Daily NBA Fix 11-14-13: Clippers Fight, Wolves Crush and Spurs Cruise
It was a full slate of games on Wednesday night and we’ve got all of it covered here on the Daily NBA Fix for Thursday, November 14th. The Houston Rockets played more overtime, the Minnesota Timberwolves went off in historic fashion and Tony Wroten put up a triple-double…let’s just say it was a strange night.
Wednesday’s Results (home team in CAPS)
ORLANDO MAGIC 94, Milwaukee Bucks 91
The Afflalo Show – Arron Afflalo scored 36 points with eight rebounds, six assists and two steals to lead the Magic to a home win over the Bucks. Afflalo made 8-of-11 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. Nikola Vucevic added 17 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and a block. The shorthanded Bucks got 25 from O.J. Mayo in 44 minutes of play, with Caron Butler scoring 20 in 42 minutes.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 123, Houston Rockets 117 (OT)
Anderson and Wroten – It sounds a bit like a law firm, but James Anderson and Tony Wroten had career nights with Michael Carter-Williams out with a bruised left foot. Anderson scored 36 points with three steals and shot 6-for-8 from the 3-point line. Wroten put up a triple-double, with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. The Rockets played without James Harden, but Jeremy Lin picked up the slack with his 34 points and 12 assists (9-15 3P). Dwight Howard added 23 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals and six blocks.
Charlotte Bobcats 89, BOSTON CELTICS 83
Remembering Al – It has to be a great feeling to defeat the team that traded you away. Al Jefferson scored 22 points with 11 rebounds to lead the Bobcats to a win in Boston, despite shooting just 36.6 percent as a team. Kemba Walker shot just 1-for-13, but pulled down nine rebounds to go with three steals. The Celtics got 19 from Jeff Green and 11 rebounds from the rookie Kelly Olynyk.
Toronto Raptors 103, MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 87
Gay Grounds Grizzlies – Another return, as Rudy Gay traveled to Memhpis and scored 23 points with five steals to lead the 4-5 Raptors to victory. Kyle Lowry added 21 and six assists, with DeMar DeRozan chipping in with 18. The Raptors went 33-for-39 from the free-throw line. Memphis was led by Mike Conley, who scored 29 points with three steals.
New York Knicks 95, ATLANTA HAWKS 91
Rebounding Not Needed – If you didn’t already know, the Knicks are horrible on the glass without Tyson Chandler. Andrea Bargnani led the team with 11, eclipsing last season’s total (kidding), but the Knicks lost the rebounding battle 47-37. Carmelo Anthony scored 25 and Iman Shumpert added nine assists and four steals in the win. The Hawks got 25 and 23 from Jeff Teague and Al Horford.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 124, Cleveland Cavaliers 95
Thorough Drubbing – Are the Wolves this good or are they just good at crushing inferior teams? Kevin Love scored 33 with eight rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes, Corey Brewer scored 27 on 5-for-5 from the 3-point line and Ricky Rubio scored 16 with six rebounds, 16 assists and three steals. The Cavs were terrible from start to finish, with Kyrie Irving scoring 20 but having just two assists.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS 92, Washington Wizards 79
Just Cruisin – It’s going to be scary if the Spurs can continue playing their starters less than 25 minutes a night throughout the season and still secure the No. 1 seed in the West. Tim Duncan had a rare bad game, shooting 1-for-12 and failing to get to the free-throw line in 25 minutes. Tony Parker scored 16 to lead six players in double figures. Martell Webster scored 21 with 10 rebounds and four steals off the bench for the Wizards.
