Playing without two key frontcourt pieces on the second night of a back-to-back, Atlanta kept pace early but was undone by turnovers, rebounding issues, and Houston’s late surge in a home loss.
With injuries mounting and Detroit arriving as the NBA’s top team in the Eastern Conference, Dallas will lean heavily on its young star as it looks to steady an uneven season.
Even without Nikola Jokić and Jonas Valančiūnas, Denver pushed Cleveland for three quarters before fading late in a loss that left interim coach David Adelman praising his team’s effort.
Detroit squandered a 19-point lead and saw its three-game winning run end in a 98–92 home loss to Los Angeles, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised his injury-riddled team’s effort.
Despite missing key starters, the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder extended their unbeaten start to the season with a 107–101 comeback victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Golden State overcame a long injury list with balanced scoring and a breakout night from rookie Will Richard in a convincing road win over Memphis.