Post Up: The King Strikes Back

Cavaliers 112 (13-2), Sixers 108 (4-13)

Perhaps experiencing a bit of a hangover after attending yesterday’s Ohio State-Michigan game, the Cavaliers came out and missed their first 14 shots to start the game. The Sixers lead by as many as 14 in the first half before the Cavs cut the lead to six heading into the break.

In the second half, LeBron, Kyrie and and Kevin Love proved to be too much for the Sixers to handle.

Just a day after Russell Westbrook tied LeBron with 44 regular season career triple-doubles, James took his spot back with 26 points, 10 boards and 13 assists. LeBron also hit his 1,000th 3-pointer as a Cavalier, the most in franchise history. Irving finished with 39 points and Love had 25 points and 11 boards.

For Philadelphia, Joel Embiid had 22 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in 25 minutes. In two games against Cleveland this season, Embiid has averaged 22 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3.5 blocks.

Nuggets 120 (7-10), Suns 114 (5-13)

Denver jumped out to an 11-0 lead, but the Suns fought back to cut the lead to one point after the first quarter. Emmanuel Mudiay paced the Nuggets with 14 first half points to take a 63-48 lead into the break. Phoenix fought back to get itself in the game, outscoring Denver 36-23 in the third quarter, but never cut the lead to less than three points as they trailed wire-to-wire.

Wilson Chandler had 25 and 8 to continue his hot start, Mudiay finished with 19 and Nikola Jokic had a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double off the bench. Bledsoe (career-high 35) and Devin Booker (30) combined for 65 points for Phoenix.

Kings 122 (7-10), Nets 105 (4-12)

Sacramento took an 18-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the Nets cut the lead to six following a flagrant two foul by Matt Barnes on Sean Kilpatrick. Just as the Nets were getting close, coach Kenny Atkinson was hit with a technical foul while arguing with the refs over a Randy Foye foul on a DeMarcus Cousins basket. From there, Sacramento went on a 8-0 run and that was all she wrote.

Cousins lead the way with 37 points and 11 boards while Kilpatrick had 22 points, 5 boards and 3 assists for Brooklyn. The Nets fall to 2-9 without Jeremy Lin, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Bucks 104 (7-8), Magic 96 (6-11)

Giannis Antetokounmpo curiously sat on the bench during the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter, even after Orlando cut the lead to four points. Even though he played just 31 minutes, Giannis tallied 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists to lead Milwaukee to its second win over Orlando in three games. Evan Fournier scored a game-high 27 points for the Magic.

Pacers 91 (9-9), Clippers 70 (14-4)

The League’s hottest team is starting to cool off a bit. Playing in their third-straight road game, the Clippers got smacked around by the Paul George-less Pacers. Los Angeles was uncharacteristically sloppy and turned the ball over 20 times and gave up 42 points in the paint.

Glen Robinson III and Myles Turned lead the Pacers with 17 points apiece. Indiana has won two-straight with Paul George on the bench. LAC has dropped two-straight and will look to get back on track in Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

Mavericks 91 (3-13), Pelicans 81 (6-12)

The reeling Mavericks earned a much-needed win over the surging Pelicans. With Dirk watching from the sidelines with an Achilles injury, the two teams played an ugly third quarter as they combined for just 34 points. The fourth quarter saw an uptick in action as the Mavs, who were down down 68-62, went on a 22-8 run to seal the dub.

Harrison Barnes continued his hot start with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Anthony Davis lead all scorers with 36 points.

Rockets 130 (11-6), Trail Blazers 114 (9-10)

The Blazers kept things close through three quarters but didn’t have enough fire power to keep up with Houston in the fourth. James Harden dropped 21 of his 38 points in the first half to give the Rockets a three-point lead at the half. The lead stayed at three heading into the fourth but Houston broke things open by going on a 22-11 run to start the quarter.

The beard finished with 38 points and 10 assists and Clint Capela, who has been excellent to start the season, had 21 points and 9 rebounds. Lillard (27) and McCollum (28) combined for 55 points.


Lakers 109 (9-9), Hawks 94 (10-7)

Dwight Howard was met with boos in his return to Los Angeles, but the Lakers crowd had little time to pay attention to Dwight as the home team got rolling with an 18-2 run in the second quarter. With D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle both out, Los Angeles rolled at home behind 65 points from its bench nd handed the Hawks their fifth loss in the last six games. It doesn’t get any easier for ATL as the team travels to Oakland to play the Warriors on Monday night.