The Nets are undefeated in their new home thanks to Brook Lopez, who scored 27 points. He used his size to get Jonas Valanciunas in early foul trouble, then his speed to beat Aaron Gray, after Toronto coach Dwane Casey showed his prize rookie some tough love at the end of the bench. Deron Williams (19 PTS, 9 AST) did a nice job of facilitating, and C.J. Watson got 28 minutes; he’s the backup PG but played off the ball with D-Will quite a bit and could be a nice pickup.
For the Raptors, it was mostly Kyle Lowry — 28 PTS, 8 AST, 8 REB, 3 STL, 1 BLK — with DeMar DeRozan adding 25 points but as usual, not much else. Andrea Bargnani was quiet (13) and Landry Fields continues to be a huge disappointment, with 2 points in 22 minutes. Nice guy, though, and set for life with that $20 million.
Other November 3 Games
BOS @ WAS: Thanks to Paul Pierce (27 PTS) and Rajon Rondo (12 PTS, 12 AST, 5 REB, 2 STL) the Celtics were able to hold off the Wizards. Rookie Jared Sullinger got the start at PF ; Brandon Bass came off the bench and both were quiet. Jason Terry played only 17:26 and Jeff Green, who fooled me into drafting him with some huge preseason games, got just 16 minutes.
After starting 1-14 from the field with just 12 points in the first quarter, the Wiz made a game of it. Their starting five combined for 24 points. Kevin Seraphin was a welcome addition; in 28:34 off the bench, he hit 8 of 9 shots for 19 points, adding a block and 7 rebounds. The young Frenchman is better than Emeka Okafor and worth an add in many leagues. Jordan Crawford (21 PTS in 25 minutes) helped key the comeback.
DEN @ MIA: Finally, the Nuggets broke 90, but they remain winless. Kenneth Faried (22 PTS, 12 REB) got to play 36 minutes, Andre Iguodala (22) knocked down a few shots and the only three bench players George Karl used all scored in double digits. JaVale McGee (18 PTS, 9 REB) and Andre Miller (17) are beginning to click. If not for Danilo Gallinari being off-target (just 3-17 including 1-9 from deep) Denver might have won.
For Miami, Chris Bosh was superb. Way too quick for Kosta Koufos to guard and too clever for McGee, Bosh scored 40 points on 15-22 shooting. Teammate LeBron James just missed a trip-dub with 20 PTS, 11 AST and 9 REB, and sixth man Ray Allen nailed six 3-pointers for 23 points.
POR @ HOU: It turns out that James Harden is only human after all. On a tender ankle, in the Rockets’ third game in four nights, he scored a mere 24 points. Houston got 13 PTS and 7 AST from Jeremy Lin and another 15 rebounds from Omer Asik before running out of gas in OT.
I’m still concerned about the Portland bench, which scored a total of six points, but as long as they stay healthy, the starting five is great to own. LaMarcus Aldridge (27 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST, 2 BLK) and rookie PG Damian Lillard (20 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST, only 3 TO) had excellent nights and Nicolas Batum produced a line full of fantasy goodness: 4 3PTM, 2 BLK, 9 REB, 4 AST and 6 STL to complement 17 points.