Utah rallied
to get its maiden win, the Clippers defeated the Thunder after a near-brawl,
and the Sixers continued to impress in today’s NBA action.
 |
| Gordon Hayward led the Jazz in their first W of the season. (image by Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images) |
The Best:
- Arron Afflalo shot 8/11 from three-point land as the Orlando Magic survived the Milwaukee Bucks, 94-91. Afflalo ended up with 36 points on the night, but he also added 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals in a superb, all-around effort. He also shot 11/15 from the field and made all six of his free throws.
- Jeremy Lin torched the nets at the Wells Fargo Center, setting an arena record as he made 9 three-pointers. Lin finished with 34 points – his second straight 30+ game – along with 12 assists and 5 rebounds. He turned the ball over 8 times, however, and that contributed to Houston’s losing this game.
- Another big factor the Rockets lost was Philly’s James Anderson hitting six treys on his way to 36 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. The 2010 draftee helped the Sixers maintain their hold of the top spot in the Atlantic Division.
The Worst:
- LaMarcus Aldridge must feel kinda lucky his Blazers still pulled out a win over Phoenix after he shot just 5/19 from the field and had 4 turnovers in 38 minutes. 12 points and 12 rebounds might look good on paper, but I doubt if Aldridge is dreaming of any nights like this one in the near future.
- One thing OJ Mayo will have to remember now that he’s the triggerman in Wisconsin is that he still needs to take good care of the basketball. I love his finishing with 25 points and 7 boards, but I hate every one of his 6 turnovers.
Final Score: Orlando 94, Milwaukee 91
Orlando, FL
(SportsNetwork.com) - Arron Afflalo put on a shooting clinic in leading a
second-half rally that propelled the Orlando Magic to a 94-91 victory over a
short-handed Milwaukee Bucks squad at the Amway Center. Afflalo knocked down a
career-high eight 3-pointers in 11 attempts and racked up a personal-best 36
points -- 29 of which came after halftime -- as Orlando overcame a 19-point
second-quarter deficit to halt a three-game skid. The talented guard finished
11-of-15 from the field while adding eight rebounds and six assists. Nikola
Vucevic contributed a double-double to the Magic's comeback, recording 17
points and 11 rebounds. Milwaukee, which dressed only eight healthy players due
to injuries, was outscored by a 71-55 margin after the first quarter en route
to a third consecutive defeat and 15th straight to the Magic in Orlando. O.J.
Mayo tallied 25 points and Caron Butler had 20 for the Bucks. Khris Middleton
set a career high with 19 points while pulling down eight rebounds in the loss.
Final Score: Philadelphia 123, Houston 117 (OT)
Philadelphia,
PA (SportsNetwork.com) - James Anderson had a career-high 36 points while Tony
Wroten added a triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to lead
the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-117 overtime win over the Houston Rockets at
Wells Fargo Center. Jeremy Lin scored 34 points with 12 assists and Dwight
Howard finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. With 6.9 seconds
left in the game, Wroten drove the lane but was blocked off by Howard and was
forced to heave it towards half-court. Anderson out jumped Lin to the ball and
proceeded to hit a game-tying 3-pointer to send it to an extra session. Evan
Turner then took over, scoring eight of his 23 points in overtime to close out
the win.
Final Score: Charlotte 89, Boston 83
Boston, MA
(SportsNetwork.com) - Al Jefferson poured in a team-high 22 points to go with
11 rebounds and three steals to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 89-83 win over
the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Gerald Henderson finished with 13 points, nine
rebounds and five assists and Jeff Taylor added 12 points off the bench for the
Bobcats, who had dropped their last two games entering the contest. Jeff Green
scored 19 points and Jordan Crawford added 16 points and six assists for the
Celtics, snapping a four-game winning streak.
