L-R: Rudy Gobert and Royce O'Neale of the Utah Jazz talk to their teammate Joe Ingles in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, January 29, 2021. /CFP
The Utah Jazz claimed an easy win of 120-101 at home on Friday, extending their winning streak to 11, which helped them further steady in the leader position of the Western Conference.
Though Donovan Mitchell sat this game, the Jazz were as hot as they had been offensively this season. Having gone 20-48 from the 3-point line at Vivint Arena, the team buried at least 15 triples in nine consecutive games already, the second-longest record in NBA history.
Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks holds the ball in the game against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Compared with them, the Mavericks spent most time of the game trying to pull themselves from the struggling shooting touch. Kristaps Porzingis, Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway Jr. together missed 19 of their 27 field goal attempts, including eight from downtown.
As a result, the Jazz are placed on a comfortable 25-point lead (37-12) from the first quarter. Luka Doncic being the only offense launcher of the Mavericks made it way too easy for the Jazz to defend him. Though the 21-year-old genius led his team to narrow the score difference below 15 points multiple times, their disappointing offense is far from enough to reverse the situation.
Other games on Friday (away teams come first):
LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets shoots a layup in the game against the Indiana Pacers at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Indiana Pacers 105-108 Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets got their vengeance for the home loss against the Pacers on Wednesday. Six Hornets reached double-digit points in Friday's game, led by 19 shared by P.J. Washington and Terry Rozier. Devonte' Graham had a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists.
First-year rookie LaMelo Ball contributed 16 points, six rebounds, and seven assists off the bench. His putback dunk over 2.11-meter-tall Domantas Sabonis at the end of the third quarter should definitely make the top 5 plays of the day.
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks drives toward the rim in the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., January 29, 2021. /CFP
Atlanta Hawks 116-100 Washington Wizards
Trae Young was 5-9 behind the 3-point line and made 16 of 17 free throws at Capital One Arena on Friday to score game-high 41 points, helping the Hawks pocket a win on the road. This is his second 40+point game this season and the 14th in his career, which just entered the third season. Since the NBA and the ABA merged in 1976, only three players did better than Young in this area: Shaquille O'Neal (16), LeBron James (19) and Michael Jordan (44).
Russell Westbrook also drew a lot of attention, unfortunately, in the last way the Wizards wanted. He exchanged trash talk with Rajon Rondo after constant physical contact between the two. Both received a technical foul by the end of the first half. In the fourth quarter, Westbrook was infuriated by Rondo's provocation before he pushed Rondo, a move that earned him the second technical.
Before Westbrook was ejected, he already scored season-high 26 points. The Wizards are now bottom of the league with a 3-12 record.
Immanuel Quickley (C) of the New York Knicks drives toward the rim in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Cleveland Cavaliers 81-102 New York Knicks
Madison Square Garden on Friday night belonged to Immanuel Quickley. The 25th selection of the 2020 NBA Draft put down court-high 25 points for the Knicks from the bench unit, helping the team end their three-straight-loss-steak. R.J. Barrett had 24 points. Julius Randle got 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Sacramento Kings passes the ball in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Sacramento Kings 126-124 Toronto Raptors
The Kings saw five of their players score 16+points after three quarters. Their biggest lead was 18 points in the game. Though the Raptors launched a desperate counterattack in Q4 and once narrowed their trail down to one point, Tyrese Haliburton sealed the win for the Kings with a triple at 00:44.
Japanese forward Yuta Watanabe went 4-5 in the game, dropping career-high 12 points for the Raptors.
Lonzo Ball #2 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Milwaukee Bucks 126-131 New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans could not do any better offensively at Smoothie King Center on Friday. Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe together sank 14 triples. Zion Williamson delivered seven assists while committing only two turnovers. Steven Adams grabbed 20 rebounds, half of which were on the offensive glass. The Pelicans led by 23 points (68-45) after the first half.
Despite all the advantages above, the team won only by six in the end. They allowed 81 points by the Bucks in the last two quarters. It seems Stan Van Gundy still has a lot to teach the Pelicans about defense.
L-R: Serge Ibaka, Paul George and Nicolas Batum of the Los Angeles Clippers give each other high five in the game against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Los Angeles Clippers 116-90 Orlando Magic
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George cleared their COVID-19 protocols and managed to return for Friday's game. The All-Star duo had 50 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists together, helping the Clippers to achieve a 15-5 record in the first 20 games of the season. It's the second-best starting record of the team in franchise history.
Joel Embiid (L) of the Philadelphia 76ers posts up in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Philadelphia 76ers 118-94 Minnesota Timberwolves
Joel Embiid put down 37 points and 11 rebounds in simply 26 minutes at Target Center on Friday, proving that he has every reason to lead the regular season's Most Valuable Player competition. Moreover, this is the 11th game in which the 76ers have all their starting five on the floor, and the team won all of these games.
James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots the ball in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Brooklyn Nets 147-125 Oklahoma City Thunder
After using Kevin Durant as he has never suffered an Achilles tendon injury for 15 games, coach Steve Nash finally decided to manage the 32-year-old's load. Fortunately, the rest of the Nets did not make him regret this decision. Nine of the 10 players the team sent to the court on Friday reached double-digit points, giving the Nets another win, which lifted the team to second in the Eastern Conference.
Next, they need to figure out how not to allow 125 points by starless opponents like the Thunder.
DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs drives with the ball in the game against the Denver Nuggets at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, January 29, 2021. /CFP
Denver Nuggets 109-119 San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs upset the Nuggets at home, not only putting an end to the Nuggets' five-straight-win-streak, but also surpassing them to rank fourth in the West. DeMar DeRozan went 11-14 to get team-high 30 points plus 10 assists.
Nikola Jokic scored 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in this game for the Nuggets. So far, he remains the biggest competitor against Embiid in the MVP race. However, Jokic's teammates must do a lot better if they want to help him win instead of holding him back in the MVP competition.