Six games provided some great entertainment in the NBA on Sunday night, with five of them featuring African players.
Bulls sink Lakers
The Chicago Bulls defeated the LA Lakers 118-110 on the back of Jimmy Butler’s 40-point game. He also had seven rebounds and six assists. Nikola Mirotic had a 15-point 15-rebound double-double. Robin Lopez had the team’s other double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers were led by Lou Williams with 25 points. Larry Nance Jr had 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, Nick Young had 15 points and six rebounds, while South Sudanese Luol Deng finished with six points, four rebounds, one assist and a steal.
Nuggets give Jazz the blues
The Denver Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz 105-91. Jamal Murray led the team with 18 points, Wilson Chandler had 17 points and four rebounds, Jusuf Nurkic had a 16-point 11-rebound double-double, while Congolese guard Emmanuel Mudiay was two rebounds short of a double-double with 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Utah was led by Gordon Hayward’s 25 points, seven rebounds and two assists, Rodney Hood, Dante Exum and Joe Johnson combined for 30 with 10 points apiece.
Westbrook’s triple-double can’t beat Pacers
The Indiana Pacers beat the Thunder in Oklahoma 115-111. Jeff Teague was on fire with 30 points, five rebounds, nine assists and six steals, Thaddeus Young had a 20-point and 11 rebound double-double, while Glenn Robinson III also finished with a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
OKC were led by workhorse Russell Westbrook with a 31-point, 11-rebound and 15-assist triple-double, his fifth of the season. Enes Kanter had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Nigerian-American Victor Oladipo ended the game with 14 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Blazers too hot for Nets
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-109. CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 33 points, Damian Lillard had 18 points, while Meyers Leonard finished with a 14-point 11-rebound double-double.
Brook Lopez led the Nets with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists, Trevor Booker had 16 points and four rebounds, while Bojan Bogdanovic ended the night with 15 points and two rebounds.
Knicks love home wins
The New York Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 104-94. Carmelo Anthony had 31 points and seven rebounds, Kristaps Porzingis had a 19-point 11-rebound double-double, while Courtney Lee finished with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Hawks were led by Paul Millsap with 19 points and seven rebounds, Dwight Howard had a double-double with 18 points and 18 rebounds and Kyle Korver finished with 17 points and four rebounds.
The rest
In last night’s other game, the Sacramento Kings defeated the Toronto Raptors 102-99.
By Kaunda Chama
