There were 11 great matchups in the NBA on Monday night with some thrilling outcomes.
Unstoppable Clippers
The LA Clippers notched up another win and are now 10-1 after beating the Brooklyn Nets 127-95. Guard Chris Paul led the Clippers with 21 points and nine assists, Blake Griffin had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford combined for 35 (Redick 18 and Crawford 17), while Cameroonian forward Luc Mbah a Moute finished with 11 points and two rebounds.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets with 18 points, Sean Kilpatrick had 14 points and five rebounds with Yogi Ferrell and Chris McCullough combining for 26 with 13 apiece.
Harden too hot for Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers could not get their second win of the season as they went down to the Rockets in Houston, 115-88. It was another great night for James Harden who had 33 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Eric Gordon had 16 points, Nene 13 points and four rebounds, and Swiss-Congolese Clint Capela was good on the boards with 13 rebounds and eight points.
Cameroonian sensation Joel Embiid finished with a 13-point 10-rebound double-double for the Sixers, Ersan Ilyasova had 13 points and six rebounds while Nik Stauskas finished with 12 points.
Thunder silenced by Pistons
OKC suffered their fifth loss of the campaign at the hands of the Detroit Pistons going down 104-88. Tobias Harris led the Pistons’ charge with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists. Aron Baynes had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Kantavious Caldwell-Pope ended the game with 17 points, three rebounds and four assists.
Russell Westbrook had a great double-double with 33 points and 15 rebounds, Jerami Grant had 11 points and five rebounds, while Nigerian-American Victor Oladipo finished with nine points, two rebounds and an assist.
Knicks claim win over Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks lost 93-77 to the New York Knicks. Kristaps Porzingis finished with a double-double, with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony also had 24 points and seven rebounds and Justin Holiday ended the game with 16 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Harrison Barnes had 20 points and four rebounds for the Mavs, JJ Barea had 17 points, while Tunisian Salah Mejri had a slow night with two points and two blocks.
Pacers down Magic
The Indiana Pacers got the better of the Orlando Magic on home court, winning 88-69. CJ Miles had 16 points and four rebounds, Paul George 13 points, six rebounds and five assists and Monta Ellis also put up 13 points.
Congolese big man Serge Ibaka grabbed 13 rebounds and had six points. Evan Fornier finished with 14 points, two rebounds and two assists, while DRC’s Bismack Biyombo had nine points and nine rebounds.
The rest
In other games, the Boston Celtics lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 106-105, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat 94-90, while the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Utah Jazz 102-96.
By Kaunda Chama
