Toronto were rock solid in their 119-106 victory over New Orleans on Saturday, utilising a 30-19 second quarter to build a 59-44 lead, which they held onto for the rest of the contest. It was a strong defensive night from the team, led by a stellar two-way performance from Scottie Barnes. The young forward had 23 points, 12 assists, two steals and three blocks on the night, while bigs Jakob Poeltl and Sandro Mamukelashvili both had 18 points, one steal and one block. RJ Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter also finished on 18 points to help Toronto finish up with an impressive win.
Orlando snapped their six game losing streak with a 121-117 triumph over Sacramento on Friday. The game finished closer than what they would have liked, but they did just enough to close out the win, thanks to a clutch three from Jalen Suggs and a pair of free throws from Desmond Bane in the final minute. Bane had an efficient night for his 23 points and six assists, while Paolo Banchero led the way again with 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Jamal Cain continued his rise with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists and Wendell Carter Jr had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Orlando’s defence was disappointing again in that contest and that’s a concerning trend for Jamahl Mosely’s team going into Monday’s game. Barnes is also a great defensive option to put on Banchero and, with that, I expect Orlando to struggle in this matchup, making the hosts my bet as small underdogs.
Oklahoma City got back to winning ways on Saturday, thumping Chicago 131-113 to improve to 58-16. With a two-game lead over the #2 seed San Antonio, OKC will need to continue to win games if they are to secure the #1 seed, and they made no mistake in doing just that on Saturday, with a hot finish to the game getting them home. A lengthy 46-14 run that spanned from late in the third quarter to late in the fourth won them the game, as they dominated the visitors on both ends. Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe were big in the fourth, combining for 26 points, to steer OKC to victory, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rested on the bench for the final period. Wallace finished with 21 points, five rebounds, three steals and one block, while Jalen Williams bounced back for a solid 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists. SGA had a rocky 25 points, five assists and three blocks and Ajay Mitchell had another tidy night with 15 points, five assists and two blocks.
New York’s seven-game win streak came to an end in Charlotte on Friday, falling 103-114. NY’s defence simply couldn’t slow down the hosts, finishing the night with a 129.5 defensive rating — their worst in over six weeks. There were plenty of rebounding struggles for NY, who were outrebounded 24-43, and scoring didn’t come easily for them either, partially thanks to their rebounding efforts, but also due to their inability to get to the free throw line. Jalen Brunson top-scored with a rather inefficient 26 points and 13 assists, taking six of NY’s just nine free throw attempts on the night. Josh Hart had 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals and OG Anunoby had 17 points, but it wasn’t enough for the visitors.
It’s another tough game ahead of New York on Monday, but they have the offensive weapons to worry this Oklahoma City defence. Brunson is going to give them all sorts of headaches and Karl-Anthony Towns’ shooting will give them trouble if he decides to get aggressive with his scoring. That makes New York my play as big underdogs.
Denver have won five straight after coming back to beat Utah 135-129 on Saturday. Trailing by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter, Denver looked to be heading for a shock loss against an extremely undermanned Utah outfit, but they clawed their way back into the game, partially thanks to the visitors sitting a couple of key players in the fourth. A 28-9 run in the final period gave Denver the buffer that they needed to win the game, in another stellar offensive night. The team had a 128.6 offensive rating as Nikola Jokić dominated for 33 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists, while Jamal Murray also had an elite night with 31 points, six rebounds and 14 assists. Aaron Gordon added 17 points and Tim Hardaway Jr had 21 to help pull off the comeback and breathe a sigh of relief.
Golden State have taken care of business in a soft stretch of their schedule, winning their last three games. All three wins have been a bit too close for comfort, including Saturday’s 131-126 victory over Washington, which saw the hosts pull off a 18-2 fourth quarter run to take control of the game and set up the win. Kristaps Porziņģis was excellent, finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes, while Gui Santos had another impressive night with 27 points and four assists. Brandin Podziemski flirted with a triple-double, with 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals and Draymond Green had a vintage performance with six points, 10 assists and two blocks.
Denver’s offence is going to run riot again in this clash. Golden State have no chance of slowing down Jokić and Murray and with Denver’s defensive woes of late, I expect the likes of Porziņģis and Podziemski to get the visitors’ offence flowing too. The over has hit in six of Denver’s last nine games and in seven of GS’ last 10.