Recent NBA news: Clippers, Utah struggle

The Los Angeles Clippers were hosts on Friday night as the Denver Nuggets came to town. The Clippers are currently in a stretch where they are missing Luke Kennard, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard. They fell 114-104 to the Nuggets on Friday with none of the team’s starters scoring more than 16 points.

John Wall was the highest scorer for the Clippers, a player that came off of the bench. Los Angeles may be reliant on him in the short term. Leonard and George are both expected to miss Sunday as well as per their coach, Ty Lue (qtd. at ESPN).

The Clippers are now 11-8 on the season while the Nuggets improved to 12-7. Nikola Jokic had a double-double for Denver for points and rebounds while Aaron Gordon scored 29 points.

Utah Jazz continue their slide

The Utah Jazz continued to slide down the standings after their hot start. This team was 10-3 but after a loss on Friday to Golden State, the Jazz are now 12-9 on the season. Mike Conley’s injury appears to have hurt this team as they lost their third straight since he started to miss games. The final score against the Warriors was 129-118.

Steph Curry had 33 points in the game to lead all scorers. The Warriors improved to 10-10 overall and they remain elite when hosting. They are 9-1 when playing from the comforts of their own building but the team does struggle on the road.

Milwaukee beats Cleveland 117-102

In one of the better match-ups of Friday evening, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 38 points for Milwaukee. Meanwhile, Wesley Matthews had an interesting statistical game as he came off of the bench and went +25 for point differential.

The Cavaliers continued to struggle on the road. They are just 4-6 this season when visiting. Meanwhile, the Bucks, who had been struggling lately, improved to 13-5 on the season.

Charlotte Hornets grabbed a rare win

The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. The score in the game was 110-108. Both teams have been disappointing this season as Minnesota has not been able to find a rhythm with their new lineup. Meanwhile, the Hornets have had a lot of injury news this season.

LaMelo Ball continues to miss games for Charlotte. He has made just three appearances so far this season due to a recurring ankle injury. In more recent news, Gordon Hayward has gone out.

Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward has been diagnosed with a fractured left shoulder and his timeline for a return will be on a week-to-week evaluation, his agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports told ESPN on Friday night.

ESPN November 26th, 2022 – Adrian Wojnarowski

Further reading: NFL recap for Week 12’s Thursday games