It was a ball night in the NBA on Wednesday. There were nine early games on the schedule. LeBron James finally got the Cavs above .500, while the Thunder worked their way up to 7-7 on the season. The Cavs and Thunder both have some very high expectations when it comes to the 2017-18 NBA season.
Knicks (8-6) defeat Jazz (6-9) 106-101
The Knicks suffered a heartbreaking loss on Monday night when LeBron James went "LeBron" and rallied the Cavs from a double-digit fourth quarter deficit to earn the win over New York. The Jazz are struggling without the services of center Rudy Gobert who is out with a knee injury.
But Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell has been lights out for the Utah and moved into the starting lineup with Gobert side-lined. Mitchell came into the game averaging 14.6 ppg and started off hot, scoring eight first-quarter points against the Knicks. Utah had a 30-27 edge after the first quarter as Mitchell’s hot-shooting continued. He poured in nine more points in the second quarter and finished with 17 in the first half, helping the Jazz to a 10-point advantage at the break.
The Knicks chipped away at the lead in the second half. After cutting the score down to five by the end of the third quarter, New York went ahead 94-93 with 4:04 left on a Tim Hardaway Jr. layup. Five straight points by Kristaps Porzingus extended the margin to six, and New York would never relinquish the lead.
Hardaway Jr. had 26 for the Knicks, while Rodney Hood came off-the-bench to drop 30 to lead Utah. Mitchell had just two points in the second half.
Hawks (3-12) defeat Kings (3-11) 126-80
This is one of those cases that when bad meets bad, something good has to happen. And from the opening tipoff, the Hawks were good and Kings were bad.
Seven points each by Luke Babbitt and Dewayne Dedmon helped Atlanta to 24-16 first quarter lead. A three-pointer by Justin Jackson cut the Kings’ deficit to five, but that was as close as Sacramento would get. Atlanta destroyed the Kings in the second quarter 40-19 to take a 29-point lead into halftime.
The Hawks didn’t allow their foot off the gas in the second half, winning by 46.
Atlanta’s Dedmon finished the game with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Zach Randolph led the Kings with 16 points.
Wizards (9-5) defeat Heat (6-8) 102-93
The Wizards came into this matchup on a three-game winning streak, while the Heat are still trying to play with some consistency. Washington played well in the first quarter, leading 30-19 behind 10 points from Markieff Morris. The Heat cut that margin to six with six minutes left in the half on a Kelly Olynyk bucket. But eight points by John Wall in the final 3:31 extended the lead back to 12. Wall also did this to Hassan Whiteside in the first half.
Miami went on an immediate 11-1 one run following halftime and tied the score 64-64 on a Dion Waters’ three-point bucket.
The Wizards scored a pathetic 10 points in the third quarter as the Heat took a three-point lead heading into the final period. After getting down by seven, Washington rebounded from that disastrous third quarter and found their game again. A 7-0 Wizards’ run tied the score, and the two teams traded leads briefly before Washington ran away with the game to earn the nine-point win. Wall (27) and Bradley Beal (26) combined for 53 of the Wizards’ points. Heat point guard, Goran Dragic, had 21 points for Miami.
Timberwolves (9-5) defeat Spurs (9-6) 98-86
The Spurs are coming off a victory Tuesday night at Dallas, but winning back-to-back road games for a veteran team can be a challenge. Coach Greg Popovich went to his bench early as San Antonio held a 24-18 lead after the first quarter.
But fatigue caught up to the Spurs in the second quarter; the Timberwolves outscored them 39-19 to take a 57-43 halftime lead. Karl Anthony Towns had 18 points in the first half and finished with 26 as Minnesota cruised to a 12-point victory. LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio.
Bucks (8-6) defeat Pistons (10-4) 99-95
The Bucks remain undefeated since Eric Bledsoe got in the lineup, but faced a major test Wednesday night against the number two team in the Eastern Conference. The Detroit Pistons have been playing stellar basketball, but the Bucks’ all-everything player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, continued his MVP-type caliber play with eight points in the opening frame.
The game was tied 41 at the half, but the Bucks came out and dominated the third quarter to up by 13. Detroit turned the tables on Milwaukee in the fourth quarter, tying the game on a Luke Kennard three-point shot with 4:36 left. But Bledsoe proved to be the difference down-the-stretch, scoring four points in the final 42 seconds to secure the victory. Khris Middleton had 27 points and Antetokounmpo finished with 21 for Milwaukee. Pistons’ guard Avery Bradley hit six three-pointers on his way to 28 points.
Cavaliers (8-7) defeat Hornets (5-8) 115-107
How often is LeBron James going to have to keep saving the Cavs this early in the season? James came into the matchup against Charlotte looking to dominate, scoring 14 first quarter points.
Cleveland jumped out to an early 19-6 lead, but held just a six-point edge after the period The Hornets flipped-the-script on the Cavs in the second quarter and held a six-point lead of their own at halftime.
Cleveland tied the game at 70 and traded leads with Charlotte until Kyle Korver knocked down a three-point shot with 1:13 left in the third quarter to put the Cavs up 86-84. Cleveland never gave up the lead again, but the Hornets hung with them until the very end. James had 31 points six rebounds, and eight assists, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 22 for Charlotte. Coming off an injury, Nicholas Batum played his first game of the season for the Hornets and scored 16 points.
Pacers (7-8) defeat Grizzlies (7-7) 116-113
Despite 12 first-quarter points from Grizzlies’ big man Marc Gasol, the Pacers came out strong against Memphis. Indiana had a nine-point heading into the second period and extended that margin to 14 by halftime. The Pacers’ lead remained in double digits until a flurry of Grizzlies’ buckets cut the deficit to four with 1:22 left in the game. Gasol also had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed a three-point shot at the buzzer. Collison led the Pacers with 30, while Gasol had 35 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis.
Raptors (9-5) defeat Pelicans (8-7) 125-116
The Raptors are coming off an impressive victory Tuesday night over the Rockets and played like they were tired to start the game.
New Orleans outscored Toronto 34-29 in the first quarter, but the Raptors found their second wind, taking a one-point lead into halftime. A second-half run put Toronto up as much as 17 as they easily secured a second impressive win on-the-road. Three Raptors’ players (Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jonas Valanciunas) all scored over 20 points. DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Pelicans.
Thunder (7-7) defeat Bulls (2-10) 92-79
This game was over early. Chicago shot 2-16 for seven points in the first quarter. To add insult to injury, Carmelo Anthony had nine points for the Thunder in the period. Despite the just the 13-point victory, the score was never really that close. Oklahoma City was led by Russell Westbrook's 21 points and seven assists, and Carmelo Anthony's 18 points and 11 rebounds.
