NBA: Five Sunday games close out October in style
NBA action continued on Sunday, 12 days since the season tipped off and the games keep coming thick and fast. With every team now having played at least five games, the conference tables are starting to take shape.
Here’s a review of the five NBA games that happened on Halloween night.
Luka Magic too much for the Kings
He wasn’t wearing any costume but Luka Doncic was the scariest man at the American Airlines Center on Halloween night as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings 105-99.
Luka was only two rebounds short of a triple-double as the Mavericks picked up their fourth win of the season.
He led all scorers with 23 points while also contributing ten assists and eight rebounds. But perhaps more impressively, Doncic made a logo shot with four minutes left to play, he was in the mood.
LUKA FROM THE LOGO 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Hfe2l9IiO1 — NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 31, 2021
That was bad news for Sacramento who remained competitive despite their best player, De’Aaron Fox enduring a poor shooting night.
Richuan Holmes was the Kings’ standout performer with 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Holmes continues to take full advantage of Marvin Bagley’s absence, consolidating his place as the starting centre.
Spida stings the champions
The Utah Jazz secured a big win at the home of the reigning NBA champions, Milwaukee Bucks 107-95. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 28 points to continue Utah’s impressive start to the season.
Donovan Mitchell drops 11 of his 28 points in the 4th quarter, leading the @utahjazz to victory! 🕸️ Mike Conley: 20 PTS, 4 3PM pic.twitter.com/GKiaUTPoU9 — NBA (@NBA) November 1, 2021
The Jazz are 6-1 and now currently sit top of the Western Conference just as they did last season. The Bucks on the other hand now have a losing record, the defeat puts them 3-4 to start the season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a great individual performance as always, with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists, including a vicious rejection of Rudy Gobert at the rim which ultimately wasn’t enough.
Hornets swarm the Blazers
The Charlotte Hornets continued their impressive start to the season with yet another win. This time it was 125-113 against the Portland Trail Blazers to take their record to 5-2.
LaMelo Ball seems to always be at the centre of anything good for the Hornets and he ran riot again. Ball scored 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and ran rings around the Portland defense.
Solid night from LaMelo 💰 27 PTS 9 REB 7 AST 10/20 FG 4/9 3PT Hornets beat Blazers 125-113 and improve to 5-2 🔥 @MELOD1P (via @hornets) pic.twitter.com/SGIPcLolZA — Overtime (@overtime) November 1, 2021
However, the entire roster can hold their heads up high for this win as only three Hornets failed to score double digits in points.
Kelly Oubre Jr scored 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists. While Miles Bridges had 19 points along with six rebounds and nine assists.
PJ Washington, Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward scored 17, 14 and 12 respectively as well. Something special is happening in Charlotte, it only remains to be seen if they can sustain it.
Death, taxes… Pistons loss
The Detroit Pistons have been the whipping boys of the Eastern Conference so it’s not news that they lost again. This time it was to the Brooklyn Nets 117-91 in what was the Pistons’ biggest loss since five days ago when they lost by 18 points to Atlanta.
James Harden helped himself to a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Along with Kevin Durant’s 23 points in three quarters, the big two were unstoppable.
James Harden got his first triple-double of the season in just three quarters 📈 pic.twitter.com/zImkQ5vXIY — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 1, 2021
But it probably doesn’t count for much considering that Detroit’s highest scorer was Cory Joseph with 13 points. Spare a thought for the Pistons’ fans who sit through this every year.
Houston we have a problem
The problem is they aren’t very good at the game of basketball much like the Detroit Pistons. The Rockets have only won one game so far and they lost to the Lakers 95-85.
Carmelo Anthony dressed up as the ‘Front Man’ from ‘Squid Game’ for Halloween and it proved to be accurate. Melo led all scorers on Halloween night with 23 points against his former team who simply weren’t good enough.
🔥 @carmeloanthony does it on both ends in the @Lakers win! 23 PTS 5 3PM 2 STL 4 BLK pic.twitter.com/iz6YJScGv9 — NBA (@NBA) November 1, 2021
The Lakers big three, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and LeBron James all contributed to the win as well. Westbrook scored 20 points, eight rebounds and nine assists while AD contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds. LeBron James scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and provided eight assists.