Four games were on the NBA schedule on Monday night, with the Minnesota Timberwolves hosting the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics hosting the Miami Heat, the Brooklyn Nets visiting the Windy City, and the New Orleans Pelicans paying a visit to the Atlanta Hawks.
In the late game, the Timberwolves cruised against the Lakers, leading 56-44 after two quarters and outscoring their visitors 30-16 in the fourth on their way to a 109-80 victory. Julius Randle (6-for-13) led the Timberwolves with 18 points, while Rudy Gobert (7-for-8) scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were both 6-for-11 off the bench for 15 points each. Anthony Edwards struggled, scoring just 8 points on 3-for-13 shooting. It was his first single-digit scoring game since March 27 of last season, when he scored just 9 points on 4-for-11 shooting against the Detroit Pistons.
The Lakers shot just 41 percent, with LeBron James (4-for-16, 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) and Anthony Davis (4-for-14, 12 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) having woeful shooting nights. The team was led by D'Angelo Russell's 20 points (8-for-12). Russell made four of his five attempts from downtown, while Dalton Knecht was 0-for-5 and the Lakers as a whole shot just 6-for-31 from deep. James has not hit a triple since November 26, going 0-for-19 over the last four contests. In that November 26 game against the Phoenix Suns, he was just 2-for-7 from downtown, making him 2-for-26 from deep in his last five games.
The Timberwolves got to .500 (10-10) with the win while the Lakers are now 12-9, just 5-5 in their last 10 games.
The Celtics outscored the Heat 57-38 over the second and third quarters to cruise to a 108-89 win in Boston. The 17-4 Celtics (8-2 at home) were led by Jaylen Brown's 29 points (8-for-21, 9-for-10 from the line) while Payton Pritchard continued his outstanding bench play with 25 points on 10-for-17 from the field (5-for-12 from downtown). Pritchard is averaging 16.4 points on 49 percent on the season while shooting 43 percent from three-point range.
The Heat, who were playing without Jimmy Butler due to a sore knee, had Tyler Herro lead the way with 19 points, though he made just 6 of 19. Bam Adebayo put up 15 points and 8 rebounds but was just 6-for-18. The Heat shot a collective 8-for-35 from downtown in contrast to the Celtics 19-for-55 and are now 9-10 on the season. The loss dropped their road record below .500 at 5-6.
Around the League
Hawks 124 (11-11)
Pelicans 112 (4-18)
Hunter: 22 PTS (8-for-14 FG)
Daniels, Johnson: 19 PTS
Young: 12 PTS, 15 AST, 8 REB (5-for-16 FG)
McCollum: 29 PTS (12-for-26 FG, 3-for-11 3PT)
Missi: 23 PTS, 12 REB (11-for-14 FG)
NOP: Lost 9 consecutive games
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Bulls 128 (9-13)
Nets 102 (9-13)
Vucevic: 21 PTS, 10 REB (8-for-11 FG, 3-for-5 3PT)
Giddey: 20 PTS, 13 REB, 11 AST (9-for-17 FG)
Buzelis: 20 PTS (7-for-10 FG, 4-for-5 3PT)
CHI: Outscored BKN 72-52 in 2nd half
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Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Laker head coach JJ Redick admitted that he is not sure if LeBron James playing 82 games this season is what is best for the superstar.
While James, who turns 40 at the end of the month, has set a tremendous personal goal for himself, it indeed may not be in his best interest or the team’s for him to play all 82. Fatigue plays a factor no matter how great you are, and the Lakers will obviously need James if they are to make a serious run late in the season and into the postseason. Their safest bet is to lean on Anthony Davis and the younger players like Knecht, Russell, and Austin Reaves when he gets back healthy (Reaves has missed two consecutive games with a pelvic contusion) to pick up the slack on some nights if James is resting. James is second all-time in minutes played, so it is stating the obvious to say that he has earned a night or two off. 2017-2018 was the last season, and the only season, that James played all 82 games in his career. He averaged 36.9 minutes per contest that year, which led the NBA.
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