My apologies to the 3-4 readers of this column for missing yesterday. Here in Tennessee, we had high winds and heavy rain, tornado warnings, and as I was beginning my column at 4:30 in the morning, I lost power at 4:38 a.m., preventing me from completing the column. Thank you to those who offered thoughts, prayers, and understanding.
#PrayForNashville
#PrayForCookeville
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San Antonio Spurs 104
Charlotte Hornets 103
When was the last time you saw the San Antonio Spurs win without LaMarcus Aldridge or DeMar DeRozan in the headlines or dominating the game? Congrats to ‘head coach for a day’ Tim Duncan.
| SPURS (26-34) 11th in the West | HORNETS (21-40) 10th in the East |
| Dejounte Murray 21 points – five rebounds – six assists – two steals | Terry Rozier 20 points – six rebounds – five assists |
| Bryn Forbes 15 points – two rebounds – one assist | P.J. Washington 19 points – four rebounds – three assists – one block |
| Patty Mills 13 points – one rebound – two steals | Miles Bridges 15 points – seven rebounds – one assist |
NEXT GAMES
Denver at Charlotte – Thursday
San Antonio at Brooklyn – Friday
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Brooklyn Nets 129
Boston Celtics 120 (OT)
The Brooklyn Nets ended a four game losing streak as Caris LeVert dropped a 51 point bomb on the Boston Celtics, who have lost two straight. Jayson Tatum was out with an illness and Gordon Hayward left in the middle of the game with a sore knee.
| NETS (27-33) 7th in the East | CELTICS (41-19) 3rd in the East |
| Caris LeVert 51 points – four rebounds – five assists – one steal | Jaylen Brown 22 points – five rebounds – three assists – two steals |
| Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot 16 points – eight rebounds – one assist – one block | Kemba Walker 21 points – three rebounds – three assists |
| Spencer Dinwiddie 14 points – three rebounds – four assists – one steal – two blocks | Daniel Thies 16 points – two rebounds – two assists – two blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Memphis at Brooklyn – Wednesday
Boston at Cleveland – Wednesday
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Minnesota Timberwolves 139
New Orleans Pelicans 124
The sun shines on a Wolf’s ass some days. Happened last night in New Orleans, as eight Timberwolves scored in double figures to shoot down the Pelicans, who arguably had one of the best looking nights on the stat sheet as they’ve had in a loss, definitely squandering a beautiful game by Lonzo Ball.
| TIMBERWOLVES (18-42) 14th in the West | PELICANS (26-35) 12th in the West |
| Malik Beasley 28 points – three rebounds – four assists | Jrue Holiday 27 points – 10 rebounds – 12 assists |
| D’Angelo Russell 23 points – three rebounds – eight assists – one steal | Lonzo Ball 26 points – five rebounds – eight assists – three steals – one block |
| James Johnson 19 points – six rebounds – five assists – two steals | Zion Williamson 25 points – eight rebounds – three assists – four steals – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Chicago at Minnesota – Tonight
New Orleans at Dallas – Tonight
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Los Angeles Clippers 109
Oklahoma City Thunder 94
A couple of former Thunder players came into the Chesapeake Energy Arena to play a couple of former Clippers players and the NBA All Star MVP led his Los Angeles Clippers to a resounding win last night in Oklahoma City. Patrick Beverley and Reggie Jackson were booed by Thunder fans while L.A. head coach Doc Rivers left smiling, garnering 12th place in NBA coaching history with 936 wins.
| CLIPPERS (42-19) 2nd in the West | THUNDER (37-24) 6th in the West |
| Kawhi Leonard 25 points – eight rebounds – one assist – two steals | Dennis Schroder 24 points – two rebounds |
| Paul George 16 points – five rebounds – three assists – two steals | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 15 points – six rebounds – two assists – one steal – three blocks |
| Montrezl Harrell 16 points – three rebounds – one assist | Danilo Gallinari 15 points – four rebounds – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Oklahoma City at Detroit – Tonight
Los Angeles at Houston – Thursday
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Golden State Warriors 116
Denver Nuggets 100
Well, the tie had to be broken sometime, and last night the Denver Nuggets did it with a loss, while the Los Angeles Clippers helped with a win at Oklahoma City. Andrew Wiggins and Eric Paschall had 22 points apiece in the rare Golden State win on the road.
| WARRIORS (14-48) 15th in the West | NUGGETS (41-20) 3rd in the West |
| Andrew Wiggins 22 points – five rebounds – 10 assists – one steal – one block | Paul Millsap 18 points – nine rebounds – three assists |
| Eric Paschall 22 points – five rebounds – five assists – one steal | Will Barton 18 points – five rebounds – one steal |
| Marquese Chriss 16 points – five rebounds – one assist – two steals – one block | Nikola Jokic 16 points – 13 rebounds – seven assists – one steal – two blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Toronto at Golden State – Thursday
Denver at Charlotte – Thursday
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Toronto Raptors 123
Phoenix Suns 100
The Toronto Raptors stopped a three game losing streak at the expense of the Phoenix Suns last night. The starting five for Toronto scored 103 of the Raptors’ points and Chris Boucher came off the bench for 19 … and, yep, it was Terence Davis off the bench for the other point.
