Twenty-four hours after beating the Milwaukee Bucks without Paul George, Patrick Beverley, Marcus Morris, and Serge Ibaka, the Los Angeles Clippers went full Clippers in a 103-96 loss to an Orlando Magic team that traded its top three players a week prior. Their starting lineup of Michael Carter-Williams, Dwayne Bacon, James Ennis, Chuma Okeke, and Khem Birch came into the game averaging a combined 38.1 points. (Kawhi Leonard averaged 25.9 per game himself.)
Needless to say, the Clippers suffered one of the most embarrassing losses of the season to a team that had such little interest in winning this season that it dealt its only All-Star in the last decade, Nikola Vucevic, for two players who struggled to make an impact for a fringe top-10 playoff team in the Eastern Conference, and two draft picks.
With a 13-point lead in the first quarter alone, allowing Orlando to score just 13 points, it didn’t seem possible for the Clippers to cough up the season’s easiest gimme of the year. But the Magic closed the final three minutes and 48 seconds of the final quarter on a 21-5 run as L.A. went ice-cold from distance. Leonard and Reggie Jackson each missed 3-point shots that could’ve tied the game with 16.1 and 11 seconds left on the clock respectively.
It wasn’t one player who carried the Magic. It was their group of misfit talents who pulled off the win. Chuma Okeke had a team-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with four rebounds, three steals, and two assists, Terrence Ross scored 15 points (8-of-8 from the free-throw line), Wendell Carter Jr. came off the bench for 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting with six rebounds, three assists, and three blocks, and Otto Porter scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists. Michael Carter-Williams held down the point guard position for near-triple-double numbers scoring eight points with nine assists, seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
If we’ve learned anything from the new-look Magic it’s that they’re going to put up a fight despite a clear lack of elite talent. They lost just 96-93 to the Anthony Davis-less and LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. But even the Lakers without their superstars were able to squeak out the win.
Fantasy managers, note that Orlando’s numbers will fluctuate and the team is without clear scoring and distribution roles this soon after new additions have arrived. It is worth keeping track of Mo Bamba’s numbers after he finished with double-digit points (12) for the third game in a row with eight rebounds and a pair of 3-pointers. He also has four combined blocks in his last two games. Okeke’s also been on a roll, scoring 54 points on 21-of-37 shooting with eight 3-pointers, 16 rebounds, nine assists, one block, five steals, and six turnovers in his last three games combined. Monitor them both. [[ad:athena]]
Now, let’s talk about all four games from Tuesday night.
Hornets 114, Wizards 104
The great
Gordon Hayward — Hayward played a full 39 minutes, scoring 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting with 11 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and four turnovers.
Terry Rozier — Rozier matched Hayward’s 39 minutes and scored 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting including five 3-pointers, seven rebounds, four assists, one block, and just two turnovers.
Rui Hachimura — Hachimura’s upped his game since the All-Star break scoring 56 points on 24-of-49 shooting in his last two games. On Tuesday, he scored 30 points on 12-of-25 shooting with four rebounds, three assists, and two turnovers.
Russell Westbrook — Westbrook only made 7-of-20 shots but four were 3-pointers, which totaled 22 points. He triple-doubled with 15 rebounds, 14 assists, two steals, and five turnovers in 38 minutes.
The good
Cody Zeller — Zeller scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 13 rebounds, two assists, and one turnover in 24 minutes.
Nuggets 104, Sixers 95
The great
Jamal Murray — Murray scored 30 points on 12-of-24 shooting with five 3-pointers, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and no turnovers in 38 minutes.
Michael Porter Jr. — MPJ scored 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting with five 3-pointers, 12 rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block, and two turnovers in 36 minutes.
Tobias Harris — Harris only scored 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting, but added three rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks, and two turnovers in 26 minutes.
The good
Nikola Jokic — The MVP chase continued for Jokic, who scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting with 10 rebounds, five assists, and six turnovers in 34 minutes.
Editor’s Note: Drafting is only half the battle! Get an edge on your competition with our NBA Season Tools - available in our EDGE+ Roto tier for $3.99/mo. (annually) or $9.99/mo. (monthly) - that are packed with rankings, projections, a trade evaluator, start/sit tools and much more. And don’t forget to use promo code WELCOME10 to get 10% off. Click here to learn more!
Suns 117, Hawks 110
The great
Bogdan Bogdanovic — Bogdanovic scored 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting with four made 3-pointers, six assists, four rebounds, four steals, and one turnover in 37 minutes.
Trae Young — Young scored 19 points on just 5-of-16 shooting but added 13 assists, three steals, and just three turnovers in 33 minutes.
Clint Capela — Capela made 8-of-12 shots for 16 points and added 16 rebounds with a block and no turnovers in 35 minutes.
The good
Dario Saric — Saric scored 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting with three, 3-pointers, five rebounds, two assists, and one turnover in 18 minutes.
Jae Crowder — Crowder scored 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting with five 3-pointers, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block, and two turnovers in 29 minutes.
Magic 103, Clippers 96
The great
Chuma Okeke — Okeke scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting including one 3-pointer, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists with three turnovers in 28 minutes.
Michael Carter-Williams — He only made 3-of-10 shots for eight points but added nine assists, seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks, and no turnovers in 32 minutes.
The good
Kawhi Leonard — Leonard scored 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting with two 3-pointers, five rebounds, five assists, one steal, and three turnovers in 35 minutes.
Ivica Zubac — Zubac double-doubled with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 13 rebounds and two turnovers in 36 minutes.
