NBA wRap: Hayward buries LeBron, Cavs at the buzzer

MANILA, Philippines – Gordon Hayward outplayed LeBron James in key moments as the Jazz stun the Cavs; the slow and steady Grizzlies remain unbeaten; and Steph Curry wins the first round of his Western Conference point-guard battle against Chris Paul. This and more on the November 6 edition of the NBA wRap.

Orlando Magic (1-4) 91 – 89 Philadelphia 76ers (0-5)
ORL: Tobias Harris 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals
PHI: Tony Wroten 27 points, 8 assists, 5 steals

For the win: It looked as if the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic were close to going to overtime, but then Tobias Harris had other plans: 

Then again, this is what Philadelphia’s upper management probably wanted, since they’re tanking and all.

Fly, KJ, fly: 76ers rookie KJ McDaniels added another impressive collection to his reel of highlight dunks early in the NBA season. This time, however, was more electrifying: 

Charlotte Hornets (2-3) 96 – 89 Miami Heat (3-2)
CHA: Al Jefferson: 28 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks
MIA: Dwyane Wade: 25 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds

Bosh stays on point: Despite the loss, Heat center Chris Bosh continued his impressive start to the season by putting up 23 points and grabbing down 13 rebounds.
Effectiveness: Kemba Walker had 18 points but needed just 6 shot attempts to get there. He also registered 7 assists and 4 rebounds.

Toronto Raptors (4-1) 110 – 107 Boston Celtics (1-3)
TOR: Kyle Lowry 35 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
BOS: Rajon Rondo 13 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds

The rookie impresses: Boston rookie Marcus Smart had an impressive outing despite his team failing to win, putting up 12 points and hitting the clutch 3-ball that tied the game at 105-all.

Stat-sheet fillers: Celtics big men Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk had double-doubles in defeat. Sully had 19 points and 16 rebounds while Olynyk put up 18 and 13.

DeMar DeRozan, Celtic killer: With the game tied at 105-all, Boston had an opportunity to take the lead. However, they turned the ball over, leading to this emphatic, game-sealing dunk from DeMar DeRozan that put poor Kelly Olynyk on a poster,

Minnesota Timberwolves (2-2) 98 – 91 Brooklyn Nets (2-2)
MIN: Ricky Rubio 14 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds
BKN: Deron Williams 19 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds

Big Daddy… Brooklyn?: Second-year man Anthony Bennett recently said he didn’t mind being called “Big Daddy Canada,” in reference to him hailing from above the border.

But after this dunk against Brooklyn, maybe the Nets should start calling him “Big Daddy Brooklyn”: 

Scoring machines: Kevin Martin and Joe Johnson don’t do a lot of other things besides scoring the basketball, but they did that well in the game, combining for 48 points on 17-of-37 shooting.

Caption the photo contest: So, what’s Ricky Rubio saying here? Let us know in the comments section!

!!!! RT @pocketpewl: “@RandBall: Confused Ricky. pic.twitter.com/SZnuTYumBt” @talkhoops

— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) November 6, 2014

Detroit Pistons (1-3) 98 – 95 New York Knicks (2-3)
DET: Greg Monroe 23 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists
NYK: Amare Stoudemire 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists

Close enough: NYK rallied from a 17-point deficit by going on a fourth quarter rally, in which they outscored the Pistons 36-23. But they failed to tie the game in the final seconds as Iman Shumpert’s 76-foot heave fell short.

Jason Smith says, “NOPE”: Jason Smith has been a pleasant surprise for the Knicks this season. His jump shooting ability has been integral for their Triangle Offense, and at times, such as here, he can play a tad bit of defense too: 

Missing JR: JR Smith was unable to play vs. Detroit due to a suspension he attained for hitting Washington Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr. in the groin on Wednesday, November 5.

