The Philadelphia 76ers have picked up where they left off from last year’s NBA regular season and have continued to rack up the wins despite the absence of All-Star Ben Simmons.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and and Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker broke out of their recent early-season slumps to deliver game-winning performances, with Doncic adding to his impressive of collection of game-winning buzzer beaters.
Read on below as SBOTOP shares four takeaways from the latest round of NBA games.
Doncic finally breaks out of shooting slump
Luka Doncic delivered yet more heroics for the Dallas Mavericks as his buzzer-beating 3-pointer sank the Boston Celtics, 107-104. Doncic drained the clutch fadeaway jumper despite several Celtics defenders draped all over him.
The Slovenian sensation finished with 33 points – which tied a season high – and had one of his best games of the season as he went 12-of-21 from the field and hit a season-high five threes.
Doncic had been in a shooting slump to start the season, shooting 42 per cent from the field and an abysmal 25 per cent on 3-pointers.
But this performance could be an indication that he is finally about to break out and play like the top MVP candidate many expected him to be to start the season.
Doncic’s return to form would be a huge boost for the Mavericks, who are off to a sputtering start offensively under new head coach Jason Kidd despite their 6-3 start.
The Mavs have another home game coming up against the struggling Pelicans, which should give Doncic another opportunity for another offensive explosion.
Shorthanded Sixers more than surviving without Simmons
The Philadelphia 76ers seem to be doing just fine without Ben Simmons. Despite the absence of their All-Star point guard, the Sixers are an East-leading 8-2 after picking up their sixth straight win against the upstart Chicago Bulls, 114-105.
After some early struggles, superstar big man Joel Embiid led the way with 30 points and 15 rebounds in one of his best performances of the season.
Aside from Simmons, the Sixers were also missing starters Tobias Harris and Danny Green and forward Matisse Thybulle. But Furkan Korkmaz filled in with 25 points and seven 3-pointers off the bench.
Amid their off-court issues, the Sixers seem to be getting on with their business on the court, which is a testament to head coach Doc Rivers.
While they still need more star power to compete for a championship, it seems safe to say they will at least be more than competitive in the regular season.
Suns starting to turn things around
The Phoenix Suns seem to be back on track after a somewhat slow start. They made a big fourth-quarter run to beat the Atlanta Hawks in a 121-117 shootout, their fourth win in a row.
Devin Booker shone with a season-high 38 points on 14-of-21 shooting. Chris Paul added 16 points and 13 assists for the Suns, who were without star big man Deandre Ayton due to a leg injury.
There has been some huge NBA 2021 news surrounding the Suns in recent days with quite serious allegations against owner Robert Sarver, but the players appear to have put those off-court issues aside for now.
Booker’s resurgence will be a huge boost for Phoenix as they look to make a return to the NBA Finals this season.
Herro continues strong case for Sixth Man
Tyler Herro is making quite a strong case to be the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. The Heat star scored 29 points on a sizzling 11-of-18 shooting as he outshone reigning Sixth Man Jordan Clarkson en route to a 118-115 win over the Utah Jazz.
Herro, who had quite a significant sophomore slump last year, has bounced back in a big way this year. He’s currently averaging 20.4 points per game – second on the team – to provide a much-needed offensive boost to the team.
The Heat have gone off to a great 7-2 start in large part due to Herro’s hot shooting. And with Kyle Lowry fitting in seamlessly to his new team and All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo both playing well, the Heat’s NBA 2021 odds of contending for the championship this season are looking quite appealing.
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