The biggest
game, of course, was between the refurbished Brooklyn Nets and the villainous Miami
Heat, which the Nets won thanks to Chris Bosh not missing (yes, a double
negative like only Bosh can do) his free throw in the endgame. There were other
highlight-worthy performances, though, like James Harden dropping 34 on Dallas,
Thad Young scoring 29 to lead Philly past Washington, and Kevin Love waxing hot
as Minnesota tripped OKC.
 |
| James Harden continues to prove he's one of the best SGs on the planet. (image by Pat Sullivan/AP) |
The Best:
- The Beard shot 11/17 from the field, including 4 triples (the best of which was a 28-footer in the first half that hit nothing but net), to finish with 34 markers in 39 minutes as Houston went to 2-0. Harden also added 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals to his total.
- Kevin Love and the T-Wolves limited Kevin Durant to just 13 points on 4/11 FG shooting to win, 100-81, over the Thunder. Love himself did really well here, shooting 7/12 from the floor, including 3 triples, and 7/8 from the line to finish with 24 points while also hauling down 12 rebounds.
- How about those Sixers going up 2-0, and beating two projected playoff-bound teams in the process? Their victims yesterday were the up-and-coming Wizards, 109-102. Rookie Machael Carter-Williams struggled, but Thaddeus Young picked up the slack with 29 points on 14/20 FG shooting. Young also grabbed 8 rebounds in an impressive showing.
The Worst:
- If OKC starting PG Reggie Jackson continues to play this way, Russell Westbrook might just be forced to come out of sick bay much sooner than projected. Jackson played 24 minutes against MIN, ending up with 7 turnovers and going 0/5 from beyond the arc.
- Another guy who didn’t do well was Washington’s super soph Bradley Beal, whom many felt should have a breakout second year in the league. Beal had 5 turnovers added to his 14 missed field goal attempts in the Wizards’ loss to Philly.
- Another brick-builder was Toronto’s Rudy Gay, whom many feel will be wearing a different uniform before New Year’s Eve. Gay shot just 6/23 from the floor as the Raptors dropped one on the road to the Hawks.
Final Score: Charlotte 90, Cleveland 84
Charlotte,
NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Kemba Walker made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 58.3
seconds left to help the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 90-84
on Friday. Walker ended with 23 points, seven assists, three steals and two
blocks for the Bobcats, who bounced back from Wednesday's season-opening loss
to the Houston Rockets. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 15 points and six rebounds
for Charlotte, which picked up its first win under new head coach Steve
Clifford. Bismack Biyombo got the start in place of an injured Al Jefferson and
recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Tristan Thompson ended
with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who started the season with a
98-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. C.J. Miles and Kyrie Irving
tallied 22 and 16 points, respectively.
Final Score: Orlando 110, New Orleans 90
Orlando, FL
(SportsNetwork.com) - Arron Afflalo led six Orlando players in double figures
with 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting as the Magic entered the win column with a
110-90 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans at Amway Center. Maurice Harkless had
his best game of the young season for Orlando, netting 20 points to go with a
team-high eight rebounds and four steals. Kyle O'Quinn added 14 points and four
blocks off the bench while Nikola Vucevic, Jameer Nelson and rookie Victor
Oladipo all had 10 points. The Magic entered the contest winless despite
playing well in a pair of road games. The Pacers fought from behind to best
Orlando on opening night, and the Timberwolves escaped with a win in overtime
on Wednesday thanks to a late Kevin Love triple in regulation. The Pelicans
fell to 0-2 despite the best efforts of former No. 1 overall pick Anthony
Davis, who tallied 26 points and 17 rebounds. Jrue Holiday had 17 points and
five assists and Anthony Morrow hit 4-of-4 from behind the arc, part of a
14-point effort.
Final Score: Philadelphia 109, Washington 102
Washington,
DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Rookie Michael Carter-Williams hit the shot that gave
them the lead, but the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 109-102
Friday night on the backs of three veterans. Thaddeus Young scored 29 points,
Evan Turner had 23 and Spencer Hawes chipped in 16 points and 14 rebounds as
the Sixers rallied from 14 down to improve to 2-0 for the first time in seven
years. Carter-Williams, after his record-setting debut Wednesday in
Philadelphia's shocking win over the Miami Heat, had 14 points, five assists,
three rebounds and one steal in this one. John Wall scored 26 points to lead
the Wizards, but had just three in the second half.
