San Antonio’s win streak extended to five games on Wednesday, beating Boston 125-116 in a much-anticipated clash against Boston. As two of the league’s form teams locked horns, it was the hosts who came out on top thanks to a 39-32 third quarter and another good offensive night. The team’s 126.5 offensive rating was their fifth consecutive above 119.0 and it was Victor Wembanyama who led the effort again. The big man finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and six turnovers, while De’Aaron Fox was very efficient with his 25 points and nine assists on 11/14 FGs. Stephon Castle added 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Devin Vassell had 14 points to cap off another San Antonio win.
Denver thumped Houston 129-93 on Thursday, running riot in the second half to pick up what could be an important win for their spot in the standings. Now just 0.5 games behind Houston, Denver looked far superior to the hosts, limiting them to just a 92.1 offensive rating, while Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray starred again on offence. The Joker had 16 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists and five steals and Murray poured in 30 points and four assists to sink the visitors. Cameron Johnson looked steady with 17 points, four assists, two steals and two blocks and Christian Braun had 19 points to make it a very good night for the starting unit, outside of Aaron Gordon.
Wembanyama is questionable heading into this game, but I expect him to suit up in a heavyweight centre battle. Both he and Jokić will be out to prove a point, but I am going to continue to take the Joker in this showdown. He has simply found a way to get Denver’s offence to operate on another level lately and with Murray in form, the hosts may well leave Texas with the win.
Oklahoma City picked up their sixth win on the trot on Tuesday, beating Denver 129-126. It was an amazing duel between two MVP frontrunners, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić, and it was SGA who came out on top in what may have been the MVP-clinching performance for the guard. OKC’s star finished with 35 points, nine rebounds, 15 assists, zero turnovers and one block, but most importantly hit the game-winning three-pointer in another clutch display. It was an incredible performance from SGA which may well have locked in his second MVP, but Jaylin Williams’ 29 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks was equally as important, as Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein sat out. JWill hit a career-high seven threes and went toe-to-toe with Jokić, while Ajay Mitchell impressed with 24 points and three assists.
Boston were shown that they’re still a bit behind the league’s best on Wednesday, falling to San Antonio 116-125. There were some good moments for the visitors, especially in the first half, but a 0-12 run from SA in the fourth buried them, seeing Boston fall to a 43-22 record. There were a few positives in this clash, including seeing Jayson Tatum show plenty of athletic flashes with 24 points and five rebounds, and Derrick White looked strong on his way to 34 points and seven assists. The shock performance came from Ron Harper Jr, who dropped 22 points on 8/11 shooting, but the game was somewhat overshadowed by a soft ejection to Jaylen Brown in the second quarter, seeing Boston’s hopes quickly fade away.
Holmgren and Alex Caruso are set to return on Friday and that’s a big boost for OKC, but the shooting of Boston is going to give their defence plenty of questions. As big underdogs, Boston will be able to keep this game close and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them leave with a win.
The Lakers have won six of their last seven games after taking care of Minnesota 120-106 on Wednesday. It was a huge third quarter that got Los Angeles the win, with a 19-7 start to the quarter seeing them charge well into the lead and the hosts never looked back from there. It was another masterclass from Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, with the pair each scoring 31 points to dominate on the offensive end and take Los Angeles to a 129.2 offensive rating. Dončić also added 11 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals, one block and Reaves had seven boards and eight assists to make it an excellent night for the duo, while Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 12 boards and Jake LaRavia did it all with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Chicago improved to 2-1 on their road trip with a 130-124 overtime win against Golden State on Wednesday. There were some big shots and free throws hit by Matas Buzelis and Jalen Smith late in regulation to force overtime, coming back from 107-115 down with 90 seconds to play, to tie the game at 118-118 and send the game to OT. Buzelis carried his hot form into OT to score five points, while Tre Jones made a couple of layups to get Chicago home. Buzelis finished with a career-high 41 points to go with six rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Josh Giddey picked up another triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 17 assists with five turnovers. Jones ended with 22 points and five dimes and Leonard Miller had 17 points and 11 rebounds in a starting role.
LeBron James is again questionable to return from his foot injury, but it’s not going to matter. This Chicago team is a shambles of a roster construction and they have nobody to slow down neither Dončić nor Reaves, setting up a blowout in LA.