The Heat bounce back from disappointing LA trip with big win over Jazz

The Miami Heat went 0-2 in their clashes against the Lakers and Clippers, and were looking to finally get back on the winning track against the Utah Jazz. They got their wish as they built a big enough lead over the first three quarters to survive a fourth quarter that saw them outscored 36-16 by the Jazz, who lost their second game in a row.

The Heat got a combined 70 points from Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, and Tyler Herro. Bam Adebayo and PJ Tucker combined for 26 points, 18 rebound and 10 assists.

The Jazz got a combined 73 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic, Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson, but it just wasn’t enough. Rudy Gobert better be careful, though, as he got himself another technical after getting into a spat with Dewayne Dedmon. This time, it looked like Gobert got the tech for slapping the ref to say thanks. At least there were no hugs involved.

The Clippers dominate the Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves handed a smackdown on the Lakers yesterday after a big third quarter, where they outscored their opponents 40-12, but they found no such magic this time around. They looked on the way to an utter blowout by halftime, where they were down 70-43. They lost the game 129-102. This is the Clippers’ seventh-straight win, tied for the longest current active streak in the league with the Warriors and Suns.

Reggie Jackson played a big part in that big Clippers lead thanks to 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting in the first half. He finished with 21 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. 

Paul George watched Jackson play strong in the first half, and answered with a huge third quarter of his own, where he scored 14 points. He finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists. Terence Mann and Isaiah Hartenstein chipped in 28 points off the bench, too.

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The Wizards stay atop the East

The Washington Wizards are still on top of the Eastern Conference after taking a 104-92 victory over the struggling Orlando Magic. They used an 11-0 run in the first quarter to flip a 17-18 deficit into a 28-18 lead and never looked back.

They were without Bradley Beal, who was taking personal time off to grieve for his grandmother who passed away, and stepped up in their star teammate’s absence by putting forth another one of those good team-wide  efforts. Spencer Dinwiddie led the way with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, while Kyle Kuzma had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Montrezl Harrell was again brilliant from the bench, and had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in 21 minutes of play. Harrell is making a strong early case to win the sixth man of the year award that had eluded him in the past, and he’s making it easy to root for him.

Cole Anthony had 22 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists for the Magic, but struggled and only hit 4 of 16 shots. Mo Bamba had a big night on the boards with 14 points and 17 rebounds, while Wendell Carter Jr. had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.

Cavs come back from 19-point deficit to beat the Celtics 

Things didn’t look good for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who started off being outscored 20-9 in the first quarter and faced a Boston Celtics lead that got as high as 19 points. However, their young squad showed grit and determination to come back and force a 91-89 victory. Still down by 12 at the start of the fourth quarter, they got a big boost from rookie Evan Mobley, who scored 12 points in that period to help bring them back from the brink. Darius Garland sealed it with a pair of free throws with 9.4 seconds in the game.

Mobley finished with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks while making 8 of 13 shots. Garland led the Cavs in scoring with 22 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Ricky Rubio continued to be a spark plug from the bench as he finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.

The Celtics got a second-straight good game from Dennis Schroder, who had 28 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists while making 10 of 19 shots. Jayson Tatum had 21 points, but only made 8 of 22 shots. Fatigue probably played a factor, considering that the Celtics had to go to overtime yesterday to beat the Bucks. 

It probably didn’t help that Schroder took the last shot instead of Tatum, though.

However, all the credit belongs to the Cavs, who continue to show a lot of tenacity and now have a 9-5 record, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference. They’ve done this while missing Collin Sexton, who has a torn meniscus, along with Lauri Markannen and Kevin Love, who are both out due to Covid-19.