New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry missed his team’s game against Atlanta with stomach discomfort, and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer – already wearing a sling after undergoing hand surgery – left the sidelines after being knocked over by a player.
Pelicans guard Langston Galloway bowled him over while attempting to save a loose ball.
The good news is that neither is expected to miss time when the games start counting for real next week.
Neither is Kyrie Irving. On the night Cleveland got its starting lineup from Game 7 of last season’s NBA Finals together for the first time in this preseason, now that J.R. Smith has re-signed, Irving left in the second quarter of the Cavaliers’ match against Washington with a left calf strain.
Irving, who went scoreless in 10 minutes, joined a long list of players who are dealing with aches and pains as the preseason winds down.
Miami was without Justise Winslow (back) and Luke Babbitt (groin), and still haven’t seen Josh McRoberts (foot) and Josh Richardson (knee) on the floor in the preseason. Hassan Whiteside also missed the game because of a death in his family, and James Johnson tweaked his left foot to sideline him for the second half.
Orlando rested Aaron Gordon and Bismack Biyombo, Washington’s Otto Porter (ribs) missed his second straight contest, Denver played without Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle) and Wilson Chandler (rest), plus was again missing Darrell Arthur (knee) and Gary Harris (groin).
With Gentry out, New Orleans was led by associate head coach Darren Erman. And Erman went without Anthony Davis (ankle), E’Twaun Moore (heel), Tyreke Evans (knee), Quincy Pondexter (knee), Robert Sacre (foot) and Jrue Holiday (personal).
The Los Angeles Clippers played without Paul Pierce in Sacramento, after the veteran sprained an ankle while warming up for the game.
Cleveland’s forward trio of LeBron James (18), Kevin Love (15) and Tristan Thompson (14) combined for 47 points in the defending champs’ final tune-up game, but that was not enough to prevent a 96-91 loss to Washington.
Thompson also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Andrew Nicholson scored 19 points and John Wall added 17 for Washington, which got four free throws from Marcus Thornton in the final 19 seconds. Thornton finished with 16 points.
Miami’s Goran Dragic scored 17 points and handed out five assists as the Heat beat Orlando 107-77.
Miami got 16 points and 11 rebounds from Willie Reed, and 15 each from Dion Waiters and Tyler Johnson. Serge Ibaka scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Orlando.
Atlanta’s Dwight Howard had 10 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes to power the Hawks to a 96-89 win against New Orleands.
Kyle Korver and Dennis Schroder each had 13 as Atlanta went with what’s likely to be its opening-night starters.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led Atlanta with 16 points off the bench. Terrence Jones had a game-high 18 points for New Orleans.
Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams had 17 points in a 97-87 win against Denver.
Enes Kanter had 15 points and Russell Westbrook had 12 points in 18 minutes for the Thunder. Danilo Gallinari led Denver with 18 points.
The Los Angeles Clippers became the first visiting NBA team to play at Sacramento’s new Golden 1 Center and beat the Kings 92-89.
J.J. Redick scored 18 points in 22 minutes and Blake Griffin scored 12 points for the Clippers.
DeMarcus Cousins led all scorers with 23 for the Kings.
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