The reigning NBA champions are going through a bit of adversity lately, L.A. bounced back from a humiliating loss in Memphis, Detroit fell apart like the Dodge at the end of ‘The Blues Brothers,’ and the Clippers nearly got ‘Shook’ by a G Leaguer by way of Southern Methodist.
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Los Angeles Lakers 122
New Orleans Pelicans 114
The Los Angeles Lakers bounced back right away from their 17 point loss in Memphis on Saturday night. In their second game in as many nights, they took out their frustrations on the New Orleans Pelicans as Anthony Davis paid another visit to The Big Easy, where he sat out with a ‘sore right knee.’ Zion Williamson led all scorers with 35 points, but it was another triple double performance from LeBron James that led the Lakers back from the embarrassing loss to the Grizzlies. Kyle Kuzma chipped in 20 points for L.A., while former Lakers Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram had solid outings versus their former team. Danny Green, Avery Bradley, and Markieff Morris all had 10 points apiece for the Lakers.
| LAKERS (46-13) 1st in the West | PELICANS (26-34) 9th in the West |
| LeBron James 34 points – 12 rebounds – 13 assists – two steals | Zion Williamson 35 points – seven rebounds |
| Kyle Kuzma 20 points – four rebounds – one assist – one steal | Lonzo Ball 19 points – nine rebounds – nine assists – three steals – one block |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 13 points – two assists – three steals – one block | Brandon Ingram 15 points – four rebounds – two assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Philadelphia at Los Angeles – Tuesday
Minnesota at New Orleans – Tuesday
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Washington Wizards 124
Golden State Warriors 110
A 31-19 third quarter was all the spell the Wizards needed to cast last night in San Francisco as Washington ran away with the game and recorded their 22nd win of the season, putting the team four games back of the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. On a night when Stephen Curry was slated to return, he instead did shootaround and then headed to Santa Cruz to work out with the team’s G League personnel. That doesn’t mean fans weren’t treated to a nice scoring night … it was just by Washington’s Bradley Beal, who certainly seems to have taken it personally that he wasn’t invited to the All Star Game as a member of the lineup. Beal scored a game high 27 points, had eight dimes, and five takeaways to lead Washington to the win. Andrew Wiggins led Golden State with 27 and six.
| WIZARDS (22-37) 9th in the East | WARRIORS (13-48) 15th in the West |
| Bradley Beal 34 points – two rebounds – eight assists – five steals | Andrew Wiggins 27 points – six rebounds – two assists – two steals – two blocks |
| Davis Bertans 29 points – four rebounds – one block | Eric Paschall 17 points – seven rebounds – six assists |
| Rui Hachimura 15 points – eight rebounds – one assist | Jordan Poole 17 points – three rebounds – seven assists |
| Mychal Mulder 17 points – two rebounds – one assist – one steal – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Washington at Sacramento – Tuesday
Golden State at Denver – Tuesday
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Milwaukee Bucks 93
Charlotte Hornets 85
The Charlotte Hornets couldn’t make it a 1-2 punch of the Eastern Conference’s two best teams this week. After stinging the Toronto Raptors, the Hornets had a chance to do the same to the league’s best team. Buty the Milwaukee Bucks opened up the game with a 26-20 first quarter, then closed the game out with a 23-17 fourth to notch their 52nd win of the season and send the Hornets off half satisfied. It’s been quite some time since the Bucks had only three people in double figures and get a win. Khris Middleton remains sidelined, so the onus was on Giannis Antetokuonmpo to pull through and pull through he did, putting up the first 40-20 night of his career to help Milwaukee to the win. If a moral victory means anything to Charlotte, they are the first team to hold Milwaukee to double digit scoring this season.
| BUCKS (52-8) 1st in the East, NBA | HORNETS (21-39) 10th in the East |
| Giannis Antetokuonmpo 41 points – 20 rebounds – six assists – one steal | Devonte’ Graham 17 points – two rebounds – three assists – one steal |
| Brook Lopez 16 points – seven rebounds – three blocks | Terry Rozier 13 points – three rebounds – four assists – one steal |
| George Hill 11 points – five rebounds – two assists – two steals | P.J. Washington 12 points – six rebounds – three assists – two blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Milwaukee at Miami – Tonight
San Antonio at Charlotte – Tuesday
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Philadelphia 76ers 130
Los Angeles Clippers 136
#VFL Tobias Harris is doing what he can to carry the Philadelphia 76ers while Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons nurse their recent injuries. But he can’t always do it all, so the Sixers tried to ‘Shake’ things up by employing the services of Malik Benjamin’Shake’ Milton, who seemed more than willing to step to the plate and deliver last night, scoring a game high 39 points on an astounding 70 percent night from the field. He and Harris would be Philadelphia’s only highlights, though, as Kawhi Leonard had 30 and three Clippers dropped 24 points apiece – Paul George, Lou Williams, and Montrezl Harrell – as the Clippers escaped with a six point win.
| SIXERS (37-24) 5th in the East | CLIPPERS (41-19) 3rd in the West |
| Shake Milton 39 points – three rebounds – five assists – one steal | Kawhi Leonard 30 points – six rebounds – three assists – one steal |
| #VFL Tobias Harris 25 points – four rebounds – four assists – one steal | Montrezl Harrell 24 points – nine rebounds – four assists – one steal – one block |
| Alec Burks 15 points – six rebounds – three assists | Paul George 24 points – four rebounds – one assist – two steals |
| Lou Williams 24 points – two rebounds – eight assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Philadelphia at Los Angeles – Tuesday
Los Angeles at Oklahoma City – Tuesday
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Dallas Mavericks 111
Minnesota Timberwolves 91
What bum knee? Kristaps Porzingis is becoming the player that the Dallas Mavericks envisioned when they brought him to Big D from the Big Apple. The absence(s) of Luka Doncic have strengthened Porzingis’ game and confidence so that when Doncic is in the lineup, they can pair into Dallas’ dynamic duo and hopefully march the Mavericks deeper into the playoffs than previous years, which have been disappointing to say the least. Porzingis dropped 38 points (tying a season high) and 13 rebounds on the road last night in Minnesota to lead the Mavericks to their 37th win of the season. He also had five blocks – the Timberwolves, as a team, had three. D’Angelo Russell was the high man for Minnesota with 16 points, no blocks.
