New York celebrated their in-season tournament victory with a 114-113 thriller over Indiana on Friday. Jalen Brunson was the hero, drilling the game-winning step-back three with five seconds on the clock, before OG Anunoby stole the ball in the final possession of the game to ice it. It was a rather shaky showing from NY, who simply could not get into the game, but also never let the game get away from them, leaving Brunson to produce another big moment. The guard finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals and was ably helped by backup guard Tyler Kolek, who added 15 points and 11 assists. With Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart all sitting this one out, Mikal Bridges saw a bigger load and was solid, with 22 points, eight boards and five assists to help get NY over the line.
Philadelphia had their chances against Atlanta on Monday but came up short, in a 117-120 defeat. With Tyrese Maxey still out with illness Quentin Grimes saw an increased load and he was the man who had the game-winning and game-tying opportunities late, but he was shaky with his shot all game and that carried through to his clutch shooting. He went 4/14 from the floor in an underwhelming performance, but Paul George had perhaps his best game of the season with 35 points, four rebounds and three assists to keep Philadelphia in the contest. VJ Edgecombe had one of his better games of late as well, with 26 points and two assists but Joel Embiid played below his expectations, going 8/20 for 22 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks.
We will likely see NY’s rested players return on Saturday, and that tips the scales in favour of the hosts. Maxey is set to return for Philly but Embiid is questionable, meaning there’s a good chance that the visitors are below full strength, which is going to make it very hard for them to keep up with the electric offence of New York.
Trae Young returned from his knee injury on Friday in Charlotte, but he wasn’t able to make it a winning return to play, in a 126-133 defeat. Atlanta were behind for virtually the entire contest in North Carolina and although they made things interesting in the last couple of minutes, getting within three points of the hosts, they weren’t able to get over the hump. Young was rusty in his first game back, with eight points on 3/8 shooting, along with 10 assists, but Jalen Johnson continued his stellar run of form with 43 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was also a standout, with 28 points and eight boards to be a +23 off the bench, while Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu hit their shots with 14 points and 12 points, respectively. However, it was a poor night on the defensive end, with a 127.9 defensive rating throwing the visitors off course.
San Antonio cruised to a 119-94 victory over Washington on Friday, pulling away from the visitors in the third quarter for a comfortable win. A 22-7 run in the third opened the game right up and the hosts kept the points coming from then on, while locking down their opponents across the court. Dylan Harper had one of the best games of his young career, with 24 points on 9/13 shooting, and Victor Wembanyama only needed 17 minutes of action to put up 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Devin Vassell gave an easy 18 points and Stephon Castle had 17 points and seven dimes to make it a straightforward affair for SA.
We don’t know yet if Young or Wembanyama will play in this clash, but there is a good chance that both sit on night two of a back-to-back, but I like SA’s chances in this one. They have the length and the doggedness to really disturb Johnson and, without Young, he is Atlanta’s offence. That will undo the team’s ability to get points on the board and, at home, San Antonio are an appealing play as just two-point favourites.
Minnesota produced another collapse on Thursday, letting a nine-point lead slip almost immediately in the third quarter, giving up a 5-21 run in the space of less than six minutes, going from 76-67 to 81-88 before the end of the quarter. As Anthony Edwards sat out again with foot soreness, Minnesota did not have a comeback in them, as the likes of Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Jaden McDaniels fell short. That trio combined to go 19/48 from the field, while Naz Reid, Bones Hyland and every other Minnesota player not named Rudy Gobert really struggled from the field. The big man went 6/8 from the field to have 16 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four blocks, but as Minnesota recorded their worst shooting game of the season with a 46.4% eFG%, the hosts couldn’t fight back.
Oklahoma City overcame a slow start to beat the Clippers 122-101. LA led by as many as 11 points in the opening quarter but it didn’t take the hosts long to jump into the lead, with a 22-7 run in the second quarter giving them an eight-point buffer, and there was no turning back from there. It was another elite defensive night from the defensive champions, and another strong game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 32 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks. Chet Holmgren had 22 points, Jalen Williams had 20 points and five assists and Isaiah Joe was on-point in his return from injury, with a sharp 14 points.
On night two of a back-to-back, Oklahoma City are in a bit of a dangerous spot here. Also having to travel to Minnesota as part of this second day of games, I am cautious about OKC’s line as 8.5-point favourites. Edwards is again questionable for Minnesota, but I expect this game to be a defensive battle whether the star guard plays or not, with Minnesota being one of the few teams who match up well with OKC on the defensive end.