Paul George and James Harden were both recently named as starters for the NBA All-Star game in Charlotte this February, and the two proved their credentials this time with some thrilling performances to lead their respective teams to victory.
Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard also showed why he was part of the elite group, while Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic made his case for the weekend festivities by etching his name on the NBA history books.
Here’s the full SBOBET recap of the nine games today:
Sacramento Kings 108-122 LA Clippers
The LA Clippers continue to cling on to the eighth seed in the brutal Western Conference, and they now extend their winning run to three games with a convincing victory over the playoff dreaming Sacramento Kings.
Patrick Beverley led the way for the Clips, bagging a near triple-double of 16 points, 10 boards and eight assists. Tobias Harris, who is hoping to be an All-Star this year, didn’t help his case though, as he finished with six points on 35.3 percent shooting for the team.
De’Aaron Fox had 21 markers for the Sac-Town team, but the Kings were horrendous from deep (8-of-36) and never really got their shooting clicking.
Cleveland Cavaliers 104-101 Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls lost the battle versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, but with both teams positioning themselves for the best lottery odds, the Windy City can be said to have won the war.
Cleveland are still the worst team in the league, but Chicago are closing in as they are now only one-and-half games ahead of the Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.
Tied 79-all at the end of the third, the Cavs used a 12-2 run early in the payoff period to pull away for good. They also held the Bulls to just one field goal in the final three minutes of play.
Jordan Clarkson and Cedi Osman top-scored the Cavs with 18 points apiece, while Lauri Markkanenen finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds in a losing effort for the Bulls.
Milwaukee Bucks 112-118 Oklahoma City Thunder
In the battle of the All-Stars and MVP candidates, PG13 reigned supreme.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, named as All-Star captain for next month’s event, produced his usual gaudy numbers and ended up with 27 points, 18 boards and four assists. However, Paul George outplayed the Greek Freak with 36 points, 13 boards, three assists and three steals.
Perhaps the most memorable moment in the game—and one that will surely be included in the NBA 2019 highlights—was when the Oklahoma City Thunder forward put Antetokounmpo on a poster late in the fourth quarter.
Remarkably, George went 8-of-12 from deep, leaving the Milwaukee Bucks chasing their tails for the most part.
Orlando Magic 98-103 Houston Rockets
James Harden is the reigning NBA MVP, and he’s undoubtedly playing like one.
The Beard, in what is becoming a habit for him, scored 40 points on top of 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks to give the Houston the win in Chris Paul’s return.
According to Stat Muse, it was the 18th time that Harden recorded 40-plus points this season, which is the most by any player before the All-Star break since Michael Jordan did it in 1986-87.
Orlando played well and was ahead by 16 after the opening frame. Nonetheless, Houston clawed their way back and wrapped things up with a 29-16 fourth quarter highlighted by a 10-5 run at the end of the game.
Paul had a solid performance for the Rockets, as he tallied 12 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals in just 25 minutes of play.
Washington Wizards 119-132 San Antonio Spurs
The Washington Wizards fought mightily, but in the end, they fell short against a more clinical San Antonio Spurs team.
DeMar DeRozan was sidelined due to a sore knee, but the Spurs made up for his absence with a total team effort. Seven players scored in double figures for the Texas team, all of whom shot above 45 percent.
LaMarcus Aldridge paced the team with 30 points, nine rebounds and six dimes, while Davis Bertans also did plenty of damage with a 21-point explosion.
San Antonio also outrebounded the Wizards, 49-32, to control the game throughout and even led by as much as 21 points midway through the final canto.
Toronto Raptors 123-120 Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks rookie sensation Luka Doncic showed he is an All-Star, but he certainly needs more help to bring the Mavs back to NBA relevance.
ICYMI! Luka Doncic becomes the youngest player in #NBA history to record a 30-point triple-double. #MFFL 120-123 #WeTheNorth#ThisIsWhyWePlay pic.twitter.com/kr1ifcwhH8
— SBOBET (@SBOBET) January 28, 2019
The Toronto Raptors, led by Kawhi Leonard, stymied a second-half charge from the Mavs to eke out a win at American Airlines Center.
The Mavs trailed by 12 points in the first half, but they responded with a 30-15 third quarter to take the lead heading to the final frame. Things looked bleak for the Raptors when Dallas opened the last quarter with four unanswered points to build a seven-point lead.
However, Toronto held on and got a much-needed boost from their bench mob to survive.
Leonard posted 33 points and 10 rebounds, while Doncic became the youngest player with a 30-point triple-double with his 35-12-10 stat line.
The Raptors have now won nine of their last 12 games since beating the Bucks early this month.
Utah Jazz 125-111 Minnesota Timberwolves
It’s back-to-back Ws for the Utah Jazz against the Timberwolves, thanks to strong performances from Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio.
Mitchell recorded 29 points, four rebounds and five assists, while Rubio had a bounce-back game and finished with 18 points and eight assists on 57.1 percent shooting. For what it’s worth, Rubio made just six markers in last week’s meeting with the Timberwolves.
It was a pretty close fight up until the fourth quarter, during which the Jazz opened with a 13-7 run in and never looked back.
Miami Heat 106-97 New York Knicks
A 12-point outing in the third quarter doomed the New York Knicks for good, all after leading by six at the break.
Trey Burke scored four points during that ugly stretch, and that is the highest among all Knicks players. In contrast, the Miami Heat saw a balanced contribution from the players, with seven finishing in double-digits.
No player scored more than 20 for the Heat, with Wayne Ellington making 19 and Dwyane Wade adding 15.
In hindsight, the Knicks’ performance might be only fitting in a night that Carmelo Anthony watched them play.
Phoenix Suns 102-116 Los Angeles Lakers
Wins are hard to come by for the Los Angeles Lakers nowadays, especially with LeBron James and Lonzo Ball still out.
The NBA 2019 odds were stacked against the Lakers ahead of the game, with Kyle Kuzma and Tyson Chandler also ruled out just hours before the match-up. Fortunately for them, the Phoenix Suns were also missing some of their best players in Deandre Ayton and T.J. Warren.
Ivica Zubac stepped up in the absence of the Lakers’ big men, providing 24 points and 16 boards. The 21-year-old Croatian also blocked four shots as the Purple and Gold demolished the Suns at Staples Center.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also made 24 points while Brandon Ingram added 22. Rajon Rondo finished with 11 markers and eight helpers.
It’s only the Lakers’ third victory in six games, last winning against the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder a couple of weeks ago.
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