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Monday night of NBA action comprised of five intraconference games. While nine out of the 10 teams involved had already confirmed their playoff status, the Phoenix Suns needed to add to their previous five positive NBA results today to keep their hopes alive in Orlando.
The two top teams in the East – Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors – faced-off in a tie that had nothing more than bragging rights on the line heading into the NBA Playoffs. Both Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz missed key players in their clash. The LA Lakers were also hoping to end their tumultuous run.
However, the storyline that stole the limelight was T.J. Warren vs Jimmy Butler with the Indiana Pacers taking on the Miami Heat. On tht note, let's get straight into the NBA results from August 10, 2020.
#1 Phoenix Suns keep NBA Playoffs push alive with win against OKC Thunder
The Phoenix Suns continue their unexpected quest for an NBA Playoffs spot with a win over the seriously shorthanded OKC Thunder on the night. The Thunder were without Steven Adams, Nerlens Noel, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and Dennis Schroder so it wasn't a surprise that the Suns blew them out.
Deandre Ayton had missed his coronavirus test on Sunday and missed the first quarter of the game, as Phoenix awaited test results. OKC managed to take some advantage of the situation and led 37-23 at the end of the first quarter. Ayton joined the game in the second and Devin Booker also caught fire. Eventually, Thunder youngsters couldn't do much as Monty Williams' men ran victorious.
Final Score: Thunder 101-128 Suns (Bazley 22 points, 10 rebounds; Booker 35 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks)
#2 Dallas Mavericks overcome Utah Jazz without Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis
The Utah Jazz continue to struggle inside the NBA bubble and have now slumped to their third consecutive loss after failing to overcome the Dallas Mavericks. Several Superstars were amiss in this ball game. Dallas missed the likes of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis while Utah were without Donovan Mitchell.
As expected, Quin Snyder's men dominated proceedings for the majority of the game, not conceding the lead for nearly three full quarters. But an astonishing fourth-quarter comeback saw the Mavs outscore the Jazz 34-14 and that was enough to pick up the win. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry particularly led the charge for Rick Carlisle's men with the latter scoring 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
Final Score: Mavericks 122-104 Jazz (Hardaway Jr. 27 points, 4 assists; Clarkson 18 points)
Also read: Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction & Match Preview - August 11th, 2020
#3 Milwaukee Bucks lose their fourth game in the NBA bubble against Toronto Raptors
What seemed like an exhilarating affair on paper turned out to be a one-sided contest as the Toronto Raptors routed the Milwaukee Bucks, while leading for almost the entirety of the game. NBA MVP and DPOY finalist Giannis Antetokounmpo was rested for the game while the Raptors were without Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and Serge Ibaka.
Three Toronto players managed to score more than 20 points with Norman Powell going 4-of-5 from downtown. Kyle Korver also had himself a great night, scoring 19 points while dropping five treys himself, but that didn't turn out to be enough.
Final Score: Raptors 114-106 Bucks (Boucher 25 points, 11 rebounds; Bledsoe 11 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds)
#4 Miami Heat shut down T.J. Warren for a convincing win over Indiana Pacers
Both Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers entered this tie with a 43-27 record with the fourth seed on the line. Jimmy Butler finally returning to the Miami lineup increased the interest in this contest given the bust-up between him and T.J. Warren in a previous matchup.
Warren has had an incredible run in the NBA bubble so far but the Heat were able to restrict him to just 12 points on the night, his lowest-scoring outing yet in the seeding games. Both Butler and Dragic definitely gave Miami the edge as the Indiana Pacers only led for a solitary minute of the entire contest.
Final Score: Pacers 92-114 Heat (Brogdon 12 points, 6 assists, 8 rebounds; Butler 19 points, 11 rebounds)
#5 LA Lakers overcome shooting woes to end NBA bubble losing streak
The LA Lakers have found it difficult to get the shots to fall in Orlando, especially from downtown. However, they finally had a good outing from the field against the Denver Nuggets while going almost 50% from beyond the arc to end their losing run.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma all managed 25 points or above in this back-and-forth encounter. LeBron had five treys of his own. The Nuggets fought hard as well, especially their bench which accounted for all of their 33 points in the final quarter.
The game eventually came down to the wire with the score tied at 121 apiece and a little over four seconds left on the clock. Kuzma then drained a clutch three to secure a positive NBA result for the LA Lakers.
Final Score: Nuggets 121-124 Lakers (Dozier 18 points; James 29 points, 12 rebounds)
Guess the Lakers players!
