The league didn’t lack for excitement today, with big scoring nights and nail-biting wins happening in multiple games.
High scoring nights did not work out for Lillard and Russell
Damian Lillard had himself a heck of a game today, managing to drop 60 points on the Brooklyn Nets. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the win.
Kyrie Irving had other ideas, hitting a difficult bank shot with 17.8 seconds left to put the game away. Even with a -7 plus/minus rating, Irving showed that he can still come up big when it matters most, finishing with 33 points and 6 assists. He got a lot of help from Spencer Dinwiddie, who put up 34 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Lillard definitely could have used more help. He had to put the Portland Trail Blazers on his back again, and backcourt partner CJ McCollum laid an egg, shooting 4 of 19 on the way to a measly 8 points. Only two other Blazers scored in double figures. The Blazers are now 3-6 for the season with this 119-115 loss.
D’Angelo Russell also had himself a big night for the Golden State Warriors. He scored 52 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Dubs also found themselves on the wrong end of the 125-119 defeat.
Late game winners were the theme of the day
A marquee matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets ended in the victory for Nikola Jokic and crew, after the Joker hit a go-ahead jumper with 2.2 seconds left in the game. The Nuggets won 100-97.
The Utah Jazz also came up big in the closing moments, knocking out the Milwaukee Bucks with a buzzer beating haymaker of a 3 from Bojan Bogdanovic. Nothing quite like hitting a game-winning shot to finish 103-100.
Other results
Lakers def. Heat 95-80
Magic def. Grizzlies 118-86
Cavs def. Wizards 113-100
Pacers def. Pistons 112-106
Kings def. Hawks 121-109
Raptors def. Pelicans 122-104
Knicks def. Mavericks 106-102
