The Houston Rocket looked good in preseason again with a win over the New Orleans Pelicans in China, although James Harden was less impressive than last time. The Phoenix Suns provided rare preseason drama, beating the Utah Jazz on a clutch dunk by Archie Goodwin. In the comedy section, Chinanu Onuaku and Dragan Bender took the lead, each in his own unique way.
Houston Rockets 116 New Orleans Pelicans 104: The Rockets sweep their China games vs the Pelicans, getting 14 points and 8 assists (along with 5 turnovers) from James Harden, and 11 points from Ryan Anderson. Bobby Brown led the Rockets with 18 points off the bench. The Pelicans were led by 20 points from Quinn Cook. Anthony Davis played for just 7 minutes. Chinanu Onuaku of the Rockets wowed everyone by shooting underhanded free throws.
San Antonio Spurs 95 Orlando Magic 89: The Spurs gave Kawhi Leonard some rest, and received Kyle Anderson in his place. Anderson scored 14 points to lead the Spurs in their win, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Bryn Forbes each helped out with 12, as Tony Parker rested as well. Evan Fournier led the Magic with 20 points, Jeff Green scored 18.
Milwaukee Bucks 83 Indiana Pacers 101: The Pacers looked very good when Rodney Stuckey and Al Jefferson were on the floor. Stuckey finished with a team-high 21 points off the bench, while Jeff Teague who started got 15. The Bucks didn’t have a very good game of basketball, except for Giannis Antetokounmpo with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Denver Nuggets 88 Minnesota Timberwolves 105: Both Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points to lead the Timberwolves, and Shabazz Muhammad was red hot off the bench with 18 too. The Nuggets shot just 15% from beyond the arc, not playing Danilo Gallinari. Wilson Chandler led them with 16 points.
Phoenix Suns 111 Utah Jazz 110: Two things stood out in the Suns win over the Jazz. Archie Goodwin winning the game on a dunk with 3.3 seconds left, and Dragan Bender, the 4th overall pick, not understanding the concept of the double dribble. Devin Booker led the Suns with 20 points, Dante Exum had 18 for the Jazz.