Hawks Look To Stay Hot Versus Heat
The Atlanta Hawks take on the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night.
The Hawks (2-1) have been one of the pleasant surprises of the Eastern Conference in the early going, and they gave the Philadelphia 76ers all they could handle Monday night before falling, 105-103, for their first loss of the campaign. Trae Young led the Hawks with 25 points, adding nine assists and four rebounds. John Collins supplied 16 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. De'Andre Hunter turned in 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one steal. Bruno Fernando led the bench with 11 points and four rebounds.
The Hawks will likely continue to be without Allen Crabbe (knee) and Chandler Parsons (knees) for Tuesday's contest.
Like their Tuesday opponents, the Heat (2-1) has also impressed early in the new season. Miami did suffer its first loss of the season in its most recent contest, however, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves by a 116-109 score on Sunday evening. Kendrick Nunn paced the Heat with 25 points, adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Duncan Robinson furnished 21 points, two rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Justise Winslow continued his strong start with 20 points, adding eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal. Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic generated matching 13-point tallies while pulling down nine and five rebounds, respectively.
The Heat will be without Derrick Jones, Jr. (groin), Dion Waiters (suspension/coach's decision) and James Johnson (conditioning/coach's decision) for Tuesday's contest, while Kelly Olynyk (quadriceps) will be listed as questionable. Udonis Haslem (wrist) will likely be listed as questionable at best.
The Hawks won the four-game 2018-19 season series between the clubs by a 3-1 margin.
The Hawks (2-1) have been one of the pleasant surprises of the Eastern Conference in the early going, and they gave the Philadelphia 76ers all they could handle Monday night before falling, 105-103, for their first loss of the campaign. Trae Young led the Hawks with 25 points, adding nine assists and four rebounds. John Collins supplied 16 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. De'Andre Hunter turned in 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one steal. Bruno Fernando led the bench with 11 points and four rebounds.
The Hawks will likely continue to be without Allen Crabbe (knee) and Chandler Parsons (knees) for Tuesday's contest.
Like their Tuesday opponents, the Heat (2-1) has also impressed early in the new season. Miami did suffer its first loss of the season in its most recent contest, however, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves by a 116-109 score on Sunday evening. Kendrick Nunn paced the Heat with 25 points, adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Duncan Robinson furnished 21 points, two rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Justise Winslow continued his strong start with 20 points, adding eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal. Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic generated matching 13-point tallies while pulling down nine and five rebounds, respectively.
The Heat will be without Derrick Jones, Jr. (groin), Dion Waiters (suspension/coach's decision) and James Johnson (conditioning/coach's decision) for Tuesday's contest, while Kelly Olynyk (quadriceps) will be listed as questionable. Udonis Haslem (wrist) will likely be listed as questionable at best.
The Hawks won the four-game 2018-19 season series between the clubs by a 3-1 margin.
Nuggets Looking To Remain Undefeated
By Dan Bruno
The Denver Nuggets play host to the Dallas Mavericks, at Pepsi Center on Tuesday evening.
This marks the second game of a back-to-back for the Nuggets (3-0), as they are coming off a win in Sacramento on Monday night. The Nuggets have won three straight to start their season, including two games on the road and one at home. They have topped 100 points in all three wins and have won by an average margin of 5.3 points. Jamal Murray has been great so far and is averaging 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Nikola Jokic tallied at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in his first two contests, including a triple-double in his second outing, but was a slightly quieter on Monday, with nine points, 13 rebounds and two assists. The Nuggets have had at least four player score in double figures in each of their wins.
Meanwhile, after starting their season with two straight wins, the Mavericks (2-1) fell short at home against the Trail Blazers in their most recent outing. The Mavs have scored an average of 116.7 points per game, while they have allowed an average of 112.3 points against. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis have shown to be a dangerous duo, as they have led the Mavericks in each contest so far. Doncic has totaled 88 points over his first three games, along with one triple-double and one double-double. Porzingis has totaled 79 points and eight blocks over Dallas' first three games. Doncic was the high-point man in the first two games, while Porzingis led the way in their most recent contest. The Mavs have also had solid contributions from guys like Delon Wright, Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith.
