Betting results and game round ups for the five NBA games played on Saturday 7th January 2023, including Celtics winning at Spurs, another win for Bulls and Lakers.
Lakers and Magic both won at good odds. A $20 double would have returned $220!
All odds provided are courtesy of PlayUp, Australia's best NBA sportbook.
Boston Celtics 121, San Antonio Spurs 116
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Boston Celtics, odds 1.11
Line: San Antonio Spurs (+12.5), odds 1.92 - Celtics fail to beat the spread again
Total Points: Over (235.5), odds 1.93
#BleedGreen
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 34 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with 33 seconds left, Jaylen Brown added 29 and the Boston Celtics beat the San Antonio Spurs 121-116 on Saturday.
The reigning Eastern Conference champions maintained the NBA’s best record by winning for the sixth time in eight games.
“I’m actually glad the game went like that for us,” Boston interim coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We needed a game like that, to where it’s back and forth. Things aren’t going our way; they are going our way. You just don’t get a lot of those. It’s easier to say that because we won, but I’m happy the game went the way it did because we got to execute some stuff.”
And it gave Tatum an opportunity to close out a victory.
Tatum was serenaded with “MVP! MVP!” chants late in the first half while attempting a free throw. The All-Star rewarded the Celtics fans in attendance with his highest-scoring game since dropping 38 points against Houston on Dec. 27.
San Antonio had eight players score in double figures, including 18 points each from Josh Richardson, Zach Collins and Tre Jones.
San Antonio never led but remained close throughout despite being without injured starters Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Jakob Poeltl.
“Great game, couldn’t be more proud of them,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Jayson did it at the end of the game, (he) got us. But taking care of the ball, rebounding, playing with effort, I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. A great game for them to be participating in and to play the way they did. Lots of great contributions from everybody on the court and over time we will get everybody back.”
Richardson and fellow former Celtics player Romeo Langford forged a tie with 37 seconds remaining. Following a layup by Langford with 1:12 left, Richardson drained a 3-pointer that tied the game at 116.
Tatum followed with a step-back 13-footer to put Boston ahead and made the first of two free throws before intentionally missing the second to preserve the victory.
“Obviously they are an extremely well-coached team,” Tatum said. “Teams like that are dangerous. Kind of playing carefree, the pace that they play at. They don’t necessarily have an agenda, just pass, cut and try to get the best shot. Constant movement.”
Boston was forced to call a timeout four minutes into the third quarter after San Antonio opened the second half on a 13-3 run to close within 71-70. Jones had seven points in the run, including a three-point play after Derrick White was called for goaltending following a foul by Marcus Smart.
Tatum responded by making an open 3-pointer. San Antonio would again pull within a point at 79-78, but Brown responded with a three-point play.
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TIP-INS
Celtics: Smart exited the game in the third quarter after bumping knees with Collins on a screen. Smart told reporters after the game that X-rays were negative, but his status remains uncertain. … Boston had dropped two straight in San Antonio, last winning Nov. 9, 2019, at the AT&T Center. ... White was honored prior to being announced in the starting lineup. White spent his first 4 1/2 seasons with the Spurs after being drafted 29th in 2017 out of Colorado. San Antonio traded White to Boston on Feb. 10 for Richardson, Langford and a first-round pick they used to select Blake Wesley 25th in 2022.
Spurs: Vassell will undergo arthroscopic left knee surgery Jan. 11 in New York. Popovich said Vassell will likely not return until after the All-Star Game, which is Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City. … Johnson sat out after suffering a strained left hamstring during the first half of Friday’s victory against Detroit. … Poeltl missed the game with bursitis in his Achilles heel.
WELCOME HOME
White was honored with a video highlighting his time in San Antonio, which drew thunderous applause.
“I was extremely thankful for it,” White said. “I always had great times here and the crowd was amazing. I was just extremely thankful and grateful for it, for them to do that for me.”
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Chicago on Monday.
Spurs: At Memphis on Monday.
Sacramento Kings 134, LA Lakers 136
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Los Angeles Lakers, odds 3.50 - big odds!
Line: Los Angeles Lakers (+7.5), odds 1.92
Total Points: Over (242.5), odds 1.90 - by a long long way
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — LeBron James scored 37 points, Dennis Schroder made two free throws with 3.6 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 136-134 on Saturday night for their fifth straight victory.
“Trending in the right direction and learning from our mistakes,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “At the end of the day, everything we have gone through I think has been a huge education for us. We are trending in the right direction currently.”
De’Aaron Fox had 34 points and nine assists for Sacramento. He missed a halfcourt shot at the buzzer.
Schroder finished with 27 points to help the Lakers improve to 19-21 with their sixth victory in seven games.
James also had eight rebounds and seven assists. He drew Domantas Sabonis’ sixth foul with 48.1 seconds left and converted the shot and free throw to give the Lakers a one-point lead.
