Minnesota recorded their fourth successive win on Wednesday, beating Memphis 117-110. It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the hosts, with Memphis taking an 11-point lead in the first quarter before maintaining a double-digit buffer for much of the second quarter. However, a 27-9 run in the third quarter ensured Minnesota took control from the game from there, and it was all easy going in the fourth quarter, with a late Memphis surge making the game look much closer than what it was down the stretch. Anthony Edwards was superb, recording 41 points, six rebounds, five steals and one block to dominate the game, while Julius Randle had a solid outing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Toronto completely collapsed in their game against New York on Wednesday, with a 93-95 deficit at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter turning into a 95-111 loss. Toronto’s offence was non-existent in the clutch, as Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, in particular, struggled in crunchtime. That resulted in a poor 103.3 offensive rating on the night, which was not helped by their possession deficit thanks to getting outrebounded 28-43. Ingram was the Raptors’ best, despite his late struggles, with 31 points and four assists, while RJ Barrett went 9/13 for 20 points and three assists. However, Quickley’s 4/14 shooting really hurt the hosts’ offence, and their bench gave little, making for a disappointing loss.
Minnesota are going to offer some tough matchups for the visitors on the defensive end, and that’s going to result in a big score for the hosts. However, Toronto are going to be able to go at Minnesota’s backcourt and get plenty of good looks of their own, making the over my pick in this game.
San Antonio rebounded from a 25-point hiding in New York to thump Philadelphia 131-91 on Wednesday. It was a great response from Mitch Johnson’s men, capitalising on the absence of Joel Embiid by getting anything they wanted on the offensive end and locking down Philly’s offence. Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper equal top-scored with 22 points apiece, while Stephon Castle had a 15-points, 10-assist double-double. Victor Wembanyama was relatively quiet on the offensive end, with just 10 points and four assists, but he dominated defensively, recording eight rebounds, three steals and six blocks to make sure the hosts had no chance of winning this game.
Detroit couldn’t capitalise on Donovan Mitchell’s absence on Wednesday, falling to Cleveland 109-113 to end their three-game win streak. It was Detroit’s worst defensive performance in almost a month, with a 120.2 defensive rating, as they struggled to keep the hosts off the free throw line and failed to convert their defensive pressure into turnovers. They also weren’t helped by a slow offensive night from Cade Cunningham, who shot just 4/16 for 10 points, six rebounds and 14 assists, but it was a solid offensive night from the supporting cast to help keep the game close. Jalen Duren top-scored with 24 points and 14 rebounds, Ausar Thompson had 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and one block, Tobias Harris had 19 points and Javonte Green added 13 points, but a rare sub-par defensive night saw the hosts close out the game with the win.
These two teams met just over a week ago, with San Antonio picking up a 114-103 win on the road, and with this game taking place in Texas, it’s no wonder why Wemby and co. are favourites. San Antonio have the guard depth and tenacity to cope with Detroit’s defensive pressure and we have seen the length and instincts of Wemby really bother Cunningham and the rest of the Detroit players who like to drive, and that will make for a big SA win.
Denver did just enough to beat Utah 128-125 on Tuesday, coming back from 118-122 down to finish the game on a 10-3 run. The hosts gave Denver a real fright, despite being 11.5-point underdogs, as Utah struggled to slow down the likes of Keyonte George and Kyle Filipowski. However, Denver had two excellent offensive weapons of their own, namely in Jamal Murray, who exploded for 45 points and eight assists, to go with 22 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks from Nikola Jokić. Jonas Valančiūnas had an important contribution, with 13 points and six rebounds, while Christian Braun did his job again with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Lakers made it three wins on the bounce on Wednesday, beating New Orleans 110-101. It was a 34-23 fourth quarter that got the job done, with a 22-4 run turning an 86-94 deficit into a 10-point lead to win them the game. LeBron James impressed in this one, with 21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks, while Luka Dončić had 27 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven turnovers in a mixed bag of a night. Austin Reaves also struggled handling the ball, with five turnovers to go with his 15 points and eight rebounds, but Marcus Smart added real energy and value off the bench, with 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocks to earn his team some momentum at key points.
Neither team is taking particularly strong form into this game, but I have to side with the hosts as just 5.5-point favourites. We have seen LA have some success against Jokić in some regular season games in years gone by, but this Lakers team does not all that interested on the defensive end and they’re not going to have the organisation to slow down both Jokić and Murray.