October 20th NBA Game Boxscore Breakdowns

Indiana racked 67 first-half points, but the Nets responded with 58. The Pacers posted their best point total (37) of any quarter in the fourth to pull away. The Nets shot at a 47.7-percent clip, while the Pacers generated a 55.4 percent success rate, including 66.7 percent from distance. Brooklyn committed twice the turnovers (20) of their hosts. Joe Harris' and Caris LeVert's matching 19-point efforts led the Nets. Spencer Dinwiddie supplied 13 points, while Rodions Kurucs and D'Angelo Russell registered matching 12-point tallies. Allen Crabbe's 10 points led the bench. Victor Oladipo's 25 points led Indiana. Kyle O'Quinn managed 16 points and eight rebounds. Bojan Bogdanovic poured in 15, while Tyreke Evans matched his scoring total. Myles Turner (14 points), Darren Collison (13 points) and Thaddeus Young (10 points) rounded out the starters' productive showing.

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting, 12 assists, three rebounds, one steal and one block, in 34 minutes. Jonas Valanciunas finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, one assist and a block, while Serge Ibaka tallied 16 points, nine rebounds, one steal and one block. Fred VanVleet added 13 points, five assists and four rebounds, in 26 minutes off the bench, while Pascal Siakam tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Meanwhile, Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting, six assists, three rebounds, one steal and one block, in 35 minutes. John Wall followed up with 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting, six assists, four rebounds, four steals and one block. Markieff Morris tallied 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

The Celtics saw their 31-18 first-quarter advantage almost completely flipped in the second, leading to a slim 50-48 halftime lead. The Knicks got as close as 101-100 with 10.1 seconds left following a Trey Burke driving dunk, but Jayson Tatum's pair of free throws in the closing seconds proved enough to hold off the feisty hosts. Tatum's 24 points, a total he partly supplemented with 14 rebounds, led the Celtics. Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris followed with matching 16-point tallies. Terry Rozier turned in 10 points, while Al Horford mustered eight points and 10 rebounds. Tim Hardaway, Jr.'s 24 points paced the Knicks. Enes Kanter managed a 17-point, 15-rebound double-double. Allonzo Trier turned in 15 points and Burke was just short of a double-double with a line partly consisting of 11 points and nine assists.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 32 points on 13-of-26 shooting, 10 rebounds and three assists, in 33 minutes. J.J. Redick followed up with 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting, four rebounds and four assists. Dario Saric finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal, while Robert Covington added 12 points, four rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist. Markelle Fultz tallied eight points, seven assists, four rebounds and one steal, in 22 minutes. Meanwhile, Evan Fournier finished with 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting, four rebounds, three assists and one steal, in 33 minutes for Orlando. Nikola Vucevic came up big with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 13 rebounds, 12 assists and two steals, in 37 minutes of action, while Aaron Gordon finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds three assists, three blocks and one steal.

Blake Griffin led the Pistons with 33 points on 12-of-23 shooting, 12 rebounds, five assists and two block, in 35 minutes of action. Reggie Jackson followed up with 18 points on 4-of-9 shooting, six assists and one rebound, in 28 minutes. Andre Drummond tallied 10 points, 13 rebounds and one block, in 24 minutes, while Ish Smith chipped in 15 points, four rebounds and four assists, in 28 minutes off the bench. Meanwhile, Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 33 points on 12-of-21 shooting, four rebounds and three assists, in 37 minutes. Justin Holiday followed up with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Cameron Payne added 17 points, four assists and three rebounds, while Jabari Parker tallied 13 points, five rebounds and one assist, in 24 minutes off the bench.

The Hornets saw a commanding 72-52 lead evaporate in the second half, with the Heat outscoring them by a 60-41 margin. Miami's bench generated 43 points to help spearhead the rally. The Heat won the rebounding battle, 49-40, and out-shot Charlotte, 46.1 percent to 44.1 percent. Kemba Walker's-high 39 points led the Hornets, a total he supplemented with seven assists and five rebounds. Malik Monk (15 points), Marvin Williams (13 points), Jeremy Lamb (12 points) and Cody Zeller (11 points) were all considerably behind Walker on the scoreboard. Dwyane Wade's 21 points off the bench paced the Heat. Goran Dragic provided 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Rodney McGruder pitched in a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double. Derrick Jones, Jr. and Bam Adebayo mustered matching 12-point tallies. Hassan Whiteside contributed an 11-point, 15-rebound double-double.

The two clubs combined for 83 first-quarter points and were deadlocked at 69 at halftime. The Timberwolves entered the final period with a two-point lead, but Dallas mustered a game-high 43 points to clinch victory. Each team shot at least 50.0 percent in the high-scoring conference battle. Karl-Anthony Towns' 31 points led the T-Wolves. Derrick Rose followed with a bench-leading 28 points, while Jeff Teague tallied 22 points and nine assists. Andrew Wiggins poured in 19 points, Taj Gibson's contributed nine, and first-round pick Josh Okogie pitched in six points and five boards while filling in for Jimmy Butler (rest). Luka Doncic's 26 points led the Mavericks. DeAndre Jordan posted a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double. Dennis Smith, Jr., Wesley Matthews and Dwight Powell turned in a trio of 19-point tallies. J.J. Barea pitched in a 12-point, 11-assist double-double.

The Nuggets forged a 30-16 first-quarter advantage and a 16-point halftime edge. Denver then outscored the Suns, 27-12, in the final period. Denver was especially effective on defense, limiting Phoenix to 37.7 percent shooting while eliciting 19 turnovers. Devin Booker's 25 points, which he supplemented with seven assists, two rebounds and one steal, led the Suns. T.J. Warren had a bench-leading 16 points, while Isaiah Canaan supplied 15. Mikal Bridges turned in 10 points off the bench, but fellow first-rounder Deandre Ayton only contributed five points, eight rebounds and one assist. Nikola Jokic's 35-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double paced the Nuggets. Jamal Murray followed with 26 points, while Gary Harris totaled 18. Will Barton and Paul Millsap rounded out a successful night for the starting five with 14-point tallies, with the latter also hauling 10 boards.

After a 22-22 first-quarter deadlock, the Trail Blazers outscored the Spurs by a 75-60 over the middle periods to gain the distance that led to the double-digit win. Portland drained an impressive 53.6 percent of their attempts and San Antonio managing a 42.4 percent success rate. The star duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 53 points on identical 9-for-15 shooting efforts. DeMar DeRozan's 28 points, a total he partly supplemented with nine assists, paced the Spurs. Bryn Forbes had 17 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay contributed matching 12-point tallies. Davis Bertans (11 points) and Paul Gasol (10 points) were productive off the bench. Lillard's 29 points and nine assists led Portland. McCollum followed with 24. Jusuf Nurkic offered 12 points and eight boards, and Zach Collins' 11 points paced the bench.

The Rockets mustered a 10-3 run over the final 23 seconds to finally seal the hard-fought win. A pivotal development was the ejection of Rajon Rondo. Brandon Ingram and Chris Paul with just over four minutes remaining after a melee following a James Harden drive to the basket. Harden's 36 points led the Rockets. Paul posted a 28-point, 10-assist double-double, while Clint Capela went for 19 and 12. Gerald Green's 13 points paced the bench, and Carmelo Anthony totaled seven points and 10 boards. LeBron James' 24 points led the Lakers. JaVale McGee was next with a line that included 16 points and five blocks. Lonzo Ball produced 14 points in 26 minutes. Rondo contributed a 13-point, 10-assist double-double, and Ingram registered 12 points. Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma each tallied 11 points off the bench.