Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The games in the NBA last night were a lot closer than the college football national title.
On a night where the College Football Playoff Final was such a beatdown that many viewers found themselves changing the channel, the NBA provided the action they desired.
Five of the six games across the NBA featured a tighter combined point differential (53 points counting each game except for Kings-Magic) than that Natty that saw Georgia win their second straight title, 65-7. Four games were within 13 or fewer points, and the other two matchups saw outstanding offensive outputs by the victor.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, free from the burden of playing with of Luka Doncic, was the individual star of the night, scoring 44 points on 30 shots, though it wasn’t enough to overcome a late push by the Bucks. Let’s get into it all
Pelicans blow out Wizards, 132-112, behind dominant second quarter
Even without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans continue to look like a buzzsaw, especially offensively. They’ve now scored at least 120 in 12 of their last 27 games, and they’re 17-10 over that stretch, landing them now at 3rd in the West, 2.5 games back of the top spot.
CJ McCollum led the way for the Pels with 34 points (12-21 FG) while Jonas Valanciunas added 27 points and 12 rebounds, his 20th double double in 41 games. All five Wizards scored in double-figures, though none scored more than 23, and the bench was outscored 27-42. Pels used a 33-19 second quarter to start to pull away early.
Celtics hold on for 107-99 win over Bulls
Boston held a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but that started to slip away as Zach LaVine scored 15 in the fourth and a team-leading 27 overall; Chicago cut the deficit to just two with 77 seconds remaining. Dating back to just a bit before that, Jayson Tatum accounted for all of the Celtics’ final 11 points as the Celtics squeaked out of TD Garden with the win.
Tatum, outspoken in recent days about his love for playing with Robert Williams III, finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists while Jaylen Brown had a relatively cold night, scoring just 19 points on 21 shots.
Bucks win 111-107 in dogfight against Brunson, Knicks
Jalen Brunson’s 44-point outing marks a career-best, topping a 41-point outburst during the first round against Utah last playoffs as a Maverick. It’s also his first career 40-point game during the regular season, and it looked about as dominant as you’d expect, especially when 18 of his points came in a hotly contested fourth quarter.
Milwaukee trailed by as much as 16 in the second half, but they shot 12-27 (44.4%) from deep over the final 24 minutes, and were blessed with some late game heroics from Jrue Holiday to take a lead at the 2:23 mark in the fourth and never relinquish it.
Morant-less Grizzlies hang on for 121-113 win over shorthanded Spurs
Memphis got out to a hot 35-25 start in the first quarter but it wasn’t an easy win for the Grizzlies. While Memphis was missing Ja Morant (thigh soreness), the Spurs were missing their two best offensive players, Keldon Johnson (hamstring tightness) and Devin Vassell (left knee procedure), but San Antonio still managed to win the final 36 minutes of the game by two.
The Joneses were keeping up with each other in this one, as Memphis’s Tyus (24 points and six assists) got the better of younger brother Tre (18 points and seven assists).
“To be able to start against him tonight, there’s nobody else in the world I’d want to start against,” – Tre Jones on starting against Tyus
Jones on how much it meant for him to start v Tyus, childhood memories of his bro & more wholesomeness, #porvida fans #nba #BigMemphis pic.twitter.com/8aXskaVLAj
— JeffGSpursKENS5 (@JeffGSpursZone) January 10, 2023
Nuggets hold off surging Lakers, 122-109
After a five-game win streak, LeBron James (ankle soreness) got a night off having just been named Western Conference Player of the Week. The Lakers also received some good news in the form of an Anthony Davis injury update, leaving them primed for a potential playoff run.
Monday was a bit of a minor setback for LA, however, as Denver’s stars showed up big time in a matchup that we saw back in the Western Conference Finals during the 2020 Bubble.
In a win that helps Denver stay atop the West, Nikola Jokic posted another triple double at 14/11/16 while Jamal Murray posted 34 points, his highest since returning from his big knee injury. Russell Westbrook posted 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists off the bench in the loss for the Lakers.
Kings dominate Magic, 136-111
Harrison Barnes led the way with 30 points for Sacramento, flanked by double-digit contributions from seven other Kings, including a near-triple double by Domantas Sabonis at 12/10/8. For Orlando, it was a bit of Groundhog Day as Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner once again impressed without it amounting to a win, combining for 33 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
