The duel between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers leads to unsightly scenes. The Los Angeles Lakers lose the city duel against the Clippers and the Grizzlies win an overtime thriller.
That the Cavaliers and Celtics don’t necessarily like each other is well known. Even after the departure of LeBron James, little has changed about this fact, which became clear towards the end of the first quarter.
In the fight for a rebound, J.R. Smith and Aron Baynes interlocked, both wanted to break away from each other, the little scramble turned into a push. The team mates hurried quickly, but Marcus Smart exaggerated a little. The Guard pushed J.R. in the back and had to be held back afterwards to prevent the situation from escalating.
Smart was then sent into the cabin by the referees, and Smith was given a technical foul. From a sporting point of view, Ante Zizic caused a stir. The Big Man of the Cavs put on 20 points in 22 minutes (plus 5 rebounds) and sunk 7 of his 8 throws out of the field.
He was supported by Rookie Collin Sexton (13 points in 19 minutes) and Jordan Clarkson (12 points, 6 rebounds), so that Cleveland could celebrate their second victory in the second preseason victory even without some spared regulars. In the Celtics, Terry Rozier and Marcus Morris were the best scorers with 17 points each. Daniel Theis had 5 minutes and 2 points as well as 2 rebounds.
Overtime thriller in Memphis: After a wild finish in regular time, the Grizzlies win extra time thanks to a balanced team performance. At the beginning of the game it was Wayne Selden (16 points, 9 assists) and top rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. (18) who attracted attention with good performances.
In the end, however, Yuta Watanabe became the hero of the game. At first, the Japanese sunk a triple 7.5 seconds before the regular end to equalize and saved his team into the overtime. He then added another four points (a total of 11) to help the Grizzlies win.
On the Pacers’ side, Aaron Holiday was the best man with 20 points, Domantas Sabonis came on 17 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Tyreke Evans also had a double-digit score (12), but the ex-Grizzly had enormous problems with his throw (3/11 FG, 1/5 Dreier).
This issue of “Battle for L.A.” went more than clearly to the Clippers. Over 36 minutes both teams fought a duel at eye level, but when in the final stage only the reservists were left on the floor, the Clippers gained the upper hand.
The strongest player was Boban Marjanovic, who scored a total of 11 points (4/5 FG) and 6 rebounds in just 7 minutes. Previously Lou Williams (19 points) and Tobias Harris (18 and 8 rebounds) showed strong performances. Rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points (6/13 FG).
While the Lakers LeBron James took a breather, Kyle Kuzma (15 points, 4 rebounds), Rajon Rondo (3 points, 10 assists) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (10 points, 3/6 FG) made a solid start into the match. Later, however, there wasn’t much more to come together, especially from downtown LAL caught a pitch-black evening (3/18 threes, 16.7 percent). Isaac Bonga stood 5 minutes on the court and scored 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover.