Denver (2: 1) – Houston (2: 0) 111: 124
After two straight losses, the Nuggets finally won. It happened against the Rockets who are still missing players due to NBA protocol matters against the Corona virus, but of course it did not concern Denver and she enjoyed a triple double by Nikola Jukic that led with a wonderful game of 19 points, 18 assists, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and one block . Jamal Marie finished with 21 points, Paul Millsap with 19, Gary Harris with 14 and so did Michael Porter Jr.. Houston was led by James Harden who in his second game of the season scored 34 and handed out 8 more assists, Christian Wood provided 23 points.
Los Angeles Lakers (2: 2) – Portland (1: 2) 115: 107
A second loss in the four opening games of the champion that continues to look bad. This time she succumbed to a great display from Damien Lillard and Gary Trent Jr. who led the Trailblazers to their second win. Lillard scored 31 points with 10 of 16 from the field, added 5 assists and also 4 rebounds, while Trent Jr. rose to 24 minutes from the bench, sniped 10 of 14 from the field (7 of 11 from outside the arc) and finished with 28. C.G. J. McCollum was solid with 20 points (7 of 22), but made up for it with 11 assists. On the losing side, another bad performance by Anthony Davis whose MAX contract probably didn’t do him any good. This time he finished with just 13 points in 38 minutes. LeBron James led with 29, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, Dennis Schroeder added 24 points and Mark Gasol just 4.
Brooklyn (2: 2) – Memphis (2: 1) 116: 111
The Grizzlies recorded their first win of the season against the Nets who came in very short and without their two big stars, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, but even for the winning team it eventually turned out to be a game they played without their most significant asset, Ja Morant, who dropped out of the parquet after 13 minutes Sitting in a wheelchair with an ankle injury that looks severe. Past photographs have shown that there is no fracture, but the severity of the ankle injury will be clarified later with the fear of a tear in the ligaments. Without him, Kyle Anderson took command with 28 points and 7 rebounds and Dillon Brooks also stood out with 24 points and 7 rebounds. Brandon Clark continued to be active off the bench with 16 points and 7 rebounds and Evans Valencia added 14 and 14 rebounds.
X-Rays on Memphis guard Ja Morant’s left ankle reveal no fracture, sources tell ESPN. Team will await results of an MRI as soon as Tuesday.
– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 29, 2020
The game against the Nets was very close as the Grizzlies won 23:32 in the first quarter, and won 22:32 in the second. In the third quarter, they again managed to open a gap of only two points, and 54.3 seconds to the end of the game, Valencia forced 106: 106. Both teams missed good situations to decide the game, with an emphasis on the Nets who saw Chris LeBart miss two identical shots. The game went into overtime, where Memphis stopped Brooklyn by 5 points and secured the win. Lebert was the standout in the losing ranks with 28 points and 11 assists but also 12 of 29 from the field.
Atlanta (0: 3) – Detroit (3: 0) 120: 128
The Hawks maintained their perfect start to the season, in a game in which they got back Clint Chapel for 20 minutes of basketball. Trey Young excelled with 29 points and 6 assists, Bogdan Bogdanovic who came off the bench added 17 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds, John Collins contributed another 15 points and there was another contribution to games like Rajon Rondo, Solomin Hill, Cam Radish And Diandra Hunter who scored 12, 12, 11 and 11 respectively. Atlanta achieved its third straight win this time without Danilo Glinari suffering from a left foot injury. The Pistons put up a good game for them with 27 points from Jeremy Grant and also from Josh Jackson, Dillon Wright added 18 from the bench but that did not prevent a third loss in three games.
Oklahoma (1: 1) – Utah (1: 2) 110: 109
A Donovan Mitchell basket, seven seconds to the end of the game, gave the Jazz a second win this season, this time over the Thunder away. He finished with his relatively poor game points that included only 5 assists and 8 of 23 from the field, but was the one who overcame the tackle in which mainly his two teammates excelled – Boyan Bogdanovich who scored 23 and Mike Conley who added 20 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists when he is one more good pass away from a triple double. Oklahoma for its part received a handsome contribution from Logonts Dort with 26 points and 9 of 11 from the field, Shay Gilgamesh Alexander finished with 23 and 7 assists, George Hill contributed another 14 and to Horford 11.