It was a day
for the young ‘uns, as super soph Anthony Davis impressed mightily on the
defensive end, Michael Carter-Williams continued to defy expectations, and
Nicolas Batum reeled in his first career triple-double.
The Best:
- How about that Anthony Davis? Yes, the unibrow machine. Yes, the guy who should’ve been last season’s ROY (don’t argue with me here, please). How about his dropping 25 points on 9/13 FG shooting, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, SIX steals, and SIX blocks on the Cats? Yo, Mr. Lillard, where you at? No, seriously, because you’re on my Fantasy NBA team. (for the record, last year’s ROY is also doing splendidly with 25-5-5 averages, BUT Davis’s PER is 32.0 while Lillard’s is 27.0)
- Who is not loving MCW right now? Ummm… how about my man Derrick Rose, who got thoroughly outplayed by the frosh wunderkind? Carter-Williams had another great second half on his way to 26 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals, and, more importantly, leading the Sixers to an unexpected 3-0 record. They’re not tanking YET, but wait till Jason Richardson finally plays…
- Sure, Nicolas Batum shot just 4/11 from the floor, but that buzzer-beating trey put him in the books as our first triple-doubler of the season was pretty badass. 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists isn’t the most jaw-dropping line, but, hey, to do that at this level is still something maybe 99.9% of the human race is incapable of. #respect
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| Nicolas Batum unloaded the seasons first 3x2 on the Spurs. (image by Don Ryan/AP) |
The Worst:
- I know Iggy isn’t expected to be the main guy for GSW, but 5 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 1 block in 39 minutes is below par for me. C’mon, man, you WERE an All-Star, right? Play like one, let’s go.
- These days, Tristan Thompson’s numbers have been reminiscent of, say, a productive Lorenzen Wright (about 12 points and 8 rebounds in a three-season stretch), but in the Cavs’ game against the Pacers, Thompson produced numbers that even super bust Stromile Swift would be ashamed of – 2 points, 4 rebounds, 20% FG shooting in 35 minutes. Ugh.
- I hate to say it, but my man D-Rose dropped the ball against Philly. Rose coughed the ball up 8 times in that game, which was the high (or low depending on your perspective) for the day. I think he had like six in the second half alone. Awww… man. C’mon hometown hero, I’m rooting for you!!!
Final Score: Indiana 89, Cleveland 74
Indianapolis,
IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul George had 21 points and 13 rebounds in the
Indiana Pacers' 89-74 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lance Stephenson added
22 points for Indiana, which is off to a 3-0 start for the second time in the
last three years. Dion Waiters netted 17 points to go with four steals, while
Kyrie Irving added 15 points and five assists for the Cavaliers, who have
dropped seven in a row to Indiana.
Final Score: Philadelphia 107, Chicago 104
Philadelphia,
PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Michael Carter-Williams had 26 points and 10 assists
as the Philadelphia 76ers rallied from a 20-point hole to down the Chicago
Bulls 107-104 at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night. Expected to be one of
the worst teams coming into the season, the surprising Sixers now have wins
over the two-time reigning champion Miami Heat, the Washington Wizards and now
the Bulls, who are one of the teams pegged to contend with the Heat for the
Eastern Conference title. Evan Turner, who has netted 20 or more points in all
three games, posted 20 for Philadelphia, which is 3-0 for the first time since
the 2006-07 season. Spencer Hawes tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 10 boards for Chicago, which dropped to 1-2 on
the season. Luol Deng added 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Derrick
Rose registered 13 points and six assists, but was just 4-of-14 from the field
against the team he was playing when he tore his ACL in the first round of the
2012 NBA playoffs.
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| MCW and Evan Turner have been playing really well as Philly's starting backcourt. (image by Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images) |
Final Score: New Orleans 105, Charlotte 84
New Orleans,
LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Anthony Davis had the best game of his young career,
filling the stat sheet in the New Orleans Pelicans' 105-84 rout of the
Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday. Davis contributed 25 points, eight rebounds, six
blocks, six steals and four assists in the triumph, the Pelicans' first of the
season. Davis shot 9-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Tyreke Evans chipped in 15 points and seven assists off the bench, while Jrue
Holiday had 14 points and eight helpers. Kemba Walker was the lone Charlotte
starter in double figures with 14 points. Ramon Sessions paced the Bobcats with
22 points off the bench and Jeff Adrien had 13 rebounds.
