Portland big man Duop Reath was one of the lone bright spots for the Trail Blazers in their 134-110 loss to the Lakers on Monday (AEDT).
Reath is in the top ten among rookies in points, rebounds and three pointers made this season, but he’s been especially impressive in January, averaging around 15 ppg and 7rpg.
His form has forced Trail Blazer fans to call for his promotion into the starting side over Deandre Ayton, who has been hot and cold at best for the struggling franchise this season.
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With Portland sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference, it wouldn’t be the worst idea for coach Chauncy Billups to give more minutes to some of his younger players like Reath.
0-2 SINCE BLOCKBUSTER TRADE, BUT SIGNS ARE THERE IT WAS RIGHT MOVE FOR PACERS
The Indiana Pacers have lost four of their five and are now 0-2 since former Toronto Raptors forward and All-Star Pascal Siakam joined the line up, with the latest loss a 117-110 defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Suns.
The Pacers executed a huge deal last week which saw them part ways with three first round picks and the versatile Bruce Brown to acquire Siakam – a two-time All Star and dual All-NBA team selection.
Siakam had 18 points and seven assists in the loss to the Suns, which saw the Pacers drop to seventh in the Eastern Conference with their 24-19 record.
Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton returned from a hamstring injury in the loss against the lowly Trail Blazers – Siakam’s first game as a Pacer – but he was managed and didn’t suit up for the Phoenix clash.
While the trade hasn’t had an immediate effect, it’s clear Siakam’s game is what this Pacers team needs to go from being a good team to a very good team.
Siakam has already shown he is going to be an important cog not only offensively, but defensively as well.
With the Pacers struggling mightily on that side of the ball, anything Siakam can add either playing at power forward or centre will help.
NETS’ SHOCK COLLAPSE AS RUSS EXPLODES
Russell Westbrook came up big to help the LA Clippers pull off a stunning late comeback win over the Brooklyn Nets 125-114 at Crypto.com Arena.
Down by 15 going into the fourth quarter and trailing by 18 at one stage during the period, LA raced home with a 41-15 final stanza including holding the Nets scoreless in the final five and a half minutes in a wild collapse from the visitors.
Westbrook racked up 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and six assists with a team-high nine rebounds and as a team-high +22 plus/minus off the bench in one of his best outings for the season, particularly since the Clippers acquired James Harden.
Harden had 24 points and dished out 10 assists and Kawhi Leonard added 21 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Paul George’s shot was off, going 5-of-17 from the field for 12 points.
With it, the Clippers improved to 27-14 overall and 2-1 since Ivica Zubac’s injury as they navigate a tricky period without their starting centre from Croatia.
It also created greater separation between the top four seeds in the West – Minnesota (30-12), OKC (29-13), Denver (30-14) and the Clippers – to the rest of the conference, with New Orleans (25-18) sitting three games behind in the fifth seed.
Mikal Bridges top-scored for Brooklyn with 26 and Cam Thomas chipped in 20 points and six assists off the bench.
The Nets, who were coming off a big upset win over the Lakers, split their trip to LA 1-1 to fall to 17-25 on the season.
Ben Simmons travelled with the team on its three-game road trip against Portland and both LA teams as the Aussie slowly ramps up his return from a back injury that’s sidelined him since early November.
JOKER GOES OFF FOR 42 AND 12
Nikola Jokic stuffed the stat sheet with 42 points and 12 rebounds as the Nuggets cruised to a 113-104 road win over the Washington Wizards.
Jokic, who had 26 points in the first half alone, shot 15-of-20 from the field – continually punishing the Wizards in the paint – and 12-of-14 from the free throw line and had eight assists, and remarkably, no turnovers.
Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr added 19 points apiece for Denver, who improved to 20-14 to sit just a game behind the Wolves in the first seed in the West.
It marked a fourth-straight loss for the Wizards, whose 7-35 record is the second-worst in the NBA only to the Pistons.
ALL RESULTS
NETS 114 CLIPPERS 125
NUGGETS 113 WIZARDS 104
HEAT 87 MAGIC 105
CELTICS 116 – ROCKETS 107
PACERS 110 – 117 SUNS
TRAIL BLAZERS 110 – LAKERS 134
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