This marks the second game of a back-to-back for the Nuggets (3-0), as they are coming off a win in Sacramento on Monday night. The Nuggets have won three straight to start their season, including two games on the road and one at home. They have topped 100 points in all three wins and have won by an average margin of 5.3 points. Jamal Murray has been great so far and is averaging 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Nikola Jokic tallied at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in his first two contests, including a triple-double in his second outing, but was a slightly quieter on Monday, with nine points, 13 rebounds and two assists. The Nuggets have had at least four player score in double figures in each of their wins.
Meanwhile, after starting their season with two straight wins, the Mavericks (2-1) fell short at home against the Trail Blazers in their most recent outing. The Mavs have scored an average of 116.7 points per game, while they have allowed an average of 112.3 points against. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis have shown to be a dangerous duo, as they have led the Mavericks in each contest so far. Doncic has totaled 88 points over his first three games, along with one triple-double and one double-double. Porzingis has totaled 79 points and eight blocks over Dallas' first three games. Doncic was the high-point man in the first two games, while Porzingis led the way in their most recent contest. The Mavs have also had solid contributions from guys like Delon Wright, Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Lakers Play Host to Grizzlies on Tuesday
The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center on Tuesday.
The Grizzlies (1-2) got their first victory on Sunday and it came in spectacular fashion. Memphis ended up getting a game-winning three-pointer from Jae Crowder in that overtime victory, adding to the Brooklyn Nets misery. What was really encouraging about that game was a career performance from Ja Morant. The stud rookie tallied 30 points, four rebounds and nine assists in that overtime victory and lines like that will become commonplace for the future superstar. He and Jaren Jackson pair up beautifully for the future and this franchise appears to be headed in the right direction after ridding themselves of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley over the last two years.
The Lakers (2-1) had everyone worried after a poor showing in the opener against the Los Angeles Clippers but the last two results have quieted those notions. A road win against the Utah Jazz was extremely impressive and it was followed up by a 19-point win over the Charlotte Hornets in their most recent game on Sunday. That's the Lakers team that fans were expected to see out of the gate and it's pretty clear that this is one of the most talented teams in the league. One huge surprise is the resurgence of Dwight Howard. In the win on Sunday, Howard went 8-of-8 from the field to finish with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks to lead the bench. If they continue to get that sort of play from Howard, this could be the team to beat in the West. That presence down low matched with the defensive prowess of Avery Bradley and Danny Green is impressive on its own but it's all about what King James and Anthony Davis bring to the table.
Memphis has actually won four of their last six games over Los Angeles dating back to last season.
The Grizzlies (1-2) got their first victory on Sunday and it came in spectacular fashion. Memphis ended up getting a game-winning three-pointer from Jae Crowder in that overtime victory, adding to the Brooklyn Nets misery. What was really encouraging about that game was a career performance from Ja Morant. The stud rookie tallied 30 points, four rebounds and nine assists in that overtime victory and lines like that will become commonplace for the future superstar. He and Jaren Jackson pair up beautifully for the future and this franchise appears to be headed in the right direction after ridding themselves of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley over the last two years.
The Lakers (2-1) had everyone worried after a poor showing in the opener against the Los Angeles Clippers but the last two results have quieted those notions. A road win against the Utah Jazz was extremely impressive and it was followed up by a 19-point win over the Charlotte Hornets in their most recent game on Sunday. That's the Lakers team that fans were expected to see out of the gate and it's pretty clear that this is one of the most talented teams in the league. One huge surprise is the resurgence of Dwight Howard. In the win on Sunday, Howard went 8-of-8 from the field to finish with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks to lead the bench. If they continue to get that sort of play from Howard, this could be the team to beat in the West. That presence down low matched with the defensive prowess of Avery Bradley and Danny Green is impressive on its own but it's all about what King James and Anthony Davis bring to the table.
Memphis has actually won four of their last six games over Los Angeles dating back to last season.