Basketball Tips

Atlanta have had a brutal schedule of late, with seven road games in their last eight games, but have come out on the other side with a 4-4 record as they return to State Farm Arena on Sunday. Their road trip wrapped up with a 101-117 loss in Portland on Friday, thanks to a terrible 14-29 fourth quarter, which ultimately cost them the game. It also contributed to a lowly 99.0 offensive rating on the night, as Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and new recruit CJ McCollum all had sub-par shooting nights. Onyeka Okongwu top-scored with 26 points, nine rebounds and…

Philadelphia and Cleveland meet again on Saturday after Donovan Mitchell and co. romped their way to a 133-107 win on Thursday. For the hosts, it was a game to forget, putting together their worst offensive display of the season thanks to some woeful shooting from anyone not named Joel Embiid or Paul George. They both went 7/14 from the field, but the rest of the team combined to shoot 29/75 (38.7%) from the floor in what was a horrid shooting performance. George finished with 17 points and four assists and Embiid clocked 20 points and one block, but there was…

Detroit have enjoyed a four-day break since their 92-98 loss to the Clippers on Sunday. Without a slew of players, including Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, Detroit still went into the contest as 4.5-point favourites and they looked every bit like the superior team in the first half, holding the visitors to just 14 points in the first quarter to lead 55-41 at halftime. However, their offence completely fell off in the second half, scoring just 37 points to record their lowest score of the season and their second-worst offensive rating. With 11 turnovers in the fourth quarter,…

Philadelphia picked up an impressive 115-102 victory in Toronto on Tuesday to improve to 6-2 in their last eight games. It was one-way traffic in the first half, as the visitors poured in 45 points in the first quarter and 35 in the second, to take an 80-51 lead into halftime. Some complacency set in in the second half, as they scored just 35 points in the final two quarters, but it didn’t matter as their lead was never truly threatened in what was a great two-way display. Tyrese Maxey led the offensive charge, with 33 points on 10/16 shooting,…

Miami are in the midst of a tough run of form, with Monday’s 112-124 loss to Oklahoma City coming as their third defeat on the bounce. That ended a horror road trip, with a 28-point defeat in Minnesota and a 24-point humiliation in Indiana coming before Monday’s loss, where everything came undone in the third quarter. The visitors took a 59-54 lead into the halftime break but a 10-32 run from OKC saw them get out to a 76-90 lead late in the third, and Miami did not have a comeback in them, as their defence fell away. Andrew Wiggins…

Cleveland put together their best offensive showing of the season to pick up a 146-134 victory over Minnesota on Sunday. It was quite the offensive explosion, especially considering Minnesota’s increasingly impressive defensive performances of late, and things really came together for the hosts in the second half, scoring 83 points, including 47 in the fourth quarter, to run away with the win. Five Cleveland players scored 20+ points, led by Donovan Mitchell’s 28 points and eight assists, while his backcourt buddy Darius Garland shot 10/13 for a very efficient 22 points and six assists, with no turnovers. Evan Mobley was…

Toronto’s three-game win streak came to an end in Boston on Saturday, losing 117-125. Without Scottie Barnes (knee) and Brandon Ingram (thumb), the visitors entered the game without two of their best offensive weapons, making them 9.5-point underdogs at tip-off, and save for a second quarter resurgence and a run early into the fourth quarter, the visitors were comprehensively outplayed. While Toronto had a decent offensive night themselves, they had no answer for the rising Boston offence, giving up plenty of open looks at the rim for a 135.9 defensive rating. On the other end of the floor, Ja’Kobe Walter…

Detroit rested Cade Cunningham on Thursday against Chicago and the risk paid off, earning a 108-93 victory. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, as they trailed for much of the third quarter, but a dominant fourth quarter saw Detroit coast home, as they outscored the visitors 32-16 to seal the win. Isaiah Stewart had a career game, with Jalen Duren and Cunningham’s absences freeing up offensive touches for him, finishing with 31 points and two blocks, while Daniss Jenkins embraced the playmaker role, providing 15 assists, while shooting just 1/8 from the field. Paul Reed was also effective, putting up nine…

Boston had their four-game win streak come to an end on Thursday with a 110-114 defeat to Denver. A lot of the visitors’ big names, including Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, returned in this game and Boston weren’t able to contain Murray in particular, while their offence failed to hit the heights of their recent performances, resulting in a disappointing loss. As 9.5-point favourites, Boston were expected to coast to victory by a 6-22 run from the visitors in the fourth quarter put Joe Mazzulla’s men on the backfoot and they had no comeback in them, despite Jaylen Brown putting…

Chicago were made to look very ordinary by Detroit on Thursday, going down 93-108. Even without Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, among others, the East leaders were far too strong, with Chicago putting together a lacklustre 16-32 fourth quarter to go down in disappointing fashion. Ayo Dosunmu got hot early on and finished his night with 24 points on 10/15 shooting, while Nikola Vučević had a big statistical game with 20 points, 16 rebounds and four assists. Matas Buzelis also hit the 20-point mark and provided four blocks, but there were plenty of offensive struggles across the floor, as the…