| MAVERICKS (37-24) 7th in the West | TIMBERWOLVES (17-42) 14th in the West |
| Kristaps Porzingis 38 points – 13 rebounds – four assists – one steal – five blocks | D’Angelo Russell 16 points – nine rebounds – seven assists – two steals |
| Seth Curry 27 points – one rebound – four assists – one steal | Malik Beasley 14 points – three rebounds – one assist – one steal |
| Tim Hardaway, Jr. 19 points – six rebounds – two steals | Juancho Hernangomez 12 points – 12 rebounds – one assist – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Dallas at Chicago – Tonight
Minnesota at New Orleans – Tuesday
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Toronto Raptors 118
Denver Nuggets 133
Strength through adversity. The strongest steel is forged by the fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it’s plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength.The reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors are being tested right now. After a few welts delivered by the Charlotte Hornets, the Raptors traveled to the Mile High City and were absolutely pounded by the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter by a 40-32 advantage, and in the fourth quarter by a game clinching 11 point margin. Nikola Jokic led eight players in double figures for the Nuggets, with 23 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists in what was arguably Denver’s most complete offensive effort of the season. Now if they could just duplicate that in their playoff run. O.G. Anunoby led Toronto with a game high 32 points, seven rebounds, and seven steals, but it wasn’t enough as Toronto only had Anunoby, Norman Powell, Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam in double digits.
| RAPTORS (42-18) 2nd in the East | NUGGETS (41-19) 2nd in the West |
| O.G. Anunoby 32 points – seven rebounds – three assists – seven steals | Nikola Jokic 23 points – 18 rebounds – 11 assists – one steal |
| Norman Powell 24 points – six rebounds – one block | Jamal Murray 22 points – one rebound – five assists |
| Kyle Lowry 17 points – five rebounds – eight assists | Torrey Craig 17 points – three assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Toronto at Phoenix – Tuesday
Golden State at Denver – Tuesday
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Detroit Pistons 100
Sacramento Kings 106
Detroit went out and dropped a 31-16 first quarter on the host Sacramento Kings and then put it on cruise control, rolling toward their 21st win of an otherwise dismal season. The Kings applied the brakes with a 26-19 third quarter, part of a comeback from 17 points down to pull out their 26th win of the season and send the Pistons off with another check engine situation. De’Aaron Fox overcame lower abdominal soreness and led all scorers with 23 points and seven dimes, while Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic combined for another 34 in the win. Christian Wood led Detroit with 20 and 12, while Derrick Rose left the game in the first quarter with an injured ankle. The Kings are on a bit of a hot streak, winning four of five since All Star.
| PISTONS (20-42) 12th in the East | KINGS (26-34) 10th in the West |
| Christian Wood 20 points – 12 rebounds – one block | De’Aaron Fox 23 points – three rebounds – seven assists – one block |
| Brandon Knight 16 points – three rebounds – seven assists | Buddy Hield 19 points – six rebounds – two assists |
| Svi Mykhailiuk 14 points – six rebounds – two assists | Bogdan Bogdanovic 15 points – four steals |
NEXT GAMES
Washington at Sacramento – Tuesday
Detroit at Oklahoma City – Wednesday
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SATURDAY’S RESULTS
| Chicago Bulls 115 New York Knicks 125 Zach LaVine: 26 pts, 3 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl Mitchell Robinson: 23 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk | Portland Trailblazers 117 Atlanta Hawks 129 C.J. McCollum: 35 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl Trae Young: 25 pts, 4 reb, 15 ast |
| Brooklyn Nets 113 Miami Heat 116 Spencer Dinwiddie: 25 pts, 4 reb, 12 ast Kendrick Nunn: 21 pts 4 reb, 1 ast | Indiana Pacers 113 Cleveland Cavaliers 104 T.J. Warren: 30 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl Andre Drummoned: 27 pts, 13 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk |
| Los Angeles Lakers 88 Memphis Grizzlies 105LeBron James: 19 pts, 8 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk Ja Morant: 27 pts, 6 reb, 14 ast, 1 stl | Houston Rockets 111 Boston Celtics 110 (OT) Russell Westbrook: 41 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl Jayson Tatum: 32 pts, 13 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk |
| Orlando Magic 113 San Antonio Spurs 114 Evan Fournier: 23 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk Trey Lyles: 20 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk | Golden State Warriors 115 Phoenix Suns 99 Eric Paschall: 25 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast Devin Booker: 21 pts, 1 ast, 1 blk |
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MONDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
| 7 p.m. Utah Jazz Cleveland Cavaliers AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain | 7 p.m. Houston Rockets New York Knicks AT&T SportsNet Southwest | 7 p.m. Portland Trailblazers Orlando Magic Fox Sports Florida |
| 7:30 p.m. Memphis Grizzlies Atlanta Hawks Fox Sports Southeast | 7:30 p.m. Milwaukee Bucks Miami Heat NBATV | 8 p.m. Dallas Mavericks Chicago Bulls NBC Sports Chicago |
| 8:30 p.m. Indiana Pacers San Antonio Spurs Fox Sports Indiana |
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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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