NBA 2017-18 Season: Week 9 Roundup

As we head into week 10 of the NBA 2017-18 regular season, here’s what happened in week 9 and some to NBA news and highlights.

NBA 2017-18 News and Major Happenings

• Kobe Bryant‘s No.8 and No.24 jerseys were retired at the Stales Centre solidifying his legacy as one of the best Laker and NBA player ever.

• Kawhi Leonard returned to the San Antonio Spurs starting five after a quad injury sidelined him for quite a while. He played for 16 minutes and posted 13 points against the Dallas Mavericks.

• Isaiah Thomas, who also spent the off-season in rehab due to a hip injury is targeting a return early in January.
• Chris Paul is back to his former self and is averaging 31 minutes as a starter. The Rockets have been invincible and are currently on a 14 game winning streak.

NBA 2017-18 Games of the Week

OKC Thunder beat Philadelphia 76ers 119-117 (Triple OT)

Philadephia and Oklahoma kicked off Week 9 of the NBA 2017-18 season with a cracker. This game was a fan’s delight. It went into triple overtime to reach its conclusion and it was a total slug fest. The game remained highly contested at every possession, every point of time. Thunder lead the game at halftime but the Sixers were quick to fire themselves back into the mid of it. Sixers outscored Thunder in the second half. On the last possession, Paul George had a wide open look but couldn’t make it.

The game went into overtime and another one and Thunder finally took this home in 3OT. Russell Westbrook had a triple-double with 27 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists. Paul George and Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points each. For the Sixers, the starters did all the work. Embiid scored 34 points while Ben Simmons had 12 points. 9 rebounds and 11 assists.

Golden State Warriors beat LA Lakers 116-114 in OT

The Curry-less Warriors squad was able to get the better of a young Lakers team on Kobe Bryant’s retirement ceremony night. The Warriors started the game strong as they raced to an 8 point lead at the end of the first quarter. The Lakers were quick to cut the lead and outscored the Warriors in each of the remaining three quarters. This game will also be remembered for the time Kevin Durant got put up on a poster by Larry Nance Jr.

The young dynamic duo of Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram executed some clutch plays down the stretch to send the game into extension. This is where Kevin Durant, who had a bad shooting night put life into the Warriors and won them the game. He finished the game with 36 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Klay Thompson added 17 points and 10 rebounds. For the Lakers, Lonzo Ball scored 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram had 25 and 19 points each.

Boston Celtics beat Indiana Pacers 112-111

This was a roller-coaster of a game. The Celtics buzzing early in the game, racing onto a 17 point lead in the first quarter itself. The Pacers stayed in the game, never letting the Cs get too far ahead. They were finally able to get ahead of Celtics in the fourth. Victor Oladipo lead the comeback for the Pacers. The game looked dead and in favour of Indiana after Oladipo hit a clutch 3. That’s when Boston went on a 10-4 run in the final 27 seconds to win the game on a Terry Rozier’s game winning steal-and-dunk.

Victor Oladipo had 38 points for the game while Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and 7 rebounds. Kyrie Irving lead the scoring effort for the Cs with his 30 points while Al Horford had an all-around 14 pt-10 reb-9 assist performance. Tatum and Brown added 16 and 13 points respectively.

Milwaukee Bucks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 119-116

The Milwaukee Bucks were able to hold their fort against a Cavs team that hasn’t been losing a lot lately. The game was highly competitive right from the start till the end. The Bucks lead the Cavs at halftime on a 39 point second quarter explosion. The Cavs could never recover until very late in the final period. Giannis Antetokounmpo sealed the game with an and-1 layup with 5 seconds to go. He finished the game with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. Eric Bledsoe scored 26 points and Kris Middleton recorded a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists. For Cleveland, LeBron James scored a game high 39 points. Kevin Love had a 21 point, 10 rebound performance. Dwyane Wade and Jeff Green combined for 27 points off the bench.

Highlight of the Week

Relive our feature on Kobe Bryant’ legacy here.