Bradley Beal is unstoppable against the Portland Trail Blazers and leads his Washington Wizads to victory with 51 points. The Phoenix Suns lose at the Toronto Raptors and Devin Booker. The Oklahoma City Thunder celebrate a comeback victory against Utah Jazz.
Start-finish-victory for the Canadians. Already in the first quarter, Toronto made it clear that there will be no other winner here. The Suns did too many turnovers (7 minutes in the first 12 minutes) and got into double-digit delays early on. On the other side, Kyle Lowry shot out the lights and had already pocketed three threesomes and 13 points on the credit side.
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Afterwards, the Guard took it a little more calmly, but finally scored a good double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. His good shooting from outside also dyed off on his fellow players. Rookie O. G. Anunoby also scored four distance throws and got a big thumbs-up from the coach,”He played fantastic,”said Dwane Casey,”He didn’t overwind and reacted to what the Defense offered him.”
The mood was less cheerful for the guests from Arizona, who were unable to recover from the early deficit and lost significantly. Devin Booker (19 points, 4/15 FG, 8 assists) not only had problems with his throw, but also injured himself in the fourth quarter without any opponent’s influence. Initial tests revealed an injury to the adductors, further investigations will follow.
“We’re gonna do another MRI,”coach Jay Triano already announced. In addition to Booker, eight players scored double-digit points for Phoenix, including Josh Jackson (13) and Greg Monroe (11).
In Toronto DeMar DeRozan delivered a nice statline with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists (season best value). Jakob Pöltl was allowed 23 minutes and scored 13 points (5/8 FG) and 5 rebounds. It was also gratifying that he sunk all three of his free throws.
Dark clouds rose over Oklahoma City. After three quarters, the Thunders were still trailing by 12 points, after a gap of up to 17 points in the first half. After that, however, it was OKC’s defence that drew most of all, holding Utah in the final section at 14 points and throwing ratios of a meager 30 percent.
At OKC, Andre Roberson, who was on the field for the full 12 minutes, was particularly praised:”He is one of the best defenders in the league,” said Jazz coach Quin Snyder,”Paul George also belongs in this category, but PG-13 was convincing not only in the defence, but also in the attack. 11 of his 21 points were scored by George in the fourth quarter, among them the baseball team almost two minutes. Since he was also fouled, there was a free-throw on top and the lead for the Thunder.
Steven Adams (20 points, 9/10 FG, 9 rebounds) then made the decision when he upgraded a failed attempt by Carmelo Anthony (14) with a Tip-In:”If we play in the offense patiently, then Steven gets his chances,”Thunder coach Billy Donovan explained the strong performance of the New Zealanders.”Steven plays just as well as he has done in the last few years”.
The fact that the Thunder could even think of a comeback was mainly due to the incumbent MVP. Russell Westbrook played another monstrous triple double and finished the game with 34 points (12/25 FG), 13 rebounds and 14 assists. But in Donovan Mitchell, Russ had a worthy opponent. The rookie was once again the linchpin of the Jazz Offense and recorded 31 points (11/22 FG, 5/12 threesomes) as well as 4 assists and 5 steals. However, with the exception of Joe Ingles (16), the Guard lacked support in the attack.
Only 69 points and a 47-point difference in Utah? That gnawed at Washington in particular with a man at the Wizards – Bradley Beal. The Shooting Guard scored 51 points (21/37 FG, 5/12 threesomes) and set a new career high (previously 42). The man with the dreamlike Jumpshot scored 32 points after the break alone. The last Wizards players to score more than 50 points were John Wall, Gilbert Arenas and Michael Jordan.
But the decisive advantage for the guests was already in the first half when the Blazers were held at 37 points. Only 34.2 percent of the litters were placed in the basket during this period. After the switch, things got a little better, but hot-blooded Beal had always had an answer to the Oregon runners’ threat.
For Portland, it was Damian Lillard who fought most against the impending defeat. With 30 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, the playmaker just missed a triple double. Backcourt partner C. J. McCollum (14), on the other hand, remained pale for a long time. Jusuf Nurkic scored 15 points and 9 rebounds, but revealed blatant weaknesses in the Pick’ n’ Roll defence, so that Beal got numerous open throws. To make matters worse, the Bosnian also injured himself in the fourth quarter and had to leave the court prematurely.
In Washington (still without the injured wall) Beal was the only player in the Starting Five to score more than 8 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 14 points coming from the bank. Mike Scott (10) stayed out of the field perfectly with five throws.