NBA
November 2, 2017

Post Up: Cleveland Drops Fourth Straight

Hornets 126 (5-3), Bucks 121 (4-4)

One way to ice a win: let your rookie score 16 of your team’s first 18 points in the fourth quarter. That’s what Malik Monk did, coming off the bench to score 25 points on 5-8 shooting from three. Then there was Kemba Walker, who provided his nightly share of highlights.

Oh, and for Milwaukee, Khris Middelton had 43 points and seven assists. Not a bad night, despite the loss.

Pacers 124 (5-3), Cavaliers 107 (3-5)

A players-only meeting yesterday didn’t help stop the Cavs’ slow start to the season. Cleveland lost its fourth straight game, this time at the hands of a Pacers team that out-scored the Cavs by 10 in the fourth quarter to pull away. LeBron had 33 points and 11 assists, but that wasn’t enough against an Indiana team that had three players with 23-or-more points — Victor Oladipo (23 points, seven assists), Darren Collison (25 points, eight assists, five rebounds), and Thaddeus Young (26 points, 12-18 shooting).

76ers 119 (4-4), Hawks 109 (1-7)

Joel Embiid had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Robert Covington had 22 more to help the 76ers outlast the Hawks. With the win, the Sixers are now 4-4 and have won three straight games — a fact that caused fans to chant “Trust the Process” in the game’s waning minutes.

Suns 122 (4-4), Wizards 116 (4-3)

TJ Warren and Bradley Beal each had 40-point games, but it was Warren who got just a little more help as his Suns overcame a 22-point deficit to win on the road. Warren scored 28 of his 40 in the second half and did so on 16-22 shooting. The Suns led by just a point with three minutes to go, but a 7-0 run over the next two minutes put Phoenix in control.

Celtics 113 (6-2), Kings 86 (1-7)

Jaylen Brown’s second-year surge continued to the tune of 22 points on 7-8 shooting on Wednesday. Kyrie Irving matched Brown’s point total and the two combined to shoot 9-15 from three. With Sacramento hanging around through the first half, Boston pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Kings 31-15. The Celtics have now won six straight after an 0-2 start to the year.

Heat 97 (3-4), Bulls 91 (1-5)

Lauri Markkanen (25 points, eight rebounds) continues to be a bright spot for the Bulls, but Chicago fell to 1-5 with a loss to the Heat in a back-and-forth game. Miami led by 10 after one quarter, but the Bulls pulled within two at halftime. It wasn’t until the Heat went on an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter that they finally built a cushion. Goran Dragic had 20 points for the Heat, while Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Kris Dunn had 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists off the bench for Chicago. Two of those points came on this dunk:

Rockets 119 (6-3), Knicks 97 (3-4)

The Rockets got their shooting stroke back, using a 16-0 run in the second quarter and 19 made threes for the game to rout the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. James Harden had 31 points, including six threes and nine assists in the win, as all five Rocket starters scored in double figures. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 23 points and seven rebounds to lead the Knicks.

Magic 101 (6-2), Grizzlies 99 (5-3)

Just a few seconds after Marc Gasol gave the Grizzlies the lead, Aaron Gordon answered with what ended up being the game-winning three to lift the Magic to another win. Gordon finished the game with 19 points and Evan Fournier had 22 more, and Orlando has now won five of its last six games. Tyreke Evans came off the bench to lead all scorers with 32 for the Grizzlies.

Timberwolves 104 (5-3), Pelicans 98 (3-5)

Jimmy Butler scored Minnesota’s final six points, providing the difference in the game for the Timberwolves. The first two of those came with 34 seconds to go, breaking a 98-98 tie. He led six Timberwolves in double figures with 23 points, while Taj Gibson had 11 points and 12 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins had 35 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and six steals for the Pelicans. He also shot 5-10 from beyond the arc.

Nuggets 129 (4-4), Raptors 111 (4-3)

The Nuggets outscored the Raptors by a combined 33 points in the first and third quarters to coast to their fourth win of the year. They shot 53 percent for the game and made 50 percent of their threes, led by 24 points (8-10 shooting) from Jamal Murray. Nikola Jokic just missed a triple-double, tallying eight points, 10 assists, and 16 rebounds. For the Raptors, no player scored more than 14 (Norman Powell), but all 13 players to see action had at least two field goals.

Jazz 112 (5-3), Trail Blazers 103 (4-4) (OT)

Neither team ever led by double digits in a game that featured 17 lead changes and 14 ties. But overtime belonged to the Jazz, who scored eight of the first 10 points in the extra session. That overtime, however, was only possible because of a Rudy Gobert block of Damian Lillard as time expired in regulation. Ricky Rubio went 11-11 from the line to score 30 points while Donovan Mitchell came off the bench to pour on a career-high 28. Lillard had 33 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists for the Trail Blazers.

Clippers 119 (5-2), Mavericks 98 (1-8)

Blake Griffin did a little bit of everything with 20 points, seven assists, and six rebounds as the Clippers routed the Mavericks. Veteran Lou Williams turned in his second consecutive 17-point performance, doing so in just 18 minutes of action. Dennis Smith Jr. continued his stellar start to his career, leading Dallas with 18 points, two of which coming on this:

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