There were 11 NBA games on Wednesday night, with the Indiana Pacers consigning the defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers to their second L of the season.
PG slays LeBron-lite Cavaliers
Paul George led the charge as the Indiana Pacers took advantage of the absence of LeBron James and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-93. George had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Jeff Teague and TJ Miles combined for 40 with 20 apiece, while Thaddeous Young finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
The Cavs were led by Kevin Love, who had a double-double with 27 points and 16 rebounds, Kyrie Irving had 24 points and seven assists, while Kay Felder and Jordan McRae could only manage nine points each.
76ers cast spell on Wizards
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Washington Wizards 109-102, despite being without Cameroonian sensation Joel Embiid. Jahlil Okafor led Philly in scoring with 19 points, Dario Saric had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Ersan Ilyasova finished with 16 points and four rebounds.
John Wall led the Wizards with 27 points, four rebounds and six assists, Markieff Morris had 19 points and four rebounds while Otto Proter Jr and Marcin Gortat finished with double-doubles (15 points and 13 rebounds and 10 points and 14 rebounds respectively).
Ibaka leads the Magic to victory
The Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 89-82. It was another great night for Congolese Serge Ibaka, who led the Magic with 16 points and eight rebounds. Nikola Vucevic had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, Evan Fournier had 16 points, while DRC’s Bismack Biyombo ended the night with five points and eight rebounds.
Terrence Jones led the Pelicans with 26 points and nine rebounds, E’Twaun Moore had 14 points and three rebounds, while Langston Galloway had 15 points and two rebounds.
Celtics trump Mavericks
The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 90-83. Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 30 points and six assists, Avery Bradley had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Kelly Olynyk finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 28 points and two rebounds. Wesley Matthews had 22 points and three rebounds. Tunisian Salah Mejri did not play.
Hawks swoop down on Bucks to claim win
The Atlanta Hawks got the better of the Milwaukee Bucks, defeating them 107-100. Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 21 points and eight rebounds, German-Gambian Dennis Schroder had 12 points and eight assists, while Kent Bazemore ended the game with 12 points and five rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a 26-point 15-rebound double-double for the Bucks, Jabari Parker had 23 points and eight rebounds, while Mirza Teletovic finished with 14 points and four rebounds.
The rest
In other games, the Memphis Grizzlies ground out a solid 111-107 win over the LA Clippers, the New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons 105-102, OKC beat the Houston Rockets 105-103, the Golden State Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors 127-121, the Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 120-104 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Sacramento Kings 110-105.
By Kaunda Chama
