NBA Wrap: Utah Jazz beat LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington’s streak continues
AUSSIE duo Dante Exum and Joe Ingles scored a notable win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Check out all of today’s NBA results.
AUSSIE duo Dante Exum and Joe Ingles scored a notable win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Check out all of Thursday’s NBA results.
AUSSIES IN ACTION
Dante Exum was strong again for Utah in 25 minutes on court against the Cavaliers on Thursday. He scored three points, had two rebounds and five assists, one assist short of what the entire Cavaliers squad managed all game.
“It was a crazy experience,” Exum said.
“Coach has imprinted in our heads not to get too high on the highs and not too low on the lows. This is one of those highs we can’t get too high. Coach said tomorrow we’re practising. It’s about enjoying this while we can but we’ve got a game on Friday.”
In his 13 minutes for the Jazz, Ingles made a single assist and threw the final pass that led to Gordon Hayward’s game-winner.
Warriors centre Andrew Bogut had a blinder in their win over the Clippers. He scored six points, had 14 rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes.
Aron Baynes played 33 seconds, for one turnover. And Chicago’s Cameron Bairstow did not feature in their win.
Patty Mills remains sidelined with injury.
Matthew Dellavedova has reportedly been ruled out of basketball for six weeks with a knee injury. The 24-year-old injured his left knee in the fourth quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 101-82 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday (American time).
He was not available for Cleveland’s game with the Utah Jazz and a Cleveland news website reported the side’s backup point guard had been diagnosed with a grade 2 MCL sprain.
UTAH 102 — CLEVELAND 100
Utah’s Gordon Hayward scored at the buzzer to secure a tense victory over Cleveland.
Hayward, who broke free from Cleveland’s LeBron James, swished the 20-foot jump shot and finished with 21 points.
Derrick Favors also had a big night for the Jazz with a double-double, posting 21 points and ten rebounds.
Australian duo Dante Exum and Joe Ingles also played a part in the victory.
Exum recorded five assists and three points in 25 minutes on the court — while Ingles played 13 minutes.
James, who had his lowest point tally in his last game (11), bounced back offensively. James played 42 minutes and scored 31 points.
Utah led the entire game until the fourth quarter when Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving initiated a comeback. Irving scored 10 points in a 14-6 run that gave his side the lead.
Irving finished the game with a team-high 34 points, but it was not enough as Cleveland went on to lose their third game from four attempts this season.
GOLDEN STATE 121 — LA CLIPPERS 104
The Golden State Warriors continue their best start in 20 years after defeating the Los Angeles Clippers.
Guard Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors with 28 points and seven assists.
Draymond Green was on fire and scored a career-high 24 points. The 24-year-old also contributed eight rebounds and five assists.
After building a 25-point lead in the second quarter the Warriors controlled the Clippers for the rest of the game.
Aussie centre Andrew Bogut added 14 rebounds, five assists and six points for the Warriors.
Clippers guard Chris Paul posted a double-double. He finished the game with 15 points and 12 assists.
LA veteran Jamal Crawford scored a team high 24 points from the bench, but it was not enough as they dropped to 3-2 for the season.
The victory means Golden State have become one of three undefeated teams in the NBA alongside Memphis and Houston.
SAN ANTONIO 94 — ATLANTA 92
Champions San Antonio recorded their 17th straight win at home against Atlanta.
Tim Duncan posted double-double figures after scoring 17 points and 13 rebounds including five offensive boards.
The Spurs have never lost at home to the Hawks since drafting Duncan, but had to fend off a strong Atlanta finish.
San Antonio had a season-high 25 assists and had seven players score double-digit points. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili scored 17 and 12 points respectively.
Ginobili was clutch after sinking a pair of free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining.
Forwards DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap led the comeback for Atlanta with 17 points each.
Even after outscoring the Spurs in the second half by eight points Atlanta succumbed to their second loss in three games.
MEMPHIS 102- PHOENIX 91
Memphis remain unbeaten this season after defeating Phoenix.
Guard Mike Conley had 24 points and eleven assists to help Memphis to their fifth straight win. It is their best start in franchise history.
Spanish centre Marc Gasol also contributed with 18 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Eric Bledsoe recorded a season-high 23 points for Phoenix after making his first eight shots. Bledsoe shot nine-from-twelve from the field and did not miss until the fourth quarter.
Memphis will look to extend their win streak against the injury stricken Oklahoma City on Saturday.
SACRAMENTO 131 — DENVER 109
Sacramento extended their best start to the season in more than a decade with victory over Denver.
DeMarcus Cousins continued his good form, posting a double-double with 30 points and eleven rebounds.
Forward Rudy Gay also played well for Sacramento, scoring 29 points, to record their second-straight win over Denver in three days.
The Kings started the game strong after scoring 40 points in the first quarter and led by as many as 36.
They have now improved to 4-1 and visit Phoenix on Saturday.
