The Scoop • "1/1"
STATS LEADERS
PTS • A. Gordon (20), E. Payton (17), J. Allen (16)
ASTS • C. LeVert (8), E. Payton (7), S. Dinwiddie (5)
REBS • B. Biyombo (17), A. Gordon (10), D. Carroll (10)
Recap:
Brooklyn edged out a close, 98-95 W over ORL led by two up & comers off the bench: Jarrett Allen (career-high 16! & 6 boards) & Caris LeVert (15, 8! & 5 boards). Allen & LeVert were active all night - Allen up top & LeVert weaving through the lane & finding making plays. The Nets' young,, versatile talent is liable to shine on any given night - when there's subsidiary production (DeMarre Carroll: DD - 14 & 10 boards last night), they always have a shot to win.
Orlando, on the other hand, couldn't convert from outside (6/31 from deep) + didn't get much help from the reserves. Aaron Gordon (20 & 12 boards) & Bismack Biyombo (13 & 17! boards) both contributed double-doubles but it wasn't enough to avoid an 11th loss in 12 games.
- (ORL): A. Gordon + J. Simmons = 30, 17 & 3 dimes
- (ORL): >15 TOs -- Yup! 12 TOs
- (BKN): 10+ triples -- 9 triples
- (BKN): S. Dinwiddie + C. LeVert -- 22, 13 & 9 dimes
STATS LEADERS
PTS • D. DeRozan (52!), E. Bledsoe (29), K. Lowry (26)
ASTS • M. Dellavedova (10), D. DeRozan (8!), G. Antetokounmpo (7)
REBS • G. Antetokounmpo (9), S. Ibaka (8), J. Henson (7)
One-Sentence Recap -- In an instant classic, DeMar DeRozan SCORCHED Milwaukee en route to a career-high (and franchise record) 52! pts.
PROJECTED TOP DOG: DEMAR DEROZAN (Yup!)
PROJECTED WINNER: RAPTORS (Nice!)
- (MIL): Giannis + K. Middleton -- 44, 12 & 9 dimes
- (MIL): 25+ dimes? -- Yup! 27 dimes
- (TOR): D. DeRozan + K. Lowry -- 78!!, 14 & 11 boards
- (TOR): 115+ pts? -- Yup! 131!
STATS LEADERS
PTS • C. McCollum (32), A. Aminu (24), K. Dunn (22)
ASTS • C. McCollum (8), S. Napier (6), E. Turner (6)
REBS • J. Nurkic (15), N. Mirotic (10), L. Markkanen (8)
Recap:
Bulls-Blazers was a surprise #LeaguePassAlert last night. A tight contest throughout, it took overtime for the Damian Millard-Less Blazers to knock off Chicago. CJ McCollum turned it on after a disjointed first half - scored just 7 pts - & finished w/ 32, 8! & 6 boards. Al-Farouq Aminu (24! & 7 boards) and new starter Evan Turner (22!, 6 & 4 boards) provided excellent support for CJ, are vital for Portland to stay in the playoff picture.
Chicago fell to 13-24 after letting the game slip away. Kris Dunn had another (more than) solid outing w/ 22, 7 & 4 dimes but committed 8 TOs & struggled w/ shot selection down the stretch. And Niko Mirotic, who contributed 18 & 10 (off bench) sat in favor of Robin Lopez (to defend J. Nurkic) when the game was on the line.
No loss is bad for Chicago, however - but sorting out late game rotations & lineups* remains a work in progress.
*David Nwaba started over Denzel Valentine to begin the 3Q
- (POR): C. McCollum + J. Nurkic -- 43, 21! & 10 dimes --
- (POR): 10+ triples -- Yup! 14 triples
- (CHI): K. Dunn + Ju. Holiday = 36, 14 & 8 dimes
- (CHI): PIP -- 44
STATS LEADERS
PTS • J. Butler (28), A. Wiggins (21), J. Clarkson (20)
ASTS • J. Butler (9), T. Jones (5), A. Wiggins (4)
REBS • K. Towns (13), J. Randle (12), A. Wiggins (9)
Recap:
--Jimmy Butler (28 & 9! dimes) & the Wolves didn't give LA(L) much room to breathe in this one - they controlled things from the outset, cruising to a 114-96 victory.
Though the Wolves committed 17 TOs, they shot 49% and converted 27/30 from the line - the Lakers didn't offer much resistance on the defensive end.
MIN is now 8-2 in their last 10.
LAL falls to last out West, losers of 9 outta 10.
- (LAL): 45+ boards? • 105+ pts? -- 37 boards, 96 pts
- (LAL): T. Ennis + J. Hart = 17, 5 & 5 dimes
- (MIN): T. Gibson + N. Bjelica = 19, 9 & 2 dimes
- (MIN): 50%+ FG ? -- not quite: 49%