Thomas Bryant added 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers.
“It says a lot about the confidence,” Bryant said. “Strong resiliency that we try and bring each and every night out. I know each and every last one of those guys are proud of each other out there.”
Sabonis had 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Harrison Barnes scored 18 points and Kevin Huerter had 17.
“Bottom line is we have to figure out somehow, someway to stop people,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “Defensively we are not good, at all.”
TIP-INS
Lakers: Los Angeles ruled out G Lonnie Walker lV (left knee tendinitis), G Austin Reaves (left hamstring strain) and F Troy Brown Jr. (left quad strain) before the game. F Anthony Davis remains out with right foot soreness. … Lakers coach Darvin Ham received a technical foul with 11:03 left in the second quarter. …James got a technical foul with 6:26 left in the first half.
Kings: G Malik Monk was ruled out with a calf injury. Sacramento coach Mike Brown said pregame it was Brown’s decision to sit Monk. … All five Kings starters scored in double-digits for the 13th time this season.
UP NEXT
Lakers: At Denver on Monday night.
Kings: Host Orlando on Monday night.
New Orleans Pelicans 117, Dallas Mavericks 127
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Dallas Mavericks, odds 1.35
Line: Dallas Mavericks (-7.5), odds 1.95
Total Points: Over (226.5), odds 1.91 - surprisingly high total for a Mavs game
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season, Christian Wood added 28 points and the Dallas Mavericks outlasted the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans 127-117 on Saturday night.
Dallas raced to a 34-15 lead after one quarter. Wood took charge early, scoring nine of the Mavericks’ first 13 points. Doncic started slowly, then had his team’s final 11 points to finish the period with 14 points.
Doncic didn’t pretend that he wasn’t aware of his triple double. “I mean, they are right there on the board, so I am very aware,” he said.
The Pelicans — who have lost four of five — missed all nine 3-point attempts in the first quarter, when New Orleans made just 6 of 26 field goal attempts.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 18 points for Dallas, Jaden Hardy had 15 and Spencer Dinwiddie 12. The Mavericks have won eight of nine games.
The 20-year-old Hardy has had two of his three 15-point games this season in the last two games. He has averaged better than 28 points in the G League,
Hardy matched his career high wth 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Hardy has scored 15 points in consecutive games, shooting 70.6% from the field.
“He’s improved in every area,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s worked extremely hard. He’s learning what it means to be a pro. You can see the product on the floor in the sense that he’s not scared. He’s a young man surrounded by a megastar, and he feels like he fits right in. That’s kind of cool.”
Said Hardy: “That’s just me staying true to my work and hours I put in the gym, and sticking to it. Doing the same thing I do in my workouts. Not being scared of anybody, just hoopin’. I’ve been doing this my whole life.”
New Orleans played without its three leading scorers — Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.
Jonas Valanciunas had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans. Naji Marshall scored 24 points and Herbert Jones had 16. Valanciunas was questionable to start the game because of a sprained
TIP-INS
Pelicans: New Orleans dressed just 12 players. Williamson missed his third game because of a strained right hamstring. The Pelicans sat McCollum to rest on the second half of a back-to-back. Brandon Ingram (toe contusion) and Larry Nance Jr. (shoulder) also did not play.
Mavericks: Doncic got his 10th technical foul of the season with 1:07 left in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: At Washington on Monday night.
Mavericks: At Oklahoma City on Sunday night.
Orlando Magic 115, Golden State Warriors 101
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Orlando Magic, odds 3.00 - big odds win
Line: Orlando Magic (+6.5), odds 1.87
Total Points: Under (232.5), odds 1.88
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Just when the defending champion Warriors welcomed back some reinforcements, Klay Thompson’s surgically repaired left knee required a break.
Paolo Banchero scored 25 points, Franz Wagner added 24 points and the Orlando Magic beat Golden State 115-101 on Saturday night as the Warriors dropped consecutive home games for the first time this season.
The Magic won on the Warriors’ home floor for the first time in more than 10 years.
Anthony Lamb scored a career-high 26 points with five 3s off the bench for Golen State, 14 of those in the opening quarter with four 3s. Jordan Poole had 21 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 15 points and eight rebounds and the Warriors lost a second straight following a season-best five-game winning streak and six-game unbeaten stretch at Chase Center. It ended on Saddiq Bey’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer for Detroit in a 122-119 victory Wednesday night.
All-Star Andrew Wiggins returned and veteran Andre Iguodala made his long-awaited season debut but Thompson was a late scratch with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. He warmed up and was announced with the starters during pregame introductions.
“It got sore during warmups and the training staff looked at him and for precautionary reasons kept him out of the game,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Wiggins scored 12 in 19 minutes coming back from a 15-game absence for both a strained muscle in his right upper leg and a non-COVID illness that delayed his expected return — including missing his bobblehead night Wednesday.
