THREE POINTER:
- Duop Reath shines in Portland’s near victory against Denver despite starting five rookies.
- Orlando, led by Australian Joe Ingles, suffers a close defeat at home to Sacramento.
- Boston solidifies their Eastern Conference leadership with a win over Chicago.
Reath’s Heroic Effort for Portland
Australia’s Duop Reath put on a remarkable performance leading the scoring for an injury-stricken Portland in their recent NBA showdown against Denver. Despite their best efforts, the Trail Blazers fell short of a victory with a three-point loss, going down 114-111.
Forced to start five rookies, a first since 2012, Portland found a standout in the 27-year-old Reath. He was the most prolific amongst the rookies, scoring 24 points in 26 minutes on the court. Reath, who has been improving in his first season, also contributed eight rebounds and two assists.
A Close Call for Orlando
In another close match, Australian Joe Ingles’ Orlando suffered a defeat at home, losing 109-107 to Sacramento. Despite Ingles’ limited court time of only 12 minutes, the game was a nail-biter, with both sides going toe-to-toe throughout the match.
Orlando was up by two points at halftime but was overtaken in the second half by the Kings, led by De’Aaron Fox with 31 points and eight rebounds.
Boston’s Comfortable Win over Chicago
Elsewhere, the Eastern Conference leaders Boston Celtics further solidified their status with a comfortable 124-113 win against Chicago. Despite their relative table positions, the ninth-placed Bulls stayed with the Celtics and trailed by three points at the last break, before being outpaced 29-21 in the final term.
In other games, the Knicks beat the Nets 105-93 in the New York derby, Atlanta thrashed visiting Charlotte 132-91, Phoenix won 131-106 at San Antonio, Houston crunched visiting Utah 147-119, and Washington won at home against Toronto, 112-109.
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