NBA 2018-19: Top 3 performers on 21 November 2018

Wednesday night was filled with as many as 13 games, and the NBA universe witnessed some exciting action. The Hornets defeated the Pacers at home, on the back of Kemba Walker's double-double performance. The Philadelphia 76ers meanwhile edged the Pelicans 121-120.

The Hawks' bad luck continued in Toronto as they got blown away by the Raptors. In Boston, the Celtics lost to the New York Knicks, behind a strong performance from Trey Burke. In LeBron's return to Cleveland, the Lakers got the win against the Cavaliers.

The Golden State Warriors lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Oracle Arena, with Russell Westbrook finally getting his first triple-double of the season. In San Antonio, Marc Gasol iced the game for the Grizzlies with two clutch free-throws. The Bucks annihilated the Blazers by 43 points at home.

With so much going on, let us take a look at top three performers on the night.

#3 Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry's triple-double took the Raptors home

Stat line: 21 points, 12 rebounds and 17 assists on 58.3% shooting

Kyle Lowry has been making a strong case for MVP and is posting huge numbers. He is currently leading the league in assists per game, and is one of the main reasons why the Toronto Raptors are at the top of the Eastern Conference Standings.

Lowry was magnificent against the Hawks and scored 21 points, to go along with 12 rebounds and 17 assists for a triple-double. Thanks to his strong performance, the Raptors easily defeated the Hawks without trailing even once in the game.

He finished the night shooting 7-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. This was Lowry's 13th triple-double of his career, and the Raptors have now improved to 15-4 on the season and are looking like a legitimate threat to the Golden State Warriors.

#2 Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo torched the Blazers

Stat line: 33 points, 16 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals on 65% shooting

There is no stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo at the moment as he is tearing apart all opposition defenses and scoring heavily. After registering 29 points against the Denver Nuggets and taking the team home, Antetokounmpo was once again on fire and scored 33 points to torch the Portland Trail Blazers.

He went 13-for-20 from the field with a field-goal percentage of 65.0, and was really dominant in the paint. The 'Greek Freak' got his own rebound and slammed it home to start the proceedings. With the Bucks jumping out to an early 9-2 lead, Giannis knocked down a mid-range jumper to extend the lead to 9 points.

The game was filled with Giannis' dunks, and the Blazers got routed by 43 points. They had no answer for Giannis as he put together yet another double-double, with 16 rebounds to go along with 9 assists.

#1 James Harden

Stat line: 43 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals on 50.0% shooting

After scoring 34 points in a win against the Sacramento Kings, Harden was once again immense for the Rockets, scoring a game-high 43 points to lead them past the Pistons 126-124. After a very poor start to the season, the Rockets have now won eight of their last 10 games and are 9-7 overall.

Harden finished the night shooting 10-for-20 from the field, including 4-for-9 from the three-point line, saving the day for Rockets. He was also at his usual best from the free-throw line and went a perfect 19-for-19 from the charity stripe.

With this game, Harden moved past Rudy Tomjanovic for third place on the all-time scoring list for the Rockets. He is averaging 29.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game this season.