Ball reaches three-point milestone
LaMelo Ball reached 1,000 career NBA three-pointers as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Milwaukee Bucks 112–100. Eurohoops said Ball reached the mark in 311 games, fewer than any other player in league history. He joined Minnesota in a summer trade from Charlotte.
Ball scored 34 points, collected six rebounds and made six of 13 three-point attempts against Milwaukee.
The Golden State Warriors overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 116–113 at Chase Center. Stephen Curry scored 34 points and reserve Charles Bassey added a career-high 19. Golden State’s Draymond Green was ejected after two technical fouls in the same third-quarter sequence; the first followed his throwdown of Phoenix center Khaman Maluach after the whistle.
Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks confronted Green, and the two grabbed each other’s jerseys before being separated. After a review, officials gave both technical fouls, automatically ejecting Green for his second.
Golden State’s fifth straight win followed an 0–3 start and left the team at 5–3. The Warriors are scheduled to host Miami at Chase Center on Thursday.
Atlanta beat Indiana 108–104 in Indianapolis on 2 November. Indiana used only six players, with 11 sidelined by injuries, illness or rest; its fifth straight loss left it 2–6. According to ESPN Research, the last team to use six or fewer players this early in a season was the 1948 Lakers, who used five in their third game.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Atlanta with 34 points. Quenton Jackson’s steal and layup brought Indiana within two with 1:36 left, but he missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer with 43.1 seconds remaining. Onyeka Okongwu’s jumper with 10.2 seconds left established the final margin.
Indiana started Jay Huff, Quenton Jackson, Jarace Walker, Braden Smith and Jalen Slawson, with Kobe Brown its only reserve. Smith, Slawson and Brown were on two-way contracts. Every player logged between 34 and 44 minutes: Jackson played the fewest and Walker the most.
Indiana’s previous six-player game was a loss to Orlando on 20 November 2004, the day after the Pacers–Pistons brawl that led to multiple suspensions. Rick Carlisle, who also coached that team, compared its effort with this game. Before Monday’s game, played on the second night of a back-to-back, Carlisle described the absences as injury management; afterward he said his players had all played too many minutes but praised their effort. Smith also praised the effort, saying the exhaustion of playing with six made the game mentally difficult.
Philadelphia beat Chicago 126–107 and improved to 7–1. LeBron James finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
Portland overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Denver 118–110 at Ball Arena, Eurohoops reported. San Antonio beat Utah 119–97.
In the other 2 November NBA regular-season games, New Orleans beat Memphis 135–134 in overtime, Washington beat Orlando 103–94, New York beat Brooklyn 103–90, Detroit beat Charlotte 124–91, Sacramento beat Dallas 115–100, Houston beat Boston 109–93 and Toronto beat the Los Angeles Clippers 125–118.
