Nine games last night and a couple of big upsets in the East with Cleveland shooting down the 76ers, and Minnesota cooling down the Miami Heat, who blew another big lead in another loss to a non-playoff team.
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Philadelphia 76ers 94
Cleveland Cavaliers 108
A 28-17 opening quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers were off and running against another tough, playoff-bound Eastern Conference opponent … and another win for J.B. Bickerstaff, who’s now 3-1 after taking over for John Beilein. He has the team believing in itself once again, and suddenly, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not the bottom of the basement in the East. Collin Sexton led all scorers with 28 points. Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance, Jr. both finished with double doubles, and a total of six Cavaliers finished with double digits, including Kevin Love matching Nance’s 13, and a dozen each from Darius Garland and Matthew Dellavedova. Shake Milton led the Sixers, who were without Ben Simmons (nerve impingement), and lost Joel Embiid to a shoulder sprain after eight minutes and three points. Don’t forget how brutal Sixers fans can be.
| SIXERS (36-23) 5th in the East | CAVALIERS (17-41) 14th in the East |
| Shake Milton 20 points – four rebounds – four assists – one block | Collin Sexton 28 points – one rebound – two assists – two steals |
| Furkan Korkmaz 14 points – one rebound – two assists – one steal | Tristan Thompson 14 points – 13 rebounds – two assists – one steal – one block |
| Alec Burks 13 points – two rebounds – two assists – two steals | Larry Nance, Jr. 13 points – 15 rebounds – three assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
New York at Philadelphia – Tonight
Cleveland at New Orleans – Friday
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Brooklyn Nets 106
Washington Wizards 110
The Washington Wizards raced out to a 31-17 first quarter lead, then fought off the pesky Brooklyn Nets through the second and third quarters, in which the Nets put forth a 67-50 romp, only to fend them off with a 29-22 fourth to preserve their first quarter efforts. Bradley Beal didn’t drop 50+ in this game like he did in the past two outings. In fact, Beal wasn’t even the game’s leading scorer. That honor went to Caris LeVert with 34 points. But I’m sure Beal would much rather have the win, which is what the Wizards earned, after Jerome Robinson took a Beal assist and turned it into a game winning three pointer. Beal did have 17 points in the fourth quarter.
| NETS (26-31) 7th in the East | WIZARDS (21-36) 9th in the East |
| Caris LeVert 34 points – six rebounds – seven assists – four steals | Bradley Beal 30 points – five rebounds – five assists – three steals |
| Spencer Dinwiddie 18 points – six rebounds – three assists | Rui Hachimura 17 points – four rebounds |
| DeAndre Jordan 16 points – 16 rebounds | Davis Bertans 14 points – three rebounds – two assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Brooklyn at Atlanta – Friday
Washington at Utah – Friday
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New York Knicks 101
Charlotte Hornets 107
Charlotte kept up its peskiness all night long, resulting in a six point win over the visiting New York Knicks, after picking up the pace with a 26-19 second quarter, and despite the Knicks shooting 50 percent to Charlotte’s 47 percent. The Knicks have now lost five in a row after some of the team have come out in support of interim coach Mike Miller. (Maybe they’re trying to make the head coaching spot less desirable to Tom Thibodeau?) Terry Rozier and Devonte’ Graham combined for 47 of the Hornets’ 107 points and improved to their 20th win of the season.
| KNICKS (17-41) 13th in the East | HORNETS (20-38) 10th in the East |
| Julius Randle 18 points – nine rebounds – three assists – two blocks | Terry Rozier 26 points – three rebounds – four assists – one steal |
| Bobby Portis 17 points – three rebounds – one block | Devonte’ Graham 21 points – one rebound – five assists – one steal |
| Allonzo Trier 15 points – one steal | Bismack Biyombo 12 points – five rebounds – four assists – one steal – four blocks (fouled out) |
NEXT GAMES
New York at Philadelphia – Tonight
Charlotte at Toronto – Friday
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Orlando Magic 130
Atlanta Hawks 120
Despite being in the comforts of State Farm Arena last night, the Atlanta Hawks have fallen back down to the worst record in the Eastern Conference after losing to the Orlando Magic. The Magic spread 80 points over the second and third quarters to pull away from the Hawks, who had 37 from Trae Young and 26 from John Collins. Orlando was led by Evan Fournier’s 28 and a solid night from Aaron Gordon, who had 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, a steal, and three blocks. It will be interesting to see how and how much Clint Capela contributes, if he makes it onto the floor this season. The difference last night was Orlando’s bench, which saw 15 points from Mo Bamba and 14 from Terrence Ross.
