One of those names doesn’t quite fit in the headline. The Portland Trail Blazers continue their hot start, while the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers are right where we thought they’d be. Welcome to the Daily NBA Fix for Tuesday, November 26.
Monday’s Results (home team in CAPS)
Boston Celtics 96, CHARLOTTE BOBCATS 86
Jordan Extraordinaire – Jordan Crawford continues his surprising start, with 21 points, four rebounds and five assists in a nice road win for the Celtics. Gerald Wallace added 17 off the bench with Brandon Bass chipping in with 16 points. The Bobcats got 28 points, six rebounds and five assists from Kemba Walker.
Denver Nuggets 110, DALLAS MAVERICKS 96
Dirk’s History – Dirk Nowitzki passed Kevin Garnett on the all-time scoring list, with 18 points (albeit in a loss). The Nuggets got 22 from J.J. Hickson with eight rebounds and three steals, with Ty Lawson adding 19 and 11 assists. Monta Ellis scored 22 for the Mavs.
DETROIT PISTONS 113, Milwaukee Bucks 94
Motor City Mauling – The Pistons…turned Brandon Jennings into a pass-first point guard? Jennings scored 15 with 13 assists and two steals for the very balanced Pistons attack. Seven players scored in double figures, with nobody taking more than 11 (or less than 9) shots. Josh Smith did go 0-for-4 from three. John Henson scored 15 points with seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the loss.
INDIANA PACERS 98, Minnesota Timberwolves 84
The Georges Did It – Paul George and George Hill combined for 52 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and nine steals in a rout of the visiting Timberwolves. The Wolves shot just 32.6 percent against one of the best defenses in the entire league. Kevin Love scored 20 with 17 rebounds in defeat.
Houston Rockets 93, MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 86
Tale of Two Halves – The Rockets scored just 32 points in the first half, but turned it on late and scored 38 in the fourth quarter to run away from the Grizzlies. Chandler Parsons shot 8-for-9 from the field for 17 points, Omri Casspi scored 16 off the bench and Dwight Howard scored 15. The Grizzlies were without Marc Gasol, but Kosta Koufos stepped in and pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked two shots.
MIAMI HEAT 107, Phoenix Suns 92
Bron and Flash – Remember when people were worried about the Heat’s slow start? Yeah, that’s gone. LeBron James scored 35 on 11-for-14 from the field (11-11 FT) and Dwyane Wade added 21 with six rebounds and 12 assists. The Suns got 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists from Goran Dragic, but shot just 39.8 percent as a team.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS 102, New York Knicks 91
Nico Nut Punch – Sorry, when people talk about Batum I can’t help but remember. Batum scored 23 with seven rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block. LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 with 14 rebounds and two blocks and the Blazers move to 13-2, winning 11 straight. The Knicks got 34 points and 15 rebounds from Carmelo Anthony, but he needs help.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS 112, New Orleans Pelicans 93
DNP – Didn’t Have to – The Spurs are one dangerous team, especially if they’re able to keep playing their starters less than 25 minutes per game. Seven players scored in double figures, led by 16 from Manu Ginobili. Tony Parker led the starters with 14 points and seven assists. The Pelicans got 12 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks from Jrue Holiday and 17 from Ryan Anderson off the bench.
UTAH JAZZ 89, Chicago Bulls 83
Growing Gordon – Gordon Hayward led the Jazz to their second victory of the year, with 15 points, six rebounds, 12 assists, one steal and a block. Surprisingly, he didn’t take a 3-pointer. Trey Burke shot just 5-for-17, ending with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. The Derrick Rose-less Bulls got 26 points and 16 rebounds from Carlos Boozer.
Monday’s Top Five
LeBron James makes everything look easy. (NBA.com photo)
| Player | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LeBron James | PHO | W | 33:21 | 11 | 14 | .786 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 11 | 11 | 1.000 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 35 | |
| George Hill | MIN | W | 39:02 | 9 | 13 | .692 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 5 | 6 | .833 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 26 | |
| Carmelo Anthony | @ | POR | L | 42:46 | 13 | 25 | .520 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 7 | 10 | .700 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 34 |
| Nicolas Batum | NYK | W | 38:40 | 8 | 12 | .667 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 4 | 5 | .800 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 | |
| Dwyane Wade | PHO | W | 33:04 | 9 | 13 | .692 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1.000 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/26/2013.
Monday’s Bottom Five
The Suns are still counting their lucky stars they didn’t end up with Gordon. (NBA.com photo)
| Player | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Gordon | @ | SAS | L | 19:16 | 2 | 9 | .222 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | |
| Iman Shumpert | @ | POR | L | 23:16 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Jerryd Bayless | HOU | L | 17:38 | 1 | 7 | .143 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Corey Brewer | @ | IND | L | 40:09 | 3 | 12 | .250 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Marquis Teague | @ | UTA | L | 14:19 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/26/2013.
Nightly Goose Egg Award
Someone tell Iman Shumpert he can’t tank trades. He’s the winner of our Goose Egg award, as he played 23:16 without scoring a single point.
Nightly Clean and Sober Award
Congrats to Anthony Tolliver, who played 10:38 without taking a shot. Stay on the straight and narrow, sir.
Circling The Drain
30. Utah Jazz (2-14)
29. Milwaukee Bucks (2-11)
28. New York Knicks (3-10)
27. Brooklyn Nets (3-10)
26. Sacramento Kings (4-9)
Random Tidbits and News
The Blazers didn’t have a bench player play over 13 minutes…I’m surprised Dwight Howard didn’t take more advantage of the Grizzlies…Kosta Koufos did have seven offensive rebounds…The Suns subscribed to the “die by the three” theory last night…The Bulls played Luol Deng 44:44 and are in trouble (again)…Ricky Rubio with five more steals to extend his league lead to 50.
Tuesday’s Schedule and Lines (courtesy of VegasInsider.com)
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Your Best Bets*
Raptors -1
Lakers at Wizards OVER 207.5
Monday’s Best Bets
Bucks at Pistons OVER 192 (WIN)
Mavericks -5 (LOSS)
Season Record: 22-17
*you know, if it’s legal and you’re responsible about it.