Basketball Tips

Detroit slipped to perhaps their worst loss of the season on Friday, losing to Washington 117-126. Perhaps the worst part about the loss was that Washington very much rolled out their second-string lineup in the second half, with the likes of Will Riley and Sharife Cooper playing big minutes. Cade Cunningham was Detroit’s best, with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Ausar Thompson provided 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Ron Holland II provided his trademark energy off the bench for 11 points, 10 rebounds and one block but a rough 125.0 defensive rating from…

Houston were awful on Thursday in a 93-114 defeat to Boston. In one of their worst games of the season, Houston looked completely lost on both ends of the floor, as they failed to recover from a 21-36 third quarter. The visitors ended up leading by as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter, highlighting just how bad things got for Ime Udoka’s side. They recorded a poor 48.2% eFG% and, perhaps more notably, had just a 25.0% OREB%. Owning a league-best 39.2% OREB% on the season, one of Houston’s main weapons was completely neutralised on Thursday. Kevin Durant…

New York continued their dominant run of play on Wednesday with a 132-101 demolition of Washington. It was one-way traffic all game long, as New York dominated the opening quarter 38-22 and scored 30+ points in every period of the game to run up the score and breeze past the visitors. Mikal Bridges went 8/10 from the field to drop 23 points, four rebounds, five assists and two blocks and OG Anunoby had an efficient night for 19 points and one block. Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 19 points, 14 rebounds and two steals and Jalen Brunson added 21 points and four…

Detroit picked up their biggest win of the season on Monday, annihilating Brooklyn 130-77 in an absolute cakewalk. The hosts always looked like coming out on top, with a 19-6 first quarter run setting the tone before a mammoth 56-15 run across the second and third quarters saw Detroit really pull away. Finishing the night with an 81.1 defensive rating, it was a spectacular defensive showing from JB Bickerstaff’s side, as Ausar Thompson, Cade Cunningham, Ron Holland II and new All-Star Jalen Duren all showed off good instincts on that end of the floor. Offensively, Cunningham and Duren went to…

Indiana have now won three of their last four games following a 129-124 win over Atlanta on Sunday. Rick Carlisle’s team held on in a tense finish, with Pascal Siakam and Aaron Nesmith having some big moments down the stretch to record another win for last year’s finalists. Siakam was hot all night, finishing with 25 points, six rebounds, two steals and one block, while Nesmith missed just two shots all night for 23 points. Andrew Nembhard was the other key contributor, finishing with 26 points, six rebounds and 10 assists, drilling five threes on the night as Indiana shot…

Boston produced another stellar defensive stand in a 112-93 thumping of Sacramento on Saturday. It was smooth sailing for the entire 48 minutes for Joe Mazzulla’s men, as they bolted out to a 40-25 quarter-time lead and they stayed comfortably in front for the duration, leading by 31 points in the third quarter. Payton Pritchard starred on the offensive end with 29 points and eight assists, going 5/6 from deep to record a stellar shooting night. Baylor Scheierman made the most of his starting opportunity, as Jaylen Brown sat out with a hamstring niggle, posting 16 points, five rebounds and…

Indiana have won two of their last three games to somewhat hurt their tanking progress, as they have started to find a bit of form now with a largely healthy roster. Their 6-5 record in their last 11 games has them at 12-36 on the season and no longer with the worst record in the league, with Thursday’s 113-110 victory over Chicago being their latest triumph. Scoring the last four points of the game to cap off a 24-8 run, it was a strong finish to the game that got Indiana home, as Aaron Nesmith came up with a layup…

Orlando’s four-game skid came to an end on Thursday, beating Miami 133-124. A 20-6 run in the third quarter saw Orlando take a 90-81 lead and they stayed in front for the entire fourth quarter to round out the win in what was the team’s best offensive performance in over two weeks. Anthony Black was the standout performer again, with 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks, while Paolo Banchero had 31 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in a good showing. Desmond Bane shot well for his 23 points and five assists and Jalen Suggs…

Washington finally broke their nine-game losing run on Wednesday with a 115-111 victory over Portland. It was a welcome, but perhaps unexpected sight for the home fans at Capital One Arena, as Washington headed into the game as seven-point underdogs but emerged on top thanks to a 12-2 run late in the game. Kyshawn George was pivotal in this stretch, scoring seven of the 12 points, while Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly had some nice defensive possessions to help the hosts walk away with the win. Sarr was the star of the show, finishing the game with 29 points, 12…

Cleveland are starting to get their season back on track, with four consecutive wins lifting them to a 28-20 record, which has them just two games back of the #2 seed Boston. Tuesday’s 114-98 victory over Orlando came in convincing style, mounting a big second quarter comeback before racing away with the win in the second half. Donovan Mitchell was the star of the show, putting up 45 points on 74.3% TS%, along with four assists. Evan Mobley also enjoyed a good night out, with 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, but suffered a calf injury that will see…