By R.L. Bynum
Early in his second NBA season, Cole Anthony has put the frustrations of his rookie year behind him and played consistently for the Orlando Magic.
He scored 24 points for the second consecutive game, although the final seconds didn’t work out well in a 110–109 road loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Anthony had the ball with Orlando (1–5) down by one when Toronto’s Gary Trent Jr. knocked the ball away from him with seconds left. Anthony recovered it but only had time to heave up a half-court shot at the buzzer that missed.
“We had the matchup that we wanted and he ended up making a great defensive play,” Anthony said of Trent. “I tried to swipe through, he got a hand on it and so that’s why the ball went back to the back court. Sometimes they’re gonna make a great defensive possession. So, I just got to give a shout out to Gary Trent.”
Anthony had four games with at least 20 points during his rookie season but already has three this season. He’s done it in consecutive games for the first time in his NBA career.
He scored at least 20 points in his first three UNC games (34 against Notre Dame, 20 against UNC Wilmington and 28 against Gardner Webb) and did it two consecutive games later in the season (25 Feb. 9, 2019, at Syracuse and 28 March 3 vs. Wake Forest.)
He’s shooting 43.2% from the floor after making 7 of 13 shots and 5 of 6 3-point attempts Friday and says he’s in a pretty good shooting rhythm.
“I feel pretty solid,” Anthony said. “I still think I got a ways to go. I think I can just keep getting better and keep helping this team get better. So, seeing shots fall is always cool. But, you know, when you put in the time every single day for that, it better fall. That’s a threat to the basketball. It better fall.”
Harrison Barnes’ hot start to the season continued with his second double-double. Barnes collected 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Sacramento Kings’ 113–109 victory at New Orleans and is averaging a double-double with 25.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
The Kings are off to a 3–2 start.
Wayne Ellington’s recovery from a hamstring strain continues. He didn’t play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 113–101 win over Cleveland and still hasn’t made his season debut.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel said that he wants Ellington to practice one more time before playing. The Lakers (3–3) next play Sunday night at home against Houston.
Ed Davis got into the game late for the Cavaliers (3–3), pulling down a rebound in two minutes.
The good news for Reggie Bullock is that he was in the Dallas starting lineup for the first time this season in the last two games.
Neither game went that well, though, as he shot 2 of 6 in both. Bullock had seven points in 30 minutes of the Mavericks’ 104–99 Thursday home win over San Antonio and five points in 22 minutes of their 106–75 Friday loss at Denver.
Bullock is shooting 33.3% from 3-point range for the season.
Dallas is 3–2.
With Norman Powell back in the Portland lineup, Nassir Little came off the bench for the first time in three games in the Trail Blazers’ 111–92 home win Friday over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Little ended up with 16 more seconds of playing time than Powell, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds. He hit 2 of 3 3-point attempts and has made 46.2% of his 3-point shots on the season.
Portland is 3–2.
In the Chicago Bulls’ first loss of the season Thursday, 104–103 vs. New York, Tony Bradley had two points and three rebounds in six minutes. The Bulls are tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference at 4–1.
Danny Green went scoreless, missing all five shots, with two steals and two blocks in Philadelphia’s 110–102 Thursday win against Detroit. The Sixers are 3–2.
How Tar Heels did Thursday and Friday
Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic guard
110–109 Friday loss at Toronto — Started; 33 minutes, 24 points, 7–13 FG, 5–6 3FG, 5–6 FT, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, +16, 19.1 game score
Season statistics — 6 games, 18.2 points, 43.2 FG%, 39.0 3FG%, 81.0 FT%, 7.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists
Up next — 7 p.m. Saturday at Detroit; 8 p.m. Monday at Minnesota
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Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings forward
113–109 Friday win at New Orleans — Started; 36 minutes, 18 points, 5–9 FG, 2–3 3FG, 6–6 FT, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, +5, 17.7 game score
Season statistics — 5 games, 25.0 points, 51.9 FG%, 52.8 3FG%, 82.8 FT%, 10.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Up next — 3:30 Sunday at Dallas; 9 p.m. Tuesday at Utah
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Tony Bradley, Chicago Bulls center
104–103 Thursday loss vs. New York — 6 minutes, 2 points, 1–2 FG, 3 rebounds, +1, 3.1 game score
Season statistics — 2 games, 2.0 points, 66.7 FG%, 2.0 rebounds
Up next — 8 p.m. Saturday vs. Utah; 7:30 Monday at Boston
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Reggie Bullock, Dallas Mavericks guard/forward
104–99 Thursday win vs. San Antonio — Started; 30 minutes, 7 points, 2–6 FG, 2–5 3FG, 1–2 FT, 2 rebounds, +10, 3.8 game score
106–75 Friday loss at Denver — Started; 22 minutes, 5 points, 2–6 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2 rebounds, -28, 2.2 game score
Season statistics — 5 games, 6.4 points, 36.7 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 50.0 FT%, 2.4 rebounds, 0.2 of an assist
Up next — 3:30 Sunday vs. Sacramento; 7:30 Tuesday vs. Miami, TNT
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Ed Davis, Cleveland Cavaliers center
113–101 Friday loss at Los Angeles Lakers — 2 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, +/- of 0, 0.3 game score
Season statistics — 2 games, 0 points, 1 rebound
Up next — 10 p.m. Saturday at Phoenix; 7 p.m. Monday at Charlotte, BSSE
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Wayne Ellington, Los Angeles Lakers guard
113–101 Friday win vs. Cleveland — Hasn’t made season debut as he recovers from a left hamstring strain
Up next — 10:30 Sunday vs. Houston; 10:30 Tuesday vs. Houston
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Danny Green, Philadelphia 76ers forward
110–102 Thursday win vs. Detroit — Started; 28 minutes, 0 points, 0–5 FG, 0–5 3FG, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks, +19, 0.1 game score
Season statistics — 5 games, 5.8 points, 38.5 FG%, 36.0 3FG%, 2.4 rebounds, 0.2 of an assist
Up next — 7:30 Saturday vs. Atlanta, NBATV; 7 p.m. Monday vs. Portland
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Cameron Johnson, Phoenix Suns wing
Off Thursday and Friday
Season statistics — 4 games, 6.3 points, 34.6 FG%, 35.3 3FG%, 1.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Up next — 10 p.m. Saturday vs. Cleveland; 10 p.m. Tuesday vs. New Orleans, TNT
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Nassir Little, Portland Trail Blazers forward/guard
111–92 Friday win vs. Los Angeles Clippers — 24 minutes, 8 points, 2–7 FG, 2–3 3FG, 2–2 FT, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, -8, 8.8 game score
Season statistics — 5 games, 9.0 points, 51.5 FG%, 46.2 3P%, 71.4 FT%, 5.6 rebounds, 0.8 of an assist
Up next — 7 p.m. Sunday at Charlotte, BSSE; 7 p.m. Monday at Philadelphia
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Day’Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn Nets center
105–92 Friday win vs. Indiana — Didn’t play (coach’s decision)
Season statistics — 3 games, 2 points, 1–2 FG, 0–1 3FG
Up next — 7:30 Sunday vs. Detroit; 7:30 Wednesday vs. Atlanta, ESPN
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Recovering from injury
Coby White, Chicago Bulls guard (had left shoulder surgery; unlikely to play until late November)
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In G League
Justin Jackson, Texas Legends forward (Dallas Mavericks affiliate); opener Nov. 5 at Lakeland Magic (Orlando Magic affiliate)
Theo Pinson, Maine Celtics guard (Boston Celtics affiliate); opener Nov. 5 at College Park Skyhawks (Atlanta Hawks affiliate)
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