It would have been a special day for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. It would have been.
However, the San Antonio Spurs had other plans and made sure LeBron wouldn’t be in a celebratory mood after their rematch this season.
On the other NBA games, the Utah Jazz gave the New Orleans Pelicans a good beating on their home court, while the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks remain hot in the Eastern Conference.
Here’s the full SBOBET recap of today’s matches:
Los Angeles Lakers 106-110 San Antonio Spurs
What should have been a celebration of LeBron James’ greatness turned into another “L” for the Los Angeles Lakers as they bowed down to the San Antonio Spurs in their highly anticipated rematch at AT&T Center.
LeBron broke two records in the game. He surpassed Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki for sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and toppled Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal for seventh on the all-time field goals made.
The King finished with 35 points to go along with his 11 dimes. The Spurs, though, ruined it all as they fended off LeBron and co. on their home court.
Ironically, DeMar DeRozan—who spent the majority of his Toronto Raptors career getting whooped by LeBron—led the Spurs with a near triple-double of 30 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Utah Jazz 132-111 New Orleans Pelicans
With Anthony Davis out due to a sprained elbow, the Utah Jazz took advantage of their edge on the frontcourt to dominate and become the first team to beat the New Orleans Pelicans this season.
Rudy Gobert enjoyed his time ruling over the painted area at Smoothie King Center, putting up 25 points, 14 rebounds and 14 blocks. Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio also benefitted from Gobert’s dominance, as he finished with 28 points and 12 assists—most of which came from his several lobs to the French big man.
It didn’t help the Pelicans that starting guard Elfrid Payton sprained his ankle 15 minutes into the game and was ruled out for the rest of the night.
Boston Celtics 109-89 Detroit Pistons
Blake Griffin grabbed the NBA 2018 highlights and headlines with his 50-point explosion for the Detroit Pistons against the Philadelphia 76ers last week. This time, however, the Boston Celtics held him to just seven points on 15.4 percent shooting as the Pistons lose by 20 points.
The Celtics got a much-needed boost from their second unit, with Marcus Morris, Daniel Theis and Terry Rozier combining for 49 points and 24 rebounds. Jaylen Brown led all Boston players with 19 points.
Charlotte Hornets 103-105 Philadelphia 76ers
Kemba Walker has been in an absolute tear for the Charlotte Hornets this season, but he just can’t carry the team alone. Not against the Philadelphia 76ers, anyway.
Walker, who recently exceeded the 10,000-point mark for the Hornets, bagged 37 points to go along with six boards and six dimes; nevertheless, it all went in vain as his teammates failed to deliver. No other Hornet scored more than 15 points in the match-up, with three starters not even reaching double digits.
Meanwhile, the Sixers starters all scored in double-figures, led by Joel Embiid who had 27 points and 14 boards. Ben Simmons had a double-double of 14 markers and 12 rebounds, while Robert Covington went 18 and 10.
Chicago Bulls 97-85 Atlanta Hawks
The Chicago Bulls got their second win of the season, again thanks to Zach LaVine‘s impressive performance. The 23-year-old uber-athletic guard torched the Atlanta Hawks with 27 points and 11 rebounds on 47.4 percent shooting to pace the Windy City team to victory.
The Bulls trailed by three at halftime, but they flipped the script in the third canto behind LaVine who scored 11 in the quarter alone. The team never looked back from there and closed out the match with their biggest lead of the night.
Indiana Pacers 119-107 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a hot start offensively, with 11 Cavs players scoring in the opening 15 minutes of the game. However, they failed to keep the momentum and collapsed in the fourth quarter.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Victor Oladipo made 25 and 24 points respectively, with four other Indiana players scoring in double figures. Meanwhile, with Kevin Love out with a sore foot, Rodney Hood tallied 17 points, five boards, three assists and two steals in a losing effort for the Cavs.
Portland Trail Blazers 111-120 Miami Heat
Portland got another big game from All-Star guard Damian Lillard, but his 42 points were not enough to bury the Miami Heat who also received a timely boost from Goran Dragic.
The Heat led by 10 points heading into the payoff period. Nonetheless, an offensive outburst in the final frame helped the Blazers to tie the game 96-all and take the lead via a Lillard three-pointer. The Heat battled back though and staged a 10-0 run in the closing minutes to pull away for good.
Dragic finished with 28 points as he became the first Slovenian player to surpass the 10,000-point mark. He also outscored Miami 8-7 in the final four minutes of play.
Phoenix Suns 96-117 Memphis Grizzlies
The Phoenix Suns just can’t win without Devin Booker.
Phoenix won their opening game against the Dallas Mavericks behind a 35-point outing from Booker. But with the rising star out due to a hamstring strain, the Suns lacked firepower.
The Memphis Grizzlies exploited their advantage on the offensive end, scoring 42 second-quarter points and leading by as much as 26 throughout. Marc Gasol had 19 points and 18 rebounds for the Grizzlies, while Mike Conley added 18.
Despite the loss, Deandre Ayton boosted the NBA 2018 odds on him winning Rookie of the Year, posting impressive numbers of 24 points, eight boards and five assists.
Orlando Magic 91-113 Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks remain undefeated in the East, beating the Orlando Magic to the tune of 22 points.
As usual, Giannis Antetokounmpo spearheaded the Magic demolition with a 21-point performance, though the Bucks also got solid contributions from Khris Middleton (18 points), Malcolm Brogdon (16) and rookie Donte DiVincenzo (15).
Ersan Ilyasova was also pivotal for Milwaukee, leading the team in rebounds and assists with 10 and six, respectively.
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