Kawhi Leonard led the L.A. Clippers to another victory with a gala performance. Not much is going right for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors both win without much effort.
What a game from Kawhi Leonard. The All-Star collected three steals in the first two minutes, then set the tone offensively. The forward scored 41 points (14/30 FG) in 33 minutes. And that despite the 34-year-old experiencing severe pain in his right index finger at times. But it was one of those nights for the wing player when almost everything went right. Leonard even made a jump shot after losing the ball in the air, but grabbing it again and getting a shot off at the last second. Another bright spot for the Clippers was the performance of rookie Yanic Niederhäuser. The Swiss player scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds.
For the Wolves, Anthony Edwards (23, 7/18) provided the highlight of the game with a spectacular dunk, but otherwise the superstar (and his teammates) didn’t achieve much because the Clippers’ defense, led by Kris Dunn, was outstanding. Dunn was then sent to the showers four minutes before the end with a second technical foul after he and Julius Randle exchanged a few shoves.
Miami wins easily in D.C.
Miami cruised to an easy win in Washington, with the second quarter (37:19) evening out the balance of power between the two teams. Bam Adebayo (22, 5 steals) had a plus-minus of +41 in 28 minutes, while rookie Kasparas Jakucionis (22, 8/10 FG) shone coming off the bench. The Lithuanian guard made all six of his three-pointers for the Heat. For Washington, Tristan Vukvcevic was the top scorer with just 14 points, while big man Alex Sarr (12, 12 rebounds) recorded a double-double. The hosts’ starters kept up well, but the bench players simply didn’t have the quality to keep up.
Barnes leads Toronto to another win
Four games, four wins. The Raptors have swept the Pacers this season and once again the Canadians had no problems. The Pacers’ disastrous season continues, however, with youngster Johnny Furphy possibly suffering a serious knee injury during a dunk.
The Pacers were still narrowly ahead at halftime, but Toronto took the third quarter 44-26. Scottie Barnes (25 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks) stood out during this phase, and Trayce Jackson-Davis (10 points, 10 rebounds) also impressed in his debut. R.J. Barrett contributed 20 points to the victory, while Pascal Siakam was Indy’s top scorer with 18 points.