Eight games dotted the NBA landscape, with the Milwaukee Bucks dodging a Bullet, I mean, a Wizard (sorry, old school Washington Bullets pun there) as Bradley Beal put up 55 in an overtime loss.
Speaking of Washington Bullets, the son of former Bullets coach Bernie Bickerstaff is now 2-1 after taking the Miami Heat to overtime and winning last night in Cleveland. Congrats, J-Beezy!
Six other games as well …
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Miami Heat 119
Cleveland Cavaliers 125 (OT)
J.B. Bickerstaff is making the most out of the weapons he does have on this roster, downing the Miami Heat for his second win in three games last night in Cleveland. Not only did he get 30 points and eight rebounds out of Kevin Porter, Jr., but he got six other Cavaliers involved and in double digit scoring. Other than Porter, Kevin Love (17 and 14), and Larry Nance, Jr. (16 and eight), he got 15 and nine from Tristan Thompson, 14-5-7 from Darius Garland, and 13 apiece from both Andre Drummond and Collin Sexton. Miami’s Bam Adebayo had a spectacular night and Goran Dragic matched Adebayo’s 22 points, but the Cavaliers weren’t about to be denied last night.
| HEAT (36-21) 4th in the East | CAVALIERS (16-41) 15th in the East |
| Bam Adebayo 22 points – 13 rebounds – nine assists – three steals – four blocks | Kevin Porter, Jr. 30 points – eight rebounds – three assists – three steals |
| Goran Dragic 22 points – four rebounds – six assists | Kevin Love 17 points – 14 rebounds – four assists – two blocks |
| Jae Crowder 16 points – nine rebounds – three assists | Larry Nance, Jr. 16 points – eight rebounds – two assists – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Philadelphia at Cleveland – Wednesday
Minnesota at Miami – Wednesday
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Atlanta Hawks 112
Philadelphia 76ers 129
The Philadelphia 76ers are playing Jekyll and Hyde basketball again, coming out and throttling the Atlanta Hawks just two days after being beaten by 21 at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. Of course, that can happen when you play the best team in the NBA and then switch up to a team that hasn’t reached 20 wins yet. While it may seem flattering that Joel Embiid has to score 49 points for the Sixers to beat the Hawks, consider that Ben Simmons is out indefinitely after re-aggravating a back injury, so the extra workload will be on the shoulders of Embiid, #VFL Tobias Harris, #VFL Josh Richardson, and Furkan Korkmaz. Here’s where they will miss J.J. Redick and his ability to create space and knock down shots. Atlanta was carried by Trae Young, De’Andre Hunter and John Collins.
| HAWKS (17-42) 14th in the East | SIXERS (36-22) 5th in the East |
| Trae Young 28 points – seven rebounds – 10 assists | Joel Embiid 49 points – 14 rebounds – three assists – three steals – one block |
| De’Andre Hunter 22 points – seven rebounds – two assists | #VFL Tobias Harris 25 points – six rebounds – four assists – one steal – one block |
| John Collins 21 points – nine rebounds – one assist – two steals | Furkan Korkmaz 15 points – six rebounds – two assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Orlando at Atlanta – Wednesday
Philadelphia at Cleveland – Wednesday
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Milwaukee Bucks 137
Washington Wizards 134 (OT)
Try as they might, the Washington Wizards just couldn’t pull the upset over the Milwaukee Bucks last night, despite a career high 55 points from Bradley Beal. Shabazz Napier had his best game as a Washington Wizard as well, but the hot shooting from the Bucks (56 percent) was too much for the host Wizards in the end. Khris Middleton scored 40, including Milwaukee’s final nine points, to seal the win with Giannis Antetokuonmpo watching from the bench after fouling out with a minute and a half left in regulation. Beal’s career night came on the heels of his career high of 53 in a loss to the Chicago Bulls. The loss also keeps the Wizards 4.5 games back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference – the Bucks are the fastest team in NBA history to have clinched a playoff spot, which they did with the win over Philadelphia on Saturday night.
| BUCKS (49-8) 1st in the East, NBA | WIZARDS (20-36) 9th in the East |
| Khris Middleton 40 points – five rebounds – five assists – three steals | Bradley Beal 55 points – two rebounds – three assists |
| Eric Bledsoe 23 points – seven rebounds – 10 assists | Shabazz Napier 27 points – four rebounds – seven assists – two steals |
| Giannis Antetokuonmpo 22 points – 14 rebounds – two assists – one block (fouled out) | Ish Smith 13 points – two rebounds – seven assists – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Milwaukee at Toronto – Tonight
Brooklyn at Washington – Wednesday
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Orlando Magic 115
Brooklyn Nets 113
After the dust settled at the Barclays Center last night, the Orlando Magic were still in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, and the Brooklyn Nets were still in seventh – but Orlando is now within striking distance, only 1.5 games back of the Nets. The Magic came back from a 19 point hole to take the win, on the strong shoulders of the true Slam Dunk champion Aaron Gordon, who dropped a game high 27 points and 10 rebounds, but his two blocks had the most effect, as he swatted away a potential game winner in the waning moments of the game. Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 24 points.
