Second-half comeback extends winning streak.
There were eight games from the NBA on Saturday night, with the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers picking up impressive wins.
However, the biggest shock perhaps came from the Eastern Conference clash between the Chicago Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The home side moved to 3-0 for the season with their 107-104 win, which included a stunning second-half comeback where the Sixers outscored Chicago 58-40.
While Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes produced solid displays and contributed 20 and 18 points respectively, it was rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams who led the fightback with 26 points and 10 assists to keep Philadelphia unbeaten as he continues his impressive start to life in the NBA.
In contrast, it was another struggle for Derrick Rose who blamed “turnovers, missed shots and miscommunication” for his disappointing night, and the Bulls will be hopeful that things will improve ahead of Wednesday night’s encounter with the Indiana Pacers.
Frank Vogel’s men were amongst the winning teams on Saturday, as they sealed a 89-74 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Toronto Raptors bounced back from recent disappointment with a 97-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Switching to the Western Conference, there was somewhat of a surprise in Portland, as the Trail Blazers overcame the reigning Conference champions the San Antonio Spurs 115-105.
Tim Duncan returned from his chest injury for the visitors and Marco Belinelli had 19 points off the bench for Gregg Popovich’s team, but it wasn’t enough as the hosts got good scoring from the entire starting line-up.
Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson was delighted his team’s effort on Saturday, as they grabbed a 98-87 win over the Sacramento Kings.
While they were able to contain DeMarcus Cousins on the offensive end, both Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry were able to execute and ended the game with 27 and 22 points respectively.
The ‘Splash Brothers’ went 8-of-16 from beyond the arc, are expected to play an integral role for the Warriors this season as they are highly fancied to finish in the top seedings in the West.
With David Lee and Andrew Bogut providing presence in the paint they appear to be a solid outfit, and the arrival of Andre Iguodala this summer appears to have only further strengthened them.
NBA Results: Cleveland Cavaliers 74-89 Indiana Pacers; Chicago Bulls 104-107 Philadelphia 76ers; Charlotte Bobcats 84-105 New Orleans Pelicans; Memphis Grizzlies 99-111 Dallas Mavericks; Toronto Raptors 97-90 Milwaukee Bucks.
Houston Rockets 104-93; San Antonio Spurs 105-115 Portland Trail Blazers; Sacramento Kings 87-98 Golden State Warriors.
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