Houston were humiliated by San Antonio on Monday, losing to their Texas rivals 120-145. Houston’s defence had no answer for the hot shooting and the speed of San Antonio, giving up a 64.4% eFG% and a 136.3 offensive rating from the hosts. It was Victor Wembanyama who inflicted the most damage and even with solid nights from Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant, who both had 23 points, Houston never really looked close in the second half of this clash. Alperen Şengün’s slump in form continued, with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and five turnovers to be a -28, and a poor performance from Houston’s bench meant that they were never able to contend with the excellent hosts.
Toronto ended their two-game skid with a 122-92 beatdown of Dallas on Monday. It ended up being a routine victory for the hosts, who steadily built on their lead across the game to see the margin hit 30 points late in the fourth. It was a good offensive night and an even better defensive performance from Darko Rajaković’s team, recording their best defensive rating of the season (94.4), forcing a poor Dallas side into 19 turnovers and just five made three-pointers. Jakob Poeltl again showed his defensive value, with two blocks and one steal to go with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while RJ Barrett led the offensive charge with 31 points, six rebounds and three steals on a great shooting night.
Poeltl is questionable for Toronto and with Collin Murray-Boyles also out, the visitors are going to have little resistance down low. With Houston’s defence having also struggled of late, we’re in for a high-scoring clash at Toyota Center.
Two of the best teams in the league will square off on Wednesday, as San Antonio host Boston in what is set to be a thriller. Mitch Johnson’s side could hardly be in better form after a 145-120 demolition of Houston on Monday, making it 15 wins from their last 16 games, in another dominant display from Victor Wembanyama. The Frenchman had 29 points, eight rebounds, two steals and four blocks on 83.3% TS%, finishing as a +27 in his 30 minutes of action. Dylan Harper was efficient with his 19 points and six assists and De’Aaron Fox contributed 20 points and 10 assists to round out another highly impressive win for SA.
Boston have won five of their last six games after beating Cleveland 109-98 on Monday. It was another very strong defensive showing from Boston, with a 107.7 defensive rating against a near-full strength Cleveland offence, continuing to prove that they are genuine contenders in the East. Jaylen Brown was again their best player, with 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Baylor Scheierman had another important contribution with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jayson Tatum wasn’t quite as good as he was in his season debut, this time recording 20 points on 6/16 FGs, but Payton Pritchard’s 18 points and seven assists and Neemias Queta’s defence got Boston home.
Nikola Vučević (finger) is out and Pritchard (neck) is questionable, and that sees Boston lose some much-needed depth in this heavyweight battle. Wembanyama is going to have it all his way against a shallow bigs rotation and that’s going to help San Antonio to an important win.
The Lakers continue to find ways to win, with their most recent victory coming on Monday in a 110-97 triumph over New York. As LeBron James sat out his second game in a row, Luka Dončić starred once more, pouring in 35 points, four assists and two steals, but again had troubles with his decision-making at times, with six turnovers. Austin Reaves also excelled with 25 points, five assists, three steals and one block, while the Lakers benefitted from some very poor shot-making from New York, who were often left open but hit just 23.5% of their three-point attempts and gave away 18 turnovers.
Minnesota’s five-game win streak came to a screeching halt on Sunday, losing to Orlando 92-119. It was yet another dramatic collapse at home from Chris Finch’s side, who were 6.5-point favourites going into the game but scored just 42 second half points, seeing Orlando run away with a big win. Anthony Edwards was impressive once more, with 34 points, two steals and two blocks, but he was the only Minnesota player who showed a pulse on the offensive end, as the likes of Julius Randle (14 points, nine rebounds, four turnovers), Jaden McDaniels (three points, three steals, 0/9 FGs), Donte DiVincenzo (zero points, four assists, 0/6 FGs) and Ayo Dosunmu (three points, 1/6 FGs) all really struggled.
LeBron is questionable to make his return from injury in this game, but Minnesota will be the ones coming out on top in this game. Their interior defence is going to be a real headache for the hosts to navigate and they simply don’t have anyone to slow down Edwards or Randle, which makes this a very tough matchup for them.