| RAPTORS (43-18) 2nd in the East | SUNS (24-38) 13th in the West |
| Pascal Siakam 33 points – seven rebounds – three assists – one steal – two blocks | Devin Booker 22 points – four rebounds – 10 assists – one steal |
| Kyle Lowry 28 points – five rebounds – six assists – one steal | Cam Johnson 21 points – four rebounds – two assists – one steal – three blocks |
| Norman Powell 26 points – two rebounds – four assists – two steals – one block | Ricky Rubio 16 points – four rebounds – 10 assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Toronto at Golden State – Thursday
Portland at Phoenix – Friday
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Philadelphia 76ers 107
Los Angeles Lakers 120
Anthony Davis and LeBron James continued their tireless mission last night in L.A., combining for 59 points, 20 rebounds, 16 assists, five steals, and four blocks to crack the Philadelphia 76ers, who were playing without Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and #VFL Josh Richardson. A 37-19 second quarter in L.A.’s favor dictated the game.
| SIXERS (37-25) 6th in the East | LAKERS (47-13) 1st in the West |
| Glenn Robinson III 25 points – four rebounds – one assist – one steal | Anthony Davis 37 points – 13 rebounds – two assists – four steals – two blocks |
| #VFL Tobias Harris 18 points – seven rebounds – two assists | LeBron James 22 points – seven rebounds – 14 assists – one steal – two blocks |
| Mike Scott 12 points – eight rebounds – two assists – one steal | Dwight Howard 11 points – one rebound – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Philadelphia at Sacramento – Thursday
Milwaukee at Los Angeles – Friday
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Washington Wizards 126
Sacramento Kings 133
The Sacramento Kings have sandwiched a couple of three game win streaks around a loss to the Dallas Mavericks in their last seven games to move within three games of the Memphis Grizzlies with a win over the Washington Wizards last night. The Wizards are also a ninth place team in the East, within four and a half games of the Orlando Magic.
| WIZARDS (22-38) 9th in the East | KINGS (27-34) 9th in the West |
| Bradley Beal 35 points – two rebounds – eight assists – two steals | De’Aaron Fox 31 points – three rebounds – one assist – three steals |
| Rui Hachimura 20 points – six rebounds – three assists – two steals | Bogdan Bogdanovic 21 points – one rebound – four assists – two steals – one block |
| Davis Bertans 18 points – seven rebounds – one assist – one steal | Buddy Hield 17 points – five rebounds – four assists |
NEXT GAMES
Washington at Portland – Tonight
Philadelphia at Sacramento – Thursday
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MONDAY’S RESULTS
| Utah Jazz 126 Cleveland Cavaliers 113Bojan Bogdanovic: 28 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl Collin Sexton: 32 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl | Houston Rockets 123 New York Knicks 125 James Harden: 35 pts, 2 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl R.J. Barrett: 27 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl |
| Portland Trailblazers 130 Orlando Magic 107 C.J. McCollum: 41 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl Nikola Vucevic: 30 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl | Memphis Grizzlies 127 Atlanta Hawks 88Gorgui Dieng: 17 pts, 10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk Trae Young: 19 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk |
| Milwaukee Bucks 89 Miami Heat 105Brook Lopez: 21 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk Jimmy Butler: 18 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl | Dallas Mavericks 107 Chicago Bulls 109Tim Hardaway, Jr.: 26 pts, 1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl Coby White: 19 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl |
| Indiana Pacers 116 San Antonio Spurs 111Malcolm Brogdon: 26 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast Patty Mills: 24 pts, 1 ast, 3 stl |
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WEDNESDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
| 7 p.m. Boston Celtics Cleveland Cavaliers NBC Sports Boston | 7 p.m. Oklahoma City Thunder Detroit Pistons Fox Sports Detroit | 7 p.m. Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks ESPN |
| 7:30 p.m. Orlando Magic Miami Heat ESPN | 7:30 p.m. Memphis Grizzlies Brooklyn Nets Fox Sports Southeast | 7:30 p.m. Utah Jazz New York Knicks AT&T Rocky Mountain |
| 8 p.m. Chicago Bulls Minnesota Timberwolves NBC Sports Chicago | 9:30 p.m. New Orleans Pelicans Dallas Mavericks Fox Sports Southwest | 10 p.m. Washington Wizards Portland Trailblazers NBC Sports Washington |
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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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