Scoreboard
Pistons 135, Timberwolves 118
Wizards 100, Bulls 97
Bucks 114, Hawks 105
Celtics 125, Pelicans 114
Knicks 119, Pacers 113
Nuggets 126, Suns 97
Kings 135, Rockets 115
What went down
In a battle of two teetering Eastern Conference teams, the Milwaukee Bucks avoided a late meltdown to escape the Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks.
In what was a rough shooting game for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with just seven points but had 18 rebounds and 10 assists, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez picked up the slack for Milwaukee with 27 and 20 points, respectively.
With Young sitting out due to a non-COVID illness, the Hawks found themselves down by 22 in the first quarter then by 21 at the half. Aaron Holiday led a run from off the bench to trim the deficit in the third quarter, opening the door for Bogdan Bogdanovic to take over in the fourth. The Hawks held a 103-101 lead with three minutes left in the game, but just ran out of steam.
The Bucks, after suffering through a stretch of bad injury luck and four straight losses, have now won five of their last seven games and hold a 27-14 record, placing them third in the East. The Hawks, on the other hand, continue to slide in the standings, having lost six of their last eight games. They’re ninth in the East with a 19-22 record.
Big-time baller
It was the Jaylen Brown show for the Boston Celtics today as their second All-Star candidate hung 41 points and 12 rebounds on the New Orleans Pelicans.
?? 41 PTS (season-high)
— NBA (@NBA) January 12, 2023
?? 12 REB
Jaylen Brown went off in the Celtics W pic.twitter.com/0LvpUk0pzP
Kyle Kuzma should also get some love. Without Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal, the Washington Wizards went to Kuzma with the game on the line.
KYLE KUZMA FOR 3 😱
— NBA (@NBA) January 12, 2023
WIZARDS LEAD BY 3 WITH :05 TO GO
📲 https://t.co/1pomQZMAZK pic.twitter.com/BhXUDpAwzO
What he said
Kings coach Mike Brown's response to De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis being outside the top 10 in fan voting for the All-Star Game:
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) January 10, 2023
"Them fans don't know what they're talking about."
Mike Brown is right. NBA fans might be sleeping on the Kings’ dynamic duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. The pair have been electric this season, leading the Kings firmly into playoff contention.
They led Sacramento to their 22nd win of the season today, zooming past the Houston Rockets with Sabonis going for 25 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists while Fox managed 24 points and nine assists.
Did you see that?
Yesterday, news broke about two kids getting their Ja Morant-autographed basketball stolen. Today, Morant had them go to the Memphis Grizzlies’ game and gave them a pair of his new Ja 1s.
Giving away his shoes after the home W.
— NBA (@NBA) January 12, 2023
Ja is a man of the people 👏 pic.twitter.com/03USertS1t
Morant also had something for the San Antonio Spurs: 38 points en route to Memphis’ eighth straight win.
