It was yet another thrilling night in the NBA on Wednesday with some equally thrilling play from those with roots on the African continent.
Deng flies Lakers past Hawks
South Sudanese Luol Deng led the young Lakers team past a more experienced Atlanta Hawks with his 13 points and 10 rebounds, recording his first double-double of the season in a 123-116 victory. D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young combined for 40 points (23 and 17) as the Lakers sealed an impressive win.
For the Hawks, German-Gambian Dennis Schroder had 11 points and two rebounds, Swiss-South African Thabo Sefolosha had four points and four rebounds, while Dwight Howard led the Hawks and had a double-double in the process with 31 points and 11 rebounds against his former team.
Superb Harden downs Knicks
In New York, the Houston Rockets stole the show and beat the Knicks 118-99. Clint Capela had eight points and six rebounds, while James Harden lead the way with his 30 point 15 assists double-double. Montrezl Harrell also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
New York had Carmelo Anthony top score for them with 21 points, while Courtney Lee and Derrick Rose finished the game with 16 points apiece.
WATCH NOW: KWESÉ APP PROMO
Hornets sting Sixers
In Charlotte, the Philadelphia 76ers were missing the presence of Cameroonian Joel Embiid, who did not play, and lost 109-99 to the Hornets. Jahlil Okafor, who missed the 76ers’ previous game had 12 points, while Dario Saric and Ersan Ilyasova both had 14 points.
Nicolas Batum had 20 points and seven rebounds, but Kemba Walker lead the Hornets on the night with 22 points.
Win over Mavs music to Jazz ears
The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Jazz in Utah 97-81. Salah Mejri had a slow night and did not score but had one rebound and a block. Harrison Barnes was the pick of the Mavericks players as he finished the night with 14 points and two rebounds.
George Hill was the leading scorer for the hosts with 25 points and six rebounds, while Rudy Gobert had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Rodney Hood and Joe Johnson combined for 35.
Suns blaze on Portland
The Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-115 in overtime off the back of TJ Warren’s 27 points. Eric Bledsoe and Alex Len combined for 38. For the Blazers, Damian Lillard scored 27 points with CJ McCollum added 24. Nigerian Al-Farouq Aminu came away with eight points, five rebounds, four steals an assist and a block.
You can win a trip to the NBA All-Star game simply by downloading the new Kwesé App, which allows you to watch Live NBA action at the click of a button. Download the Android app at Google Play, or the iOS verson at the App Store!
Westbrook leads Thunder to narrow win over Clippers
Russell Westbrook’s supreme scoring form continued when he dropped 35 points on the LA Clippers as OKC won 85-83 in LA. American-Nigerian Victor Oladipo added nine points and five rebounds in the hotly contested game.
It was a low scoring night for the Clippers as Chris Paul was held to 15 points. Blake Griffin and Marreese Speights both contributed 14 apiece.
The rest
In other games on Wednesday night the Chicago Bulls lost to the Boston Celtics 107-100, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the New Orleans Pelicans 89-83, the Detroit Pistons went down to the Brooklyn Nets 109-101, the Toronto Raptors beat the Wizards in Washington 113-103.
By Kaunda Chama
