It was a busy night in the NBA on Saturday with 11 games taking place. There were some stellar performances from a few players as DeMar DeRozan’s scoring form continues at scorching-hot levels, James Harden recorded another triple-double and Giannis Antetokounmpo again showed he is the real deal.
Giannis leads the way
The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 106-96 and they saw another impressive performance from the Greek-Nigerian Giannis Antetokounmpo. He scored 27 points, grabbed six rebounds, had five assists, four steals and four blocks. He was unstoppable. Michael Beasley scored 19 points off the bench with Jabari Parker adding 16 points of his own.
Marc Gasol was the leading man for Memphis, he scored 18 points, while veteran Vince Carter added 17 points to his team’s total.
Clippers top NBA standings
The LA Clippers are a team on a roll and they inflicted another defeat on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday winning the game 119-105. They got some big performances from their star players. Both Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan recorded double-doubles. Griffin scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Jordan scored 18 points and pulled down 16 boards. Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists, JJ Redick scored 18 and Cameroonian Luc Mbah a Moute ended the game with 15 points.
For the Wolves Karl-Anthony Towns was the leading light as he recorded a double-double of his own with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points and Zach LaVine ended the game with 15 points. Senegal’s Gorgui Dieng contributed six points and five rebounds.
Mudiay couldn’t help Nuggets beat Pistons
The Denver Nuggets took a 106-95 loss at home as the Detroit Pistons proved too strong for them. Congolese guard Emmanuel Mudiay led his team in scoring as he finished the night with 19 points, five rebounds and two assists. Danilo Gallinari and Gary Harris scored 18 and 13 points respectively.
All five Pistons starters scored in double-digits. Small forward Tobias Harris scored 19 points while Andre Drummond completed a 14-point, 12 rebound double-double. Marcus Morris added 17points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 14 points and Ish Smith scored 10.
Butler ushers Bulls to win over Wizards
Jimmy Butler was in scintillating scoring form in Chicago as the Bulls downed the Washington Wizards 106-95. Butler scored 37 points in the game and fell one assist shy of a double-double with nine dishes. Robin Lopez did get a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic added 17 points to the total as he went 3-4 from 3-point range and Dwyane Wade scored 14 points.
Markieff Morris was the Wizards’ key man as he finished the game with a 24-point and 15 rebound double-double. Marcin Gortat also doubled up as he scored 18 points and claimed 14 boards as Bradley Beal and John Wall both sat out the game.
Celtics see off Pacers
The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 105-99 with Isaiah Thomas the game’s high-scorer, he finished with 23 points. Kelly Olynyk weighed in with 16 points, while Amir Johnson and Avery Bradley added 14 and 13 points respectively.
Paul George didn’t feature for the Pacers and Jeff Teague took the lead. He ended the game with 20 points, while Miles Turner scored 17 and Monta Ellis contributed 15 points in the game.
The rest
The LA Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 126-99, DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points as the Toronto Raptors took down the New York Knicks. The Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 117-96. James Harden had a triple-double but the Houston Rockets still lost to the San Antonio Spurs at home 106-100. The Utah Jazz doused the Miami Heat beating them 102-91 and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Phoenix Suns 122-104.
By Cyrus Rogers
