Box Score Breakdown for Thursday, March 21, 2019
Hornets outlast feisty Timberwolves for home victory
The Nuggets forged an eight-point halftime advantage, but Washington erased that deficit during the third quarter before succumbing late. Both teams shot over 50.0 percent in the fast-paced contest, but Denver held a 46.7 percent-28.6 percent advantage from three-point range.
Paul Millsap, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Torrey Craig co-led the Nuggets with a quintet of 15-point efforts. Jokic notably added 11 assists and six rebounds. Will Barton turned in 13 points and four rebounds. Monte Morris and Malik Beasley furnished 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Bradley Beal's 25 points, which he partly supplemented with eight assists, led the Wizards. Thomas Bryant's line included 22 points and eight rebounds. Bobby Portis contributed 18 points and eight rebounds. Tomas Satoransky delivered a 16-point, 10-assist double-double. Troy Brown, Jr.'s contributions included 13 points and five boards.
The Timberwolves trailed by three at intermission, but the Hornets opened up a 10-point lead with 1:42 remaining. Despite a late surge by Minnesota, Charlotte was able to hang on for the win.
Karl-Anthony Towns' 21-point, 16-rebound double-double, which included six assists, led the Timberwolves. Andrew Wiggins' line included 20 points and five rebounds. Dario Saric posted 15 points and seven rebounds. Tyus Jones furnished 14 points and seven assists. Gorgui Dieng and Josh Okogie contributed matching 10-point tallies.
Kemba Walker's 31 points, which were supplemented by six assists and five rebounds, led the Hornets. Malik Monk followed with a bench-leading 14 points. Jeremy Lamb and Marvin Williams offered matching 13-point totals, with Lamb also hauling in 10 rebounds. Miles Bridges finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Willy Hernangomez registered 10 points and seven rebounds.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 23 points on 8-of-22 shooting, 11 assists and two rebounds, in 34 minutes. Dewayne Dedmon followed up with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists, in 28 minutes. Kevin Heurter added 14 points, two assists and a rebound, while Alex Len added 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 34 points on 15-of-32 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal, in 35 minutes. Derrick Favors added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 15 rebounds, two steals, a block and an assist, in 27 minutes. Ricky Rubio tallied 17 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals, in 27 minutes. Joe Ingles chipped in 13 points, seven assists, two rebounds and two steals.
It was a bit of a surprise when Wayne Ellington joined the Pistons following his contract buyout, as it was initially believed that the sharp shooter was going to be joining a contender as a key piece off the bench. However, Ellington prioritized playing time over anything else, and he is finally coming into his own as a member of Detroit. After going 6-of-10 from behind the arc en route to scoring a team-high 23 points in Thursday's victory over the Suns (the team that waived Ellington), the shooting guard has now put together back-to-back stellar performances in a Pistons uniform. In his last two games, Ellington has scored a combined 48 points while shooting a scorching 13-of-23 (56.2 percent) from three-point range. It was the first time since January of 2015 that Ellington had back-to-back games with at least 20 points.
It was a brilliant night for the Kings' young core as Sacramento earned a blowout win on Thursday. Buddy Hield hit more than half of the team's 13 three-pointers, finishing with 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting and 7-of-13 from beyond the arc. Off the bench, rookie star Marvin Bagley III tallied 22 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks in just 28 minutes. In total, Sacramento saw five players score in double digits.
Dallas did not fare as well, shooting just 39.1 percent from the floor and 30 percent from three. The Mavericks' own rookie sensation, Luka Doncic, struggled to find his rhythm as he went just 4-of-19 from the field in the loss. Dallas was led by 19 points from Justin Jackson, who went 9-of-16 from the field.
It was a tale of two starting fives as the Warriors blew out the Pacers on Thursday. For Golden State, all five starters scored in double figures. All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Steph Curry scored another 15 and dished out seven assists. The Warriors' starters combined for 77 points despite no member of the starting five logging more than 29 minutes of action.
Indiana, on the other hand, so only 36 points from its starting unit. Thaddeus Young accounted for half of those, scoring 18 on 7-of-13 shooting. As a whole, it was a brutal offensive night for the Pacers. The team shot just 38.5 percent from the field and went just 6-of-23 from beyond the arc in the loss. Tyreke Evans was the team's leading scorer with 20 off the bench.