NBA

Curry's Warriors fall as Jokic inspires Nuggets, Rockets win to begin post-Harden era

By Sports Desk January 15, 2021

Stephen Curry's 35 points were not enough for the Golden State Warriors, while the Houston Rockets started the post-James Harden era with a win.

Curry was 14-of-23 from the field and five-of-11 from three-point range, but the Warriors fell to the Denver Nuggets 114-104 on Thursday.

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic dominated with a triple-double of 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.

Denver had seven players in double-digits for points as they improved to 6-6 – the same record the Warriors now hold.

After trading Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, the Rockets recorded a 109-105 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Christian Wood had a double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Rockets, who were without John Wall (knee).

 

Milton magical for Sixers, Boucher lifts Raptors

Shake Milton had 31 points off the bench in the Philadelphia 76ers' 125-108 win over the Miami Heat. He was 11-of-15 from the field and three-of-four from three-points range.

Ben Simmons notched a triple-double of 10 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for the 76ers. Only Oscar Robertson (75 games) and Magic Johnson (190 games) have reached 30 career triple-doubles quicker than Simmons (228).

Chris Boucher had 25 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to help the Toronto Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets 111-108.

A huge game from Domantas Sabonis (23 points and 15 rebounds) saw the Indiana Pacers past the Portland Trail Blazers 111-87.

After another four blocks and one steal, Pacers center Myles Turner reached 50 blocks and 18 steals through 12 games. He is the first player to have at least that many blocks and steals through his first 12 games of a season since David Robinson in 1992-93, as per Stats Perform.

 

Job done for 76ers despite Embiid struggles

Joel Embiid has enjoyed a superb start to the season, but the 76ers star struggled against Miami. He was three-of-eight from the field for just nine points in 23 minutes.

 

Bridges brilliance

Miles Bridges produced a huge dunk during the Hornets' loss to the Raptors. He finished with 12 points.

Thursday's results

Philadelphia 76ers 125-108 Miami Heat
Toronto Raptors 111-108 Charlotte Hornets
Houston Rockets 109-105 San Antonio Spurs
Indiana Pacers 111-87 Portland Trail Blazers
Denver Nuggets 114-104 Golden State Warriors

 

Pelicans at Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers (10-3) are riding a four-game winning streak ahead of hosting the New Orleans Pelicans (4-6) on Friday. LeBron James is averaging 24.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game to begin the campaign.

Related items

  • NBA: Siakam leads Pacers past Knicks to force Game 7 in East semifinals NBA: Siakam leads Pacers past Knicks to force Game 7 in East semifinals

    Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 17 as the Indiana Pacers rolled to a 116-103 victory over the New York Knicks to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.

    Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell each added 15 points, with Nembhard grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as the Pacers remained perfect in six home games in this postseason.

    The winner of Game 7 in New York on Sunday will advance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

    Jalen Bruson scored 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting after missing his final 11 shots in the first half. Deuce McBride added 20 points with four 3-pointers as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on the road in this series.

    Already decimated by injuries, the Knicks lost starting forward Josh Hart in the fourth quarter due to abdominal soreness.

    Hart was seen holding his midsection multiple times during the game and asked to be taken out after he had five points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.

    New York is already without All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.

    Indiana used a 14-6 run in the third quarter to take control, turning a 61-56 lead into a 75-62 advantage. The Pacers maintained at least a 10-point edge the rest of the way.

  • Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak Toronto FC v CF Montreal: Courtois accepts blame amid ongoing winless streak

    Laurent Courtois has accepted that it is on him to find a winning formula as CF Montreal look to snap their winless run against Toronto FC.

    Montreal were beaten 3-1 by Columbus Crew in midweek and are now without a victory in six games in all competitions.

    That includes a three-game losing streak in MLS, leaving them 13th in the Eastern Conference, and Courtois is eager to get back on track.

    "It's up to me to find the winning formulas and discern the phases of the game," head coach Courtois said after the loss to Columbus.

    "We have to grit our teeth and find solutions. The difficult times we are going through help me identify my group. I want to know the players better. 

    "From all the negative aspects we can observe, I can identify a few individual aspects to improve the game or the team itself."

    Monreal's rivals Toronto have themselves lost back-to-back games ahead of Saturday's Canadian Classique at BMO Field.

