Last week: Won at Minnesota 134-106, won at Clippers 129-124, lost at Utah 103-100, won at Oklahoma City 121-119
This week: Thursday vs. Chicago, Saturday at Indiana
After winning three of four on the road last week, the Milwaukee Bucks will have a light week this week with just two games and three full days off after coming from behind to beat the Thunder Sunday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to be a walking stat sheet, averaging 34.3 points, 15.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 33.8 minutes per game last week, shooting 58.0 percent overall and — this has to terrify opponents — hitting 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from deep.
Antetokounmpo has 10 consecutive double-doubles to start the season and in three of the four games last week had at least 30 points and 15 rebounds, including a 38-point, 16-rebound, nine-assists outing in Milwaukee’s win over the Clippers on Wednesday.
Milwaukee is still taking a ton of 3s this season, with their 42.0 attempts per game second only to Houston in the NBA, but their 35.0 percent conversion rate ranks just 17th.
Last week: Won at Cleveland 119-113, won at Charlotte 108-87, won at San Antonio 135-115
This week: Monday vs. Dallas, Wednesday vs. Washington, Friday at Golden State, Sunday at Sacramento
The Boston Celtics ran their winning streak to seven games following a loss in their opener, winning three road games last week.
The dark cloud with that silver lining, however, is that Gordon Hayward sustained a broken left hand in the blowout of San Antonio Saturday night and will likely miss at least a month. That put a damper on a terrific week for Hayward, who still averaged 22.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 25.9 minutes per game despite logging just 15 minutes against the Spurs.
He also shot 66.7 percent overall despite going only 3-for-12 from deep. Hayward had a huge game at Cleveland on Tuesday, scoring 39 points with eight assists and seven boards while going 17-for-20 overall. He was 1-for-4 from 3-point range, meaning he made 16-of-16 inside the arc.
Hayward was the first player since 1983-84, per Basketball-Reference, to hit at least 16 shots without a miss from 2-point range.
The Celtics have a couple of home games before starting what will be a five-game Western trip this weekend.
Last week: Lost at Denver 109-89, won at Phoenix 124-108, lost at Lakers 95-80
This week: Tuesday vs. Detroit, Thursday at Cleveland, Saturday vs. New Orleans
The Miami Heat had a peaks-and-valleys Western trip last week, getting hammers by both the Nuggets and Lakers and in turn hammering the Suns.
Jimmy Butler started to show some signs his shooting touch was returning, particularly in Phoenix. For the week, Butler averaged 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.8 minutes a night, shooting 47.7 percent overall while going only 2-for-9 from deep. He was, however, 28-for-30 at the foul line (93.3 percent).
Against the Suns, Butler put up a season-high 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting, with five boards and four dimes.
The Heat were a little banged up on the trip, with Justise Winslow still out under the NBA concussion protocol and valuable reserve Derrick Jones sidelined by a bad hip.