In a destructive first quarter, Houston’s pitiful 14 points crumbled under a heavy 46 by Miami as the game was decided very early. Duncan Robinson hit a team-high 23 points, including seven threes, and six rebounds, whilst Meyers Leonard added 21 points for the Heat, shooting 9-of-11.

Miami didn’t ease off the acceleration heading into the second quarter, leading by as many as 41 points, with the Rockets failing to come closer than 25 points in the game, suffering their second loss in a row.   

Jimmy Butler put on a positive performance in all aspects with 18 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals as James Johnson hit 17 points in his season debut for Miami, but it was Kelly Olynyk who led defensively with eight rebounds and three assists.
James Harden led Houston with 29 points, hitting 14-of-14 at the free-throw line, while Russell Westbrook knocked down a disappointing 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting, but did achieve a team-high six assists, adding four rebounds. 

With a record-setting opening quarter and a final result that puts them 5-1, matching the best six-game start in franchise history, we could see Miami bring a lot more heat this season.

Pacers 108, Bulls 95

T.J. Warren scored a game-high and season-high 26 points to contribute to the Pacers win over visiting Chicago. 14 of Warren’s points contributed to a 13-point halftime lead for Indiana, despite missing forward/centre Myles Turner, who is out with an ankle injury, centre Domantas Sabonis, out with a calf contusion, and Allstar guard Victor Oladipo, out with a knee injury.  

Zach Lavine led the Bulls in points with 21, followed closely by Wendell Carter Jr. who hit 20 points, and led with 10 rebounds, also adding two assists. However, the Pacers outscored Chicago in all but one-quarter last night to cruise past Chicago for their third straight win.  

Kings 113, Knicks 92

There isn’t much to be said about last night’s game in New York except that the Knicks showed up with some horrific shooting, making just 32 of its 80 shots on the night (40 percent). From the opening tip, it was evident this night had already been claimed by the road team, the Sacramento Kings, who were victorious with a win of 113-92.

Marcus Morris led New York with 28 points, adding six rebounds and two assists. Rookie RJ Barrett impressed yet again, finishing with 22 on 8-of-20 shooting in a massive 41 minutes on court. Julius Randle had a particularly poor shooting performance hitting 4-for-13 from the floor and despite Bobby Portis receiving a surprise start over Mitchell Robinson, he only shot 1-for-6 the entire night.  

The Kings held a firm lead over the Knickerbockers the entire game, with a 32-23 lead after the first, upping this to a 32-point lead in the third – New York could only cut the deficit to 16 at one point in the final quarter. 

De’Aaron Fox led in both points (24) and assists (6) for Sacramento, shooting at 44.4% from the field, whilst Richaun Holmes led in rebounds (10), adding 14 points and three assists. Buddy Hield continuously hammered New York, especially from beyond the arc, with five three-pointers (5-of-11) contributing to 15 of his 22 points on the night.

With a much-needed rest day today, the Knicks have time regroup and re-strategize before they hit the road to take on the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night.

Lakers 103, Spurs 96

Anthony Davis continued to pay his way for the Lakers with a game-high 25 points against the San Antonio Spurs, adding 11 rebounds and two assists. Dwight Howard led in rebounds (13) whilst LeBron James took control of assists (13). 

Avery Bradley also made an impact on defence before exiting the game early due to a right leg injury, but that wasn't all his season-high 16 points on seven-for-nine shooting provides the Lakers with yet another offensive weapon.  

For the Spurs, Dejounte Murray had 18 points and 11 rebounds, whilst Rudy Gay added 16 points off the bench, and DeMar DeRozan put up 14. However, San Antonio left with a second loss in three games to drop to 4-2.

Mavericks 131, Cavaliers 111

Luca Doncic shone in all respects last night putting up his second straight triple-double, and third this season, with 29 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high-tying 15 assists, leading Dallas in their win at Cleveland. 

Kevin Love led in points for Cleveland with 29, whilst Tristan Thompson led in rebounds with 12, also adding four assists.  

Kristaps Porzingis threw up 18 points for the Mavericks, adding nine rebounds as Boban Marjanovic had 12 points and eight boards off the bench, who are now 3-0 on the road for the first time since their 2010-2011 championship season. 

LA Clippers 105, Utah Jazz 94

Kawhi stood tall yet again last night, putting up 18 of his 30 points in the fourth to erase a second-half double-digit deficit to lead the Clippers to a victory over Utah, remaining unbeaten 4-0 at home. Montrezl Harrell continues to improve his performance for LA being the catalyst for their fourth-quarter rally.  

However, it was Utah's Donovan Mitchell who scored a game-high 36 points, adding four rebounds and six assists, with Rudy Gobert leading in rebounds (12).

The Clippers have some downtime before taking on the Bucks at home on Thursday.