Toronto have lost three of their last four, and their 117-138 loss to Washington on Saturday came as perhaps their most disappointing loss of the season. It was a disaster of a fourth quarter for the visitors, with Washington leading by just two points heading into the final period, but a 6-22 run meant that they streaked away with the win by a comfortable margin. Brandon Ingram had 29 points, six rebounds and two blocks in another solid display, while Sandro Mamukelashvili had another strong outing with 13 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and one block. Immanuel Quickley also had a solid night with 25 points and five assists, but rough nights from Scottie Barnes, Gradey Dick and Jamal Shead found life hard on the offensive end. Toronto’s defence was the main concern, however, producing the team’s worst offensive performance of the season with a 137.1 defensive rating, as they struggled to slow down Washington all over the floor.
Golden State have won three on the bounce after cruising to a 126-116 Christmas victory over Dallas. The win came on the back of a dominant 40-28 first quarter, with GS holding onto their lead from that point on with relative ease, as Al Horford marked his return from injury by draining four threes in 11 minutes for 14 points and two steals. Jimmy Butler finished just shy of a triple-double, with 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and Brandin Podziemski had 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the dub. Steph Curry wasn’t hitting his shots but still recorded 23 points and four dimes to help close out a disorganised Dallas side.
The big news heading into this contest is the potential return of RJ Barrett, who’s questionable on the injury report, which could come as a timely boost for the hosts. Toronto’s offence is 8.0 points per 100 possessions better when Barrett has been on the floor this season and he’ll help ensure that Toronto are right in this contest.
Oklahoma City are 2-4 in their last six games after San Antonio recorded yet another win over them on Christmas, handing OKC a 102-117 home defeat. The 15-point loss came after losing by 20 points to the same team just two days prior, with OKC’s usually solid defence again coming undone against Victor Wembanyama and co. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled, posting 22 points on just 7/19 shooting, with six boards and four assists, while Isaiah Hartenstein put up 13 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Chet Holmgren didn’t have much success with 10 points and 12 boards and Jalen Williams went just 5/13 from the field, as OKC’s big names fell flat.
Philadelphia had another disappointing loss on Saturday, falling to Chicago 102-109. Philadelphia led for almost the entire second half but fell away in the final three minutes, as the hosts turned a 99-102 deficit into a 109-102 lead and victory. Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid combined for 58 points, but a rough night from Paul George saw him shoot just 5/15 from the floor and VJ Edgecombe was no better, going 4/13. Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain also disappointed to make for a poor night from Philly’s backcourt, as the team recorded their second-worst shooting night of the season with a 44.0% eFG%.
Embiid is out for this clash and that will give SGA, Holmgren and Hartenstein free rein to dominate this one. Philly have just a +0.3 net rating with Embiid off the floor this season and on the road against the defending champions, they’re going to be well outmatched.
The Clippers have won three on the trot by double digits after coming back to beat Portland 119-103. A poor first quarter had the Clippers behind by 12 points late in the piece, but they mounted a comeback in the third, fuelled by some lockdown defence and a red-hot Brook Lopez, who had 12 points in the period on four threes. By the end of the period, LA were up 85-78 and they only expanded their buffer from there in the fourth to make for a big win. James Harden was the star this time around, with 34 points and six assists, while Kawhi Leonard dropped 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. Lopez finished the night with 31 points and two blocks in a career-high shooting night to round out the win for LA and see them come into some form.
Detroit went down in a 129-131 thriller in Utah on Saturday, marking just their seventh loss of the season. After leading by 11 points midway through the second quarter, it looked like Detroit were in line for another win, but Utah stormed into the lead with a 35-44 third quarter and the visitors weren’t able to recover from there. Cade Cunningham was excellent again for Detroit, posting 29 points, 17 assists, two steals and two blocks, while Tobias Harris chipped in with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Jalen Duren found himself in foul trouble and played just 22 minutes for 11 points, while Ausar Thompson played just 16 minutes to see two of Detroit’s big names fall flat in this contest.
With LA’s recent rise in form, this game is set to be an interesting one, with both teams’ defence set to be important. The Clippers have by far the slowest time to first shot in the league and against Detroit’s second-ranked defence, we’ll see a slow pace in this encounter. The under is 6-3 in LA’s last nine games and 4-2 in Detroit’s last nine and is the bet in this clash.