NBA wRap: LeBron, Cavs take round one against Bulls

From results and news to top performers and highlights, Rappler’s NBA wRap has you covered.

Here’s the league rundown for Saturday, November 1:

 

Milwaukee Bucks (1-1) 93 – 81 Philadelphia 76ers (0-2) 

MIL: OJ Mayo 25 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 5-of-7 from 3-point range

PHI: Nerlens Noel 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks

 

Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1) 114 – 108 Chicago Bulls (1-1) (Overtime)

CLE: LeBron James 36 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 rebounds

CHI: Mike Dunleavy 14 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists

 

Memphis Grizzlies (2-0) 97 – 89 Indiana Pacers (1-1)

MEM: Zach Randolph 22 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals

IND: Donald Sloan 12 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds

 

Phoenix Suns (2-0) 94 – 89 San Antonio Spurs (1-1)

PHX: Markieff Morris 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists

SA: Tony Parker 19 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds

 

Sacramento Kings (1-1) 103 – 94 Portland Trail Blazers (1-1) 

SAC: Rudy Gay 40 points, 8 rebounds, 3-of-4 from 3-point range

POR: LaMarcus Aldridge 22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

 

Los Angeles Clippers (2-0) 118 – 111 Los Angeles Lakers (0-3)

LAC: Blake Griffin 39 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

LAL: Jeremy Lin 17 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds

Notes

Bucks rookie Jabari Parker made up for his lackluster debut on Thursday, October 30, by putting up 11 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes on Saturday, November 1. He also did this:

 

Brandon Knight, meanwhile, had another solid outing with 13 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. His teammate Larry Sanders, not so much, as he almost scored on their own basket: 

Derrick Rose sprained his ankle in the first half of the game, continued to play, but left the contest later on. He had 20 points in 25 minutes before leaving. X-rays later on came back negative and Rose himself said he’ll be “fine.” However, it’s unsure if he’ll see action in Chicago’s game on Sunday, November 2 (PH time), against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Tristan Thompson had 12 offensive rebounds for the Cavs, including this one that led to the game-sealing dunk in overtime:

New Suns point guard Isaiah Thomas came off the bench and put up 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. The Suns took their first lead of the game at 88-87, and used a 10-0 run to go up 92-87, paving the way for the win.

Gay’s 40-point output was one shy of his career high in terms of scoring. 

Late in the fourth quarter, Kobe missed a turnaround fadeaway that could have given the Lakers a 113-112 lead. Later on, with the score at 114-111 in favor of the Clippers, Bryant missed a 3-pointer off a timeout. The Black Mamba finished with 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting.

Also, it’s clear the Lakers’ defense still needs work. Or actually realize what’s happening:

NBA Fantasy Line of the Day: LeBron James had 36 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block in the Cavs’ win against the Bulls. He went 14-of-30 from the field, hit a 3-pointer, made 7 of his 9 foul shots, turned the ball over only thrice (as compared to the 8 he had on Friday, October 31) and played 42 minutes. For anyone else, such numbers would be considered a career night. For the four-time NBA MVP, it was just another day in the books.

Highlight of the Day: The Lakers lost. They’re now 0-3. Their defense is horrendous. And even if it might still be early, they’ll likely not make the playoffs. But if Kobe Bryant continues to deliver highlights like this, then they will certainly be fun to watch, at the least: 

Special mention to LeBron for his roller coaster of a shot:

Financial assurance and future free agents (restricted): Friday evening, October 31 (US time) was the deadline for teams to ink their current fourth year players to extensions, otherwise risk them leaving via restricted free agency in the summer of 2015.

Alec Burks (Utah Jazz, four years, $42 million), Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors, four years, $72 million), and Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves, four years, $56 million) were all extended, while guys like Tristan Thompson, Norris Cole, Jimmy Butler, and Reggie Jackson weren’t, or didn’t agree to what was offered to them by their current teams. 

– Rappler.com