Denver Nuggets vs. Philadelphia 76ers
The story of the night for the 76ers was that their team wasn't really, well, their team. After Seth Curry's positive Covid-19 result, many members of the team were forced to quarantine. As for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, they were either hurt or just didn't feel like playing with a bunch of bums. At the time of that occurence they were 7-2, and the Denver Nuggets were 3-5. Tyrese Maxey was really the only credible scoring option for the 76ers going into this game, so this game was purely a proving himself moment for Maxey. He most definitely made the most of his opportunity, ending the night with a spectacular 39 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. However, he alone could not fight against this Denver Nuggets squad. Jokic nearly got a triple-double, Gary Harris finished with 21 points, and 4 other Nuggets also hit double-digit scoring. The final score was Denver 115 and Philadelphia 103. The Nuggets are currently sitting at 4-5 and the 76ers move to 7-3.
Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards
The 3-4 Heat faced against the struggling 2-7 Wizards. The Wizards were without Westbrook and Beal for the game, so rookie Deni Avdija finally could play his game. He got his feet under him in this one finishing with 20-5-5. Garrison Matthews also put up 22 points. However, it was Heat's young gun Tyler Herro who ended his night with 31 points an 9 rebounds, helped out by Jimmy Butler who nearly had a triple-double with 26-10-9. Despite the Wizards effort, they couldn't quite pull out the win without their top guys, losing 124-128. The Heat's record is now 4-4 and the Wizards continue to plummet to 2-8.
Phoenix Suns vs. Indiana Pacers
This was a very fun game to watch, a sentence that usually does not go along with the Phoenix Suns or the Indiana Pacers. The 6-3 Suns have been dominating the Western conference, while the 6-2 Pacers have been eating up the eastern conference. What is really fun to see though is when Devin Booker doesn't have to put up a great night for the Suns to win, I feel seriously good for the guy. That's exactly what happened tonight, as Mikal Bridges stepped up and scored 34 points while Chris Paul ended his night with a double-double. Booker himself had 25 points and 7 assists. The Pacers on the other hand were fueled by Sabonis, who genuinely is playing like one of the top guys in the league almost every night. Tonight he finished with 28 points and a whopping 22 rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon, who is also playing at an all-star level, put up 22 points and 9 assists himself. However, the Suns brigade was enough to out-do the Pacers, winning the game 125-117. The Suns are now 7-3 and the Pacers are now 6-3, neither team is complaining.
pc: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Hawks vs. Charlotte Hornets
the 4-4 Hawks faced off against the 4-5 Hornets. After a bit of controversy between John Collins and Trae Young a few days ago, it seems as if Young is a bit off his game. However, he and Collins both ended with a double-double, while De'Andre Hunter finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds of his own. Cam Reddish also had 21 points to finish the stats off for the Hawks. As for the Hornets, Hayward took his foot off the pedal and let the young guys get their own for the night. PJ Washington played a bit of small-ball center for the night, ending up scoring 22 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Terry Rozier threw in 23 points of his own. LaMelo Ball was the story of the night, being the youngest player to ever record a triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists, and 12 rebounds. This must have been the straw that broke the camels back, as the Hornets won the game 113-105. Their record is now 5-5 while the Hawks fall below .500 at 4-5.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
The 4-4 Spurs matched up against the 2-6 Timberwolves. When you play the Timberwolves you have to make sure you score to win, because they simply can't play defense. You wouldn't expect that out of the slow and fundamental Spurs, but tonight DeMar DeRozan got to cooking. With 38-5-5 DeRozan looked back in form, scoring the much needed points to overwhelm the T-Wolves. Dejounte Murray put up a big 22 point 14 rebound night himself. The T-Wolves did keep it close though, as many players on the team put up big numbers. Malik Beasley scored 29 points while KAT finished with 25 points and 13 assists. Several other players scored in the double-digits for the team. However, in the end it wasn't enough to overcome the Spurs, who won the game 125-122. The Spurs move to 5-4 on the season while the T-Wolves continue their struggles with a 2-7 record.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The 5-4 Cavaliers were up to play the 5-4 Bucks. It was the Andre Drummond show for Cleveland, who put up an incredible 26 points and 24 rebounds. Damyean Dotson put up 21 points and 8 assists of his own for the Cavs as well. You may expect that this may be enough to lead to a low scoring win for the Cavs over the Giannis-less Bucks. You'd be wrong, except it indeed was low scoring. Khris Middleton put up a solid 27 points while Bobby Portis showed up with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Several other Bucks put up enough points to lead them to a win. The final score was 100-90 for the Bucks. The Cavs sit at 5-5 while the Bucks move up to 6-4.
pc: via Mitchell Maurer/Brewhoop
Orlando Magic vs. Dallas Mavericks
The 6-3 Magic faced off against the 4-4 Mavericks. Once again it was Luka Doncic who found himself in a battle of Europeans, but tonight it was Magic big-man Nikola Vucevic. Doncic continues to impress over the last few games, finishing with a triple-double. It was his teammate Tim Hardaway Jr who carried the scoring burden with 36 points. Trey Burke threw in 29 points of his own. On the other end of the floor Vucevic made his own case for the top European on the floor, finishing with 30 points and 15 assists. However, other than Vucevic the rest of the team didn't quite show up. Because of this it was the Mavericks who won the night, with a 112-98 victory. The Magic now are sitting with a 6-4 record while the Mavericks climb to 5-4.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Sacramento Kings
a 4-4 Blazers squad matched up against a 4-5 Kings team to finish the night. The Blazers had a team-wide good game tonight. CJ McCollum was the top dog, finishing with 37 points. Many other players also scored in the double-digits for the Blazers, including Enes Kanter who chipped in 11 points and 15 rebounds. The Kings were a completely different story. No single player stood out for the Kings, as no player scored over 20 points, and no player recorded double-digit rebounds or assists. A quick shout-out to Tyrese Haliburton though, as his 12 points and 8 assists wasn't too shabby as a rookie for the struggling Kings squad. In the end it was a 125-99 win for the Blazers, pushing their record to 5-4 while the Kings fall to 4-6.