LaMelo Ball’s first triple-double in the NBA is a historic one. Led by the # 3 pick, the Hornets disenchant Trae Young and the Hawks. The Miami Heat tremble to victory against decimated Wizards, the Spurs spoil the return of Karl-Anthony Towns and the Blazers make short work of Sacramento.
LaMelo leads the Hornets to victory against Atlanta, who fear for two stars. Mikal Bridges is running hot for the Suns and Washington is fighting the Eastern champion until the end.
Philadelphia 76ers (7-3) – Denver Nuggets (4-5) 103:115
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Charlotte Hornets (5-5) – Atlanta Hawks (4-5) 113:105
- What a performance by LaMelo Ball! The number 3 pick has already secured a place in the history books in his tenth game in the Association and at 19 years and 140 days became the youngest player to ever have a triple-double. His 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists also helped the Hornets to their third win in a row.
- “No 19-year-old rookie looks like that. It’s very rare what you see here,” said Hornets coach James Borrego enthusiastically. LaMelo himself took his record a little more soberly: “I live my life and I know what I’m capable of. So things like that don’t move me that much. I know that should happen.”
- Ball was not only inspiring with its usual elitist and spectacular passing, but also with a hot hand. The point guard started with 7/7 from the field and sank at the end of 9/13 of his attempts and 3/5 threesomes. One of them initiated an 8-0 run by the Hornets towards the end of the third quarter, with which the home side took a decisive lead.
- With the support of Terry Rozier (11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter) Charlotte left nothing to burn in the final section. Also PJ Washington (22, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks) and Caleb Martin (15 and a Monster-Dunk) performed well. The best scorers on the Hawks’ side were Cam Reddish (21) and De’Andre Hunter (20).
- Trae Young, on the other hand, had enormous problems with the shooting (15 points, 10 assists in 5/19 FG, 0/5 threesomes) and in defense. He also injured his wrist, which affected him. The Hawks are also worried about Bogdan Bogdanovic, who bent his right knee badly and had to leave the floor. An MRI scan on Sunday should bring more clarity about the injury.
Indiana Pacers (6-3) – Phoenix Suns (7-3) 117:125
- Greetings from the Suns from the top of the Western Conference. With the success against the Pacers, Phoenix drew level with the Los Angeles Lakers in the West table and is thus back on track after the loss to the Pistons. First and foremost, they can thank Mikal Bridges.
- The 24-year-old pulverized his old career high (26) with 34 points and repeatedly set decisive pinpricks, especially from downtown. Bridges had 6 threes in the end (out of 8 attempts, a total of 12/18 FG), including a triple who put the icing on an 11-0 run for the Suns in the middle of the fourth run.
- So the guests gained a 13-point lead, which was too much for Indiana. Devin Booker contributed 25 points and 7 assists to the success, Chris Paul came up with 15 and 10 assists and Cam Johnson (16, 4/10 threesome) also diligently pulled the trigger from a distance. The team’s 16 successful three-pointers secured the Suns the tenth game in a row with at least 10 triples – Phoenix is only the ninth team to do so at the start of the season.
- On the side of the Pacers, Domantas Sabonis fought against the impending defeat with 28 points and 22 rebounds (career high), in the third section (20 and 9) he kept the home side single-handedly in the game. However, that was not enough, just like the 22 points and 9 assists from Malcolm Brogdon or the double-double from Myles Turner (15, 10 and 4 blocks). Victor Oladipo never really found his rhythm, for his 16 points he needed 21 throws (7 hits).
Washington Wizards (2-8) – Miami Heat (4-4) 124:128
- It wasn’t until an hour before the start of the game that Wizards coach Scott Brooks learned that Bradley Beal would not be available. After his opponent on Friday, Jayson Tatum, tested positive for the coronavirus, Beal was added to the health protocol. In addition, Russell Westbrook (quadriceps) also had to pass – and yet, despite a career record from Tyler Herro, it was not a sure-fire success for the Heat.
- After just two minutes there was the next setback for the Wizards, who lost Thomas Bryant with a knee injury. But Garrison Mathews jumped into the breach with 22 points as top scorer and Wahington actually kept up well in the first half. Also due to the lack of energy in the heat defense, as coach Erik Spoelstra denounced.
- In the dressing room, however, he apparently found the right words, Miami only allowed 15 points in the third round and moved up to 24 points in the final section. Nevertheless, shaking was announced again in the final minutes: Deni Avdija (20, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, 5/9 threesomes) sank Three triples within 36 seconds and shortened it to 122: 127 just over a minute before the end. His fourth attempt was shortly afterwards badly cleared by Bam Adebayo and the Heat brought home the victory.
- The Big held back offensively (9 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists), but Herro scored 31 points (12/20 FG), a new personal best in the regular season. Jimmy Butler also scratched a triple-double (26, 10 and 9), Goran Dragic pocketed 7 threes for 21 points and Kelly Olynyk put up 18 points. From a German point of view, the performance of Moritz Wagner was pleasing, who stood on the floor for 20 minutes after the Bryant injury and played 13 points and 7 rebounds before he fouled. Isaac Bonga saw only 10 seconds of action.
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