NBA betting results and game round ups for the games played on Saturday 31st December 2022, including a big odds upsets as Miami beat favoured Utah and Detroit comfortably hold off Minnesota.
All odds provided are courtesy of PlayUp, Australia's best NBA sportbook.
Brooklyn Nets 123, Charlotte Hornets 106
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Brooklyn Nets, odds 1.40
Line: Brooklyn Nets (-6.5), odds 1.92
Total Points: Under (237.5), odds 1.93
CHARLOTTE. N.C. (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 18 of his 28 points in the first half, Kevin Durant added 23 points and the Brooklyn Nets ran their winning streak to 11, beating the Charlotte Hornets 123-106 on Saturday night.
Brooklyn never trailed and led by 10 points in the first quarter, 15 in the second, 18 in the third and 22 in the fourth to improve to 24-12.
“We held them to 22 points in the first quarter, so we put our stamp on the game in a hurry,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “I think we were able to use or rotations and depth to extends our leads a little bit.
“We wanted to come out with the right mindset, which we did.
Royce O’Neale and Nic Claxton added 14 points apiece for Brooklyn, Yuta Watanabe had 11 and T.J. Warren 10.
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LaMelo Ball had 23 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists for Charlotte. Mason Plumlee added 22 points. The Hornets dropped to 10-27.
After Charlotte cut it to 71-65 early in the third quarter, Irving and Durant combined to score 11 of the Nets’ next 13 points and sparked Brooklyn’s 28-14 surge for a 97-79 lead entering the fourth quarter.
“We knew that this team could get hot,” Durant said about Charlotte. “They hit some 3s there in the first half so we knew they could get hot there in the third quarter. And they did. They cut it to six.
“We’ve been in this position before so we knew what to do. And the first play out of the timeout, we executed and finished with a win.”
Plumlee said Hornets coach Steve Clifford’s discussed in pregame about how well the Nets had been playing — and some nothing to change his mind.
“Coach said they were the hottest team in the league right now,” Plumlee said. “So we knew that. And I thought we did pretty well after that first quarter.”
TIP-INS
Nets: Guard/forward Joe Harris missed his fourth straight game Saturday because of soreness in his left knee.
Hornets: Charlotte coach Steve Clifford had no timetable for Kelly Oubre Jr. to return to his lineup. Oubre missed his second game out of three Saturday with a sprained left hand.
UP NEXT
Nets: Host San Antonio on Monday night.
Hornets: Host Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
New York Knicks 108, Houston Rockets 88
Betting Results:
Head to Head: New York Knicks, odds 1.55
Line: New York Knicks (-3.5), odds 1.88
Total Points: Under (222.5), odds 1.92
HOUSTON (AP) — Julius Randle scored 35 points and Immanuel Quickley added 27 as the New York Knicks snapped a five-game skid with a 108-88 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
“It’s the nature of the league,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You win eight in a row and then you have some tough losses … that’s part of it. How do you respond to it? We took a haymaker … and we bounced back.”
The Rockets led for most of the first half, but the Knicks went on top just before the break and lead by double-digits for most of the second half.
Houston cut the lead to eight points on a basket by Tari Eason with about nine minutes to go before the Knicks scored the next seven points, capped by a 3 from Evan Fournier that made it 91-76.
The Rockets scored the next four points, but New York answered with an 8-0 run, with 3s from Quickley and Quentin Grimes, to extend the lead to 99-80 with about four minutes to go.
Thibodeau was asked how his team bounced back after falling behind early.
“I thought our ball pressure was a lot better which led to turnovers that got us in the open floor,” he said. “Guys played very hard and very unselfishly.”
Kevin Porter Jr. had 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Rockets, who have dropped three in a row. Houston opened the game strong, scoring 35 points in the first quarter, but had a terrible second, managing just 14 points to allow the Knicks to close the gap.
The Rockets had 24 turnovers and made just 6 of 34 3-pointers after hitting 8 of their first 12.
“It's hard to win with (24) turnovers as a team,” Porter said.
Houston veteran Eric Gordon was asked if he's seen improvement from the team since the beginning of the season.
“There's no improvement,” he said.
Randle had 12 rebounds and six assists and Quickley had seven assists and five rebounds before they both sat down for good with about two minutes left.
Quickley has been great filling in for injured star Jalen Brunson. He had a career-high 15 assists in his first start for Brunson and scored a career-best 36 points in his second start Thursday before turning in another strong performance Saturday.
“It wasn’t what he did for himself, but what he did for our team,” Thibodeau said. “That was really valuable for us.”
A 7-1 run by the Knicks extended the lead to 76-62 late in the third quarter. Porter and Jalen Green then made consecutive 3-pointers to start an 8-1 run that got Houston within 7. But New York scored the last five points of the third, with a 3 from Grimes, to take an 82-70 lead into the fourth.
RANDLE'S MONTH
Randle's performance Saturday capped a fabulous month in which he had seven games with at least 30 points.
“He’s just had a monster month,” Thibodeau said. “We’re asking him to do a lot, too. He’s scoring, he’s passing, he’s rebounding.”
TIP-INS
Knicks: Brunson missed his third straight game with a hip injury. … RJ Barrett missed a second straight game with a lacerated right index finger. …Grimes had 19 points. ... Mitchell Robinson had 12 rebounds.
