Toronto have dropped four of their last five games after a 111-122 loss to New Orleans on Thursday. After a very tight first half, it was all New Orleans in the third quarter, with their 5-22 run opening up a lot of breathing room, and the visitors weren’t able to get back in the lead after that point. Immanuel Quickley was their best offensive player with 25 points, three assists and two assists, while Brandon Ingram had a rather inefficient 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Scottie Barnes had a poor 4/14 shooting night but found ways to impact the game otherwise with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block and Jakob Poeltl added three rejections of his own, but with Toronto putting together another underwhelming offensive night, it was another loss for the Canadians.
Phoenix picked up another comfortable win on Friday, beating Indiana 123-108. A 12-2 run early on in the fourth quarter effectively iced the game, increasing Phoenix’s lead to 110-94 in what was another big offensive night for Jordan Ott’s side. Their 129.5 offensive rating made for a dominant game, where Devin Booker starred with 43 points and five assists. Jalen Green shot the lights out, going 14/23 FG with 36 points, four assists and four steals, along with five turnovers, and Royce O’Neal went 5/8 from deep for 15 points to help Phoenix push towards 59.7% eFG%.
Collin Murray-Boyles is questionable and may well make his return from a thumb injury in this game, and against a Phoenix team on night two of a back-to-back, that will help Toronto get over the line. There is a good chance that one of Booker or Green will be rested in this game, given their injuries this season, and that’ll leave Phoenix without the offence to pick up a win on the road.
Dallas’ eight-game losing run came to an end on Friday, beating Memphis 120-112. It was a well-earned win for the struggling visitors, never trailing in this contest despite some shaky moments late in the third to let Memphis tie the game at 84-84. However, Dallas went on a 19-4 run from there to get out to another comfortable lead, which they held onto for the rest of the game to end their losing streak. It was a good defensive night from the visitors, with a 112.0 defensive rating, limiting Memphis to just 17/30 shooting at the rim, with Daniel Gafford and Marvin Bagley III in particular showing good rim protection. On the offensive end, Khris Middleton wound back the clock with 35 points, including 8/10 shooting from deep, while Gafford had a dunk fest with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Brandon Williams added 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks and Cooper Flagg had a wonky shooting night but ended with 13 points, six rebounds, seven assists and one block.
Cleveland started their road trip in disappointing fashion on Thursday, going down to Orlando 122-128. Nothing really worked for Cleveland on the defensive end, making for their second-worst defensive rating of the season (133.7), partially helped by a generous whistle for the hosts, who had a sky-high 37 free throw attempts. Cleveland also couldn’t keep Orlando away from the rim, where they shot 21/25, seeing the visitors fall. James Harden had another solid game in his new colours with 30 points and eight assists and Evan Mobley added 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Keon Ellis had 20 points and Donovan Mitchell added 25 of his own but his 9/24 shooting ended up hurting Cleveland, going 2/8 in the fourth to seal the loss.
Jarrett Allen remains out for Cleveland but that’s not going to matter here. Mobley is going to dominate Dallas defensively and the energy of the hosts’ wings is set to give the likes of Mitchell and Harden some headaches, meaning both offences will struggle to live up to expectations here. The under is 18-14 in Cleveland’s road games this season and is my pick here.
Houston were outplayed in every way in a 93-129 loss to Denver on Thursday. It was a woeful second half for Ime Udoka’s side, getting outscored 76-46 in the final two quarters as their defence faltered and their offence looked even worse, finishing the evening with a terrible 94.8 offensive rating. That was their second-worst offensive performance of the season, as they struggled to build an advantage on the offensive glass and lacked the aggression to get into the paint and make free throws, with an awful FT rate of just 1.4%. Amen Thompson was their best player, with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, but as Alperen Şengün took a back seat again, with just 10 points and three assists, and Kevin Durant was limited to just eight FG attempts, Houston could not come up with the answers.
New Orleans have started to find some form, with three wins from their last four games after a 122-111 triumph over Toronto on Thursday. It was a big second half that got the job done, turning a two-point halftime lead into an 18-point lead in the third quarter, and while Toronto almost erased that deficit, New Orleans had the composure to bounce back and secure another win at home. It was their fourth strong offensive performance on the bounce, recording a 120.4 offensive rating as Trey Murphy III and Dejounte Murray combined for 55 points on 20/32 shooting. Murphy was hot from deep and added three assists and three steals, while Murray had six assists and two steals. Zion Williamson had a tidy 19 points, six rebounds and four assists and Herb Jones rediscovered his shooting form to drop 16 points.
Şengün (back) is questionable for Saturday and that is a big concern for a Houston team whose big man stocks are already shallow. This will see Jabari Smith Jr get a lot of centre minutes, which is not a good matchup against Williamson, and that puts Houston in real trouble. As big favourites, I have to bet against them.