There’s no better way to improve our “Monday mood” than a night of good basketball, and the NBA has never disappointed. Last night was no exception, and the lineup of games produced some interesting results.

Bulls Take A Win Against The Pacers

Zach LeVine demonstrated the incredible improvement he’s had this season with the Chicago Bulls.  It looks like he’s looking to be more than just a flashy scorer. After having an awesome fourth quarter and scoring 12 of his 30 points, he helped the Bulls as they went into overtime and found a win against the Indiana Pacers, 120-112 on Monday night.  Bulls head coach Billy Donavan was impressed with LaVine’s performance and said,  “I feel like he’s working defensively, and I think he’s finding out how difficult it is to be a two-way player in this league.”

A 3-pointer made by Denzel Valentine gave the Bulls a lead of 110-105 and they never trailed again.  Malcolm Brogdon tried to give it all after getting 23 points and 15 rebounds, but the Pacers couldn’t hold it at the end of the fourth quarter when Domantas Sabonis gave a 2 points lead over the Bulls.  The Pacers will now try to win its fourth straight over Minnesota on Wednesday, while the Bulls are visiting Charlotte on the same day.

Rockets Suffer Because Of Injuries

John Wall of the Houston Rockets and Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards reunited on the floor wearing different uniforms now, but something was going on, based on last night’s performances.  They apparently keep motivating each other to play their best.  In an entertaining duel with his ex-teammate, Beal managed to score a total of 37 points to help the Wiz overcome the Rockets on Monday night, 131-119.

This was Wall’s first game in Washington after being traded to Houston last December. He came strong to demonstrate what he is was made of and scored 29 points and 11 assists for the Rockets. Their leading scorer, Eric Gordon, was sidelined, as was Christian Wood, Victor Oladipo, and P.J. Tucker, and Houston has now dropped its sixth straight. As part of what’s coming next, the Rockets will visit the Philadelphia 76ers while the Wizards will host Denver on Wednesday night.

Hawks Don’t Soar Against The Knicks

Julius Randle was on fire last night for the New York Knicks and, after scoring a season-high 44 points and making a career-best seven 3-pointers, the Knicks picked up their third straight victory.  That includes the victory against Atlanta Hawks on Monday night, 123-112.

It’s clear that this has been one of the best performances from Randle, as he also added nine rebounds and five assists. He can now be considered for the All-Star Game in Atlanta next month. His teammate RJ Barret said, “What else does he have to do? The man’s an All-Star.”

Barret also contributed with 21 points, while Immanuel Quickley also added 16 points for the Knicks. On the other hand, Trae Young got 23 points and eight assists for the Hawks, who have now dropped their fourth straight game, and seventh in the last eight games.  The Hawks will visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday and Friday, while the Knicks are visiting the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Utah Continues Strong

With the absence of Joel Embiid, the second superstar of the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Simmons took control with a career-best performance despite a Sixers loss against the NBA-Leading Utah Jazz, 134-123 on Monday night.  Simmons got a total of 42 points at the end of the match, as well as five assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block in the best quarter of his season, and maybe his entire career.  Simmons is now the first player since 1997 to score 19 points in just one single quarter, while shooting 100%, according to Basketball-Reference. Tobias Harris also contributed to the victory with a total of 36 points.  While on the other hand, the 40 points scored by Jordan Clarkson for the Sixers weren’t enough to achieve a victory this time.