‘Let’s Drew it’ is the storyline of what turned out to be another memorable gameday in the NBA.
Larry Drew, the acting—not interim—coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers just guided the team to their first win of the season, showing that he might be the answer the Cavs need after parting ways with former head coach Tyronn Lue.
On the other games out East, the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics proved their title credentials as they took down their top-six opponents in thrilling fashion.
Here’s the full SBOBET recap of today’s matches:
Miami Heat 113-125 Charlotte Hornets
The mission for the Miami Heat heading into this rematch with the Charlotte Hornets is to stop Kemba Walker. After all, he dropped 39 points on them in their first meeting and all signs points he could be up for a big game again.
Unfortunately, the Heat forgot Charlotte’s other point guard: Tony Parker.
The former San Antonio Spurs star banked a double-double of 24 points and 11 assists to grab the NBA 2018 highlights and lead Buzz City to a convincing win. Walker finished with 19 points and eight dimes, and that’s just enough for the Hornets.
Miami had Dwyane Wade scoring 19 markers in 24 minutes of action though, so that’s some consolation.
Atlanta Hawks 114-136 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers, perhaps, have learned from their mistakes after getting blown out by the Hawks two weeks ago.
It might be too late for Tyronn Lue who was axed by the team after a 0-6 start. However, for Larry Drew, it’s the start of something new.
Cleveland still have problems defensively, but they showed against the Hawks they are now on the same page—unlike in their previous match when they showed plenty of defensive miscommunications, particularly during switches.
Seven players scored in double figure for the Cavs, with Rodney Hood leading the way with 26 and Cedi Osman adding 20.
Trae Young continues to impress for the Hawks though, finishing with 24 points on 69.2 percent shooting.
Sacramento Kings 107-99 Orlando Magic
Make it four in a row for the Sacramento Kings.
While the NBA 2018 odds put them as underdogs in their visit to Orlando, the Kings showed those are just mere numbers as they edged the Magic and handed them their third straight loss.
The Kings used a 26-16 third quarter to pull away for good after trailing by as much as 11 points in the game. Buddy Hield bagged a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds to spearhead the Sacramento victory, while Nemanja Bjelica put up 21 points and eight boards.
Aaron Gordon recorded 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a couple of blocks and steals in a losing effort for the slumping Magic.
Detroit Pistons 105-108 Boston Celtics
Blake Griffin finally broke free of the Boston Celtics’ defence and tallied 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Detroit Pistons. However, it wasn’t enough to beat the Beantown Team who got a season-high performance from All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.
Irving, who has failed to score more than 25 in their first six games of the season, exploded for 31 to pace the Celtics to victory. He also finished with five rebounds and five assists.
Detroit kept the game close and were up by two at halftime, but a 13-point outing in the third canto doomed their chances.
Philadelphia 76ers 112-129 Toronto Raptors
After resting in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Kawhi Leonard returned to the Toronto Raptors’ starting lineup and once again took over to catapult the team back to winning ways.
The Raptors, who suffered their first loss against the Bucks the last time out, were barely threatened in the game. The Sixers failed to mount a challenge and never led after their 9-4 run in the opening quarter.
Leonard finished with 31 points, seven boards and four assists, though the Raps also got a huge boost from Kyle Lowry (20 points, 12 assists) and Serge Ibaka (16 points, eight rebounds).
Portland Trail Blazers 104-85 Houston Rockets
With James Harden still out due to a hamstring injury, the Houston Rockets lost their fourth straight game and dropped to the bottom of the Western Conference.
The Portland Trail Blazers were expected to win the game, thanks to their superior offence and the Rockets’ porous defence. And Damian Lillard and co. lived up to expectations as they rout last year’s West finalists.
Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic scored 22 points each, while C.J. McCollum added 19. Chris Paul led the Rockets with an all-around performance of 17 points, five rebounds, nine assists and two steals, though to no avail.
Washington Wizards 95-107 Memphis Grizzlies
The fall continues for the Washington Wizards, and not even an efficient performance from John Wall could save them.
Washington were neck-and-neck with the Memphis Grizzlies up until halftime. Nonetheless, it was a different story in the third frame as the Grizzlies exploited the Wizard’s lacklustre defence to hand them their fourth consecutive defeat.
The Grizzlies used an 18-1 run to start the third quarter, and they never looked back from there to pile more misery on the Wiz. Marc Gasol, who was shooting below 40 percent before the game, made 19 points on 70 percent shooting. The big man also had five boards, six assists and five steals.
Mike Conley continued to struggle offensively, but he did end up with 19 points and seven assists. Garrett Temple top-scored Memphis with 20 markers.
LA Clippers 110-128 Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star guard Russell Westbrook had a heated match-up with LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverley—they even had to be separated by the police! In the end, however, Westbrook had the last laugh.
Westbrook, alongside Paul George, helped the Thunder claim their second win of the season. The two combined for 64 points (32 each) and were just too much for the Clippers’ defence.
Beverley, meanwhile, had only four points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Clips. Danilo Gallinari sparked the LA offence with 27 points, but he didn’t get much help as the team struggled to make their shots from deep.
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