Almost none of last night’s NBA matchups went as planned. This season has been a wild ride and, apparently, the roller coaster isn’t ready to come to a stop. The six games played last night showed that even oddsmakers, with all of their tools and experience, are having a difficult time projecting the outcomes.
The Atlanta Hawks and the Oklahoma City Thunder met up last night, with the Hawks picking up their seventh straight win. The final score of 116-93 shows the determination the team has under interim head coach Nate McMillian as it looks for a deep playoff run this year. Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic put up 23 points each and would have had more, but didn’t have to stay on the court as the Hawks broke away from the Thunder.
This was the only game that was able to meet oddsmakers’ expectations, with Atlanta taking the win and beating the 7-point spread. However, with the Thunder sitting on a 17-24 record, it was an easy call to make. Next up, the Hawks will take on the LA Lakers tomorrow as part of a California road trip that includes a game against the LA Clippers on Monday and the Thunder might be able to find a bright spot as they take on the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
The New York Knicks hosted the Orlando Magic yesterday, with Julius Randle picking up his third triple-double as the Knicks edged out their opponents, 94-93. Orlando almost pulled this one off, but a last-second attempt was taken away by Reggie Bullock and the Magic were forced to take their ninth straight loss. The victory gave the Knicks a boost, coming off losses against the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The line had been on the Knicks to win, but they were getting seven points before the game. The Over/Under was at 206 and the final score didn’t even come close. The Knicks will take on the Sixers on Sunday and the Magic will face the Nets tonight in games that are likely to see both teams take another loss.
The Minnesota Timberwolves made the best of their road trip to Phoenix yesterday, overcoming a more powerful Suns team to win 123-119. Recruiting Anthony Edwards paid off big team, as the rookie put up 42 points. Karl-Anthony Towns wasn’t going to be outdone and added 41 to allow the Timberwolves to take the upset win.
This was a game that ended in disaster all the way around. Minnesota has the worst record in the NBA and no one thought they had a remote chance of winning. Phoenix was getting -590 and ten points, an emphatic statement on how the team was expected to perform. Not even the Under came though, even though it has hit in 9 out of 12 meetings between these two teams. The Over/Under was set at 228, which was surpassed by 14 points. The Suns and Timberwolves will face off again tonight, allowing Phoenix to look for revenge.
The Portland Trail Blazers have now taken two straight games away from the New Orleans Pelicans. They won last night, 101-93, as Damian Lillard scored 36 points – 21 of which came in the first quarter. Zion Williamson couldn’t get things done for the Pels, being held to 26 points and ten rebound.
The Trail Blazers were expected to win, but the Pelicans were also expected to put up a bigger fight. Based on the previous game, the Over/Under was set at 240 and the final score missed by a long shot. Portland was able to cover the spread, which wasn’t hard to do since it was set at just one point. New Orleans now travels to Colorado to take on the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, while Portland has back-to-back games at home against the Dallas Mavericks tonight and Sunday.
The LA Lakers hosted the Charlotte Hornets last night and LeBron James showed why he’s King James. He put up 37 points to help the Lakers move back into second place in the Western Conference with the team’s fourth straight win. The 116-105 final score allows the Lakers to move within 1.5 games of the Utah Jazz.
This game went as oddsmakers expected as the Lakers took the win and covered the spread. However, the Over/Under of 226 before the game seemed a little low. Charlotte hasn’t been an impressive team this year, but has had several good moments and LaMelo Ball helped last night by putting up 26 points, but the game still fell short. The Hornets will now face the Clippers and the Lakers will look to stop the Hawks tomorrow.
How the mighty have fallen. At 14-25 (and 7-14 at home), no one could have rightfully expected the Washington Wizards to beat the league-leading Utah Jazz last night. However, the Wiz improved to 15-25 off a shocking 131-122 upset in a game that had Utah written all over it. Bradley Beal put up 43 points and Russell Westbrook added 35, allowing Washington to stop a five-game skid.
This was the first time in ten games that the Wiz bested the Jazz and no one would have been able to predict it. Utah was getting -530 and 9.5 points before the game, while Washington was sitting on +390. Taking the underdogs would have seemed like a sure loss of money, but some risky gamblers scored big. Next up, the Jazz will lick its wounds taking on the Toronto Raptors tonight, while the Wizards face the Nets on Sunday.