DENVER NUGGETS 111, Los Angeles Lakers 99
Mozgov This – Timofey Mozgov, best known for getting dunked on, scored 23 points with nine rebounds and four blocks off the bench for a Nuggets team that is getting healthy. Kenneth Faried scored 21 with 13 rebounds and the Nuggets pulled down 23 offensive rebounds in the win. The Lakers got double-doubles from Pau Gasol (25-12) and Jordan Hill (18-15) but shot just 39.4 percent in the loss.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 111, Oklahoma City Thunder 103
Clips Push Back – We know that Matt Barnes is a nice guy off the court. On it, he’s the NBA equivalent of a NHL goon. He got into it with Serge Ibaka, getting both of them ejected, which certainly played into the final score. Blake Griffin scored 22 with 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, while Chris Paul added 14 with seven rebounds, 16 assists and three steals. For the Thunder, Kevin Durant scored 33 points with 10 assists and two steals.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS 90, Phoenix Suns 89
Converted Layup Wins – Damian Lillard scored just 11 with eight assists and two steals, but his uncontested layup with six seconds left won it for the Blazers. Markieff Morris and P.J. Tucker had tip-ins at the other end but both missed. Robin Lopez scored 13 points with 15 assists and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 12 with 12 rebounds for the Blazers. The Suns were led by Eric Bledsoe‘s 23 points and six assists.
SACRAMENTO KINGS 107, Brooklyn Nets 86
Who’s Tanking – The Kings’ acquisition of Greivis Vasquez looked better than anything the Nets could put on the court, as he scored 17 points with 12 assists in the win. Marcus Thornton scored 24 off the bench and the Kings played under control (six turnovers) for a change. The Nets shot just 37.8 percent and sleptwalk through another road game (now 0-4). Brook Lopez scored 16 with nine rebounds and five blocks in defeat.
UTAH JAZZ 111, New Orleans Pelicans 105
Shutout Is Over – The Jazz won’t go 0-82 (can’t promise anything about 1-81). They got 27 points and 10 assists from Gordon Hayward as the Jazz shot 51.4 percent as a team. Derrick Favors scored 12 points with 12 rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Richard Jefferson even turned back the clock with his 22 point performance. The Pelicans got 29 points and 15 rebounds from Anthony Davis but were outscored by 16 in the second half.
Wednesday’s Top Five
One of Charles Barkley’s favorite players…does that mean anything? (NBA.com photo)
| Player | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arron Afflalo | MIL | W | 40:08 | 11 | 15 | .733 | 8 | 11 | .727 | 6 | 6 | 1.000 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 36 | |
| James Anderson | HOU | W | 44:22 | 12 | 16 | .750 | 6 | 8 | .750 | 6 | 6 | 1.000 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 36 | |
| Kevin Love | CLE | W | 31:28 | 10 | 16 | .625 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 12 | 14 | .857 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33 | |
| Kevin Durant | @ | LAC | L | 41:49 | 8 | 18 | .444 | 2 | 6 | .333 | 15 | 17 | .882 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 33 |
| Anthony Davis | @ | UTA | L | 35:38 | 12 | 21 | .571 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1.000 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 29 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/14/2013.
Wednesday’s Bottom Five
The Jazz need a point guard badly. Get well, Trey Burke. (NBA.com photo)
| Player | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lucas | NOP | W | 15:27 | 0 | 7 | .000 | 0 | 6 | .000 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Phil Pressey | CHA | L | 11:04 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Jerryd Bayless | TOR | L | 12:10 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | ||
| E’Twaun Moore | MIL | W | 17:23 | 1 | 8 | .125 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Ben McLemore | BRK | W | 14:52 | 1 | 8 | .125 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/14/2013.
Circling The Drain
30. Utah Jazz (1-8)
29. Sacramento Kings (2-5)
28. Washington Wizards (2-6)
27. Milwaukee Bucks (2-5)
26. Detroit Pistons (2-5)
Random Tidbits and News
While the Cleveland Cavaliers are the worst-shooting team in terms of field goal percentage (.408), the Los Angeles Lakers are the worst in 2-point percentage (.423)…The Houston Rockets have made more free-throws (228) than 24 teams have attempted…The last time Pau Gasol took 27 field goal attempts was when he was with Memphis in 2007.
Thursday’s Schedule and Lines
Rockets at Knicks (+3.5 o/u 203.5)
Thunder at Warriors (-2.5 o/u 209.5)
Your Best Bets*
Rockets -3.5
Warriors -2.5
Wednesday’s Best Bets
Knicks +3.5 (WIN)
Spurs -11 (WIN)
Pelicans +2 (LOSS)
Season Record: 11-8
*you know, if gambling were legal where you are and you’re of age and you do it responsibly.
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