Baba Miller scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the Los Angeles Clippers' 122-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets. In Dallas, Sergio de Larrea led the Mavericks in minutes and Jorge Díaz-Graham made his debut in a loss to the Pelicans. Giannis Antetokounmpo came one assist shy of a triple-double with the Heat, and Wembanyama led the Spurs.
Baba Miller Makes the Most of His Opportunity
Baba Miller made the most of his minutes in the Los Angeles Clippers' final preseason game. The power forward scored 15 points on 5-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range in the victory over the Denver Nuggets at Intuit Dome (122-110). He was one of the key pieces of a bench unit that kept the team afloat when the Nuggets made their late push.
https://youtu.be/HWSPGNOugCs?si=YehcbDQm6KRTiI4G
The game was tied at halftime (58-55) and broke open in the third quarter, which the Clippers won 38-26 to enter the fourth up 96-81. Denver responded with 29 points in the final period and closed to 104-94, but the Los Angeles bench sealed the victory. Rui Hachimura led the Clippers with 16 points and 3-of-3 from three. Darius Garland added 14 points and 7 assists, and Derrick Jones Jr. chipped in 14. The Clippers distributed 35 assists and made 15 of 33 three-pointers. For the Nuggets, Julian Strawther scored 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting and Cam Whitmore added 17. Nikola Jokic played just 17 minutes and finished with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
Read also:
- Sergio de Larrea Makes Mavericks Debut Against Rockets in Macao
- Mavericks 132-115 Rockets: De Larrea and Irving in Macao
- NBA Preseason Recap: Jokic and Harden
De Larrea Leads, Díaz-Graham Makes Debut
In Dallas, the Mavericks fell 97-101 to the New Orleans Pelicans, but the game brought good news for Spanish basketball. Sergio de Larrea led his team in minutes (30) and delivered a complete performance: 10 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal, on 3-of-6 shooting and 2-of-3 from three. Jorge Díaz-Graham, who signed his Exhibit 10 contract on Tuesday, made his debut with 5 points, 3 rebounds and an assist in 12 minutes, though he missed all three three-point attempts and made 3 of 6 free throws. Santi Aldama did not play.
https://youtu.be/U0r0P0EvVoQ?si=pvAvP3XhjOErFiw8
The Mavericks' problem was their shooting: 35.7% from the field and just 10 of 49 from three. Tobi Lawal and John Poulakidas, two of the players on two-way contracts, led the team with 16 points each, and Seth Lundy added 13.
Giannis One Assist Away from Triple-Double
In Miami, Giannis Antetokounmpo continued to show how quickly he's adapting to the Heat. He recorded 20 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 blocks in just 24 minutes on 8-of-10 shooting, and the Heat outscored opponents by 15 points during his time on the floor. Erik Spoelstra's Heat defeated the Brooklyn Nets 144-128 without Bam Adebayo, who rested and was replaced in the starting lineup by Nick Richards.
https://youtu.be/FbN9-0PvDk4?si=2ALc9K7ToaTqumKp
Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 14, Davion Mitchell 13 and Klay Thompson and Bobby Portis each had 12. Miami shot 56% from the field, won the rebounding battle 50-37 and improved to 3-1 in the preseason.
Wembanyama and the Spurs' New Trio
The San Antonio Spurs dominated the Phoenix Suns 123-103 in a game that debuted a new perimeter trio of De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle. Victor Wembanyama finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks in 23 minutes on 9-of-14 shooting with several alley-oops. Castle added 18 points on 14-of-15 free throw shooting and a +24 plus-minus. Off the bench, Carter Bryant scored 16 on 4-of-7 from three.
https://youtu.be/HoCSia9-hho?si=cfV6mfFrMBfZ0LFj
The Suns won the first quarter (22-23), but a 38-26 second quarter and 32 points in the third put the game away (92-75). Phoenix went 7-of-31 from three and turned the ball over 15 times. Jamaree Bouyea (15 points and 8 assists) and Ryan Dunn (15 points on 6-of-6 shooting) were their best performers.
Duren Returns in Style
Jalen Duren returned from injury with 24 points as the Detroit Pistons routed the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center 106-128. The center connected well with Cade Cunningham in pick-and-roll situations and threw an alley-oop to Ausar Thompson on a fast break. The Pistons dominated in the paint (64-30 in points in the paint), won the rebounding battle by 12 and made 11 of 25 three-pointers. Duncan Robinson scored 15 points on 4-of-5 from three, Isaiah Joe and Cunningham each added 14 and John Collins chipped in 11. Detroit improved to 2-1 in the preseason.
Bulls Dominate in Milwaukee
The Chicago Bulls won 104-125 on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks. They started with a 9-0 run, with three-pointers from Norman Powell, Jalen Smith and Matas Buzelis, and though the Bucks answered with a 10-0 run, the first quarter ended 15-24. A Caleb Wilson three-pointer at the buzzer made it 39-62 at halftime. In the third quarter, Buzelis hit back-to-back threes, including one off a behind-the-back pass from Josh Giddey, and the score reached 78-102.
Buzelis finished with 19 points and 5-of-7 from three, Leonard Miller added 18 points and 7 rebounds, and Giddey came close to a triple-double with 6 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds. The Bulls distributed 35 assists on 42 baskets. For the Bucks, Kam Jones led with 23 points, and 15th draft pick Dailyn Swain scored 4 points in the fourth quarter.
https://youtu.be/hjPuewRYSXo?si=w2F_pSMuv2WlcdYn
Celtics Remain Undefeated
The Boston Celtics defeated the Charlotte Hornets 114-93 and remain perfect in the preseason (3-0). Jayson Tatum led the team with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 29 minutes, with 11 of those points coming in the first quarter. Payton Pritchard, who just renewed his contract, distributed 11 assists without a turnover. Boston's defense forced 30 turnovers from the Hornets, with 16 steals (4 from Derrick White), and the team dominated the paint 56-20.
The closing stretch belonged to Luka Garza. He entered with an eight-point lead with 8:46 remaining and scored two three-pointers and a dunk off a steal in a 22-9 closing run. Neemias Queta added 16 points off the bench and Garza finished with 14. For the Hornets, Brandon Miller scored 16 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.