The Los Angeles Clippers have knocked down the Golden State Warriors without Stephen Curry after extension thanks to Lou Williams. The Brooklyn Nets lose Caris LeVert, who is injured in the Minnesota Timberwolves game. The New Orleans Pelicans conquer Toronto.
Slowly but surely the Wizards are pulling themselves out of the mess of the first weeks of the season, even though the victory over the Magic was anything but convincing. After a balanced first half, the visitors suddenly took command and took the first two-digit lead of the evening.
Bradley Beal, who scored poorly for most of the evening, and Dwight Howard were the players who brought the capitals back into the game. Also the hot Jeff Green (18, 6/7 FG) had his part in the fact that Washington would not lose again against Orlando. Wizards coach Scott Brooks also emphasized the good defense of Austin Rivers.
The decisive 14:4 run came in the fourth quarter, when Green hit a threesome and a little later an Alley-Oop-Dunk followed. Both times the Swingman was used by John Wall, who scored 25 points and 10 assists. In addition to the Point Guard, Beal (21, 8/20 FG), Howard (17, 8 Rebounds) and Markieff Morris (16) also scored in double digits.
The big plus for the hosts was that they knew how to pull fouls. The Wizards marched 33 times to the line and made 24 attempts after all. Orlando stood as a team only eleven times at the Charity Stripe. The best scorers for the Magic were Terrence Ross (21, 4/5 threes), Evan Fournier (20) and returnee Aaron Gordon (18, 10 rebounds).
In the morning local time Jimmy Butler’s trade was brought into dry cloths, a few hours later the Sixers celebrated a victory in the new edition of the first round of last season’s playoffs, although Butler was not yet there and two starters, Dario Saric and Robert Covington, were taken away.
Wilson Chandler and J.J. Redick took the places of the graduates in the Starting Five and above all Redick (25) flourished on his return to the First Five. However, it was a very tight game for most of the time, with Joel Embiid’s triumvirate two minutes from time to go leading his team in the first two digits and the decision in favour of the Sixers.
It was also Embiid who carried his team on his shoulders the whole evening. The center scored 35 points (8/15 FG, 16/20 FT) as well as 18 rebounds and once again won the duel with Heat-Big Hassan Whiteside (13, 11 boards, 5 fouls). Ben Simmons (13, 7 rebounds and 7 assists each) played a solid game, while Furkan Korkmaz (16. 5/9 FG) made good use of his minutes due to the retirements.
The Heat, on the other hand, had their best phase at the beginning of the second quarter when they started with a 14-0 run. But in the end Goran Dragic (22), Josh Richardson (17) and Co. ran out of breath. Dwyane Wade missed the fourth game in a row due to the birth of his daughter.
After seven home victories at the beginning, the Raptors have now also been defeated by Kawhi Leonard in the formation for the first time. The Pelicans, on the other hand, had to give up Elfrid Payton and Nikola Mirotic again, but the absence of the starters was hardly noticeable.
After a well-balanced first half, the guests were constantly set off and this time it was above all the backcourt that put the otherwise so dominant Bigs in the shade. Okay, Anthony Davis (25, 20 rebounds, 6 assists) was of course again a power in the Zone, but what Jrue Holiday (29, 12/19 FG, 14 assists) and E’Twaun Moore (30, 13/18 FG) did was simply outstanding.
Especially Holiday showed besides his strong shooting why he was elected to the First All-Defensive Team last season and put Kyle Lowry (4, 1/9 FG, 11 Assists) completely on the chain. The only field goal of the Raptors player came 3:25 minutes before the end, when the game was almost decided.
The Pels scored 54.5 percent from the field and also scored 72 points in the zone, which Toronto could not compensate with 28 points in transition (NOP: 7). Best scorer of the Raptors was Pascal Siakam with 22 points (8/12), while Kawhi (20, 1/6 three) had problems with his distance throw. Serge Ibaka (19, 14 rebounds) played a double double.
Page 1: Philly wins without Butler – Pelicans shock Toronto
Page 2: LeVert seriously injured in Minnesota
Page 3: KIngs also annoy San Antonio
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