Nemanja Bjelica has a huge night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drops a beautiful triple double, Lonzo Ball is resurrected in New Orleans, and we got to see classic Dwight Howard in the Lakers win last night.
The last night of the three night, seven games a night package dropped with New Orleans Pelicans celebrating right alongside the Louisiana State Tigers in wins on Monday evening.
Indiana controlled its own destiny against a conference rival, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pulled his first triple double but has a long way to go to fill Russell Westbrook’s WhyNot0.3 shoes, and we witnessed the return of an old friend in Dwight Howard.
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New Orleans Pelicans 117 Detroit Pistons 110 (OT)
If you thought Lonzo Ball was a slouch when it comes to playing basketball, you haven’t seen how he’s resurrected himself in New Orleans. Ball scored almost a third of his 17 points in the overtime period to help the New Orleans Pelicans overcome a 16 point deficit and take a victory home to The Big Easy as the Pelicans prepare to face the Utah Jazz on Thursday night in what is expected to be Zion Williamson’s NBA season debut. Former Pelican Christian Wood had a good showing versus his former squad with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Jahlil Okafor came out of nowhere to lead the Pelicans along with Ball and Nicolo Melli.
PELICANS (15-26) 14th in the West
PISTONS (14-27) 11th in the East
Jahlil Okafor 25 points – 15 rebounds – four assists – three blocks
Derrick Rose 23 points – four rebounds – eight assists – one block
Nicolo Melli 20 points – three rebounds – two assists – two steals
Christian Wood 18 points – nine rebounds – one assist – two steals – three blocks
Lonzo Ball 17 points – 12 rebounds – nine assists – three steals
Sekou Doumbouya 16 points – eight rebounds – one assist – one steal – one block
NEXT GAMES Pistons at Celtics – Wednesday Jazz at Pelicans – Thursday
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Philadelphia 76ers 95 Indiana Pacers 101
Back on New Years Eve, the Indiana Pacers closed out 2019 by KO’ing the Philadelphia 76ers, 115-97. In 2020, things haven’t changed, though the blow was much softer last night than NYE, as the Pacers pulled out another on against Philadelphia to move past the Sixers in the Eastern Conference standings and take over fifth place with the win.
SIXERS (25-16) 6th in the East
PACERS (25-15) 5th in the East
Ben Simmons 24 points – 14 rebounds – three assists – one steal
Malcolm Brogdon 21 points – seven rebounds – nine assists – one steal
#VFL Josh Richardson 23 points – four rebounds – three assists
T.J. Warren 21 points – one rebound – two assists – two steals – two blocks
#VFL Tobias Harris 15 points – 11 rebounds – three assists – one steal
Myles Turner 14 points – 10 rebounds – one assist – three blocks
NEXT GAMES Nets at Sixers – Wednesday Pacers at Timberwolves – Wednesdat
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Chicago Bulls 101 Boston Celtics 113
The Chicago Bulls have lost seven of their last eight games after last night’s loss to the Boston Celtics. One might question about last night as I have all season – where the heck is Lauri Markkanen? The guy looks like he hit the weight room in the offseason, but his production number suck this year compared to last. His production numbers are down off his career averages after 40 games, and against Boston, he only put up nine points, six rebounds, and two steals in 25 minutes of play, shooting 44.4 percent and nothing from downtown.
BULLS (14-27) 10th in the East
CELTICS (27-11) 2nd in the East
Zach LaVine 30 points – five rebounds – two assists – one steal
Jayson Tatum 21 points – six rebounds – two assists – one steal – two blocks
Thaddeus Young 17 points – two rebounds – one assist
Jaylen Brown 19 points – three rebounds – three assists – two steals
Tomas Satoransky 12 points – one rebound – seven assists – one steal
Enes Kanter 15 points – nine rebounds – one steal – one block
NEXT GAMES Wizards at Bulls – Wednesday Pistons at Celtics – Wednesday
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Oklahoma City Thunder 117 Minnesota Timberwolves 104
Last night was a career night for Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Not only did he hit career bests in rebounds and assists, but he notched his first career triple double as the Oklahoma City Thunder quieted the howl of the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 13 point road win. The Thunder have won six of their last seven on the road, and 12 of their last 15 games overall.