Final Score: New York 95, Atlanta 91
Atlanta, GA
(SportsNetwork.com) - Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and helped key a
fourth-quarter surge that carried the New York Knicks to a 95-91 bounce- back
victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. Andrea Bargnani amassed 20
points and 11 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed a career-high 14 points
off the bench for the Knicks, who put together a pivotal 15-2 run in the final
period to put behind Sunday's embarrassing 31-point home loss to San Antonio.
J.R. Smith added 12 points in his second outing back from a 5-game suspension
for a drug program violation. The Hawks received 25 points from Jeff Teague and
23 from Al Horford, but shot a brutal 5-of-24 from 3-point range en route to
their first setback at home this season.
Final Score: Toronto 103, Memphis 87
Memphis, TN
(SportsNetwork.com) - Rudy Gay tallied 23 points and five steals as the Toronto
Raptors surprised the Memphis Grizzlies with a 103-87 rout from FedExForum. Gay
added six rebounds and four assists in his first game in Memphis since he was
traded to the Raptors last January. Kyle Lowry went for 21 points and six
assists and DeMar DeRozan had 18 points -- 13 in the first quarter -- as
Toronto snapped a three-game road losing skid. Mike Conley netted a season-high
29 points on 12-of-19 from the field for Memphis, which has lost three of four
overall. Marc Gasol registered a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds
in defeat.
Final Score: Minnesota 124, Cleveland 95
Minneapolis,
MN (SportsNetwork.com) - What a difference a week makes. Kevin Love missed a
potential game-winner in Minnesota's first meeting with Cleveland, but by the
time the final buzzer sounded in Wednesday's rematch, the All-Star forward was
on the bench soaking in a blowout victory. Love scored 33 points on 10-of-16
shooting, pulled down eight rebounds and handed out six assists over three
quarters as the Timberwolves annihilated the Cavaliers, 124-95, at Target Center.
All five Minnesota starters scored in double figures and were spectators in the
final quarter after building an insurmountable lead. Ricky Rubio recorded a
career-high 16 assists to go with 16 points and Corey Brewer put up 27 points
in the rout. The Timberwolves made a staggering 65 percent of their shots over
the first three quarters and assisted on 29 of their 40 made baskets in that
span. Cleveland did not have an answer for the up-tempo style and fell for the
fourth time in its last five games. Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 20 points.
Final Score: San Antonio 92, Washington 79
San Antonio,
TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Tony Parker led six San Antonio players in double
figures with 16 points in the Spurs' 92-79 rout of the Washington Wizards on
Wednesday. Boris Diaw added 15 points, Kawhi Leonard chipped in with 13 and
Tiago Splitter finished with 12 points and nine boards for the Spurs, who won
their sixth straight game to improve to 8-1. Manu Ginobili and Marco Belinelli
added 10 points apiece in the win. Martell Webster scored a game-high 21 points
to go with 10 rebounds and Bradley Beal scored 19 for the Wizards, who dropped
their third straight game. John Wall had 14 points and eight rebounds, but went
5-for-19 from the field in the setback.
Final Score: Denver 111, LA Lakers 99
Denver, CO
(SportsNetwork.com) - Wilson Chandler returned to Denver's lineup and helped
the Nuggets pull away in the fourth quarter for a 111-99 victory over the Los
Angeles Lakers. Chandler strained his right hamstring on the second day of
training camp and had not played in Denver's first six contests. He was a
much-needed addition off the bench -- 12 points and five rebounds -- for a club
that had not won consecutive games until Wednesday. Timofey Mozgov tied a
career high with 23 points, Kenneth Faried added 21 points and 13 rebounds and
Ty Lawson contributed 19 points and seven assists in the victory. Jordan Hill,
Pau Gasol and Steve Blake each recorded double-doubles in a losing effort. Hill
made a case to stay in the starting lineup with an 18- point, 15-rebound
effort. Gasol finished with 25 points and 12 boards and Blake logged 15 points
and 11 assists. The Lakers were playing the second game of a back-to-back after
rolling to a convincing win over New Orleans. They stayed within striking
distance Wednesday but did not have the legs down the stretch, hitting just 25
percent (6-of-24) from the floor over the final 12 minutes.