Rockets: Alperen Sengun was a late scratch with lower back pain. … Green added 16 points. ... Gordon had 12. ... Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. scored 10. ... Eason had nine points and 13 rebounds off the bench.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Phoenix on Monday night.
Rockets: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Dallas Mavericks 126, San Antonio Spurs 125
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Dallas Mavericks, odds 1.32
Line: San Antonio Spurs (+7.5), odds 1.91
Total Points: Over (231.5), odds 1.93
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Dallas superstar Luka Doncic capped off a historic five-game run with 51 points and the Mavericks needed all of it to beat the San Antonio Spurs.
Doncic had two rebounds and two free throws in the final 4.5 seconds, helping Dallas escape with a 126-125 victory over San Antonio on Saturday night for their sixth straight victory.
It was the third 50-point outing in the past five games for Doncic, including 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists Tuesday night in an overtime victory over New York. He’s the first player in NBA history with 250 points, 50 rebounds, and 50 assists over a five-game span.
“It’s incredible,” Mavericks center Christian Wood said. “In my seven years in the league, I’ve never seen anybody do what he’s able to do. He’s on an incredible run. He’s playing like an MVP. Clearly one of the best players in the league.”
Wood added 25 points in Dallas’ fifth straight victory over San Antonio.
Keldon Johnson had 30 points for Sam Antonio, Jeremy Sochan added 20 and Jakob Poeltl had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
After leading by 17 points, the Mavericks had to scramble in the final minute.
San Antonio guard Tre Jones was fouled by Dallas forward Davis Bertans after Jones intentionally missed the second of two free throws with the Spurs trailing 126-124. Jones then made the first free throw, but missed the second.
Doncic missed two free throws with 1.5 seconds to keep San Antonio from attempting a game-winning shot.
“Not easy to win here,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “But, again, Luka was incredible. He bails us out again by missing the free throws as much as he wanted to make those free throws down the stretch, so that they didn’t have time to set up a play.”
Jones finished with 18 points.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich jokingly vowed that Doncic would be held under 50 points. The Mavericks star almost played along.
“No, I just wanted to get a win,” Doncic said of his 51-point outing.
But 51 points was nice, right?
“Of course,” Doncic said with a huge smile.
The 6-foot-7 forward was stuck on 49 points for half the fourth quarter but made two free throws with 4.5 seconds to reach 50 points for the fourth time in his career
Doncic dominated San Antonio with his usual array of step-back, mid-range jumpers, 3-pointers and free throws. He was 18 for 28 from the field.
“Yeah, we had a good team effort and individual effort on him, but he’s an amazing player,” Popovich said. “His IQ is off the charts. So, we would rather win than lose like everybody else in the world, but (I’m) really proud of their effort and the way they just kept going even after we got down whatever it was, 13, 14, I can’t remember.”
Doncic had 22 points in the first quarter along with an assist, accounting for all but eight of the Mavericks’ points in the opening period.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Doncic averaged 35.1 points in December, the highest scoring in any month in franchise history. Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki had two 50-point games in his career. Doncic also has scored 40 points in 23 games, one more than Mavericks star Mark Aguirre. … Dallas is 6-11 on the road. … Bertans was honored prior to the game as part of the Spurs’ 50th anniversary celebration. Bertans spent his first three seasons in the NBA with San Antonio before being traded to Washington in 2019.
Spurs: Johnson has scored 30 points in five games this season and eight in his career. … G Devin Vassell missed his second straight game with a sore left knee he suffered Tuesday at Oklahoma City. Vassell has missed seven games this season. … Sochan has scored double-figures in 15 games this season, the most by a Spurs rookie since Kawhi Leonard had 25 in 2012.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: At Houston on Monday night.
Spurs: At Brooklyn on Monday night.
LA Clippers 130, Indiana Pacers 131
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Indiana Pacers, odds 2.35
Line: Indiana Pacers (+3.5), odds 1.88
Total Points: Over (231.5), odds 1.93 - by miles!
Cleveland Cavaliers 103, Chicago Bulls 102
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Cleveland Cavaliers, odds 1.55
Line: Chicago Bulls (+4.5), odds 1.93
Total Points: Under (224.5), odds 1.93
Detroit Pistons 116, Minnesota Timberwolves 104
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Detroit Pistons, odds 3.75 - big odds upset!
Line: Detroit Pistons (+7.5), odds 1.93 - huge margin!
Total Points: Under (231.5), odds 1.93
Philadelphia 76ers 115, Oklahoma City Thunder 96
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Philadelphia 76ers, odds 1.52
Line: Philadelphia 76ers (-5.5), odds 1.93
Total Points: Under (231.5), odds 1.92 - by some distance!
New Orleans Pelicans 101, Memphis Grizzlies 116
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Memphis Grizzlies, odds 1.42
Line: Memphis Grizzlies (-5.5), odds 1.88
Total Points: Under (233.5), odds 1.93
Miami Heat 126, Utah Jazz 123
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Miami Heat, odds 2.40 - another big outsider win
Line: Miami Heat (+5.5), odds 1.88
Total Points: Over (225.5), odds 1.91 - by a huge amount!
All betting results and odds provided by PlayUp, Australia's best NBA sportsbook.
By Richard Walker, Kristie Rieken, Raul Dominguez, The Associated Press and DJ Arthurs | 01/01/23
Follow DJ Arthurs on Twitter at @DJArthursJourno
