Injuries were prevalent across the NBA Saturday night (Nov. 25). Stars like Kevin Durant, Kristaps Porzingis, John Wall, Ben Simmons, and more all sat out their respective games. However, plenty of players (James Harden and Blake Griffin) showed up and performed, leading their teams to wins.
Rockets (15-4) defeat Knicks (10-9) - 117-102
Playing without big men, Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter, the Knicks raced out to a 29-7 lead to start the game. But the NBA is a game of runs, and no lead is safe these days, especially against the Rockets. While Knicks' forward Michael Beasley exploded for 24 points in the first-half, New York’s lead was just 10 by the end of the first quarter and two at halftime.
There’s a reason why Houston has the best record in the Western Conference, and they played like it in the third. The Rockets blitzed the Knicks 37-13 to take a 95-74 lead and never looked back. James Harden scored 37 points and dished out 10 assists.
Spurs (12-7) defeat Hornets (8-11) - 106-86
Offense was a dish served cold to start this game. Both teams struggled to put the ball in the bucket as the Hornets crawled out to a 15-14 first quarter lead. The Spurs picked up their game in the next period to go ahead 40-29, while Charlotte and the basket remained distant strangers.
It wasn't until the second-half that the Hornets finally ignited their offense, scoring 57 points. But their defense let them down as the Spurs cruised to a 20-point victory.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol each finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for San Antonio.
76ers (11-7) defeat Magic (8-12) - 130-111
76ers’ guard T.J. McConnell got the start for Ben Simmons and did his best Simmons’ impression by dishing out nine assists in the first-half. But it was J.J. Redick who knocked down six shots from deep to help Philadelphia to a 70-55 halftime lead.
An Evan Fournier three-pointer at the 6:21 mark in the third quarter reduced the Magic deficit to six, but that was as close as Orlando would get. Redick scored 29 points on eight three-point shots. McConnell added 15 points, seven rebounds, and 13 assists.
Celtics (18-3) defeat Pacers (11-9) - 108-98
After having their 16-game winning streak snapped, the Celtics got back to their winning ways Friday night (Nov. 24).
But Boston came out sluggish against the Pacers, finding themselves down by five after the first quarter and 11 at halftime. Indiana was led by Lance Stephenson’s 14 points. The Celtics battled back in the third. Al Horford knocked down a three-point shot to tie the game at 66 and then scored four subsequent points to give Boston the lead for good. Kyrie Irving had a game-high 25 points for the Celtics.
Trail Blazers (12-8) defeat Wizards (10-9) - 108-105
Even with All-Star guard John Wall out two weeks with an injury, the Wizards didn’t seem to miss him at the start of the game. Washington jumped out to a 30-27 first quarter lead and pushed that margin to 52-41 at the half. Bradley Beal scored 14 points to pace the Wizards.
While the Trail Blazers were only able to reduce the deficit by one after the third quarter, they came out in the fourth and dominated. The Wizards were up by as much as 17 with 8:14 left in the game. But Portland shrunk the lead to nine with 4:14 left and then clamped down on Washington, holding them scoreless in the final 2:30. C.J. McCollum scored seven points in the last 90 seconds to help the Trail Blazers secure the win. Damian Lillard led Portland with 29 points and McCollum poured in 26.
Raptors (12-7) defeat Hawks (4-16) - 112-78
The Raptors came into this matchup on a two-game losing streak, having lost second-half double-digit leads in each one. After falling behind in the first quarter, a monster 39-14 second put Toronto up 67-39 over the Hawks.
But rather than allow Atlanta back in the game, the Raptors extended their lead to 99-58 in the third quarter. Toronto's backups got plenty of fourth playing time as the Raptors cruised to the 34-point win. All-Star guard Kyle Lowry led the way with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.
Mavericks (5-15) defeat Thunder (8-11) - 97-81
Is this rock bottom for Oklahoma City? After a statement-making victory over Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors, the Thunder played like they were suffering from hangover in a loss to Detroit Friday night (Nov. 24) and then failed to even show up against the Mavericks.
While the Thunder were down just one point after the opening frame, they bottomed-out in the second quarter, scoring just 13 points.
A Dallas' 52-37 halftime lead grew to 78-55 in the third quarter as the Mavericks easily beat one of the more (supposedly) talented teams in the NBA. Last season’s MVP Russell Westbrook had 28 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists for the Thunder, but Paul George had just two points on 1-12 shooting. Dirk Nowitzki turned-back-the-clock to lead the Mavericks with 19 points.
Warriors (15-5) defeat Pelicans (11-9) - 110-95
Steph Curry outscored the Bulls 26-24 in the second quarter Friday night (Nov. 24). And Pelicans guard Jrue Holliday just about did the same to the Warriors. Holiday dropped 17 points in the first quarter, propelling New Orleans to a 31-17 lead over Golden State. But even without the services of superstar Kevin Durant, the Warriors are nearly unbeatable.
Golden State stormed back in the second quarter to tie the game at halftime and then took the lead early in the third and never looked back. Warriors' guards Curry and Klay Thompson combined to score 51 points.
Jazz (9-11) defeat Bucks (9-9) - 121-108
The Jazz have been struggling since losing defensive star Rudy Gobert. But the best cure to overcome bad defense is hot shooting. Utah shot a blistering 56.8% from the field and 56.3% from three-point land to beat Milwaukee. Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell (starting in place of Gobert) knocked down six three-point shots to lead the Jazz with 24 points. Rodney Hood came off-the-bench to hit 3-6 from deep for 21 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks.
Clippers (7-11) defeat Kings (5-14) - 97-95
Heading into this matchup, the Clippers had just ended their nine-game losing streak by earning a victory over the Hawks Wednesday night (Nov. 22). Initially, it appeared like Los Angeles was going to play their way to another loss. But after getting down by 14 to the Kings at halftime, the Clippers completely turned things around.
Sacramento scored the first four points to open the third, but then got massively outplayed the rest of the quarter (29-6). The Clippers’ lead reached nine points in the fourth, but the Kings came back to tie the game with 15 seconds left on a Buddy Hield three-point shot. With three seconds left, Blake Griffin drove to the basket and knocked down a 10-foot jumper for the win.
