Scoreboard
Raptors 135, Cavaliers 115
Lakers 126, Nets 101
76ers 117, Thunder 93
Jazz 128, Kings 112
Warriors 125, Rockets 109
Suns 134, Wizards 106
Trail Blazers 118, Pistons 103
What went down
For all the injury troubles that the LA Lakers have had this season, they might have scored their biggest win of the season on Sunday.
A short-handed Lakers squad easily took down the Brooklyn Nets, who are currently holding the best record in the East and one of the many rivals gunning for the NBA title.
The Lakers didn’t have LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Marc Gasol, and Wesley Matthews and they still won by 25 points. The Nets, on the other hand, missed only James Harden as their star-studded lineup of Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Kevin Durant all suited up.
The Lakers had control in the first 48 minutes but took things to a different level in the second half. Irving and Dennis Schroder were tossed after a verbal altercation early in the third quarter, which incidentally was when the Lakers got loose. They went on a 22-9 run and held the high-scoring Nets to just 19 points in the period. The Nets tried to rally in the fourth but were met by the hot shooting of LA’s new acquisition, Ben McLemore.
Eight Lakers scored in double-figures with Andre Drummond getting the bulk of the pie with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Double-double (20 PTS, 11 REB) for @AndreDrummond in the @Lakers road W vs. BKN! #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/HLiLdXqnSF
— NBA (@NBA) April 11, 2021
It’s debatable if this was a statement win by the Lakers who are trying to stay afloat in the West standings, but it was definitely a huge beatdown of an elite team.
Big-time baller
Gary Trent Jr. had the offensive firepower of a bazooka with the accuracy of a sniper.
The new kid on the block for the Toronto Raptors scored a career-high 44 points in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He went 17-for-19 from the field, including 7-for-9 from downtown.
The Raptors recorded a franchise-high 87 points in the first half with Trent responsible for 25.
Trent’s impeccable shooting went into the history books. His 89.5 percent field goal percentage was the second-highest mark with at least 44 points since the shot clock era, trailing only Mike Woodson’s 48 points on 91.7 percent shooting in 1983 per NBA History.
What he said
Kyle Kuzma going with the new adage of a tweet is worth a thousand words.
— kuz (@kylekuzma) April 11, 2021
What’s in a number?
Donovan Mitchell has been torching the scoreboard for the past three games. He had 41 points two games ago, 37 in his last one, and tied his season-high of 42 points in the Jazz’s victory on Sunday.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, Mitchell is the first Jazz player to score at least 35 points in three straight games since Karl Malone did it in 1993. He joins Adrian Dantley and Pete Maravich as the fourth Jazz player overall to achieve such a feat.
Portland’s Enes Kanter also deserves some love after his monster double-double of 24 points and franchise-record 30 rebounds! In the last 20 seasons, there have only been three other players with 30 rebounds in a game per ESPN. Kevin Love did it in 2011, Andrew Bynum in 2012, and Dwight Howard in 2018.
