Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
Plus: The Knicks and Clippers both looks to be back on track.
Upcoming travel plans? Lots of food to inhale? Family to ignore cherish? We’ve got your NBA recap fix for the flight, ride, what have you. Let’s waste no time and dig into the scores, maybe even before the flight attendant wheels by with your stale pretzels.
Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Clippers beat Jazz in back-and-forth battle, 121-114
Los Angeles has now won three of its last four games, and finally, things appear to be gelling. The kicker? Last night, they didn’t even have Paul George (he’s out with a hamstring injury), and Kawhi Leonard (eight points on four-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes) still doesn’t look like himself. Give it time, and perhaps a few more outings like Monday night’s efforts from Reggie Jackson and Norm Powell, who had 30 and 27 points, respectively, in their best games of the season to date.
The Jazz, meanwhile, have lost four out of their last six, yet still sit atop the West at 12-7. This league is bonkers.
Bulls snap Boston’s win streak, own losing streak with 121-107 win
Nothing lasts forever. That applies to both Chicago and Boston in this equation. For the Bulls, this win over the Celtics — which feels like their 18th consecutive victory against the Beantown Boys, for whatever reason — snaps an unsightly four-game losing streak. DeMar DeRozan led the way, as he tends to do, scoring 28 in this one. For the Celtics, this loss marks their first in ten games, snapping a nine-game winning streak. They’ll meet — *winces* — Luka Doncic and the Mavs on Wednesday in hopes of starting another one.
Pacers crush Magic behind Magic-esque Haliburton performance, 123-102
Tyrese Haliburton might be Magic Johnson reincarnate. He leads the league in assists per game with 10.7, In the month of November, his assist numbers on a game-by-game basis are as follows: 14, 14, 9, 11, 15, 12, 13, 9. It’s almost disappointing when he doles out just a mere nine dimes.
He can also do this.
Haliburton paced Indiana in this one, as they continue their remarkable start. At the moment, they’re fourth in the East at 10-6.
Cavs win third straight, ground Hawks, 114-102
When your two best players combine to score 50-plus and dish out 18 dimes, the end result is likely bound to be in your favor. That’s what the Cavaliers got from Donovan Mitchell (29 and 9) and Darius Garland (26 and 9) en route to their third straight win. After stalling ever so slightly on the heels of their incredibly hot start, Cleveland looks to be getting back on track.
Bucks use big third quarter to pull away from Blazers, win 119-111
Giannis did Giannis things — ho-hum, 37 points, seven rebounds, six assists for the MVP frontrunner — and Milwaukee followed suit, using a particularly lopsided 30-18 third-quarter advantage to blow by the Blazers. The Bucks improve to 9-1 at home with the win. Anfernee Simons led a Dame-less Portland with 29.
Knicks look rejuvenated, survive Thunder in 129-119 win
Jalen Brunson continues to outplay his expectations. He was electric on Monday, scoring 34 points on 14-of-20 shooting to go with nine assists as he outplayed Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30-5-7 in the loss). Julius Randle and RJ Barrett added 25 apiece; the Knicks look like a team that has worked its way into a groove.
I would still really appreciate it if Tom Thibodeau would just COMMIT TO PLAYING IMMANUEL QUICKLEY AND OBI TOPPIN FOR THE MINUTES THEY DESERVE. Nothing more.
Timberwolves beat the Heat as Miami collapses in fourth, 105-101
The Rudy Gobert-Rick Barry ven diagram is now officially a circle.
Rudy Gobert didn’t attempt a field goal or free throw in the first 46:49 of this game. He’s gone 4-4 from the line to put the Wolves up 4 with 9.2 to play.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) November 22, 2022
Pelicans crush shorthanded Warriors, 128-83
24 hours after Klay Thompson scored 41 and Steph Curry added 33 in an alarmingly close 127-120 win over the Houston Rockets, the Warriors’ vets — Draymond Green included — sat in favor of the team’s young bucks getting some quality minutes. It went about as well as you’d expect from a team that has seen a remarkably steep drop-off from its stars to its reserves this season. Jordan Poole had 26 points while Jonathan Kuminga led the way in minutes (40) and scored 18. The Pelicans took advantage and won by 45, feasting early and often. Let’s hope they still have an appetite come Thanksgiving Day.
