Post Up: Born 2 Ball

Hawks 94 (2-11), Wizards 113 (7-5)

Not exactly known for their strong bench, Washington got 54 points from their reserves on Saturday.

Bradley Beal (19 points) led the way with 19 points, as the Wizards cruised to a 37-point fourth quarter.

Clippers 103 (5-7), Pelicans 111 (7-6)

New Orleans seems to have figured some things out recently, as they’re 4-1 in their last five.

Anthony Davis (25, 10, 5) and DeMarcus Cousins (35, 15, 5) are as dominant a 1-2 punch as they come, and their length is giving teams trouble.

Kings 91 (3-9), Knicks 118 (7-5)

Over the past two weeks, New York has had the third-best offense in the League, but only the 23rd-best defense.

That weakness didn’t particularly help the Kings, who shot a dismal 37.5 percent from the field.

Kristaps Porzingis (34 points) has been playing like an MVP candidate this season.

Grizzlies 96 (7-5), Rockets 111 (10-3)

Houston has quietly been one of the League’s best teams so far, and James Harden is the reason why.

Behind his 38-point performance, Harden became the first player to have 5 straight games with 6 or more threes. Those five games were all Ws for Rockets.

The Rockets are in a really good place with the No. 2 offense and No. 3 net rating in the past two weeks.

Cavs 111 (6-7), Mavs 104 (2-11)

Struggling mightily heading into this game against the last-place Mavs, Cleveland actually was down by 10 points in the first quarter.

The Cavs were holding on to just a 1-point lead late in the fourth, when LeBron (19 points, 41 minutes) took matters into his own hands.

Over the past two weeks, Cleveland has put together a top-5 offense, but their defense remains the worst in the League.

Say what you want about this team, but the defense is a major red flag.

Lakers 90 (5-8), Bucks 98 (6-6)

Despite the Lakers dropping their third straight game of the road, Lonzo Ball’s first career triple-double made all the headlines.

Zo (19 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds) passed LeBron to become youngest player to record a triple-double in the League.

Both teams really struggled to score the basketball, but the biggest difference was L.A.’s 23 TOs to Milwaukee’s 13.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 15 boards for the Bucks.

Bulls 94 (2-9), Spurs 133 (8-5)

The fact that San Antonio trounced the Bulls by nearly 40 points is made even more incredible because the Spurs played a tough game against the Bucks the day before.

Chicago also was on the second half of a back-to-back, and lost Lauri Markkanen in the second quarter, but they offered almost zero resistance.

The Spurs had over a 72 true shooting percentage for the entire game. Pau Gasol had 21, 10 and 4 against his former team.

Sixers 114 (6-6), Warriors 135 (10-3)

Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons got their first crack at the Warriors, and they really gave the champs trouble… for one half, at least.

Golden State didn’t have a way to stop Philly’s forces of nature.

As they typically do, the Warriors exploded after halftime and outscored the Sixers by 15 in the quarter and essentially putting the game out of reach.

Draymond Green had an insane 10 points, 10 boards, 7 assists and 5 blocks as Golden State cruised to its sixth straight W.

With the No. 1 offense and net rating over the past two weeks (and third-best defense), the Warriors are right where we’d thought they’d be.

Magic 107 (8-5), Nuggets 125 (8-5)

Denver wrapped up a very successful six-game homestand with a blowout win over the Magic.

Nikola Jokic (12 points, 17 boards, 9 dimes, 4 steals) was in rare form.

Over the past two weeks, the Nuggets have had the fourth-best offense and net rating. If they can improve their defense to top-10, they’re going to be very dangerous.

Wolves 110 (7-5), Suns 118 (5-9)

Phoenix turned the ball over 18 times and allowed 66 points in the paint. They allowed their opponent to shoot 35 free-throws… but they still pulled out the win.

Minnesota shot just 40.6 percent and 4-20 from three and continued to struggle defensively.

Devin Booker had a game-high 36 points with 9 boards and 6 assists.

Nets 106 (5-8), Jazz 114 (6-7)

Rookie Donovan Mitchell continued to impress, dropping a team-high 26 points on 18 shots.

The 21-year-old does not lack confidence, and has now put up 20+ points four times in his first 13 games.

Mitchell and Thabo Sefolosha are Utah’s only starters with a positive net rating this season.