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| Gerald Herbert/AP |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--New Orleans and Philadelphia saw themselves quickly crashing back to earth on Sunday (Philippine Time) as they incurred blowout losses after their respective first wins of the NBA season.
The Pelicans were mauled at the Smoothie King Center to the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, 99-126.
The Lakers played fluid basketball all game long, dishing out 36 assists while only committing 10 errors, even as the bench dealt the heavier damage to the Pelicans by scoring 73 points, 23 coming from Gilas prospect Jordan Clarkson and 21 more from Lou Williams.
D'Angelo Russell led the Lakers among the starters with 22 markers even as Julius Randle came close to a triple-double with 11 rebounds, eight points, and eight assists with two blocks and two steals.
Anthony Davis' 34-point outburst for the Pelicans came to naught.
In Atlanta, the Hawks drubbed the 76ers, 117-96.
Atlanta also played superb team basketball, giving out 31 dimes in the game.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Hawks with 20 points, three rebounds, and one assist, while Kent Bazemore added 17 points, five rebounds, one assist, three steals, and two blocks.
Jahlil Okafor had 18 markers, six caroms, two dishes, and one swat for the Sixers, who gave Joel Embiid a day off after his career game that helped them score their first win of the year.
Like Randle, Jimmy Butler flirted with a double-double to lead Chicago to a 106-95 win over Washington at the United Center.
Butler finished with 37 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists along with three steals for the Bulls, who bucked a slow start and finished strongly to add more woes to the slumping Wizards.
Markieff Morris led Washington, which opted to give John Wall a rest, with 24 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
James Harden did complete a triple-double, but turned out to be not enough as San Antonio edged Houston, 106-100, at the Toyota Center.
Harden ended up with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists for the Rockets, but they were limited to only one basket in the last 1:49 of the game just as they were trying to come back from 11 points down with only four minutes to play.
Kawhi Leonard bucked off a sluggish three-point shooting to lead the Spurs, who bounced from their Thursday (Philippine Time) loss to the Rockets at the AT&T Center with 20 points, two rebounds, and three steals.
Eric Gordon had a game-high 27 for Houston.
Capping an 11-game schedule, the Boston Celtics pipped the Indiana Pacers, 105-99, the Toronto Raptors mauled the New York Knicks, 118-107, the Los Angeles Clippers downed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 119-105, the Utah Jazz whipped the Miami Heat, 102-91, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 106-96, the Detroit Pistons clobbered the Denver Nuggets, 106-95, and the Brooklyn Nets trounced the Phoenix Suns, 122-104.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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