Final Score: Dallas 111, Memphis 99
Dallas, TX
(SportsNetwork.com) - Dirk Nowitzki paced a balanced Dallas scoring attack with
24 points as the Mavericks posted a 111-99 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies
at American Airlines Center. Five other Dallas players finished in double
figures to help the Mavericks improve to 2-1 on the young season. Shawn Marion
amassed 21 points along with 14 rebounds, offseason acquisitions Monta Ellis
and Jose Calderon chipped in 18 and 15 points, respectively, and Samuel
Dalembert contributed 14 points and nine rebounds to the win. Despite a
24-point, eight-assist effort out of Mike Conley and a 21-point, 14- rebound
performance from Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies trailed for much of the contest
to fall to 1-2 under first-year head coach David Joerger. Marc Gasol added 23
points in defeat.
Final Score: Toronto 97, Milwaukee 90
Milwaukee,
WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Rudy Gay led five players in double figures with 18
points to go with a game-best 15 rebounds, as the Toronto Raptors put an
eight-game losing streak in Milwaukee to rest, thanks to a 97-90 decision over
the Bucks at Bradley Center. DeMar DeRozan chipped in 17 points and Kyle Lowry
contributed 14 for the Raptors, who have won two of three to start the year.
Amir Johnson and Landry Fields each posted 11 points for the road victors. O.J.
Mayo tallied 16 points, dished out eight assists and pulled down six rebounds
for the Bucks, who have dropped two of three. Ersan Ilyasova had 14 points and
John Henson 13 in the loss. Milwaukee had won eight in a row at home vs.
Toronto since a 91-87 loss on Nov. 1, 2008, and had also taken 10 straight
overall against the Bucks since January of 2010, but another victory wasn't in
the cards for the hosts.
Final Score: Houston 104, Utah 93
Salt Lake
City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Chandler Parsons, James Harden and Jeremy Lin
all scored at least 20 points and the Houston Rockets rallied from an early
deficit to down the winless Utah Jazz, 104-93, at EnergySolutions Arena. The
Rockets trailed by as many as 19 late in the second quarter, but shot 58
percent (21-of-36) from the field in the second half to stay unbeaten through
the first three games. Parsons led all scorers with 24 points, Harden checked
in with 23 and Lin had 20. Dwight Howard finished with 15 points and eight
rebounds and shot a respectable 7-of-10 from the foul line in the victory. The
Jazz fell to 0-3 for the first time since the 1979-80 campaign -- their first
in Utah -- despite six players scoring in double figures. Richard Jefferson had
a team-high 18 points, Enes Kanter netted 16 and Alec Burks and Gordon Hayward
had 15 apiece in the setback.
Final Score: Portland 115, San Antonio 105
Portland, OR
(SportsNetwork.com) - Nicolas Batum recorded his third career triple-double
with 11 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds in the Trail Blazers' 115-105 win
over the San Antonio Spurs from Rose Garden. Damian Lillard led all scorers
with 25 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists while LeMarcus
Aldridge and Wesley Matthews contributed 24 and 20 points, respectively.
Aldridge hit 11-of-17 from the floor for Portland, which won its second
straight following an opening night loss in Phoenix. Tim Duncan returned to the
San Antonio lineup after missing Friday's win over the Lakers with a chest
contusion and scored 24 points to lead the Spurs. Marco Belinelli had 19 points
off the bench and Tony Parker tallied 17 points and nine assists.
Final Score: Golden State 98, Sacramento 87
Oakland, CA
(SportsNetwork.com) - Klay Thompson had 27 points and seven rebounds and the
Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings 98-87 on Saturday. Stephen
Curry added 22 points and 12 assists, although he turned the ball over seven
times. David Lee chipped in 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who
were coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. Rookie Ben
McLemore netted 19 points off the bench to lead Sacramento, which had won three
of its prior four meetings against Golden State coming in. Travis Outlaw
tallied 15 points and 12 boards in defeat.
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