The Orlando
Magic are riding high on a three-game winning run, while the Oklahoma City
Thunder won their 11th straight against the Dallas Mavericks in
today’s NBA action. Also, the Wizards finally nailed a W and the Wolves tumbled
to their second loss in a row.
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| Jet Zero and KD produced big numbers as the Thunder rolled past the Mavericks. (image by Sue Ogrocki/AP) |
The Best:
- Nikola Vucevic dropped a huge double-double on the heavily-favored LA Clippers, scoring 30 points and grabbing 21 rebounds to lead the Magic in a big home win. The 23-year old Swiss-born big man shot 11/19 from the field and a perfect 8/8 from the line in a jaw-dropping effort.
- The inside-outside duo of John Wall and Marcin Gortat clicked against the Sixers, with Wall dropping 24 points and 9 assists. He also hit 5 triples. Gortat, for his part, finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds on 8/12 FG shooting. This is Washington’s first win of the season.
- David Lee and Klay Thompson also formed quite the inside-outside pairing for GSW. Lee had 22 points and 15 boards while Thompson hit 6 treys on his way to another 30-point effort. The Warriors are currently second in the West with a 4-1 slate.
The Worst:
- Steph Curry left the game against Minnesota in the third period and didn’t come back. Apparently, it’s another ankle injury for the young gun. Tsk tsk. Right now he’s listed as day-to-day, and he even tweeted that he’ll be ready for the Spurs, but, hey, this is Curry. His ankles are as fragile as your mom’s ceramic vase. Be wary.
- What is up with the Bulls? They went unbeaten in the preseason, but are now mired in a 1-3 hole. Chicago is in the bottom third of the league in terms of three-pointers made, three-point percentage, blocks, field goal percentage, and total offense. They better win some games soon, or things might get shaken up before Christmas.
Final Score: Charlotte 92, Toronto 90
Charlotte,
NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Gerald Henderson had a game-high 23 points with four
assists and three rebounds and the Charlotte Bobcats held off the Toronto
Raptors late to secure a 92-90 win at Times Warner Cable Arena Wednesday night.
Charlotte center Bismack Biyombo altered DeMar DeRozan's 7- foot shot attempt
that would have tied the game with 27.9 seconds left. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
rebounded the ball with the shot clock and game clock within two seconds of
each other. Toronto chose not to foul, allowing the clock to run down all the
way to under five seconds before Henderson jacked up a long 3-pointer as the
shot clock expired. Charlotte's Josh McRoberts batted the ball up in the air on
the rebound attempt as the horn sounded, and the Bobcats earned their sixth
consecutive home win against Toronto -- tying a franchise mark for the longest
against a single opponent. Rudy Gay paced Toronto with 20 points and center
Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the
losing effort.
Final Score: Indiana 97, Chicago 80
Indianapolis,
IN (SportsNetwork.com) - The Indiana Pacers are 5-0 for the first time in the
NBA. They reached the mark at the expense of a scuffling Central Division
rival. Paul George scored 21 points and the Pacers pulled away in the fourth
quarter to beat the Chicago Bulls 97-80 on Wednesday night for their best start
to a season since they were an ABA team. Indiana remained the NBA's only
undefeated team while the Bulls -- despite having star point guard Derrick Rose
back from injury -- are off to their worst four-game start (1-3) in six years.
David West had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Lance Stephenson scored 15 for the
Pacers, who outscored the Bulls 60-37 in the second half, including 34-18 in
the fourth quarter behind 12 points from Stephenson. Rose and Luol Deng led
Chicago with 17 points apiece and Kirk Hinrich had 12 points off the bench.
Rose didn't have an assist until the fourth quarter and finished with just two.
Final Score: Orlando 98, LA Clippers 90
Orlando, FL
(SportsNetwork.com) - Nikola Vucevic turned in one of the best performances of
his young career, tallying 30 points and 21 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic
to a 98-90 win over the Los Angeles Clippers from Amway Center. E'Twaun Moore
came off the bench to provide 12 points for Orlando, which remained undefeated
in three tries at home this season. Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson and Victor Oladipo
all had 11 points in the win. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul registered
double-doubles for LA. Griffin went for 23 points and 13 rebounds while Paul
netted 18 points and 10 assists before fouling out. DeAndre Jordan pulled down
19 boards.
