NBA Round-up: Bucks are the hottest team in the NBA
Mumbai, 9 December 2019: We're through the first quarter of the season as teams' true identities have started to show. We've seen two teams dominate the league as the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers sit atop their respective conferences, while there has been some clear parity amongst the rest of the NBA.
The Toronto Raptors entered the week on a seven-game winning streak and proceeded to drop three-consecutive games.
They started by suffering their first home loss of the season when Jimmy Butler took over in overtime to lead the Miami Heat past Toronto. They followed that with another close home loss as head coach Nick Nurse tried an intriguing defense against prolific scorer James Harden and though they were able to hold him to just 23 points, the Rockets supporting cast made the Raptors pay.
In their final game of the week against the Philadelphia 76ers, they let Philly jump out to a big lead and despite a late push, couldn't complete the comeback.
The LA Clippers picked up two wins this week but neither could mask the magnitude of their one loss.
In what many people deemed as a potential NBA Finals matchup against the Bucks, LA was handled with ease en route to a 28-point loss.
After the loss, head coach Doc Rivers admitted the Clippers have not done their best to get the most out of their two newly acquired superstars.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George responded accordingly, seeming to find offense much easier against a bad defensive team like the Wizards. The dynamic duo combined for 61 points in a win, setting the tone for what is a big week ahead.
Dallas Mavericks has been one of the best surprises to the start of the season behind the play of MVP candidate Luka Doncic.
Doncic hasn't slowed down in the slightest, as he passed Michael Jordan in the history books with 19-consecutive games with at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
The only player in NBA history with a longer streak is Oscar Robertson, who has achieved the feat on four separate occasions and holds the record with 29-straight games reaching those marks.
The LA Lakers capped off a perfect week with an exclamation point as Anthony Davis went for 50 points in a win over the Timberwolves.
It only took 29 shots, as Davis went 20-for-29 from the field while stuffing the stat sheet with seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block in his first 50-point game in a Lakers uniform.
This performance was on-brand for Anthony Davis, who scored 39 points in their win over the Blazers while going for 25-plus in the other two victories. The Brow is really starting to take over as the go-to guy on this Lakers' squad, though LeBron James hasn't fallen off in the slightest. In Year 17, The King is looking like he's in his prime averaging over 25 points to go with a league-leading 10.8 assists per game.
It was another perfect week for the Bucks. The hottest team in the NBA has extended their win streak to 14 games with their final victory coming in a statement win over the LA Clippers.
In what was supposed to be one of the best battles of the early regular-season schedule, the Bucks used their game against the Clippers to send a loud message to the rest of the league.
They dominated Clippers by 28 points and didn't even need any sort of freakish performance from MVP candidate Giannis Antetokoumpo, who posted 27 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists in just 26 minutes of playing time.