On a night overshadowed by a Chicago Cubs championship berth and one of the best Game 7's we'll ever see, in any sport, there was also a ton of excitement during the NBA's nine game slate.

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Game Notes for November 2nd, 2016

Toronto Raptors 113, Washington Wizards 103

• DeMar DeRozan continues his early season tear, posting 40 points against the winless Wizards. He grabbed five boards, dished out another five, and went 14-23 from the field. There aren't many players hotter than DeRozan right now (besides the obvious). Also, the Raptors accumulated a combined 16 steals Wednesday night.
• Although not enough to overtake the Raptors, John Wall had something to say about DeRozan's sharpshooting, putting up 33 points of his own. He also added 11 assists, but turned the ball over a Harden-like nine times. Otto Porter broke out for 23 points and 13 rebounds in surprising fashion, while Marcin Gortat posted his second straight double-double.

 

Charlotte Hornets 109, Philadelphia 76ers 93 

• One of the league's best backcourts, Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum, combined for 44 points during the team's third win of the season. In the absence of Roy Hibbert, the recently paid Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky totaled 27 points out of the center position. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 13 rebounds.
• A Sixers team without Joel Embiid put up another fight, led by the 14 points and seven rebounds from Dario Saric. Six Philly players finished the night in double-digits, including their newest acquisition, Ersan Ilyasova. The 76ers will be a tough squad to predict for daily fantasy considering how evenly spread the minutes are. But for most of their players' prices, its worth the gamble for what they're capable of.

 

Brooklyn Nets 109, Detroit Pistons 101

• The Brooklyn Nets continue to fight and did what their New York counterpart were unable to do the night prior. In his best performance of the young season, Brook Lopez went off for an explosive 34 points, and 11 rebounds. Off the bench, Sean Kilpatrick also posted a double-double (24 points, 10 boards). The Nets should be interesting to watch all season.
• Both Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris continued their early season production, both posting 23 points and four rebounds. Andre Drummond, last year's double-double machine, specifically around this time of year, threw up a dud for fantasy owners (six points, six rebounds).

 

Houston Rockets 118, New York Knicks 99

• The Rockets had no issue handing the Knickerbockers their second loss in as many nights. The Beast they call James Harden dropped 30 points (third time in five games that he scored 30 or more) and added 15 dimes to Houston's winning cause. Most importantly, a night after turning the ball over an unprecedented one time, Harden followed up with a still relatively unusual three turnovers. Eric Gordon dropped 21 points, his first 20+ performance of the season, but has scored in double-digits in every game so far.
• Oh, the Knicks. What can we say about this team? They still need time to mesh? To learn the triangle? To trust new head coach, Jeff Hornacek? Let's just toss all these ingredients from their unsuccessful start into one giant cauldron, marinate it a bit with the sloppy and inefficient play of their bench, and stir. And stir. And stir. Because, this bad boy isn't going to taste good for a while. This team could be dangerous if they ever put it together. Until then, get used to watching Carmelo Anthony drop over 20 points like he did again last night. It also doesn't help when Kristaps Porzingis scores three points.

 

Los Angeles Lakers 123, Atlanta Hawks 116

• The kids in Los Angeles handed the Atlanta Hawks their first loss of the season. It was another team, familial effort from the youth out in the west coast, led by D'Angelo Russell's 23 points. Five other Lakers scored in double-digits while Luol Deng posted his second double-double with his new team. In the absence of Timofey Mozgov, rookie Ivica Zubac underperformed with only six points and three rebounds. It looks like Larry Nance Jr. will benefit the most from Mozgov's injury.
• Dwight Howard, shining on his new team, posted his second straight double-double (31 points, 11 boards) and his third in four games. Paul Millsap, stifled by the Lakers newly (kind of) defensive approach, was held to only 10 points. Off the bench, Tim Hardaway Jr. dropped 26 points, and nailed five of seven from behind the arc. Keep an eye on this kid. He won't post stats in other categories but he's a solid streaming option for points in seasonal leagues.

 

Memphis Grizzlies 89, New Orleans Pelicans 83

• Scoring under 90 points, the Grizzlies were able to hand the Pelicans their fifth straight loss. A night after being rested, Mike Conley (20 points) and Marc Gasol (11 rebounds, six assists) both contributed to the winning effort. In his best performance of the season, JaMychel Green dropped 21 points and grabbed six boards. Vince Carter (remember him?) saw 31 minutes of the floor, but missed all five of his field goal attempts.
• Winless. 0-5. What can we say about this team? The inconsistency continues from Anthony Davis, as the Brow posted only 10 points a night after dropping 35. Easily his worst performance of the season so far, we have to expect these types of games from AD. The Pelicans bench out-played the starting five, receiving 21 points from Lance Stephenson and 18 from both Langston Galloway and Buddy Hield respectively.

 

Boston Celtics 107, Chicago Bulls 100

• Several players picked up the slack in the absence of Al Horford. Specifically Amir Johnson, who shot nine of 11 from the field for 23 points, adding six rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks to a daily-fantasy dream performance. Expect his price to rise slightly, but plug him in consistently as long as Horford sits. I said this before. I'll say it again. This is Isaiah Thomas' year. He put up 23 points, 10 dimes, and three steals. A top-five finish among point guards is likely in his future.
• Rajon Rondo spread stats generously in the team's loss while Jimmy Butler dropped over 20 points for the second straight night, and third time in four games.

 

Utah Jazz 97, Dallas Mavericks 81

• George Hill and Rodney Hood were front and center for Utah's second straight win. Hill scored 25, sinking four from six from downtown. Hood was also successful from behind the arc, nailing half of his four attempts, aiding in his 22 point performance. Rudy Gobert posted his third double-double of the season. He has now grabbed double-digit rebounds in four of five contests, but missed an embarrassing eight free throws Wednesday night.
• Dallas is still winless, understandably after their leading scorer on the night was Harrison Barnes with 14 points.

 

Phoenix Suns 118, Portland Trail Blazers 115

• In one of the most surprising finishes of the night, the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers. However, this would have been more of an upset last year when both Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight went down with injury. But this Suns team, now with a healthy Bledsoe and Knight, have some swag to them (Yes, I know they've only won one game). T.J. Warren led the charge with 27 points while Tyson Chandler grabbed an insane 18 rebounds.
• The 51 points combined from arguably the best backcourt (Lillard 27, McCollum 24) in the league was not enough to overtake the Suns in this high-scoring affair. But the Trail Blazers looked lazy and flat on defense as Phoenix proved to be too much for them in their second straight loss.