Ben Simmons looked good stat-wise, almost bagging a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists, but it was Furkan Korkmaz who has crowned a hero as he hit a three from the right side with 0.4 seconds left.

Portland’s Damian Lillard missed a long three at the buzzer to hand Philadelphia their fifth win this season. 

As the final five seconds drained away, it was an adrenaline-fuelled fight for the lead, with Simmons hitting a pair of free throws to nudge Philadelphia ahead only for the Blazer’s Anfernee Simons to nail a three, putting them up by two with only 2.6 on the clock.

In a game that saw the Blazers up by 21 points midway through the third quarter, the 76ers came within three points three times early in the fourth before finally grasping their lead with 10 seconds to go, again courtesy of Simmons and free throws.

Although it was Korkmaz who closed the deal, Al Horford led the 76ers in points with 25, adding five rebounds and seven assists, shooting at 50% from the field and 25% from the three.

Lillard to the charge of the Blazers, hitting 33 points, five rebounds and nine assists, whilst small forward Rodney Hood hit 25 points, shooting an impressive 81.8% from the field.


Bucks 115, Raptors 105

Playing away last night against Milwaukee, the Raptors got off to a shaky start with the Bucks leading by as many as 26 points in the first quarter. But it was Toronto’s Kyle Lowry who cut their deficit to just four points by the fourth with an enormous performance.

Pascal Siakam seemed a little off his game, becoming overly aggressive on defence, a mistake which saw him pick up two fouls on Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first and led him to the bench early. The power forward hit 16 points, five rebounds and one assist in 32 minutes of game time, a disappointing outcome compared to his previous four fixtures this season. 

It’s appropriate to say that Lowry led the Raptors throughout the night, scoring eight points on 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and battling his way to a team-high 17 points by half-time. The 33-year-old point guard sparked a monster run in the third to bring Toronto back in the game hitting 3-of-3 in three-pointers with 17 points by the end of the quarter.

Allstar Lowry finished with momentous 36 points, four rebounds and six assists, shooting at 61% from the field.

But despite their best efforts, Toronto failed to rise above the start-to-finish domination of Antetokounmpo. The Bucks’ Greek Freak stood tall after 36 minutes on court with 36 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and one steal, shooting 14-for-20 (70%) from the field. 

The power forward crushed any hopes of a Raptors come back with a clean three in the fourth, but it was his destructive offence that saw Toronto’s defence fall at his mercy as he drew in foul calls on his way to the rim. This persistence put Siakam on edge throughout and had a major part to play in him being fouled out in the fourth.

Although the Bucks did suffer a third-quarter meltdown, they managed to avoid a repeat in the fourth to win the second of their back-to-back weekend spree. 

Pistons 113, Nets 109

Nuggets 91, Magic 87

Timberwolves 131, Wizards 109

Suns 114, Grizzlies 105

Thunder 115, Pelicans 104

Hornets 93, Warriors 87