| MAGIC (26-32) 8th in the East | HAWKS (17-43) 15th in the East |
| Evan Fournier 28 points – four rebounds – five assists – three steals | Trae Young 37 points – two rebounds – 11 assists – one steal – one block |
| Aaron Gordon 25 points – 10 rebounds – six assists – one steal – three blocks | John Collins 26 points – seven rebounds – four assists – two blocks |
| Nikola Vucevic 17 points – 12 rebounds – three assists – one block | Cam Reddish 14 points – three rebounds – one assist – two steals – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Minnesota at Orlando – Friday
Brooklyn at Atlanta – Friday
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Minnesota Timberwolves 129
Miami Heat 126
D’Angelo Russell has his first win as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves after five tries. Ergo, so does Malik Beasley, James Johnson, and Juancho Hernangomez, all of whom were integral in the win over the Miami Heat last night. Minnesota closed the game on Miami’s floor with a 20-5 run over the last three minutes and 59 seconds. Miami also lost a large lead against Cleveland earlier in the week, falling to the Cavaliers after being spotted a 22 point lead. Russell led six Timberwolves into double digit scoring territory with a game high 27 points. Kendrick Nunn had 24 for Miami. This was Minnesota’s second win in 20 games, but one that was needed. We’ll see how they respond from here – Miami, too, who still maintains possession of fourth in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia loss to Cleveland.
| TIMBERWOLVES (17-40) 14th in the West | HEAT (36-22) 4th in the East |
| D’Angelo Russell 27 points – five rebounds – six assists – three steals – one block | Kendrick Nunn 24 points – two rebounds – six assists |
| Malik Beasley 21 points – six rebounds – five assists – two steals | Bam Adebayo 22 points – 10 rebounds – seven assists – two blocks |
| Juancho Hernangomez 17 points – five rebounds – one assist – two steals | Jimmy Butler 18 points – four rebounds – nine assists – two blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Minnesota at Orlando – Friday
Dallas at Miami – Friday
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Memphis Grizzlies 112
Houston Rockets 140
After a 73 point first half launch, the game was in hand for the Houston Rockets, who put the Memphis Grizzlies two games under .500 last night. The Grizzlies, who’d gone on quite an impressive tear before the All Star Break, have lost five straight now, all but undoing the progress they’d made earlier in 2020. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook and James Harden continue to do their thing, with Westbrook leading all scorers with 33 points and nine rebounds, while Harden chipped in 30, and Austin Rivers checked into this season after 57 games, bringing 23 points to the table. Memphis was led by Dillon Brooks who had 22 points. With the lead, Harden didn’t even have to play in the fourth quarter, while the competitive Westbrook sat the final six minutes.
| GRIZZLIES (28-30) 8th in the West | ROCKETS (38-20) 4th in the West |
| Dillon Brooks 22 points – one rebound – three assists | Russell Westbrook 33 points – nine rebounds – eight assists – four steals |
| Jonas Valanciunas 16 points – 10 rebounds – one assist | James Harden 30 points – seven rebounds – three assists – one steal |
| Ja Morant 12 points – three rebounds – nine assists – one steal | Austin Rivers 23 points – four rebounds – three assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Sacramento at Memphis – Friday
Houston at Boston – Saturday
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Dallas Mavericks 109
San Antonio Spurs 103
It’s always a classic when these two Texas teams square off … but the way the San Antonio Spurs are flagging this season, that stigma, that magic seems to have disappeared. Regardless, the Dallas Mavericks went into the AT&T Center and took another game from the San Antonio Spurs, who look like they may not make the playoffs for the first time in a very, very long time. Kristaps Porzingis led Dallas and all scorers with 28 points and 12 rebounds while Luka Doncic recorded his 13th triple double this season to lead Dallas to the win. San Antonio hung tough with DeMar DeRozan’s 27 and eight, but he got little help from the rest of the Spurs’ roster. The win put an end to Dallas’ four game losing streak.