Denver have fallen to 1-3 for the season and face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers next.
CHARLOTTE 96 — MIAMI 89
The Charlotte Hornets have beaten the Miami Heat for the first time in 16 meetings.
Hornet centre Al Jefferson led his team with a double-double, scoring a season-high 28 points and ten rebounds. Point guard Kemba Walker contributed 18 points and seven assists.
Miami centre Chris Bosh continued his strong start to the season with his fifth-straight 20-point game. He recorded a double-double himself with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Off-season recruit Luol Deng, who sat out the fourth quarter against Houston, played 27 minutes and scored nine points for Miami.
ORLANDO 91 — PHILADELPHIA 89
Tobias Harris made a buzzer beater to give Orlando their first win of the season.
Harris scored a team-high 18 points and registered eight rebounds for the Magic as Philadelphia remained winless.
Hornets forward Channing Frye also impressed after recording a double-double with 13 points and eleven rebounds while Nikola Vucevic contributed with 17 points and five rebounds.
Guard Tony Wroten led his team with a game-high 27 points while providing eight assists — but the 21-year-old’s display was marred by nine turnovers for Philadelphia.
It certainly does not get easier for the 76ers, who are in search for their first win.
Their next few opponents are Chicago, Toronto, Dallas and Houston — followed by a trip to last season’s champions the San Antonio Spurs.
MINNESOTA 98 — BROOKLYN 91
Minnesota scored the final nine points of the game to beat Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center.
Timberwolves forward Kevin Martin scored a game-high 26 points and also recorded seven rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins showed some solid early season form. The first-overall pick in this year’s draft scored a career-high 17 points and committed just one turnover.
Minnesota put up a great team performance with three players recording double-doubles.
Thaddeus Young scored ten points and eleven rebounds while centre Nikola Pekovic scored 16 points and also eleven rebounds
Spain’s Ricky Rubio contributed 14 points and 12 assists.
For Brooklyn, it was Joe Johnson and Deron Williams who led the team in points with 22 and 19 respectively.
Veteran forward Kevin Garnett found it tough offensively but had a decent game under the basket with eleven rebounds.
DETROIT 98 — NY KNICKS 95
Detroit recorded their first win of the season after defeating New York.
It was a huge night for Pistons forward Greg Monroe, who had a double-double. He showed great presence on offense and defence scoring 23 points and 18 rebounds including six offensive rebounds.
Detroit guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also added 20 points with four-from-seven from behind the arc.
Carmelo Anthony had a horrible shooting night for the Knicks, making just five shots from 21 attempts from the field. Anthony ended the game with just 13 points.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 14 points in the final quarter, however his efforts were not enough as Detroit held on to victory.
TORONTO 110 — BOSTON 107
The Toronto Raptors hung on for a crucial road win over the Boston Celtics.
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry scored a game-high 35 points and also had a key steal in the closing stages to help secure the victory.
Toronto have now won two-straight after defeating Oklahoma City in a game that limited them to just 39.5 per cent shooting.
Despite not having the best field-goal percentage, the Raptors still have one of the NBA’s most potent offenses, averaging 105.8 points per game.
Boston have now lost three-straight games after their season-opening win over Brooklyn.
Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, who is coming back from a broken hand, had his best game so far.
The 28-year-old recorded his 20th career triple-double. Rondo posted 13 points, 15 assists and ten rebounds.
CHICAGO 95 — MILWAUKEE 86
Derrick Rose returned from an ankle injury to help Chicago to victory over Milwaukee.
Rose played just 31 minutes in his comeback game as coach Tom Thibodeau attempts to ease his star back to health.
The Bulls point guard had a quiet night offensively with just 13 points and seven assists.
The Bulls were missing centre Joakim Noah due to illness, meaning Taj Gibson was promoted to the starting five.
Gibson played 44 minutes and was one of two Bulls who recorded double-doubles. The forward scored 23 points and had ten rebounds.
Veteran forward Pau Gasol also stepped up and scored 22 points and 14 rebounds in just under 36 minutes on the court.
Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo led his team with 13 points and posted eight rebounds.
The Bucks have now lost nine straight games at home against the Bulls.
WASHINGTON 96 — INDIANA 94
Washington have won their fourth-straight game after defeating Indiana 96-94 in overtime.
Wizards guard John Wall recorded a double-double with 31 points, including seven in overtime, and ten assists.
Washington centre Marcin Gortat had a great defensive game with ten rebounds and two blocks while chipping in 14 points.
Pacers guard Donald Sloan led his side with a career-high 31 points.
After trailing by 12 in the third quarter the Pacers managed to catch up after some poor shooting by the Wizards.
It was Sloan who made the layup to tie the game.
Veteran Paul Pierce had the chance to win the game in regular time for Washington, but missed to send the game to overtime. Pierce finished with eleven points.
Originally published as NBA Wrap: Utah Jazz beat LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington’s streak continues
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