The Raptors have quietly developed a big three of their own, and they were all on full display during Thursday’s 101-93 win against the Jazz.
Kyle Lowry led the way with a game-high 33 points. The All-Star point guard hit 10 of 17 shot attempts while also grabbing six rebounds with five assists and three steals. After a slow start to the season, he has established himself as one of the best floor generals in the league.
DeMar DeRozan has cooled off a bit from the scintillating start to his 2016-17 campaign, but he still scored 23 points with seven rebounds.
Unfortunately, it took him 26 shots to reach that mark.
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The final member of the Raptors' stars, Jonas Valanciunas, came into the game having endured a tough time recently. Coach Dwane Casey even said he wouldn't play his center late in games if he couldn't "dominate."
Valanciunas dominated Thursday, scoring 18 points with 13 rebounds and zero turnovers.
Rudy Gobert led the Jazz with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Both teams have the look of strong playoff contenders.
Stud of the night
Pacers forward Myles Turner scored 25 points with 15 rebounds and five blocks in a 121-109 win against the Nets. Turner, who is averaging 15.6 points per game this season, now has six double-doubles on the season. He is just the fourth player to record such a stat line, in a single game, at 20 years old or younger in the last 30 years.
Dud of the night
Russell Westbrook's supporting cast: The Thunder star poured in 49 points with eight rebounds and five assists while draining eight 3-pointers. Westbrook's 49 points were the third-most in a loss in Thunder history.
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But let's get back to the supporting cast; Oklahoma City ultimately lost 118-116 to the Rockets because Victor Oladipo was the team's next leading scorer with 17 points. It's understood that it's not easy playing alongside Westbrook. He shoots a ton and gets all the accolades. With that in mind, guys like Oladipo and Enes Kanter need to bring more on both ends of the floor on a consistent basis.
Highlight
Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans hits a smooth pull-up buzzer-beater:
Tyreke has 7p/3a at the break including THIS pull-up buzzer-beater as the @PelicansNBA lead the @ATLHawks 47-42.
— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2017
Dwight has 10p/8r for ATL. pic.twitter.com/X7gXxwxucE
Evans finished the 99-94 loss against the Hawks with seven points. Anthony Davis led the team with 20 points and 19 rebounds.
What's next
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Cavaliers (26-8) at Nets (8-26), 7:30 p.m. ET — A game of polar opposites, will come down to how many big three members take the court for Cleveland. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love missed its last game, but should be back against Brooklyn. The Cavs reportedly also added Kyle Korver via trade on Thursday, helping them replace injured J.R. Smith.