Lakers (1-5) 107, Hornets (3-4) 92
The Lakers are on the board!
Kobe Bryant and Jeremy Lin each dropped 21 last night as LA pulled away from Charlotte for the team’s first win. Carlos Boozer posted 16 and 5, and was big during a dominant third quarter (34-13).
Al Jefferson scored a team-high 23 for Charlotte, while Kemba Walker added 17.
Nets (4-2) 104, Magic (2-5) 96
This game was tied at 89 before a Bojan Bogdanovic triple with just under six minutes left put Brooklyn up for good.
The rookie Bogdanovic finished with 22 — a career-high also good for a team-high. Deron Williams continued to look sharp, dropping 18 on 7/12 shooting with 7 dimes. Mason Plumlee double-doubled off the bench with 12 and 10.
Nikola Vucevic led the game with 27 points and 12 boards. Evan Fournier added 19 as the Magic shot 52 percent, but a 45-31 disadvantage on the glass proved too tough to overcome for Orlando.
Jazz (3-4) 97, Pistons (2-4) 96
How ’bout these Jazz!
Last night, Utah got a pair of double-doubles — 16 and 12 from Derrick Favors and 14 and 11 from Enes Kanter — and 17 points from Gordon Hayward in a close win.
Detroit led 94-93 with two minutes to play, but Hayward scored four points in a row to give Utah a lead they never gave back.
Detroit got 23 points from Brandon Jennings and 11 & 18 from Andre Drummond, but it wasn’t enough. They shot just 6/23 from three-point range, and under 39 percent overall.
Thunder (2-5) 101, Kings (5-2) 93
Respect to OKC for fighting through ridiculous injuries last night. Only nine guys played for the Thunder, but Reggie Jackson led the way with 22 points, Jeremy Lamb delivered 17 and Serge Ibaka went for 14 and 9.
DeMarcus Cousins keyed a third-quarter rally for Sacto that fell short, and finished with 16 and 7. Rudy Gay dropped a game-high 23.
Raptors (6-1) 120, 76ers (0-7) 88
There are going to be some rough nights for a team whose best player is Tony Wroten. Philly had one of those last night.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto in scoring with 24 in a blowout win, and the team had five other players in double-figures. All told, the Raptors hit 57 percent from the floor and knocked down 27/30 free throws.
Wroten was Philly’s high-man with 18. The Sixers shot just 38 percent, and will struggle — much like every other team — when allowing 120 on the road.
Heat (5-2) 105, Mavericks (4-3) 96
There’s no telling for how long Dwyane Wade can keep this up, but it’s becoming clear that a healthy Miami squad is a dangerous Miami squad.
Last night, they upended the solid Mavericks behind 20 from Wade, 20 from Chris Bosh and a game-high 30 from newcomer Luol Deng. Wade (10 assists) and Bosh (10 boards) each double-doubled in a game that Miami controlled the whole way through.
Monta Ellis led Dallas with 23 points, and Tyson Chandler posted 16 and 15. Dirk Nowitzki had a mediocre night by his standards: 17 points on 6/15 shooting.
Suns (4-3) 107, Warriors (5-1) 95
Golden State led by 8 at the start of the fourth before getting blown out in the final period.
Gerald Green (19 points) and Isaiah Thomas (22, 13/14 FT) were fantastic in the comeback for the Suns. Goran Dragic added 19 of his own, and Marcus Morris went for 17 and 9.
Steph Curry dropped 28 with 10 assists and 5 steals (with 10 turnovers), but his Warriors managed only 16 points in the fourth quarter. Draymond Green continued his awesome run as a starter for the Dubs, dropping 22 with 9 boards, 4 blocks and 3 threes.
Blazers (4-3) 116, Nuggets (1-5) 100
It’s very tough to steal a win in Portland, and Denver wasn’t nearly good enough to do it last night.
Portland got a game-high 28 from LaMarcus Aldridge, and 21 more Wes Matthews. Damian Lillard’s had a quiet shooting night (4/9, 11 points), but tallied 7 assists and 0 turnovers.
Denver’s high-scorer was Kenneth Faried, who hit 7/16 shots on his way to 19 and 7. Timofey Mozgov grabbed 16 boards, but the team just couldn’t get enough stops. Brian Shaw’s Nuggets have been a major letdown.