Stephen Curry missed his 11th straight game with a partially dislocated left shoulder but could return this coming week — the hope is Friday at San Antonio to begin a five-game road trip.
Iguodala had yet to play as the Warriors took a conservative approach with the 38-year-old veteran managing a left hip injury. He received a warm ovation when checking in for the first time at the 7:28 mark of the first and each other moment, finishing at 12 minutes.
“It was unbelievable. Being able to play with Iggy and Wiggs was awesome,” said two-way player Lamb, who felt the Warriors started nice runs but couldn’t sustain them by making enough defensive stops.
Cole Anthony added 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Wendell Carter Jr. contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds for Orlando.
“They took it to us all night, they were the more aggressive team,” Kerr said. “It felt like they were coming down hill at us and we just didn’t have much of a response. We couldn’t get the crowd into it, couldn’t generate much momentum so I just felt like they controlled the whole game.”
Magic center Moritz Wagner returned from a three-game absence, one of those he was ill then a two-game suspension for his part in an altercation with the Pistons at Detroit on Dec. 28.
KERR’S HELPER
A 12-year-old boy from North Carolina named Braxton Barefoot fulfilled a dream to be an NBA coach helping out Kerr through Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Barefoot, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, wore the same outfit as Golden State’s coaching staff and sat in on media sessions. The Warriors and Magic are his favorite teams.
TIP-INS
Magic: Orlando hadn’t won in the Bay Area since beating the Warriors 102-94 on Dec. 3, 2012, snapping a nine-game skid. ... The Magic were outrebounded 49-44.
Warriors: The Warriors were 18 of 58 from long range. ... Iguodala was limited to 31 regular-season games last season so Golden State’s staff wants to make sure he is still fresh for another playoff run this spring. ... The Warriors have lost the last three in the series and dropped to 8-3 at home vs. the Eastern Conference.
UP NEXT
Magic: At Sacramento on Monday night continuing a five-game West Coast road trip.
Warriors: Host the Suns on Tuesday night having lost the past three to Phoenix.
Utah Jazz 118, Chicago Bulls 126
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Chicago Bulls, odds 1.80
Line: Chicago Bulls (-1.5), odds 1.87
Total Points: Over (236.5), odds 1.93
CHICAGO (AP) — Zach LaVine made three consecutive 3-pointers during a key fourth-quarter stretch and scored 36 points, DeMar DeRozan had 35 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz 126-118 on Saturday night.
After hitting 11 3s and scoring 41 points Friday night in a victory in Philadelphia, LaVine converted the three straights 3 to push the Bulls’ lead to eight.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said he’d like LaVine to shoot 10 to 15 3-pointers every game.
“I’ll try if I can,” LaVine said.
DeRozan passed Pau Gasol and Bob Pettit for 40th place on the NBA’s career scoring list.
The Bulls have won three in a row to improve to 19-21. Utah dropped to 20-22 with its sixth loss in seven games.
“We still got a ways to go,” DeRozan said about his synergy with LaVine. “That’s the crazy part. We knew it was going to come at some point, understanding our spots and understanding moments in the game when it’s time to be aggressive.”
Former Bulls player Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 28 points, and Ochai Agbaji had 19.
Trailing 99-92, the Bulls went on an 11-2 run — led by two 3-pointers by Patrick Williams and a layup by 6-foot guard Coby White over the 7-foot Markkanen with 7:32 left.
The Bulls’ rally stunted much of the momentum Utah built during a 40-point third quarter that featured Markkanen dunking over Vucevic.
“The learning moment for our team is guys can make two or three hard shots in a row, and you still got to maintain your discipline to the game plan to play to the level of intensity you need on defense,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “You can’t let three tough shots deflate you, and I felt that’s what happened in those moments. Our energy level went down.”
TIP-INS
Jazz: Markkanen’s breakout season sparked speculation as to why he couldn’t blossom quicker during his four seasons with the Bulls. “Everyone has their own growth period,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan, who coached Markkanen during his last season in Chicago (2020-21) before he was dealt to Cleveland as part of a three-team trade. Donovan citied Markkanen leaving Arizona after his freshman year and eventually blossoming through his experiences and skill set. “I always a big fan of Lauri in my short period of time being with him,” Donovan said.
Bulls: G Alex Caruso (right ankle sprain), G Javonte Green (right knee soreness) and C Tony Bradley (health and safety protocols) were out. Caruso was a game-time scratch.
UP NEXT
Jazz: At Memphis on Sunday night.
Bulls: At Boston on Monday night.
All betting results and odds provided by PlayUp, Australia's best NBA sportsbook.
By Raul Dominguez, Cameron Salerno, Lary Bump, Janie McCauley, Mark Gonzales, The Associated Press and DJ Arthurs | 01/08/23
Follow DJ Arthurs on Twitter at @DJArthursJourno
