Hibbert puts on a defensive clinic to spur Pacers on.
Despite there being 11 games on the NBA schedule on Friday night, there were few shocks as the Eastern Conference favourites all picked up impressive wins.
Leading the way are the Indiana Pacers, who made it a 9-0 start to the season following their 104-77 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
With Roy Hibbert scoring 24 points and registering eight blocks, the Pacers center is living up to his promise of being a candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award while also sparking his team to progress.
Their unbeaten run will undoubtedly be tested on Saturday night when they visit the United Center to take on the Chicago Bulls, who were also in winning form.
Despite the absence of Derrick Rose who is sidelined with a hamstring injury, the Bulls had no problems in getting past the Toronto Raptors with a 96-80 win.
Coach Tom Thibodeau had all five starters end the game in double scoring figures, and remained hopeful that his star point guard would be able to feature against Indiana.
Elsewhere, the Miami Heat joined the winning club with a 110-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks behind 39 points from LeBron James while Dwyane Wade had a career-best eight steals on the night.
Both Miami and Chicago had made slow starts to the season, but following their latest wins they have moved up to second and third in the Eastern Conference respectively.
Meanwhile, there was another win for the Charlotte Bobcats who improved their season record to 5-4 with a 86-80 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, while one of the stand-out performances of the night came from Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague who had 33 points and 10 assists in the 113-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Over in the West, the Denver Nuggets made home advantage count when they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-113, while the Los Angeles Lakers’ inconsistency continued as they fell to a 89-86 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
In contrast, one team which isn’t having any problems so far this season as they made it seven consecutive wins are the San Antonio Spurs.
Tony Parker had a game-high 22 points in the 91-82 win over the Utah Jazz, while Tim Duncan (14) and Boris Diaw (17) had a significant impact too as Greg Popovich’s men continue to bank the wins.
NBA Results:
Milwaukee Bucks 77-104 Indiana Packers
Chicago Bulls 96-80 Toronto Raptors
Philadelphia 76ers 103-113 Atlanta Hawks
Portland Trail Blazers 109-96 Boston Celtics
Charlotte Bobcats 86-80 Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks 104-110 Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves 113-117 Denver Nuggets
Brooklyn Nets 100-98 Phoenix Suns
San Antonio Spurs 91-82 Utah Jazz
Memphis Grizzlies 89-86 Los Angeles Lakers
Detroit Pistons 97-90 Sacramento Kings
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