| MAGIC (25-32) 8th in the East | NETS (26-30) 7th in the East |
| Aaron Gordon 27 points – 10 rebounds – four assists – one steal – two blocks | Spencer Dinwiddie 24 points – one rebound – eight assists |
| Terrence Ross 21 points – eight rebounds – one assist – one steal | Caris LeVert 19 points – five rebounds – eight assists – one steal |
| Evan Fournier 21 points – one rebound – four assists | Garrett Temple 18 points – two rebounds – five assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Brooklyn at Washington – Wednesday
Orlando at Atlanta – Wednesday
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New York Knicks 112
Houston Rockets 123
In the Houston Rockets’ last game, James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined for 72 points after shooting a GQ Magazine photoshoot together. Last night, they combined for 37 as Harden did his part in scoring just a shade over half of 72 and Westbrook took a game off for load management, but the team came together and hit for 72 in the first half to put the game out of reach for the New York Knicks in Houston. While Dennis Smith, Jr. had arguably his best game this season, one cannot ignore facts: In the 273 minutes that Frank Ntilikina and Damyean Dotson have shared the court this year, New York has outscored their opponents by 32 points. With Smith and Kevin Knox on the floor, the Knicks have been outscored by 143 points. Smith and Knox were once reportedly the future of the franchise.
| KNICKS (17-40) 13th in the East | ROCKETS (37-20) 4th in the West |
| R.J. Barrett 21 points – six rebounds – three assists – one steal | James Harden 37 points – six rebounds – nine assists – two steals |
| Julius Randle 17 points – 12 rebounds – three assists – one steal | Ben McLemore 17 points – three rebounds |
| Dennis Smith, Jr. 15 points – seven rebounds – five assists – seven steals | Eric Gordon 16 points – two assists – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
New York at Charlotte – Wednesday
Memphis at Houston – Wednesday
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Minnesota Timberwolves 123
Dallas Mavericks 139
Yes, D’Angelo Russell is 0-4 as a Minnesota Timberwolf. So is Malik Beasley. The same for James Johnson. All three led the Timberwolves in scoring last night, but are still winless with their new team as the Dallas Mavericks honored Dirk Nowitzki with a 41 points first quarter, scoring 81 in the first half to run away from the Wolves and on to a 16 point victory. And that was with Luka Doncic scoring a pedestrian 20 points in the game. He also had nine rebounds and seven assists. Russell led all scorers, and combined for 50 with Beasley, but Dallas had seven players in double digits, led by Tim Hardaway, Jr.’s 23 on the night.
| TIMBERWOLVES (16-40) 14th in the West | MAVERICKS (35-23) 7th in the West |
| D’Angelo Russell 29 points – three rebounds – five assists – one assist | Tim Hardaway, Jr. 23 points – four rebounds – one assist – one steal |
| Malik Beasley 21 points – four rebounds – one assist | Luka Doncic 20 points – nine rebounds – seven assists – two steals – one block |
| James Johnson 19 points – five rebounds – one assist | Seth Curry 19 points – two rebounds – two assists |
NEXT GAMES
Minnesota at Miami – Wednesday
Dallas at San Antonio – Wednesday
********************
Phoenix Suns 131
Utah Jazz 111
Utah ran out to a 12 point lead after one, but the Phoenix Suns flipped the scoreboard in the second quarter to even things up after the first half at 62-62. They continued their momentum in the second half while the Jazz went mute, and the Suns danced out of Salt Lake City with a 20 point win that hurt the Jazz more than it helped the Suns. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers, but it was Ricky Rubio who stole the game from the Jazz – literally. Rubio picked the pockets of his former teammates seven times last night, helping Phoenix to the win, creating opportunities with 11 assists as well. Devin Booker led the Suns with 24 points scoring.
| SUNS (24-34) 12th in the West | JAZZ (36-21) 5th in the West |
| Devin Booker 24 points – four rebounds – 10 assists | Donovan Mitchell 38 points – four rebounds – four assists – one steal |
| Ricky Rubio 22 points – six rebounds – 11 assists – seven steals | Bojan Bogdanovic 16 points – three rebounds – two assists – two steals |
| Kelly Oubre, Jr. 18 points – three rebounds – two assists – one steal – one block | Jordan Clarkson 14 points – two rebounds – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Los Angeles at Phoenix – Wednesday
Boston at Utah – Wednesday
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Memphis Grizzlies 97
Los Angeles Clippers 124
Like their counterparts in the Eastern Conference, the Memphis Grizzlies are now a sub-.500 playoff team after losing back to back games in L.A. to the Clippers last night and the Lakers two nights ago. The loss to the Clippers looked much worse than their valiant effort against the Lakers. Despite two days of rest, the Grizzlies looked listless as they lumbered through a 40-14 first quarter, which set the tone for the night and was all the cushion the Clippers needed to ensure the 27 point win. Former Grizzly JaMychael Green had 13 and nine off the bench against his former club, but it was Kawhi Leonard shooting 58.8 percent on the Grizzlies for his game high 25 points in as many minutes.
| GRIZZLIES (28-29) 8th in the West | CLIPPERS (38-13) 3rd in the West |
| Ja Morant 16 points – one assist | Kawhi Leonard 25 points – eight rebounds – three assists – two steals |
| Gorgui Dieng 14 points – 10 rebounds – one steal – four blocks | Montrezl Harrell 22 points – two rebounds – three assists – two blocks |
| Josh Jackson 14 points – five rebounds – one assist – two blocks | JaMychal Green 13 points – nine rebounds – one assist – one steal – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Memphis at Houston – Wednesday
Los Angeles at Phoenix – Wednesday
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TUESDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
| 7 p.m. Charlotte Hornets Indiana Pacers Fox Sports Indiana | 7:30 p.m. Milwaukee Bucks Toronto Raptors TNT | 8 p.m. Oklahoma City Thunder Chicago Bulls NBC Sports Chicago |
| 9 p.m. Detroit Pistons Denver Nuggets TNT | 10 p.m. New Orleans Pelicans Los Angeles Lakers Fox Sports New Orleans | 10 p.m. Boston Celtics Portland Trailblazers NBC Sports Boston |
| 10:30 p.m. Sacramento Kings Golden State Warriors NBC Sports California |
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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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