Indiana have now won three of their last four games following a 129-124 win over Atlanta on Sunday. Rick Carlisle’s team held on in a tense finish, with Pascal Siakam and Aaron Nesmith having some big moments down the stretch to record another win for last year’s finalists. Siakam was hot all night, finishing with 25 points, six rebounds, two steals and one block, while Nesmith missed just two shots all night for 23 points. Andrew Nembhard was the other key contributor, finishing with 26 points, six rebounds and 10 assists, drilling five threes on the night as Indiana shot 46.9% from deep to record a strong offensive performance.
Houston held on for a 111-107 win against Dallas on Sunday, with another strong defensive night getting them over the line. Their 108.1 defensive rating continued their strong form on that end of the floor over the past fortnight, as they limited Dallas to just 23 three-point attempts and forced them into the midrange. Dallas came back to level the scores at 107-107 with less than one minute to play, but buckets from Alperen Şengün and Tari Eason, as well as some strong defence from Amen Thompson, saw the hosts come out on top. Thompson was elite all night, with 21 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and two steals, while Easton had 17 points and seven rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr was busy again with 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks and Şengün had 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to round out the win.
Kevin Durant will miss Tuesday’s game with an ankle sprain, which will put a lot of the offensive responsibility on Şengün’s shoulders. He’ll have enough success against Indiana’s front court to see Houston come out on top, but this will be a closer game than the market is expecting, with Indy’s recent offensive improvement set to help them stay competitive at home.
Memphis’ streak of consecutive losses extended to six games on Sunday with a 114-131 defeat against Minnesota. As the two teams prepare to meet again on Tuesday, Memphis will be needing a much better performance if they are to trouble the visitors, as they were comprehensively outplayed for almost the entire 48 minutes. It was a poor offensive showing but an even worse defensive performance, as they allowed a 130.0 offensive rating from Minnesota who shot the lights out from deep. One of the few positives for Memphis was the season debut from Ty Jerome, who finally returned from his calf injury with 20 points and six assists in just 20 minutes of play. GG Jackson was also solid off the bench, with 19 points and five assists, but with Jaren Jackson Jr sitting out with a quad niggle, Memphis could not stay in the fight.
Minnesota looked comfortable throughout the contest, especially in the second half where they scored 73 points to coast home to victory. Julius Randle looked unstoppable, with 27 points on 11/17 shooting, with seven rebounds and seven assists, while Anthony Edwards top-scored with an up-and-down 33 points. Naz Reid was also on his game offensively, with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Rudy Gobert added nine points, 16 rebounds, two steals and two blocks to see Minnesota control the game.
Minnesota have listed both Randle and Edwards as questionable for Tuesday’s rematch, indicating that they may be resting their stars in this contest, and that could make life very hard for their offence. The team has a miserable 105.5 offensive rating with that duo off the floor this season and, in tandem with a poor Memphis offence, we’ll see a low-scoring clash at FedExForum.
The Clippers obliterated Phoenix on Monday in a 117-93 victory, seeing them return to the winner’s circle in style. Things were tight in the first half, but a 23-7 run that spanned across the third and fourth quarters got LA out to a 99-76 lead and there was no coming back for the hosts. It was another masterclass from Kawhi Leonard, putting up 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Ivica Zubac had another 20-rebound game, to go with 14 points and one block, to clean up in his time on the floor. Jordan Miller had a 20-piece and John Collins had 16 points and nine boards, but the team’s defence and offensive rebounding that was the difference-maker in this contest. LA’s 15 offensive rebounds led to 21 second chance points and they gave up just 12 shot attempts at the rim all night, seeing Phoenix’s offence really struggle.
Philadelphia have won three on the trot, making it a 3-0 home stand, after a 124-114 victory over New Orleans on Sunday. A shaky start to the fourth quarter from Philly saw NO come back to take a 104-107 lead but a dominant 19-6 run got Philly comfortably back in front to record the win. Joel Embiid starred once again with 40 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, helping Philly post another impressive offensive rating of 121.6. Kelly Oubre Jr had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a tidy offensive night, while Tyrese Maxey found life a bit tougher, going 7/18 from the floor for 18 points and eight assists.
Paul George is out as he serves his suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug program, but Philadelphia have the depth to deal with his absence and with the Clippers entering this game on night two of a back-to-back, their backs are against the wall. As favourites, I am happy to bet against them here, with LA being 11-14 ATS as favourites this season.