounds, he could do nothing against the almost overwhelming twin towers of the Pels. So did James, who scored 18 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 15 points (7/12 FG).
While the Cavaliers are struggling with some problems, Boston seems to have found its rhythm. The Celts now followed the two defeats at the start of the season with four victories in a row. In Miami, the eighth consecutive victory over Heat was achieved – and at the same time the first for Kyrie Irving.
In the eighth encounter with the franchise from southern Florida, the newcomer of the Celts left the parquet al winner for the first time. However, the 25-year-old had to work hard to achieve this. Miami was down 11 points at the beginning of the final section, but thanks to Goran Dragic (22 points, 4 assists) and good performances by James Johnson and Josh Richardson (16 points each), the Heat made it even more exciting.
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In the final minutes Irving took over the lead: a soft and buttery floater, followed by an acrobatic basket player and finally a three-way 93:86 decided the game in favour of Celtics. Irving scored a total of 24 points and came in 4 rebounds as well as 3 assists and 3 steals. There was only a lack of efficiency with the Point Guard (10/23 FG).
I’ve seen it on TV so many times and now I’ve experienced it personally. I liked it,”said Jayson Tatum, among others, who was very impressed by his team mate. The rookie also played his part in the victory with 20 points, Marcus Smart contributed 16 points. Daniel Theis also delivered a good match coming from the bank, apart from his 8 points (4/6 FG) and 4 rebounds he drew attention to himself with a crashing Alley-Oop.
Page 1: Twin Towers destroy the Cavaliers
Page 2: Next record for Westbrook
Page 3: Clippers stumble against Detroit