Miami are in the midst of a tough run of form, with Monday’s 112-124 loss to Oklahoma City coming as their third defeat on the bounce. That ended a horror road trip, with a 28-point defeat in Minnesota and a 24-point humiliation in Indiana coming before Monday’s loss, where everything came undone in the third quarter. The visitors took a 59-54 lead into the halftime break but a 10-32 run from OKC saw them get out to a 76-90 lead late in the third, and Miami did not have a comeback in them, as their defence fell away. Andrew Wiggins had a good night out, with 23 points, five rebounds, two steals and one block, while Davion Mitchell recorded the team’s only double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.
Phoenix have been quietly going about their business but are one of the league’s in-form teams at the moment, with a 9-2 record in their last 11 games. Monday’s 112-93 cakewalk of Washington was a cruisy win, leading by as many as 32 points early in the fourth quarter, as they recorded their best defensive game of the season with a crushing 87.2 defensive rating. They forced the young visitors into 22 turnovers and held them to just 7/30 from deep in the win, while Royce O’Neal had a standout game for Phoenix, with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in 25 minutes. Devin Booker’s shot was off again, going 5/14 from the floor, but he had a positive impact with 17 points and eight assists, while Oso Ighodaro added 10 points, two steals and two blocks.
Miami may well be without Norman Powell again in this clash, and that will put them at a disadvantage against a difficult Phoenix defence. Tyler Herro has not found his offensive groove since returning from injury and the length of Phoenix will really disrupt this Miami offence, making the visitors my bet.
Oklahoma City got back to their usual dominant selves on Monday, beating Miami 124-112. Yet again for the defending champions, their onslaught came in the third quarter, which they won 39-26 to turn a five-point halftime deficit into an eight-point three-quarter time lead, before continuing the pressure in the fourth to get out to a 20-point buffer and bank another win. It was a welcome return to their defensive prowess, limiting the visitors to a 106.0 offensive rating, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did his thing on the offensive end to get OKC going. The MVP finished with 29 points, five rebounds and eight assists and Jalen Williams had a tidy 18 points and four assists. Chet Holmgren had a good two-way display, recording 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, while Ajay Mitchell added 16 points and four boards.
San Antonio could not find the game-winner in Minnesota on Monday, losing 103-104 in a thriller. Victor Wembanyama, Luke Kornet and De’Aaron Fox all missed game-winner attempts in San Antonio’s final possession, forcing the visitors to settle for a tough one-point loss in what was their fourth consecutive poor offensive night. Wembanyama was not to blame, as he dropped 29 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and Julian Champagnie hit his shots again for 14 points and 10 rebounds. However, Fox had a slow night, Stephon Castle went just 2/11 from the floor and Dylan Harper went scoreless in just 11 minutes of play, as the rookie’s productivity and opportunity continues to dwindle.
We have seen San Antonio cause Oklahoma City all sorts of headaches this season, with a 3-0 record, but I expect a tight tussle in this fourth matchup. San Antonio have their third game in four days, in the midst of a tough run of their schedule, but OKC have not shown that they have an effective answer to Wemby so far. SA’s pressurising defence has also caused OKC’s offence some issues in their matchups so far, being held to just a 107.6 offensive rating, and that makes the visitors the bet again as fairly big underdogs.
Golden State crumbled to a 111-124 loss to Atlanta on Monday, making for a disappointing home loss. Their 25-35 third quarter was what killed them, seeing them enter the fourth quarter down 78-94, before Atlanta kept the points coming to get out to a 25-point lead early in the fourth to seal a loss for GS. The hosts were off their game on both ends of the floor, and their lack of shotmaking hurt them most, combining to shoot just a 50.6% eFG%. Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry weren’t part of the problem, with the forward going 10/19 for 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Curry put up 31 points, on 11/21 shooting, and five assists. However, inefficient nights from the likes of De’Anthony Melton, Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody made for a tough offensive evening and, with that, a disappointing defeat.
Portland’s five-game win streak came to an end on Monday, going down to New York 114-123. In the last game of their four-game home stand, Portland refused to ever let the visitors get too far out of reach by regularly responding to New York’s runs, but conversely, Portland were never able to build much of a lead themselves and NY capitalised in the fourth with a 0-11 run to turn a 104-103 deficit into a 104-114 lead to effectively win the game. Shaedon Sharpe had another strong offensive night, with 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Deni Avdija top-scored with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Caleb Love had another impressive game off the bench, with 21 points, while Rob Williams III made an impact with 12 points and two blocks in just 16 minutes.
Avdija is out for Wednesday’s clash with a lower back injury, but this Portland team still has the tools to trouble Golden State at Moda Center. GS have struggled to string together good runs of form this season and the likes of Donovan Clingan, Toumani Camara and Williams will be troubling for the visitors’ offence, making the 10-point start that Portland are getting very appealing.