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| Nikola Vucevic was the star of the night against the Clippers. (image by Fernando Medina/Getty Images) |
Final Score: Washington 116, Philadelphia 102
Philadelphia,
PA (SportsNetwork.com) - John Wall hit five of Washington's 18 3-pointers and
led the Wizards to their first win of the season, a 116-102 wire-to-wire
victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Wall netted a
team-high 24 points and added nine assists for the Wizards, who came in 0-3 and
blew a double-digit lead in the second half against these same Sixers last
Friday. The Wizards forced 21 turnovers and won going away with seven players
scoring in double figures. Marcin Gortat logged 19 points and 12 rebounds,
Bradley Beal added 17 points and eight assists and Trevor Ariza checked in with
15 points in the win. Evan Turner posted 24 points for the Sixers, who have
dropped two in a row since a surprising 3-0 start and have given up at least
100 points in all five games on the young season.
Final Score: Boston 97, Utah 87
Boston, MA
(SportsNetwork.com) - Brad Stevens' first NBA win came at the expense of his
first protege at Butler. Brandon Bass and Jeff Green had 20 and 18 points,
respectively, and the Boston Celtics avoided their worst start in 67 years
following a 97-87 triumph over the Utah Jazz in a battle between winless teams.
Gordon Hayward, who played for Stevens at Butler, tallied 28 points, nine
rebounds and five assists in defeat. Coming into Wednesday, the Jazz and
Celtics were two of four NBA teams without a victory. Kelly Olynyk added 14
points off the bench for Boston, which hadn't started 0-5 since the 1946-47
campaign. Enes Kanter had 22 points and eight boards, while Derrick Favors
added 10 points and 14 boards for Utah, which is off to its worst start since
the 1974-75 New Orleans Jazz dropped their first 11 contests.
Final Score: New Orleans 99, Memphis 84
Memphis, TN
(SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Gordon led a balanced scoring attack with 19 points
and the New Orleans Pelicans routed the Memphis Grizzlies 99-84 on Wednesday.
Anthony Davis put his versatility on display with 18 points, nine rebounds,
three blocks and three steals as the Pelicans won on the road for the first
time this season. Tyreke Evans added 16 points off the bench. Mike Conley
netted 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting for Memphis, which was without Zach
Randolph for most of the game after the power forward left the arena when his
fiancee went into labor.
Final Score: Milwaukee 109, Cleveland 104
Milwaukee,
WI (SportsNetwork.com) - O.J. Mayo had a team-high 28 points, going 6-of-7 from
beyond the arc, Gary Neal added 23 off the bench and the Milwaukee Bucks staved
off a late surge from the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 109-104 win on Wednesday
night at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Zaza Pachulia and John Henson each had 14
points and nine rebounds for Milwaukee, which won its first home game of the
young season. Milwaukee's Caron Butler had the game- winning tip-in with 24
seconds left to give the Bucks a 105-104 lead before Mayo went 4-of-4 from the
free throw stripe in the closing seconds to secure the win. Kyrie Irving led
the charge for Cleveland with 29 points and eight assists.
Final Score: Golden State 106, Minnesota 93
Minneapolis,
MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Klay Thompson drained six 3-pointers and scored 30
points and the Golden State Warriors got their seventh straight win over the
Minnesota Timberwolves, 106-93 on Wednesday night. David Lee had 22 points and
15 rebounds and Andre Iguodala scored 20 for the Warriors, who won their third
game in a row to improve to 4-1. Kevin Love had 25 points and 16 rebounds for
Minnesota, while Kevin Martin scored 23 and Corey Brewer added 18 points. The
Timberwolves have lost two in a row after starting the season 3-0 for the first
time in 12 years. Warriors guard Stephen Curry checked out with 2:24 left in
the third quarter and didn't come back in, saying afterward he had a sore knee
and ankle. He had five points on 2-for-8 shooting.
Final Score: San Antonio 99, Phoenix 96
San Antonio,
TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Tony Parker netted 15 of his 20 points in the final
frame, including a go-ahead jumper with 31.9 seconds left, to lift the San
Antonio Spurs to a 99-96 triumph over the Phoenix Suns. Parker also dished out
six assists for San Antonio, which has won 10 of its last 12 meetings against
the Suns. Danny Green netted 19 points and Tim Duncan added 17 points, five
rebounds and five assists in the victory. Markieff Morris tallied 23 points and
12 rebounds off the bench for the Suns, who fell to 3-2 on the young season.
Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee poured in 15 points apiece in defeat.
Final Score: Oklahoma City 107, Dallas 93
Oklahoma
City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Russell Westbrook had 22 points and Kevin Durant
added 23 points and 10 assists in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 107-93 win over
the Dallas Mavericks. Serge Ibaka registered 17 points and 13 rebounds for the
Thunder, who improved to 3-1 on the year. Monta Ellis netted 20 points to lead
Dallas. Shawn Marion poured in 17 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 16 in defeat.
Check out Nikola Vucevic's big game against the Clips:
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