In the video above: Denver’s victory summary
In the shadow of all the rejections and troubles with the wave of Corona virus infections, five NBA games were held early in the morning (Thursday through Friday). In the spotlight, Denver defeated Golden State 104: 114 thanks to another triple-double by the formidable Nikola Jukic. Indiana interrupted Portland’s winning streak with a convincing 87: 111. Also, Philadelphia traveled to Miami, Houston defeated San Antonio and Toronto barely beat Charlotte.
Denver (6: 6) – Golden State (6: 6) 104: 114
Nikola Jokic is an unusual phenomenon. The huge Serb once again recorded a triple-double, this time against the Warriors, for them this is the second consecutive loss and sixth since the start of the season. A 3:15 run at the end of the first quarter created a double-digit advantage for the locals, and they maintained it almost throughout the rest of the tackle, with occasional voices of the guest returning, but that was not enough. Jukic’s contribution was 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, while on the other side Steph Kerry scored 35 points.
A dub against the Dubs 💪#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/ICBhqb2I2v
– Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 15, 2021
Philadelphia (4: 9) – Miami (6: 4) 108: 125
After a streak of three losses, Philly came back to herself with a second straight win that kept her at the top of the East. The Heat are still not quite able to find the pace we were used to from last season. After a tight first quarter, the Sixers put up gear and created a promising double-digit gap, which later only swelled and led to Garbage Time as early as the third quarter. On a day when Joel Ambide was relatively weak (9 points), Shake Milton Haifa with 31 points of his own and Tobias Harris added 18. Duncan Robinson (22) and Geva Vincent (21) stood out.
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San Antonio (6: 6) – Houston (6: 4) 109: 105
In the battle of the two teams from Texas, the weaker opponent on paper this season finished with the hand on the top, after a reversal of 9 points towards the end of the game. Christian Wood excelled with a double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds, Sterling Brown contributed 23. Caldon Johnson was the leading scorer on the other side with 29, while Damar Druzen did not deliver the goods with 13.
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Toronto (8: 3) – Charlotte (7: 6) 108: 111
The team at the bottom of the Eastern table, the 2019 champion to remind you, achieved only a third victory this season and it was not easy at all. In the second quarter the Raptors managed to create a double-digit advantage for themselves, and keep their distance from the visitors also in the third quarter with a record difference of 18 points, but in the last quarter they scored only 12 points and allowed the Hornets to get back to business and create a tense finish. A three-pointer by Terry Rosier in the closing seconds prevented overtime. He finished with 20, as did P.J. Washington, while in the winning ranks Chris Boshei stood out with 25.
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Portland (5: 7) – Indiana (4: 8) 111: 87
Both teams wanted to keep themselves at the top, each at their own table, but in the end the sequence of the Trailblazers’ four wins was interrupted with a rather humiliating loss. A completely one-sided second quarter of 33:10 led to Garbage Time very early. The hosts did reduce the deficit by 25 points to just 11, but the Pacers remained sharp and in the last quarter increased the pace once again. Malcolm Brogdon (25) and Domantes Savonis (23 and 15 rebounds) excelled. In the losing ranks, Damien Lillard and C.J. McCollum scored 22 each.
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