Hello everyone and welcome back to VSNA Basketball! Today, there was plenty of excitement as usual so let's get right to it!
The scores: Magic 124-115- 76ers ; Wizards 109-89 Pelicans ; Kings 114-110 Nuggets ; Jazz 117-114 Rockets ; Trail Blazers 112-104 Nets
Vucevic scored a season-high 35 points against his former team, leading the Magic to a 124-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Vucevic, drafted 16th overall by the 76ers in 2011, also had nine rebounds and four assists, helping Orlando bounce back from a 105-102 home loss to Indiana. The Magic have won four of six while trying to gain ground in pursuit of their first playoff berth in four years. Victor Oladipo added 22 points and Evan Fournier scored 21 for the Magic, who return home on Thursday to host the NBA-best Golden State Warriors. Aaron Gordon contributed a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Ish Smith scored 22 points and Jahlil Okafor had 17 for the NBA-worst 76ers, who dropped to 8-48 with their fifth straight loss and 10th in the last 12. Okafor was coming off a career-best 31-point outing in Philadelphia's 129-103 loss at Dallas on Sunday. Nerlens Noel added 16 points and 11 rebounds. The 76ers have allowed an average of 122 points in their last four losses.
John Wall had 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, helping the Wizards to a 109-89 win over Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans. Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Washington, which pulled away in the second half of its season-high fourth straight home win. Jared Dudley scored 18 points on six 3-pointers and helped hold Davis in check after he had a monster game at Detroit.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 39 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 48.3 seconds left, and the Sacramento Kings edged the Denver Nuggets 114-110 on tonight. Cousins came up big down the stretch, scoring eight of the final 13 points for the Kings, who blew a 17-point lead in the second half before rallying at the finish.
The All-Star center stole the ball from D.J. Augustin and was fouled on his way to the basket. He made both free throws to give the Kings a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Cousins preserved the win by stripping the ball away from Darrell Arthur in the final seconds. It was Cousins' 53rd career game with at least 30 points. Rudy Gay added 16 points, 10 rebounds and three of Sacramento's 12 blocked shots, helping George Karl get the win against his former team.
Gordon Hayward scored 28 points and the Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets 117-114 in overtime tonight in a game with significant playoff implications. The victory moved the Jazz into the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference playoff race, a half-game ahead of the Rockets. The first tiebreaker for a two-way tie is head-to-head winning percentage. The Rockets fell to 2-1 against the Jazz this season. James Harden scored 42 points for Houston, and Jason Terry hit a 3-pointer with 10.8 seconds remaining in regulation to tie it at 106 and force overtime.
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum each scored 34 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Brooklyn Nets 112-104 on tonight for their sixth consecutive victory.
Lillard became the first player to score at least 30 points in five straight games for Portland since Geoff Petrie in the franchise's inaugural 1970-71 season. McCollum added six assists and five rebounds. The game was tied before McCollum and Lillard hit consecutive 3-pointers to make it 107-101 with 1:25 left. Lillard sealed the win with four free throws in the last 26.4 seconds.
That's all for tonight! Leave a comment if you want to be tagged in future VSNA cards. See ya tomorrow!
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