NBA Cup — Day 2

 Hello, I’m Carlos Andres Segrera, and this is the NBA from the mind of a high schooler.

Tonight’s NBA Cup recap is a little later than I planned, but I’ll always get the job done. We’re still in group play, so there was a big slate of games. Let’s get straight into the action.

The Heat and Coach Spo made up for their heartbreaking loss against the Pistons in their first NBA Cup game. Kevin Love had 15 points in 12 minutes, Haywood Highsmith had the perfect game, going 6-for-6 from the field with no turnovers, Bam was three assists shy of a 30-point triple-double and added five steals, and the Heat had four other guys in double figures. Last year’s NBA Cup runner-ups started their road to the final with a loss, but there were some bright spots. Obi Toppin led the Pacers with 21 points off the bench, and Tyrese Haliburton had 18 and 8 on efficient shooting. The Pacers' defense looked inconsistent at times, allowing the Heat to drop 124, while the aggressive and well-coached Heat defense only allowed 111.

While slightly inefficient at times, Franz Wagner dropped 31, 11, and 6. The real shocker of the night was Jared McCain dropping 29 on hyper-efficient shooting. This is McCain’s fourth game in a row with 23 or more. While a quick glance at Embiid’s points column might make you think his second game back was solid, the 20 points were inefficient, and he gave up six turnovers. There was a bright spot, though—Embiid made it to the free-throw stripe five times, going 10-for-10. The Magic won 98-86 in the low-scoring affair.

This next matchup was a rough watch. Neither the Pistons nor the Raptors shot over 42% from the field. Three-point shots weren’t falling for either team—they combined to go 16-for-69 from three-point land. Jakob Poeltl was the real standout player of the night with 25 and 18. The Pistons took home the dub, 99-95, and advanced to 2-0 in the Cup.

The rookie who got a 50-bomb dropped on his head a couple nights ago by Wemby had a nice showing tonight. The Frenchman dropped 20 and 7 on just over 50% from the field and 75% from range. His defense was what stood out to me the most—the rook had seven stocks and showed great impact and awareness on that side of the ball. For the victors of this game, the Hawks, it was once again Dyson Daniels who led the team. He put up 25 points, went 10-for-14 from the field, and recorded eight stocks. The Hawks advance to 2-0 after their 129-117 win over the Wizards.

The 144-126 finish between the Cavs and Bulls had the Cavs on the winning end. Efficiency was easily reached for both teams, but Donovan Mitchell’s season-high 37 helped the Cavs push to 14-0. On the Bulls’ end, Coby White continues to remind us why he should have won MIP last year, dropping 29. Vucevic, who has been a surprise plus for the Bulls this year, had 25 and 8. When will the Cavs be beat? Never?

Last night, the Battle of New York was decided by two points. Cam Thomas had 43—the man is a straight bucket—but his outburst wasn’t enough to get the win. With no KAT, the Knicks took the game, 124-122, assisted by Jalen Brunson’s 37 and Mikal Bridges’ efficient 22 in a matchup against his old team. The tight score could make an impact on seeding when keeping point differential in mind.

LeBron is still doing his thing, but this is AD’s team now. Bron had his fourth straight triple-double, and AD had 40. Stephon Castle and Wemby combined for 50, but the young duo wasn’t enough to take down the veteran-led Lakers. The defending champs of the NBA Cup started strong and hope to carry over momentum after their 120-115 win last night.

My surprising second-most-watched team this year, the Clippers, lost last night to the young-star-studded Rockets. Jabari Smith Jr. had 28 and 12 boards, but the five other players with 12+ points solidified the 125-104 victory for the Rockets. Norm Powell and Zubac slowed down last night but are still my two favorite surprise players of this season so far.

What weighs more: missing two All-Defensive-level players, four All-Star-level players, and an up-and-coming young player—or one Nikola Jokic? Last night, the Nuggets, who played without Nikola Jokic (a guy who typically doesn’t miss much time), lost to the injury-ridden Pelicans. The 101-94 final gives the Pelicans a glimmer of hope during a tough time, and Denver needs to figure out ways to operate without the three-time MVP.

Devin Booker, without KD and Bradley Beal, couldn’t get the job done, dropping 12 on 2-for-10 shooting. Booker went on to later blame his performance on double teams. The Suns only had three players in double figures and no one above 15. The Thunder weren’t much better, shooting 39% from the field and 25% from three. For two teams at the top of one of the most competitive conferences of all time, it was honestly on the level of Pistons-Raptors.

Jaren Jackson Jr., who still shot over 50% from the field despite his 0-for-4 three-point outing, dropped 32. Zach Edey had an efficient 14 off the bench, alongside Desmond Bane, who came off the bench with Edey as he slowly eased himself into games after recently coming back from injury. The Warriors took the game, 123-118, due to the three-point differential that fell in their favor. The Grizzlies shot just under 17% from three, while the Warriors hit at a 41% clip. A true team win for the Dubs as they caught one on their home court.

DE'AARON FOX DROPS A LEAGUE-HIGH 60 POINTS THIS SEASON! But it wasn’t enough to put the Kings over the top against the Timberwolves. Ant Edwards had 36, and Julius Randle 26. Those two led the T-Wolves to an OT win over the DeMar DeRozan-less Kings. One thing we can say for sure is that De’Aaron gave it his all—I mean, the man had 26 in the fourth and OT. Hopefully, he keeps this electric level of play throughout the Cup.

That’s gonna cap the Cup recap. You’ll hear from me regarding the Cup next Wednesday.

Thank you