LeBron James and Co. nearly botched a win, but they did just enough to keep the Minnesota Timberwolves at bay and get closer to the top eight in the NBA Western Conference.
On the other nine league games, all but one ended with a nine-point lead or less. In fact, there was even a surprise as the Memphis Grizzlies stunned the soaring Denver Nuggets with some last-gasp free throws!
Here’s the full SBOBET recap of all the games today:
Minnesota Timberwolves 110-114 Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James (24-10-9) was just an assist shy of a triple-double as he powered the Lakers over Derrick Rose and the Timberwolves.
In what seems to be a recurring pattern for LeBron with the Lakers, he nearly lost the game for the team as he missed two crucial 3-pointers with under a minute left and the scores close 111-110. Fortunately for the Lakers, they held on to win their third in four outings.
Tyson Chandler, making his Lakers debut after reaching a buyout with the Suns, played well and also got a crucial rebound after James missed a three with 15 seconds left. That forced the Wolves to foul and gave the Purple and Gold a good lead.
Derrick Rose scored 31 points on top of three rebounds and five assists, but he missed what could have been a game-winning three for the Wolves.
Detroit Pistons 103-96 Orlando Magic
After winning their opening four games and losing the next five, the Pistons finally got back on track as they took down the struggling Magic.
Andre Drummond posted a double-double of 23 points and 19 rebounds to lead Detroit, while Blake Griffin chipped in 20 markers and five boards.
The Magic led by as much as 15 points and managed to stay ahead at the end of the third quarter. However, they started 0-for-7 from the field in the payoff and committed seven turnovers, allowing the Pistons to take control and pull away.
Oklahoma City Thunder 95-86 Cleveland Cavaliers
Russell Westbrook sit out this game versus the Cavaliers due to an ankle injury, but the Thunder were still too much for the free-falling Cavaliers.
Dennis Schroder stepped into the starting lineup in the absence of Westbrook and produced another brilliant performance, notching 28 points and seven assists on 57.9 percent shooting.
It’s the second time that Schroder started for the Thunder, with the first one in the opening game of the season when he also made 20-plus points in a losing effort against the Golden State Warriors.
Cavs rookie Collin Sexton and veteran JR Smith started for the first time this season, but they combined just for 28 points as Cleveland continue to struggle in the post-LeBron James era and in the absence of All-Star forward Kevin Love.
Final #NBA Scores
Magic 96-103 Pistons
Cavaliers 86-95 Thunder
Hawks 107-112 Knicks
Heat 95-88 Spurs
Pelicans 107-98 Bulls#ThisIsWhyWePlay pic.twitter.com/HOrcJxV4hV— SBOBET (@SBOBET) November 8, 2018
New York Knicks 112-107 Atlanta Hawks
New York undoubtedly missed Tim Hardaway Jr.
After missing their last game against the Chicago Bulls due to a back injury, Hardaway returned and hit 34 points to spark the Knicks to victory. He was a consistent threat throughout and benefitted from 20 attempts (16 makes) from the charity stripe.
The Knicks trailed at halftime, but a 35-18 third quarter sparked by 15 points from Hardaway powered them past the Hawks.
Noah Vonleh had a double-double before halftime and finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Frank Ntilikina had 15 points and did a good job limiting Hawks rookie Trae Young to 1-for-7 from three.
San Antonio Spurs 88-95 Miami Heat
Hassan Whiteside channelled his inner Dikembe Mutombo and, perhaps, only needed to say “not in my house!”
The 29-year-old big man grabbed the NBA 2018 highlights and headlines as he played like he is not coming off a knee injury. Whiteside recorded a season-high nine blocks (eight in the first half) and almost finished with a triple-double with 29 points and 20 boards.
Goran Dragic was out for Miami, but Wayne Ellington and Josh Richardson combined for 34 points to fill up the void and help the Heat end their four-year drought against the Spurs.
On the other hand, DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge had a cold-shooting night for San Antonio, with the latter even going 14.3 percent from the field.
Chicago Bulls 98-107 New Orleans Pelicans
Anthony Davis was just too much to handle for the young Bulls as he dominated them to the tune of 32 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks.
Davis, who already missed the Pelicans’ games against the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers, bagged only his third 30-plus points game of the season. He had 12 points in the second quarter to give New Orleans a 58-50 lead, and they never looked back.
Jabari Parker was solid for the Bulls though, banking 20 points and 13 rebounds while making half of his shots.
Denver Nuggets 87-89 Memphis Grizzlies
The Nuggets just got their second loss of the season…at the hands of the Grizzlies.
While the NBA 2018 odds had Denver winning this match-up easily, that was never the case as Memphis fought hard and even led by halftime.
A pair of Marc Gasol free throws with 4.6 seconds left in the clock handed the Grizzlies the victory, though the Nuggets still had a chance to win or tie the game but Nikola Jokic missed his 3-point attempt while Jamal Murray botched a last-ditch tip-in.
Gasol finished with 20 points and 12 boards while rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. made 20 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Jamal Murray, who had 48 points for Denver against Boston, crashed back to earth with 15 markers on 6-of-21 shooting.
Philadelphia 76ers 100-94 Indiana Pacers
Philly are slowly finding their stride as they now won their third in four games.
After their horrendous performance against the Nets that saw them give up 27 turnovers, the Sixers played better this time and closed out the game with a convincing win over the Pacers.
Joel Embiid led the way with 20 points and 10 boards, while Ben Simmons had a near triple-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The Sixers started with a 19-9 run and—while Victor Oladipo (36 points, six rebounds, seven assists) did well to keep the Pacers in the game—used a 14-4 fourth-quarter outburst to gain some much-needed breathing space.
Dallas Mavericks 102-117 Utah Jazz
Both teams had six players each scoring in double figures, but the Jazz edged out the Mavs with their 3-point shooting and rock-solid defence.
The Jazz made 13 3-pointers, albeit from 37 attempts, while the Mavs made just eight treys. Utah also dominated defensively with 12 steals and 10 blocks and forced Dallas to commit 24 turnovers in the game.
Dallas were way behind after a 30-18 first quarter and never really had a fighting chance. The good news, however, is that Luka Doncic continues to impress with 24 points and six boards.
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 for the Jazz, while Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Toronto Raptors 114-105 Sacramento Kings
The Raptors sustain their hot start to the season after fending off the spirited Kings at Golden 1 Center.
Kawhi Leonard, who was out for the Raps in their last two games, showed some signs of rustiness, but he erased all concerns with a 25-point, 11-rebound outing. Moreover, Toronto got a boost from Pascal Siakam as the 24-year-old tallied 21 points.
The Kings started the first quarter with a 9-3 run—De’Aaron Fox scoring seven—but that was the only challenge they could muster as they were left chasing for the most part.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE BASKETBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
