Day 5 of the delayed/cancelled NBA simulation season as it was originally scheduled:
Day 5 in the NBA brings both Boston and Minnesota of all teams to 3-0 while Dallas and Oklahoma City square off in a rematch of the Western Conference Finals.
Detroit Pistons 101, New Jersey Nets 87
Six Pistons scored between 13 and 15 points to pave the way for a balanced attack and a win over New Jersey. The Nets wasted a strong effort from Brook Lopez who scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. New Jersey allowed Detroit to shoot over 52 percent from the field and outrebound them by 14.
Orlando Magic 104, Washington Wizards 112
The Magic have a clearly flawed roster as they lost for the third straight time to start the season. Dwight Howard was literally Superman in this game scoring 30 points with 19 rebounds and 4 blocks, and it still wasn’t enough to get a win. Nick Young had one of his occasional big scoring nights with 28 points. As typical with Young though he had 0 rebounds and 0 assists to go with all those points.
Toronto Raptors 114, Minnesota Timberwolves 134
Minnesota rolled to its third straight victory behind the strength of 21 points from Martell Webster and 19 and 16 from Kevin Love. Six other Wolves also scored in double figures as they posted the highest point total so far in the early season. Rookie Jonas Valanciunas was a bright spot for Toronto with 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Charlotte Bobcats 75, Memphis Grizzlies 97
This was Memphis’ night with Rudy Gay scoring 32 with 5 rebounds in the win. Zach Randolph would add 19 points and 13 rebounds. Charlotte is severely offensively challenged turning the ball over 18 times and shooting just 38 percent for the game. Bismack Biyombo is the real bright spot for the team in the early going. He netted 11 points and 10 rebounds in this game.
Utah Jazz 96, Houston Rockets 105
Houston got its second win of the year behind Kevin Martin’s 24 points. Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic each scored 14 for the Rockets while rookie Marcus Morris added 13 points and 5 rebounds. The Jazz actually committed just 9 turnovers, but got outrebounded by 19 and shot just 42 percent from the field. Rookie Enes Kanter had the best game of his short career with 8 points and 9 rebounds.
Boston Celtics 102, Indiana Pacers 98
Boston clearly benefitted from the offseason to recharge as it is now 3-0 on the year and playing great defense. The Celtics shot just 41 percent from the field, but forced Indiana to shoot just 42 percent and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds (14 more overall). Kevin Garnett led the scoring on this night with 20 points and 23 rebounds. It is the first 20/20 game in the NBA this season. George Hill was the best player for the Pacers with 18 points on just 9 shots to go along with 5 assists and 2 steals.
Atlanta Hawks 81, Chicago Bulls 73
For the second game in a row Chicago was limited by its lack of offensive depth and that led to a loss. Chicago had just three players score in double figures led by Derrick Rose with 20. The rest of the backcourt (C.J. Watson, Keith Bogans, and Ronnie Brewer) combined to score just 10 points between them. Al Horford had a terrific game against Carlos Boozer netting 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Oklahoma City Thunder 108, Dallas Mavericks 116
In a rematch of the Western Conference Finals, Dallas prevailed once again behind star Dirk Nowitzki and strong overall team effort. Dirk would score 24 points with 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Shawn Marion had a flashback game with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. The real shocker for Dallas was Corey Brewer providing some offense with 16 points. Oklahoma City was paced by Kevin Durant’s 42 points. Unfortunately for Thunder fans, it took him 38 shots for the young forward to get that many points. Russell Westbrook was a bit more efficient scoring 25 points on 19 shots to go along with 7 assists.
New York Knicks 91, Milwaukee Bucks 93
Although the scoring totals weren’t super high for either team, this was an offensive-oriented contest with both teams shooting over 50 percent from the field. The Bucks pulled this game out in the end however behind Stephen Jackson. The veteran wing scored 17 points including all 3 of his 3-point attempts. Brandon Jennings, the man who could have been the Knicks point guard, had 16 points. Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony combined for 49 points but it was not enough on this night.
Golden State Warriors 112, Denver Nuggets 108
Monta Ellis followed up his game for the ages with another terrific game with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. He is playing a true superstar level through three games. Stephen Curry was the scoring star though on this night for Golden State with 32 points including 4 threes. Denver would be paced by Danilo Gallinari’s 19 points and 8 rebounds. Al Harrington would chip in 17 points while Arron Afflalo had 10. Denver shot only 40.7 percent from the field, and only their low turnover total kept them in the game.
New Orleans Hornets 93, Sacramento Kings 95
In an actual competitive NBA game, the leading scorers were Marco Belinelli and John Salmons. Salmons outdid Belinelli by 1 head to head (21 to 20) and his team, the Kings, got the win. The Kings won despite shooting 44 percent overall by grabbing 10 offensive rebounds, have a +6 turnover margin, and hitting 10 three-pointers. Tyreke Evans added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. Chris Paul would have one of those Chris Paul nights with 18 points and 16 assists.
