Orlando are riding a four-game win streak heading into Thursday’s game, with a 130-91 demolition of Milwaukee on Monday being their biggest of the lot. It was a straightforward win for the visitors, who dominated from the opening tip and held Milwaukee to just 15 points in both the first and third quarters, contributing to a strong 101.3 defensive rating, but it was their offence that really stood out. Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane led the charge on their way to an elite 139.7 offensive rating, shooting the lights out across the floor for a 66.7% eFG%. Banchero was the star, with 33 points and three assists on an elite shooting night, while Bane dropped 18 points, nine assists and four steals and Suggs had 20 points.
Cleveland got back into the winners’ circle on Tuesday, beating Philadelphia 115-101. It was a straightforward win for the hosts, getting out to a double-digit lead by halftime and it got out to 25 points late in the third to see Cleveland seal the win. It was a strong two-way display from Kenny Atkinson’s men, including a 101.2 defensive rating and a 127.9 offensive rating, and James Harden was at the forefront of the offence with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists. Keon Ellis had a smooth 19 points, while Evan Mobley had a good two-way performance, with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 28 minutes of action.
Jarrett Allen remains out for Cleveland but the visitors are still going to be too good in this showdown. Their offence is going to be too much for Orlando’s shallow guard rotation and I am surprised to see Cleveland as just 3.5-point favourites here.
Utah held on for a 119-116 victory over Golden State on Tuesday for their 20th win of the season. With a 102-91 lead early in the fourth quarter, Utah let a rather comfortable buffer fade to a 108-108 tie just minutes later. However, the hosts composed themselves, with Elijah Harkless and Blake Hinson coming up with some big buckets late to get Utah across the line. Harkless had another solid performance, with 16 points and six assists, while Kyle Filipowski starred with 19 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block and Brice Sensebaugh had 21 points, three assists and two blocks.
New York emerged 0-2 from their Los Angeles back-to-back, starting with a loss to the Lakers before a 118-126 defeat against the Clippers on Tuesday. It was an improved offensive display at the Intuit Dome, but their defence had no answer for Kawhi Leonard, Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin, making for a 124.8 defensive rating — their worst in three weeks. Karl-Anthony Towns was sluggish on that end but did his best to make up for it on offence, with 35 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, while Jalen Brunson had 28 points and eight assists. It was a slow offensive night for Mikal Bridges, with just seven points, and Landry Shamet cooled off for 3/12 shooting and Jose Alvarado did little with 0/4 shooting for no points.
George is questionable for Utah in this one, as they continue to embrace the tank, and that will make for an absolute blowout. New York were not good in their LA back-to-back but this game is far different, coming against a lowly Utah team that is trying to lose. New York may be big favourites, but the line should be even bigger.
Denver and Oklahoma City played out an instant classic of a regular season game on Tuesday, but David Adelman’s team came out on the wrong side of the scoreline in a 126-129 loss. With a host of OKC’s top players out, the door was open for a big road win for Denver, and they almost completed a miraculous comeback from 113-121 down to tied at 126-126 with less than 10 seconds on the clock. However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was too clutch, winning the game for OKC in the final seconds, downing Denver despite another big Nikola Jokić game. The Joker had 32 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and one block, while Aaron Gordon started red-hot with 19 points in six minutes in the first quarter, but was kept quiet from then on with 23 points and 10 rebounds on the night. Tim Hardaway Jr hit eight threes for 28 points and Jamal Murray had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists but Denver’s leaky defence ended up being their downfall.
Houston kicked into gear in the fourth quarter to record a 113-99 win over Toronto on Wednesday. Leading 86-83 at three-quarter time, Houston had some work to do to get the job done, and they impressed with a 27-16 final quarter to claim the win. It was a strong defensive showing from Ime Udoka’s side, with a 101.0 defensive rating as they kept them off the offensive glass and benefitted from just 9/36 shooting from deep from the visitors. On the other end, Kevin Durant dropped a very efficient 29 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Jabari Smith Jr and Amen Thompson each had 23 points and although Alperen Şengün struggled again, Houston got the job done.
A fun matchup is upon us on Thursday afternoon, with the teams having already played out a couple of riveting games this season. Denver leads the season series 2-1 and are rightfully favoured here, but the over is my pick. We’ve seen the hosts’ offence really show itself off of late, including on Tuesday against the league’s best defence, and they’ll put up a stack of points again on Thursday. Houston are also going to excel against some shaky perimeter defenders of Denver’s, making the over the play.