The NBA’s last unbeaten team is gone. The Memphis Grizzlies, 6-0 after six wins to open the season, lost at home to the New Orleans Pelicans 135-134 in overtime, and the Houston Rockets moved into sole possession of the Western Conference lead with a seventh straight win, sport.quotidiano.net reported. The defeat also handed the West’s top spot to Houston, which beat Boston 109-93.
All 30 teams played in the night’s full slate, and the headline performances came from Luka Doncic, who scored 42 points with 13 assists for the Los Angeles Lakers in a 138-117 win over Miami, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 43 points and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 32 seconds left as Oklahoma City beat Cleveland 117-112.
Memphis’s First Loss Comes Down to Free Throws in Overtime
The Grizzlies led FedEx Forum’s crowd through six regulation periods of winning basketball, but New Orleans refused to leave. Zion Williamson scored 25 points, including nine in the extra period, and added 11 rebounds, corrieredellosport.it reported. With the game tied and 7.3 seconds left in overtime, rookie Jeremiah Fears sank both free throws to put the Pelicans ahead for good. Memphis had one last chance, but Ty Jerome — who finished with 40 points — missed the potential game-winner, according to both sport.quotidiano.net and corrieredellosport.it.
For Memphis, it was the first defeat of the season. For New Orleans, it was a statement win on the road against the team that had been the league’s only perfect club.
Houston Seizes the West Lead With a Wire-to-Wire Win Over Boston
The Grizzlies’ loss only mattered at the top of the standings because the Rockets were winning at the same time. Houston controlled the game against the Celtics from the second quarter onward and cruised 109-93, sending five players into double figures. Alperen Sengun led the way with 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting, 10 assists and seven rebounds, sport.quotidiano.net reported. The victory gave Houston a 7-0 record and dropped Memphis to second in the Western Conference.
Full Slate of Results Around the League
- Detroit beat Philadelphia in an easy win, with Cade Cunningham scoring 33 points and seven assists and Duncan Robinson adding 24 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting, corrieredellosport.it reported.
- Philadelphia beat the Chicago Bulls 126-107, with Tyrese Maxey scoring 26 and Jaylen Brown adding 25 points and 11 assists.
- San Antonio beat Utah 119-97 for its fifth straight win.
- Portland beat Denver 118-110.
- Golden State rallied from 16 points down to beat Phoenix 116-113, with Stephen Curry scoring 34.
- Washington beat Orlando 103-94.
- Atlanta beat Indiana 108-104, with the Pacers limited to only six available players.
- Sacramento beat Dallas 115-100 for its first win of the season.
- Minnesota beat Milwaukee 112-100.
- Toronto beat the Los Angeles Clippers 125-118.
Where the Standings Stand Now
With the dust settled on the night, Houston sits alone atop the Western Conference at 7-0, Memphis is 6-1, and Oklahoma City, Los Angeles and New Orleans all picked up wins that keep them within striking distance. The open question the night leaves behind: no team remains unbeaten, and the race for the top of each conference is now fully underway after just over a week of the regular season.
