Scoreboard
Wizards 121 Sixers
Cavaliers 114 Celtics 113
Heat 110 Kings 107
Hawks 112 Knicks 99
Bulls 106 Hornets 88
Clippers 109 Rockets 101
Bucks 116 Pistons 91
Raptors 143 Spurs 100
Mavericks 103, Jazz 100
Grizzlies 111, Trailblazers 106
Lakers 120, Pelican 117
What went down
Two Eastern Conference heavyweights battled it out again in a game that came down to the final second. The Cleveland Cavaliers got the best of the Boston Celtics just days ago at the TD Garden, where Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert each scored 41 points for an overtime win.
In Cleveland, the two teams again wouldn’t budge, with the Cavs having a slight advantage and extra motivation, thanks to the return of Darius Garland. The All-Star point guard missed five straight games for the Cavs due to an eye injury on opening night. He went to work early, scoring 14 points in the first quarter.
The Celtics jumped to a small lead in the first half, but the Cavs bounced back in the third quarter to set up a tight fourth quarter finish. That finish belonged to Jayson Tatum. With less than seven seconds left and the Cavs up two, Tatum barged into the lane and slammed it hard on the head of Jarrett Allen.
Cleveland had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Mitchell’s stepback jumper was blocked by Tatum to extend the game. In overtime, Boston had one last chance to win, but Jaylen Brown’s fadeaway jumper clanked off the rim.
The Cavs have now won two straight versus the Celtics in a week and six in a row for the season.
Out West, the Los Angeles Lakers escaped with a big win over the New Orleans Pelicans in overtime.
Russell Westbrook (13 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists) again came off the bench for the Lakers to successful results. Welcome to the Bench Brodie era.
Big-time ballers
Dejounte Murray wasn’t part of the recently brewed Atlanta Hawks-New York Knicks rivalry, so he immediately had to fix that in the Hawks first visit to the Madison Square Garden.
Murray went all-out villain in New York, leading all scorers with 36 points (career-high) and adding nine assists and six steals. That statline made Murray the first Hawk to score 35 points and grab five steals since Dominique Wilkins in 1991.
Dejounte Murray in the @ATLHawks win tonight:
— NBA (@NBA) November 3, 2022
🔥 36 PTS (career-high)
🔥 9 AST
🔥 6 STL
🔥 5 3PM
🔥 Led Hawks comeback after being down by 23 PTS#TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/LLYMBJ92Ki
In his first game back after missing five games due to an eye injury, Darius Garland lit up the Boston Celtics with 29 points in the Cavaliers’ overtime win. Garland also had 12 assists and three steals, making up a scary backcourt with Donovan Mitchell. Even scarier for the league: the Cavs have now won six straight games.
Welcome back, 🔟!@dariusgarland22 | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/ZByB7gCHAz
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) November 2, 2022
Luka Doncic put up another 30-point game for the Dallas Mavericks, the seventh straight game he’s scored 30 or more. Doncic is averaging an insane 36.7 points per game to start the season for the 4-3 Mavs.
Doncic is only the third player in NBA history to score 30-plus points in the first seven games of the season.
What he said
Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Anti-Defamation League released a joint statement:
Joint statement from Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Anti-Defamation League pic.twitter.com/5szamIClsh
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 2, 2022
Did you see that?
The Boston Celtics lost a close one in Cleveland, but not without putting up a fight. At the end of regulation, Jayson Tatum threw one down on Jarrett Allen to send the game into overtime:
🚨 JAYSON TATUM TIES IT UP WITH A POSTER 🚨@celtics 107@cavs 107
— NBA (@NBA) November 3, 2022
Q4 6.7 remaining on ESPN pic.twitter.com/FrdDc1RT9I
The LA Lakers were at the brink of losing another one at home, but a well-designed play and a buzzer-beating heave by Matt Ryan sent the game to OT:
🚨 MATT RYAN SENDS IT TO OT 🚨
— NBA (@NBA) November 3, 2022
OT on the NBA App👇https://t.co/1pomQZMAZK pic.twitter.com/NL4kP9l9Nc