Final Score: Atlanta 102, Toronto 95
Atlanta, GA
(SportsNetwork.com) - After a lackluster opener in Dallas, Al Horford was a
handful in his home debut. Horford had 22 points and 16 rebounds in the Atlanta
Hawks' 102-95 triumph over the Toronto Raptors to give new head coach Mike
Budenholzer his first win. Horford tallied just 11 points and five boards in
Wednesday's 118-109 loss to the Mavericks, who shot 57.1 percent and 11-of-24
from beyond the arc. Jeff Teague registered 17 points and 12 assists for
Atlanta, which won two of its three meetings against Toronto last season. DeMar
DeRozan led the Raptors with a career-high 31 points, while Rudy Gay netted
just 14 points on 6-of-23 shooting (26.1 percent).
Final Score: Milwaukee 105, Boston 98
Boston, MA
(SportsNetwork.com) - Up by 22 points midway through the third quarter, Boston
coach Brad Stevens was in prime position for his first win as an NBA coach. The
Milwaukee Bucks, though, rode the strong play of their bench players and netted
the game's final 10 points for a stunning 105-98 triumph at TD Garden. Zaza
Pachulia scored half of his 20 points in the last quarter to help Larry Drew
earn his first win as Bucks coach and spoil Boston's home opener. Brandon Bass'
two free throws boosted the Celtics to a 98-95 lead with 2:37 remaining, but
Milwaukee's reserves proved to be the difference by scoring all but five of the
team's points in a 34-15 fourth-quarter margin. Pachulia had six of his team's
points during the 10-0 run, including two free throws with 43.5 seconds left
that gave his team the lead. He also had nine rebounds in the game. Milwaukee
had 68 points from their bench players. Vitor Faverani had 12 points and 18
rebounds for the Celtics.
Final Score: Minnesota 100, Oklahoma City 81
Minneapolis,
MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Love had 24 points and 12 rebounds and the
Minnesota Timberwolves held Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder under 35
percent shooting in a 100-81 win on Friday night. The Timberwolves beat the
Thunder for only the third time in their last 17 meetings. They led by as many
as 34 and improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2006. Nikola Pekovic had 15
points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio scored 14 with 10 assists. Durant, after
scoring 42 in Wednesday's season-opening win over the Utah Jazz, had just 13
points in this one on 4-of-11 shooting.
 |
| Kevin Martin, Ricky Rubio, and Niloa Pekovic share a laugh in the Wolves' easy W over OKC. (image by Jim Mone/AP) |
Final Score: Brooklyn 101, Miami 100
Brooklyn, NY
(SportsNetwork.com) - Joe Johnson's late free throws proved to be the difference
as the Brooklyn Nets handed Miami its second straight defeat with a 101-100 win
over the Heat from Barclays Center. The Nets led comfortably for most of the
final period, but consecutive triples from Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers in
the final minute capped a 10-0 Miami surge to pull back within two at 96-94.
The Nets shot 5-of-6 from the line in the final 17 seconds, including a pair by
Paul Pierce with seven seconds left that spotted Brooklyn a four-point edge.
LeBron James hit a corner three on the ensuing Heat possession to make it a
one-point game, but Johnson calmly sank two at the other end with 3.7 on the
clock. Leading by three, Kevin Garnett fouled Chris Bosh on the inbounds pass.
Bosh made the first and put a lot of arc on the second, hoping to miss and give
Miami an opportunity for an offensive rebound. But the ball fell through the
hoop, and Brooklyn quickly inbounded and ran out the clock. Johnson and Pierce
netted 19 points apiece to lead Brooklyn.