Final Score: Utah 111, New Orleans 105
Salt Lake
City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Gordon Hayward tallied 27 points and a career-high
10 assists and Diante Garrett played a pivotal role in his Utah debut as the
Jazz won their first game of the season, 111-105, over the New Orleans Pelicans
on Wednesday. Utah, which trailed by 10 points at halftime and as many as 16
early in the third quarter, battled back to tie the score at 70-70 with a 10-0
surge late in the third. Marvin Williams' layup at the 3:18 mark of the fourth
put the Jazz in front, 98-97. Richard Jefferson and Jrue Holiday then traded
3's, and after a pair of empty possessions, Garrett's impact was felt. The
25-year old point guard, who spent the early portion of the season with the
Iowa Energy of the NBA Developmental League, kept his composure down the
stretch and found Williams all alone at the top of the key for a 3-pointer and
a 104-100 Jazz lead with 1:22 remaining. In the final minute, Williams blocked
a Holiday layup and Garrett once again showed his poise, threading the needle
with a bounce pass to Derrick Favors to beat a double team near midcourt.
Favors did the rest, finishing in traffic at the rim, and a pair of Hayward
free throws sealed it for Utah.
Final Score: Portland 90, Phoenix 89
Portland, OR
(SportsNetwork.com) - Damian Lillard's layup with 6.9 seconds remaining lifted
the Portland Trail Blazers to a 90-89 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
Miles Plumlee put the Suns ahead by one with 51.9 seconds left to play. After
empty possessions both ways, Portland called timeout to advance the ball to
midcourt. Lillard took the inbounds pass and used a LaMarcus Aldridge screen to
turn the corner and finish an uncontested layup at the rim. Phoenix had a
number of chances in the closing seconds. Eric Bledsoe drove on Nicolas Batum
and missed a layup, but P.J. Tucker kept it alive with a tip shot that bounced off
the back of the rim to Markieff Morris. Morris caught the rebound and had one
final look, but his layup hung on the rim and fell off as the clock hit zero.
Thomas Robinson had 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Portland,
while Robin Lopez contributed a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double. Aldridge
and Lillard had 12 and 11 points, respectively, on a combined 9-for-32 from the
field. The Blazers have won four in a row and six of seven after dropping the
season opener in Phoenix.
Final Score: Sacramento 107, Brooklyn 86
Sacramento,
CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcus Thornton scored a game-high 24 points to lead
the Sacramento Kings in a 107-86 rout of the Brooklyn Nets at Sleep Train
Arena. Isaiah Thomas added 19 points and Greivis Vasquez had 17 points and 12
assists for the Kings, who snapped a five-game skid. Brook Lopez scored 16
points to go with nine rebounds, while Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston
finished with 13 points apiece for the Nets, who are off to a disappointing 2-5
start.
Final Score: LA Clippers 111, Oklahoma City 103
Los Angeles,
CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Los Angeles' Matt Barnes played a role in the most
pivotal altercation of the game despite watching the second half from the
locker room. Barnes and Thunder forward Serge Ibaka were involved in a scuffle
at the end of the first half, and both were ejected for the fracas. With
Oklahoma City's defensive stalwart a non-factor, the Clippers rallied from
their nine-point halftime deficit and came away with a 111-103 victory at Staples
Center. Chris Paul recorded his ninth straight double- double to start the
season, finishing with 14 points and 16 assists to go with seven rebounds for
the Clippers, who won their third straight and improved to 4-0 at home. Blake
Griffin also filled the stat sheet with 22 points, 12 boards and seven helpers,
while Jamal Crawford contributed 20 points off the bench in the win. Kevin
Durant paced the Thunder with 33 points, 10 assists and six boards, but his
club watched a four-game winning streak come to an end.
 |
| Serge Ibaka and Matt Barnes were all but ready to get into some fisticuffs. (image by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) |
Ibaka vs Barnes:
Tweet
0 Comment