The L.A. Clippers defeated the Bucks in an overtime thriller, while the Raptors had no trouble with the Knicks.
The Raptors continue to plough unstoppably through the league. In the Scotiabank Arena at home, the Canadians made short work of the New York Knicks without wasting too much energy.
Until the middle of the third quarter the Knickerbockers could still play the game relatively openly, especially because Tim Hardaway Jr. caught a strong day (27 points, 11/17 FG) and the Raptors in the first half afforded many inaccuracies. Also Kawhi Leonard took himself clearly back and could register his name only end of the first quarter on the Scoreboard.
Led by Pascal Siakam, who delivered a Career High of 23 points, the Canadians then picked up the pace in the middle of the third quarter and outscored NY with 30:13 in the last 8:51 minutes. The resulting 18-point lead was not to be missed in the last section.
The claw ended the evening with 12 points (2/7 FG), 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Jonas Valanciunas and OG Anunoby also brought an important impact from the bank and totalled 35 points (13/18 FG) and 12 rebounds. After Knicks rookie Kevin Knox didn’t hit a single throw in the last game against Atlanta, the forward this time scored at least 12 points on 11 attempts.
The Clippers continue their strong season start! The Doc Rivers team fought the Bucks down for natural power Giannis Antetokounmpo in extra time, mainly because Lou Williams once again proved his class. But let’s take it one at a time.
Los Angeles had a good start in the game and was already leading with 15 points at the beginning of the second quarter. However, the Bucks then flipped their three-switch and threw seven distance throws at the Clippers in no time at all – Brook Lopez rained four times from downtown. So at halftime everything was back to normal.
After that it went back and forth for a long time and no team was able to make a decisive break. So it was also significant that Eric Bledsoe compensated the game with a very wild triple six seconds before the end and gave the fans in the Staples Center another five minutes of game action.
It almost turned out to be another five, as again no team was able to gain a clear advantage. Clippers-Rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came around the corner a few seconds before the siren but with a clutch play, blocking Bledsoe and giving his team the last attack and the chance to win. The ball went into the slopes of Lou Williams, who let the clock tick down and led the Clippers to victory with a tough off-balance throw.
Especially outstanding was the Clippers Montrezl Harrell, who showed an unbelievable physical condition. The forward snatched 9 rebounds coming from the bank (of which 6 were offensive) and put on a strong 26 points. Giannis didn’t get an outstanding day on the other side (despite good stats) and ended with 27 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assist and 5 steals, but also did 6 turnovers and left some important points at the charity strip (5/11 FT).