Chicago Bulls (4-1) 95 – 86 Milwaukee Bucks (2-3)
CHI: Pau Gasol 22 points, 14 rebounds, 1 block
MIL: Brandon Knight 10 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists

Greek Freak smash: Larry Sanders blocks the Bulls on defense, leading to this hammer throwdown by the Greek Freak: 

Don’t do that, D. Rose: Every time Derrick Rose falls, people are going to get scared. Whether its his knees, ankles, or anything else, there will be a cringe when Rose hits the floor. Just like here:

Washington Wizards (4-1) 96 – 94 Indiana Pacers (1-4)
WAS: John Wall 31 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds
IND: Donald Sloan 31 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds

Shaky decision-making: With the Pacers down two and a few seconds remaining left in OT, they decided to go for a 3-pointer to try and snatch the win. Nothing wrong with that. Except they had Roy Hibbert take the 3. It didn’t go in. Washington won.

San Antonio Spurs (2-1) 94 – 92 Atlanta Hawks (1-2)
SAS: Tim Duncan 17 points, 13 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4 assists, 3 steals
ATL: Paul Millsap 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists

Close call: After leading by double digits for most of the first half, the Spurs let the Hawks hang around in the second half and eventually allowed Atlanta to take a one-point lead thanks to an Al Horford jumper. Moments later, Jeff Teague tied the game at 92-all but Manu Ginobili was fouled with 2 seconds left. He made both, and Atlanta failed to hit the game-winner in the subsequent play.

Utah Jazz (2-3) 102 -100 Cleveland Cavaliers (1-3)
UTA: Derrick Favors 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
CLE: LeBron James 31 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds

Hayward dominates LeBron: During the offseason, Gordon Hayward, in a way, said he could dominate LeBron James one on one. It wasn’t exactly that way on Thursday, but Hayward had a lot of notable moments against James.

Like when he chase down blocked LeBron: 

When he crossed him up: 

And when he hit the game winner (notice how LeBron fell):

Justice prevails: With Utah up 100-97 and a few seconds to go, LeBron James tried to draw a foul on a 3-point attempt from Derrick Favors, who was shown going straight up rather than falling on James in the replay. The refs clearly made a mistake on the call, but awarded James the three FTs anyway, which he sunk. Nonetheless, Hayward made up for it in the following possession.

Pass the ball: Kyrie Irving had 0 assists. Cleveland, as a team, had 6. Gordon Hayward by himself had 7. Not good.

Memphis Grizzlies (5-0) 102 – 91 Phoenix Suns (3-2)
MEM: Mike Conley 24 points, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound
PHX: Eric Bledsoe 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

Slow and steady: The Grizzlies’ half-court offense got the better of the run-and-gun Suns. Memphis got ample contributions from their starting backcourt as Conley (24 points) and Courtney Lee (22 points) combined for 7/9 shooting from the three-point area.

Gone Dragic?: Goran Dragic stuggled in the game scoring only 6 points on 3/9 shooting. Bledsoe led Phoenix with 23 points but turned the ball over 9 times.

Sacramento Kings (4-1) 131-109 Denver Nuggets (1-3)
SAC: DeMarcus Cousins 30 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
DEN: Ty Lawson 13 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals

Over early: The Kings finished the opening period with 40 points, and Cousins scored 26 of his game-high 30 points in the first half. Rudy Gay added 29 points for Sacramento who’s on a 4-game winning streak for their first 4-1 start since 2001-2002 season.

Slow starters: Denver starters couldn’t get it going. Lawson and Wilson Chandler scored 13 apiece and the Nuggets also got 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists off the bench from Randy Foye but they simply couldn’t keep up with the Kings in this game.

Golden State Warriors (3-0) 121 – 104 LA Clippers (3-1)
GSW: Stephen Curry 28 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
LAC: Chris Paul 15 points, 12 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds

On Target: The Spash Brothers were on target on this game combining for 47 points on 7/12 shooting from downtown. Forward Draymond Green also played extremely well for the Warriors scoring 24 points with 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block, 1 steal on 8/13 shooting from the field.

Super Sub: Jamaal Crawford led the Clippers in scoring with 24 points while center DeAndre Jordan added 17 points and 13 rebounds. Power forward Blake Griffin was held out of the paint as he hauled down only one rebound.

Stat line of the night: Big Fundamentals Tim Duncan continues to do damage even with his advance age. Today he stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks, and 3 steals as the defending champs Spurs took a slim win over the Atlanta Hawks.

– Rappler.com

i