Sixers Dominate, Secure Comfortable Win Over Knicks
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the New York Knicks, 115-106, at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
The 76ers (37-23) improved to 28-2 at home with another win in front of their crowd, although they had to work harder than expected to dismantle the Knicks (17-42) since they lost Joel Embiid midway through the contest. Philadelphia quickly grabbed the lead with a 26-21 score in the first quarter, and they extended their advantage with a 35-25 second quarter. New York didn't give up, however, and they won the third quarter by a 33-26 score. The final 12 minutes of action saw the Knicks trying to turn things around, but Philadelphia closed things out with a 28-27 score. With the loss, the Knicks fell to 9-22 away from home.
Tobias Harris took advantage of the fact neither Ben Simmons nor Joel Embiid were available, and he delivered 34 points while adding seven rebounds and seven assists. Shake Milton had 19 points, four assists and three rebounds. Al Horford came close to a triple-double since he finished with 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Josh Richardson chipped in with 11 points, and Furkan Korkmaz added 11 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
Julius Randle was the top scorer for the Knicks since he ended with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while also adding five assists. Elfrid Payton notched a double-double since he contributed 18 points while adding 12 assists. Maurice Harkless contributed 17 points, four rebounds and two assists. Rookie R.J. Barrett chipped in with 15 points, six rebounds and also five assists.
The 76ers (37-23) improved to 28-2 at home with another win in front of their crowd, although they had to work harder than expected to dismantle the Knicks (17-42) since they lost Joel Embiid midway through the contest. Philadelphia quickly grabbed the lead with a 26-21 score in the first quarter, and they extended their advantage with a 35-25 second quarter. New York didn't give up, however, and they won the third quarter by a 33-26 score. The final 12 minutes of action saw the Knicks trying to turn things around, but Philadelphia closed things out with a 28-27 score. With the loss, the Knicks fell to 9-22 away from home.
Tobias Harris took advantage of the fact neither Ben Simmons nor Joel Embiid were available, and he delivered 34 points while adding seven rebounds and seven assists. Shake Milton had 19 points, four assists and three rebounds. Al Horford came close to a triple-double since he finished with 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Josh Richardson chipped in with 11 points, and Furkan Korkmaz added 11 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
Julius Randle was the top scorer for the Knicks since he ended with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while also adding five assists. Elfrid Payton notched a double-double since he contributed 18 points while adding 12 assists. Maurice Harkless contributed 17 points, four rebounds and two assists. Rookie R.J. Barrett chipped in with 15 points, six rebounds and also five assists.
Pacers Get Past Trail Blazers, 106-100
The Indiana Pacers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 106-100, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
The Pacers (35-24) seemingly came into the contest with a couple of built-in advantages, as they were playing on a home floor where they'd already experienced plenty of success and were facing a short-handed Trail Blazers (26-34) squad that was still missing Damian Lillard (groin). Indiana took an expected first-quarter lead, but Portland bounced back to erase their six-point deficit and build a six-point edge of their own going into halftime. The hosts returned the favor in the third to take a five-point advantage into the final period, and they finally put the game away courtesy of a Myles Turner three-pointer with 9.1 seconds remaining after the visitors had closed to within three.
C.J. McCollum paced the Trail Blazers with 28 points, adding eight assists and three rebounds. Gary Trent, Jr. provided 20 points, five rebounds and one steal. Hassan Whiteside posted an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double that also included four blocks and one steal. Carmelo Anthony delivered 12 points, seven boards, one assist, one steal and one block. Trevor Ariza furnished eight points, four assists, one rebound and one steal.
Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 20 points, complementing them with 11 rebounds, four assists and one steal. Malcolm Brogdon supplied 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and one steal. Victor Oladipo and T.J. Warren generated matching 15-point tallies while also pulling down seven and five rebounds, respectively. Turner generated a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double that also included two blocks.
The Trail Blazers next visit the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, while the Pacers visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night as well.
The Pacers (35-24) seemingly came into the contest with a couple of built-in advantages, as they were playing on a home floor where they'd already experienced plenty of success and were facing a short-handed Trail Blazers (26-34) squad that was still missing Damian Lillard (groin). Indiana took an expected first-quarter lead, but Portland bounced back to erase their six-point deficit and build a six-point edge of their own going into halftime. The hosts returned the favor in the third to take a five-point advantage into the final period, and they finally put the game away courtesy of a Myles Turner three-pointer with 9.1 seconds remaining after the visitors had closed to within three.
C.J. McCollum paced the Trail Blazers with 28 points, adding eight assists and three rebounds. Gary Trent, Jr. provided 20 points, five rebounds and one steal. Hassan Whiteside posted an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double that also included four blocks and one steal. Carmelo Anthony delivered 12 points, seven boards, one assist, one steal and one block. Trevor Ariza furnished eight points, four assists, one rebound and one steal.
Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 20 points, complementing them with 11 rebounds, four assists and one steal. Malcolm Brogdon supplied 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and one steal. Victor Oladipo and T.J. Warren generated matching 15-point tallies while also pulling down seven and five rebounds, respectively. Turner generated a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double that also included two blocks.
The Trail Blazers next visit the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, while the Pacers visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night as well.
Thunder Fight For Fifth Straight Win
By Dan Bruno
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings, 112-108, at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Thursday evening.
The contest got out to a competitive start, as the Kings held a 27-25 lead after one quarter. They picked up some momentum to start the second and built a seven-point lead halfway through the quarter and pushed to an 11-point lead by halftime. The Kings picked up where they left off and push their lead to 19 mid way through the third, however, the Thunder rallied back and outscored the Kings 22-4 through the rest of the quarter, to make it a one-point game heading into the final frame. The Thunder kept it close to start the fourth and held a one-point lead with 4:48 left in the contest. They came up clutch through the final minutes and held on for their fifth straight win.
Six players scored in double digits for the Thunder, led by Danilo Gallinari, who finished with 24 points, six rebounds and a steal, in 33 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points, three rebounds, three assists and a block, while Chris Paul added 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steal. The Thunder shot 49 percent from the field, including 9-of-26 from long range.
Meanwhile, Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 21 points, five assists and three rebounds, in 38 minutes. Harry Giles III finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Nemanja Bjelica added 18 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Buddy Hield added 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, in 26 minutes off the bench. The Kings shot 45 percent from the field, including 12-of-35 from long range.
The Kings (24-34) will look to bounce back as they take on the Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday. The Thunder (37-22) take on the Bucks in Milwaukee on Friday.
The contest got out to a competitive start, as the Kings held a 27-25 lead after one quarter. They picked up some momentum to start the second and built a seven-point lead halfway through the quarter and pushed to an 11-point lead by halftime. The Kings picked up where they left off and push their lead to 19 mid way through the third, however, the Thunder rallied back and outscored the Kings 22-4 through the rest of the quarter, to make it a one-point game heading into the final frame. The Thunder kept it close to start the fourth and held a one-point lead with 4:48 left in the contest. They came up clutch through the final minutes and held on for their fifth straight win.
Six players scored in double digits for the Thunder, led by Danilo Gallinari, who finished with 24 points, six rebounds and a steal, in 33 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points, three rebounds, three assists and a block, while Chris Paul added 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steal. The Thunder shot 49 percent from the field, including 9-of-26 from long range.
Meanwhile, Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 21 points, five assists and three rebounds, in 38 minutes. Harry Giles III finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Nemanja Bjelica added 18 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Buddy Hield added 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, in 26 minutes off the bench. The Kings shot 45 percent from the field, including 12-of-35 from long range.
The Kings (24-34) will look to bounce back as they take on the Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday. The Thunder (37-22) take on the Bucks in Milwaukee on Friday.
Lakers Roll Warriors, 116-86
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the host Golden State Warriors, 116-86, at Chase Center on Thursday.
While there were seven ties and three lead changes in the first 15 minutes, Los Angeles cruised to a victory. In fact, they held the lead for the final 30 minutes, with a 40-17 third quarter really making the difference. That got the lead up to 36 points at times in the second half. The Lakers ended up shooting 52 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range while holding the Warriors to 43 percent from the field and 28 percent from long range. In addition, Los Angeles won the rebounding battle, 44-37, and the turnover differential, 26-16.
The Lakers (45-12) were led by Anthony Davis, who tallied 23 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Rajon Rondo collected 12 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Kyle Kuzma led the bench with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists. Dwight Howard amassed 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
The Warriors (12-47) leading scorer came off the bench, with Eric Pachall providing 23 points, three rebounds and two assists. Jordan Poole led the starters with 14 points and eight assists. Damion Lee generated 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Ky Bowman tallied 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, with Los Angeles remaining on the road to face the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State traveling to play the Phoenix Suns.
While there were seven ties and three lead changes in the first 15 minutes, Los Angeles cruised to a victory. In fact, they held the lead for the final 30 minutes, with a 40-17 third quarter really making the difference. That got the lead up to 36 points at times in the second half. The Lakers ended up shooting 52 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range while holding the Warriors to 43 percent from the field and 28 percent from long range. In addition, Los Angeles won the rebounding battle, 44-37, and the turnover differential, 26-16.
The Lakers (45-12) were led by Anthony Davis, who tallied 23 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Rajon Rondo collected 12 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Kyle Kuzma led the bench with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists. Dwight Howard amassed 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
The Warriors (12-47) leading scorer came off the bench, with Eric Pachall providing 23 points, three rebounds and two assists. Jordan Poole led the starters with 14 points and eight assists. Damion Lee generated 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Ky Bowman tallied 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, with Los Angeles remaining on the road to face the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State traveling to play the Phoenix Suns.