ANOTHER Game-Winning Three At The Buzzer! - NBA Pre-Season Day 5 Recap
Suns move to 2-0
While it’s only NBA Pre-Season, and these games mean nothing for the standings, the Phoenix Suns are already looking promising. They’ve now had two quality wins against the Lakers and the Pistons. KD was on fire from the jump, hitting 5 of his first 6 shots and leading the Suns with 13 first-half points.
The Pistons offense was well-balanced throughout the game, 3rd-year big man Jalen Duren led the team with 17 points in his 23 minutes. Durant finished with 21 for Phoenix as they took the 105-97 win.
LaMelo Ball Redemption Tour?
LaMelo Ball caught FIRE early in the Hornets' matchup against the Heat, hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter.
As could be expected, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler’s play kept Miami ahead at the half, but the Hornets kept it close throughout the 2nd half, ultimately taking a narrow win 111-108.
LaMelo finished with 24 points and 6 boards in his 23 minutes. Rookie Kel’el Ware was the standout for Miami, as he finished with 13 points, 5 boards, and 6 stocks (!!) in 16 minutes off the bench, a very encouraging pre-season debut.
Mobley Looking Good, But Bulls Take Win
Over in Cleveland, the Cavaliers looked solid as a fully healthy unit again, but the bench couldn’t finish the job against the Bulls. Coby White had an excellent game for Chicago, posting 21 points in 24 minutes.
Despite the loss, Evan Mobley looked good in his 18 minutes. He was getting aggressive on both sides of the ball, posting 3 blocks to go along with his 19 points and 6 boards. An aggressive Mobley is super exciting for Cavs fans, as it could unlock his offensive potential. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland were also great in their first-half minutes.
Game Of The Pre-Season
Staying in the East, Atlanta trailed the Indiana Pacers 5-22 early in the first quarter, before Trae Young led a furious comeback to take a 35-31 lead heading into the break.
1st Overall Pick, Zaccharie Risacher, got his first taste of NBA Basketball, and put up 18 points in an excellent first outing. He finished strongly inside, hit his outside shot, and held his own defensively. There's certainly lots to like as a Hawks fan, a potential wing pairing of Jalen Johnson and Risacher is looking exciting.
The Hawks did end up winning this one, thanks to the late-game heroics of Seth Lundy, who drilled a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound with 0.1 seconds left in the match. This was easily the game of the night, where Atlanta walked out 131-130 victors in an all-offense battle. Jalen Johnson was also great for the Hawks with a 19-point 10-rebound double-double and 3 steals.
The return of Ben Simmons (again)
The final game of the night was relatively uneventful, but it did result in the Clippers' first win of the pre-season, after their 1-point loss to Golden State the other day. James Harden scored 14 points in his time on the court, but also had 6 turnovers, the sort of thing we've come to expect in pre-season ball.
The return of Ben Simmons was underwhelming, to say the least. He played just 13 minutes and scored two points on 1/5 shooting. On a more positive note, for Brooklyn, a few of their young guns looked quite good. Keon Johnson, Jaylen Martin, and Zhaire Williams in particular got some tough buckets, in their hopes of making the regular-season rotation.
LA took the win 115-106, and we are one day closer to the start of the regular season. Tomorrow is the first look at the Sacramento Kings against the Warriors, along with 3 more games earlier in the day.
Player of the day?
KD
Coby White
LaMelo Ball
Zaccharie Risacher
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