    Nashville SC scored twice late on to snatch a 2-0 win in the Reds' most recent match, but acting head coach Jason deVos admits there can be no excuses.

    "The last ten minutes, two mistakes cost us and that's the cruelty of football sometimes - that it's a 90-minute match and you need to put in a 90-minute performance in," he said. 

    "The players are aware of that. They know where the growth areas are for us as a team."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Toronto - Federico Bernardeschi

    Bernardeschi missed the loss to Nashville but will hope to start this weekend in a fixture he has fond memories of. 

    The Italian has scored in each of his two home games against Montreal, making him the third Toronto player to score in two successive home games against them after Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley.

    Montreal - Joel Waterman

    Montreal have conceded three or more goals five times across their 12 MLS games this season, which is tied with San Jose Earthquakes for the most in MLS.

    They quite simply need to sharpen up at the back, with Joel Waterman needing to step up and hope others around him also do so.. The centre-back led the way for interceptions (three) and clearances (four) against Columbus, yet it was still not enough.

    MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

    Montreal have won five successive matches against Toronto, following a run of neither side ever winning more than three on the spin in this fixture.

    Toronto have won seven and drawn one of their eight matches in which they have held opponents under two goals since September, while they have lost all 13 in which they have shipped two or more.

    Keeping the opposition quiet is therefore key, and this could present a chance to do just that against a Montreal side with fewer points (five) than any side in MLS since mid-March.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Toronto - 39.6%
    Draw - 28.5%
    Montreal - 31.9%

  • New England Revolution v Philadelphia Union: Porter urges players to cut out errors New England Revolution v Philadelphia Union: Porter urges players to cut out errors

    Caleb Porter accepts New England Revolution must cut out the individual errors if they are to return to winning ways against Philadelphia Union.

    The Revs went down 4-2 to New York Red Bulls last time out to make it four defeats in their last five games, and eight losses in 11 overall this season in MLS.

    New England are bottom of the Eastern Conference, but Porter hopes lessons have been learned ahead of hosting Philadelphia on Saturday.

    "Three of the four [goals NYRB scored] were individual mistakes that are easily correctable," Porter told The Blazing Musket. "We've gone to the training ground and corrected a few of those situation.

    "But it's just individuals in those moments have to be better. It wasn't a bad team-defending performance, but three of the four goals we gave up were routine."

    The Union have double the number of points compared to their opponents, having played one game more, as they occupy ninth place in the East.

    The Us are themselves not in great form, though, as they lost 2-1 at home to New York City FC in their most recent game - a contest overshadowed by a raccoon that entered the field. 

    They have just two points from the past 18 on offer, meanwhile, and head coach Jim Curtin admits it is on him and his players to turn things around.

    "The guys fight until the end, and we have to find a way to get out of this," Curtin said. "We're the only people that are going to get us out of it. 

    "The people in that locker room, the coaches, the players, they recognise that. They've shown they can beat anybody, and we're the only ones that can dig us out of this now."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    New England Revolution - Carles Gil

    Gil got the Revs temporarily on level terms against New York Red Bulls, with that his 100th regular-season goal contribution in MLS. That makes the Revs' attacking midfielder the seventh European player to reach that milestone, and the second Spaniard after David Villa.

    Philadelphia Union - Julian Carranza

    Carranza was on target for the Union in their midweek loss to New York City, coming from one of nine attempts he had on target. The former Argentina age-grade international has now registered four-or-more shots in four MLS career matches.

    To put that in perspective, the two other players to have done so in the club's history - Conor Casey and Andrew Wenger - have done so in a combined two games (one each).

    MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

    Philadelphia have won 12 matches against the Revs across all MLS competitions, which includes MLS is Back, since 2018 - their best return against any single opponent across that period.

    New England's tally of seven points from their opening 11 games is their worst-such return at this stage of a campaign in club history, with only two out of 17 teams in the post-shootout era (since 2000) managing to reach the playoffs from this position.

    However, there is some hope for them this weekend as the Union's one point across their past five matches is their fewest across any five-game span within a single season since April 2017.


    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    New England Revolution - 36.1%
    Draw - 28.8%
    Philadelphia Union - 35.1%

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.