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BBNBA: Monday night brings huge comeback wins

Kassidy Stumboby: Kassidy Stumbo11/02/21kass_stumbo
bbnba-monday-brings-huge-comeback-wins
(Katelyn Mulcahy | Getty Images)

What an exciting night it was in the NBA, from celebrating the league’s 75th anniversary to seeing major comeback thrillers. Let’s talk about it.

Hornets’ rally falls short night

The Cleveland Cavaliers are back to an even 4-4 on the season after an impressive road win in Charlotte. Despite a furious comeback effort from the Hornets, Cleveland was able to hold on 113-110.

This was a true team effort by Cleveland. Jarrett Allen led the Cavs with 24 points and 16 rebounds, followed by Lauri Markkanen’s 21. Darius Garland had 16 – including two vital free throws with under 15 seconds left to seal the win. Evan Mobley added 15 points and 10 rebounds of his own.

LaMelo Ball continues to impress for Charlotte. Last night he made his presence felt on every inch of the court, finishing with 30 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks. Terry Rozier added 23 for Charlotte of his own, which helped cut a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to just two.

Though he did not start, PJ Washington is back in the rotation for the Hornets after some right knee soreness sidelined him last week. He came off the bench for 18 points and four rebounds in just 17 minutes on the court.

Bulls mount huge comeback to move to 6-1

What a game this was. Behind a stellar 37-point performance from DeMar DeRozan, the Chicago Bulls overcame a 19-point second-half deficit to win 128-114 in Boston. They are now 6-1 on the season.

The Celtics had a confident 103-89 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bulls would not go away. Zach LaVine added 26 points to the Bulls’ effort. Nikola Vucevic finished just shy of a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. Chicago outscored Boston 39-11 in the fourth quarter.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 28, followed by 20 from Jayson Tatum. The loss marks the third straight for Boston who, according to ESPN, left their home court to boos – and it wouldn’t be the first time this season. It is head coach Ime Udoka’s first year with the team.

Shai leads Thunder in loss to Clippers

The Oklahoma City Thunder are now just 1-6 on the season after losing 99-94 to the Clippers (2-4) in L.A. last night. Clippers star Paul George scored 32 points in the match, along with nine rebounds and seven assists. A 10-foot jumper from George with just over a minute left gave Los Angeles their first lead since early in the first quarter.

Former Wildcat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 28 points, 15 of them coming in the third quarter. Josh Giddey and Darius Bazley each added 15 points of their own, helping push the Thunder to as much as a 16-point lead in the second. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to fight off a vigorous comeback from the Clippers.

The Clippers were down nine points late in the fourth quarter but managed to rally just in time. They were 6-9 from three in the fourth quarter, which is impressive considering they were converting only 31.7% of 3-pointers prior to last night’s game.

Knicks defense goes missing in loss to Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are hot right now. Last night, they won their fourth straight after beating the New York Knicks 113-104 in Madison Square Garden. This game celebrated the 75th anniversary of the league’s first game – a game that was played between New York and Toronto.

The Knicks had a solid lead in the second quarter but held just a 57-53 lead at halftime after the Raptors went on an 18-7 run to close the half. Toronto didn’t stop there. Just a minute and a half into the third quarter, they had taken the lead. From there, they caught fire from the 3-point line, hitting five in a row to take a commanding 11-point lead.

Raptors forward Og Anunoby scored a career-high 36 points last night, followed by 26 from Gary Trent Jr. Toronto outscored New York 38-22 in the third, prompting head coach Nick Nurse to leave those five players on the floor the entire quarter.

RJ Barrett led New York with 27 points. Julius Randle started the game hot, racking up 18 points in the first quarter. From there he went cold, scoring only four points the rest of the game. Immanuel Quickley got seven off the bench but was only 1-6 from three. The Knicks committed 17 turnovers, leading to 21 fast-break points for Toronto.

Here are the full stats from last night’s games:

PlayerResultPointsFG (3PA)ReboundsAssistsStealsBlocksTOsMins+/-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)99-94 L to Clippers2811-23 (3-5)7221240-1
Karl Anthony-Towns (MIN)115-97 L to Magic238-17 (4-8)16620137-24
Julius Randle (NY)113-104 L to Raptors227-14 (4-7)9501337-15
PJ Washington (CHA)113-110 L to Cavaliers186-9 (2-3)4012217-19
Tyrese Maxey (113)113-103 W over Trail Blazers104-81710330+11
Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN)115-97 L to Magic103-8 (0-2)8000029-10
Keldon Johnson (SA)131-118 L to Pacers94-11 (1-2)5410323-24
Immanuel Quickley (NY)113-104 L to Raptors71-7 (1-6)2500019+7
Eric Bledsoe (LAC)99-94 W over OKC52-8 (0-4)3302426-2
Nick Richards (CHA)113-110 L to Cavaliers 21-1000014+2

TODAY IN THE NBA:

7:00 pm – Bucks at Pistons (Diallo, Lyles)

7:30 pm (TNT) – Heat (Adebayo, Herro) at Mavericks (Cauley-Stein)

9:00 pm – Kings (Fox) at Jazz

10:00 pm (TNT) – Pelicans at Suns (Booker)

10:30 pm – Rockets (Wall) at Lakers (Davis, Monk, Rondo)

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2025-08-03