Final Score: Houston 113, Dallas 105
Houston, TX
(SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden had 34 points and four steals and the
Houston Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 113-105 on Friday. Harden went
11-of-17 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range for the Rockets,
who started the season with a 96-83 win over the Bobcats on Wednesday. Jeremy
Lin added 14 points and three steals for Houston, which won despite turning the
ball over 23 times. Dwight Howard, who had 26 rebounds on Wednesday, recorded a
double-double with 13 points and 16 boards. Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points before
fouling out for the Mavericks, who opened the season with a win over the Hawks
on Wednesday. Monta Ellis donated 20 points and three steals.
Final Score: Memphis 111, Detroit 108 (OT)
Memphis, TN
(SportsNetwork.com) - Marc Gasol scored five of his 15 points in the final 42
seconds of regulation to tie the game and send the Memphis Grizzlies to an
eventual 111-108 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons at FedExForum. Gasol
converted a three-point play after Greg Monroe fouled him on a jump shot. The
center then tipped in a basket to tie the game at 95-95 with 8.2 seconds left
in the game, forcing an overtime session. Mike Conley had 22 points on 7-of-12
shooting, leading a group of four Grizzlies in double digits. Zach Randolph
contributed 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in Memphis' eighth straight
win against the Pistons. First-year head coach David Joerger won his first NBA
game after the Grizzlies lost to San Antonio 101-94 on Wednesday. Josh Smith
led the Pistons with 19 points and three blocks.
Final Score: Portland 113, Denver 98
Denver, CO
(SportsNetwork.com) - A 3-point barrage helped the Portland Trail Blazers cure
their woes in the Rocky Mountains. The Blazers nailed 14 triples in their
113-98 triumph over the Denver Nuggets to snap their nine-game losing skid at
Pepsi Center. Portland was 14-of-22 (63.6 percent) overall from beyond the arc.
Nicolas Batum was 5-of-8, Wesley Matthews connected on all four of his attempts
and Damian Lillard was 3-of-4 from deep. LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and
nine rebounds, Matthews tallied 21 points and 12 boards, Batum also poured in
21, and Lillard finished with 18 points and seven assists. Nate Robinson had 24
points and seven rebounds off the bench to lead the Nuggets, who lost 90-88 at
Sacramento in their opener Wednesday.
Final Score: Phoenix 87, Utah 84
Phoenix, AZ
(SportsNetwork.com) - Once Eric Bledsoe got off the schneid, there was no
turning back. Bledsoe scored the Suns' final 14 points, including a go- ahead
3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left, in Phoenix's 87-84 triumph over the Utah Jazz.
Bledsoe missed 10 of his first 11 shots from the field before making three of
his last four. He had 17 of his 18 points in the final frame. Enes Kanter
registered 20 points and 12 boards, Derrick Favors had 14 points and 17
rebounds and Gordon Hayward added 18 points, 10 boards and eight assists for
Utah, which dropped its opener to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Final Score: LA Clippers 110, Sacramento 101
Sacramento,
CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Paul scored 26 points and dished out 10 assists
as the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Sacramento Kings, 110-101, Friday
night. Paul drained the go-ahead 3-point shot midway through the final quarter,
and Blake Griffin contributed 20 points, 17 rebounds and six assists. Jamal
Crawford ended with 18 points for the Clippers, who have won five of their last
seven in Sacramento. Isaiah Thomas had 29 points and DeMarcus Cousins netted 24
points and 10 boards for the Kings, who were coming off a season-opening win
over the Nuggets Wednesday.
Final Score: San Antonio 91, LA Lakers 85
Los Angeles,
CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Tony Parker poured in a game-high 24 points, including
the tie-breaking bucket with just over two minutes remaining to lift the San
Antonio Spurs to a 91-85 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday at
Staples Center. Manu Ginobili netted 20 points, Kawhi Leonard donated 15 points
and 11 rebounds, and Boris Diaw added 14 points for the Spurs, who were coming
off a 101-94 win over Memphis in Wednesday's season opener. With center Tim
Duncan sidelined with a chest contusion he sustained against the Grizzlies,
Tiago Splitter got the start and finished with nine points and 14 boards in the
triumph. Pau Gasol paced Los Angeles with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while
Jodie Meeks chipped in 14 points off the bench for the Lakers, who have lost
two straight since opening the season with a 116-103 win over the Clippers.
Highlights:
0 Comment