Scoreboard
Raptors 116, Hornets 101
Heat 121, Wizards 100
Suns 127, Bulls 124
Warriors 110, Thunder 98
Jazz 113, Knicks 104
What went down
Call them The North or The Nursing Home – the one thing the Toronto Raptors now are hot.
The Toronto Raptors extended their winning streak to six, trampling the Charlotte Hornets on the road. The Raptors were dwelling outside the play-in picture around New Year. Now, they just leaped over the Brooklyn Nets for sixth in the East with a 29-23 record.
The Raptors outclassed the flashy Hornets with their usual shtick: play their starting five a ton. They had four guys in Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. score in double digits. This was the fourth time this season they had four 20-point scorers in a game. Toronto has been so balanced since Siakam returned from COVID protocols in late December that other teams with superstars have struggled to keep up.
In Chicago, Devin Booker and DeMar DeRozan dueled and each had 38 points. But Booker’s Phoenix Suns came away with a tight win.
The Suns were up by as much as 22 points in this game and by 15 in the fourth quarter. Phoenix still comfortably tops the West with a 43-10 record while the Bulls remained second in the East with a 33-21 slate.
Big-time baller
Booker was shooting out of his mind in the Windy City and he made it look easy. He got his 38 points on 14-for-23 shooting, with five 3s, five assists, and four rebounds.
They make it look easy. pic.twitter.com/Dfz6GVPQUL
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) February 8, 2022
Booker’s big performances are pretty understated since his game doesn’t have a lot of flash. He just does his job well, which is to get buckets.
What he said
Consider this your Philly-Ben Simmons update. To recap recent developments, Simmons spoke to Ramona Shelburne for a feature on ESPN where he said he felt betrayed by Joel Embiid. Apparently, Simmons didn’t say anything bad about Embiid in public after the Sixers lost to the Raptors in the 2019 playoffs so he felt he should have been afforded the same courtesy in the 2021 playoffs.
Now, Embiid has come out with his own comment.
Joel Embiid when asked by @MikeMiss25 whether anything could have been done differently after the Hawks series to prevent the Simmons situation:
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) February 7, 2022
"I mean, the only thing I can think about is the comments...But I really believe that it's really deeper than that." pic.twitter.com/UyL5MU2IEs
Did you see that?
The Oklahoma City Thunder season encapsulated in one clip: a lot of missed shots but there’s some hope because of their young players.
SO MANY REBOUNDS. DORT CLEANS UP. @okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/UOrdYWKliv
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) February 8, 2022
The NBA also announced new All-Stars today as LaMelo Ball and Dejounte Murray will serve as injury replacements for Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, respectively.
Both are first-time All-Stars. Ball will be the third youngest All-Star ever behind Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray have been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as injury replacements for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 7, 2022
More ?? https://t.co/QBL95euXNN pic.twitter.com/59dupIBzAZ