| MAVERICKS (36-23) 7th in the West | SPURS (24-33) 12th in the West |
| Kristaps Porzingis 28 points – 12 rebounds – one assist – two steals – three blocks | DeMar DeRozan 27 points – eight rebounds – nine assists – one steal |
| Luka Doncic 26 points – 10 rebounds – 14 assists – one steal | Marco Belinelli 14 points – eight rebounds – one assist – one steal – one block |
| Tim Hardaway, Jr. 17 points – two rebounds | Lonnie Walker IV 12 points – three rebounds – two assists – three blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Dallas at Miami – Friday
Orlando at San Antonio – Saturday
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Los Angeles Clippers 102
Phoenix Suns 92
What started out as a hot first quarter for the Phoenix Suns actually ignited the competitive spirit in the Los Angeles Clippers, who ripped out to 81 points over the final three to Phoenix’s cooled down 63, and an L.A. road win in the end. Paul George and Patrick Beverley have come back from injuries and both dropped 11 points apiece last night, but the newcomers helped Kawhi Leonard the most. Marcus Morris had 18 and Reggie Jackson added 12 to Leonard’s 24 points. Deandre Ayton led the Suns with a solid 25 and 17 night, but Devin Booker shooting only 26.3 percent is never going to help the Suns’ cause.
| CLIPPERS (39-19) 3rd in the West | SUNS (24-35) 13th in the West |
| Kawhi Leonard 24 points – 14 rebounds – five assists – three steals | Deandre Ayton 25 points – 17 rebounds – three blocks |
| Marcus Morris 18 points – five rebounds – three assists – one block | Ricky Rubio 18 points – six rebounds – 10 assists – three steals |
| Reggie Jackson 12 points – two rebounds – one assist – one block | Devin Booker 14 points – 10 assists |
NEXT GAMES
Detroit at Phoenix – Friday
Denver at Los Angeles – Friday
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Boston Celtics 114
Utah Jazz 103
The Utah Jazz’s sad melodies continued last night with the Boston Celtics in town, handing Utah its fourth consecutive loss and sixth in its last 10 games. Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum went at each other all night long, and while Mitchell came out the higher scorer, Tatum came away with the win, one Utah sorely needed. Prior to the game, numerous reports were put out that Mike Conley was going to be benched in favor of Royce O’Neale, but both put out similar numbers, neither cancelling one another out. Other than Boston’s basketball acumen one through five, the difference was Bojan Bogdanovic shooting a putrid 12.5 percent for just three points, and Jordan Clarkson only ringing up nine. Gordon Hayward scored 12 in his old stomping grounds.
| CELTICS (41-17) 3rd in the East | JAZZ (36-22) 6th in the West |
| Jayson Tatum 33 points – 11 rebounds – three assists | Donovan Mitchell 37 points – five rebounds – five assists |
| Jaylen Brown 20 points – six rebounds – two assists – one steal | Mike Conley 15 points – four rebounds – three assists – one steal |
| Marcus Smart 17 points – three rebounds – nine assists – three steals – one block | Royce O’Neale 14 points – four rebounds – one assist – three steals |
NEXT GAMES
Washington at Utah – Friday
Houston at Boston – Saturday
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THURSDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
| 7 p.m.New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers MSG Network, NBC Sports Philadelphia | 8 p.m. Portland Trailblazers Indiana Pacers NBC Sports Northwest, NBATV |
| 8 p.m. Sacramento Kings Oklahoma City Thunder NBC Sports California, Fox Sports Oklahoma | 10:30 p.m. Los Angeles Lakers Golden State Warriors Spectrum SportsNet |
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Tracy Graven is a Senior NBA Analyst for BackSportsPage.com.
He has written the NBA, and done NBA radio, for the last two decades for HoopsWorld, Swish Magazine, and HoopsHype, the Coach Scott Fields Show and NBARadioShow.com, and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and will be pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage.
He’s spent 20 years in locker rooms in
- Orlando
- Boise (G League)
- San Antonio
- Phoenix
- Denver
- Oklahoma City
- Atlanta
A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in SEC Country near Knoxville, Tennessee.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
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