THUNDER (23-17) 7th in the West
TIMBERWOLVES (15-24) 12th in the West
Danilo Gallinari 30 points – four rebounds – one assist – one steal
Naz Reid 20 points – one rebound – one assist – one block
Robert Covington 18 points – four rebounds – two assists – three steals – one block
Terrance Ferguson / Dennis Schroder14 points – three rebounds – one assist (each)
Shabazz Napier 16 points – five rebounds – four assists
NEXT GAMES Raptors at Thunder – Wednesday Pacers at Timberwolves – Wednesday
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Charlotte Hornets 112 Portland Trailblazers 115
The Portland Trailblazers had lost four in a row at the Moda Center in the Rose Garden. That was enough. Time to reset their clocks to Dame Time. Damian Lillard dropped 30 points last night to stop that skid, while C.J. McCollum, Carmelo Anthony, and Anthony Tolliver put their best efforts forward to help vanquish the Charlotte Hornets. Tolliver finished with a season high 16 points, all of them in the fourth quarter to fend off a Hornets team that poured out an impressive 43 points in the third quarter to remain relevant in the game.
HORNETS (15-28) 9th in the East
BLAZERS (17-24) 10th in the West
Devonte’ Graham 27 points – three rebounds – 10 assists – one steal
Damian Lillard 30 points – three rebounds – nine assists
Terry Rozier 25 points – seven rebounds – three assists
C.J. McCollum 27 points – four rebounds – four assists – one block
P.J. Washington 20 points – 11 rebounds – three assists – two steals – two blocks
Carmelo Anthony 17 points – six rebounds – eight assists – one steal
NEXT GAMES Hornets at Nuggets – Wednesday Blazers at Rockets – Wednesday
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Orlando Magic 114 Sacramento Kings 112
The Orlando Magic overcame a Herculean effort by Sacramento’s Nemanja Bjelica last night in Sacramento with a little bit of Casper. Aaron Gordon hit for the three point play with 1.1 seconds left in the game to lift Orlando to its 19th win of the season, after Bjelica dropped 34 points on the Magic, shooting 81.3 percent from the floor and 80 percent from beyond the arc, all for naught. The Magic won despite shooting considerably poorer from the field (ORL 43% to SAC 51%), three point territory (ORL 31% to SAC 38%), and the line (83% to 90%) on the night.
MAGIC (19-21) 7th in the East
KINGS (15-25) 13th in the West
Nikola Vucevic 26 points – 15 rebounds – two assists – three blocks
Nemanja Bjelica 34 points – seven rebounds – two assists – two steals
Evan Fournier 25 points – six assists – one steal
De’Aaron Fox 31 points – eight rebounds – 10 assists – one steal – one block
Aaron Gordon 19 points – nine rebounds – two assists – one block
Marvin Bagley III 18 points – six rebounds – two blocks
NEXT GAMES Magic at Lakers – Wednesday Mavericks at Kings – Wednesday
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Cleveland Cavaliers 99 Los Angeles Lakers 128
You knew when Anthony Davis went down that Dwight Howard was going to get more minutes. What we didn’t know is that we’d get the old Dwight Howard – as in the Orlando Magic Dwight Howard. LeBron James may have scored 23 of his 31 points in a second half that saw the Los Angeles Lakers drown James’ former Cavaliers with 81 points, but it was nice to see the recently guaranteed Howard put up the numbers he did, shooting 81.8 percent from the field, two of three from the line and hit his only three point attempt. You keep going, DH.
CAVALIERS (12-28) 13th in the East
LAKERS (33-7) 1st in the West
Kevin Love 21 points – 11 rebounds – three assists
LeBron James 31 points – two rebounds – eight assists – one steal
Tristan Thompson 17 points – 10 rebounds – two assists – one steal
Dwight Howard 21 points – 15 rebounds – two assists
Collin Sexton 16 points – three rebounds – four assists
Avery Bradley 12 points – three rebounds
NEXT GAMES Cavaliers at Clippers – Tonight Magic at Lakers – Wednesday
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TUESDAY’S LINEUP (All Times Eastern)
7:30 p.m. Phoenix Suns Atlanta Hawks Fox Sports Arizona
7:30 p.m. Utah Jazz Brooklyn Nets NBATV
8 p.m. New York Knicks Milwaukee Bucks Fox Sports North – Wisconsin
8 p.m. Houston Rockets Memphis Grizzlies Fox Sports Southeast
10:30 p.m. Dallas Mavericks Golden State Warriors NBATV
10:30 p.m. Cleveland Cavaliers Los Angeles Clippers FSN Prime Ticket
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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, and Oklahoma City. A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in Tennessee. Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
