Golden State Warriors 121-85 New York Knicks
Golden State Warriors continued their hot form, making light work of the New York Knicks. Whilst handing New York a 121-85 loss, the Warriors won their sixth straight overall and an NBA record 50th consecutive game at home. After the third quarter, Golden State led 97-64, allowing the starters to sit out the entire fourth quarter ahead of a three games in four nights road trip to Dallas, San Antonio, and Minnesota.
Stephen Curry had eight 3 pointers as part of his 34 points (12 of 20) while Draymond Green had all round game with a box score reading 6 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Bench player Marreese Speights with 13 points had his fourth double digits occasions in five games. For the New York Knicks, other than Carmelo Anthony’s 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists there were no other bright spots.
With the Golden State Warriors having already sealed their Playoff spot and the New York Knicks having practically been eliminated, this game had absolutely no Playoff implications attached to it.
Oklahoma City Thunder 130-109 Boston Celtics
In what was Kevin Durant’s first game in Boston since November 23rd of 2012, the Oklahoma City Thunder marched in and blew the Boston Celtics out 130-109. Durant flirted with a triple-double scoring 28 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out 9 assists. Four other players (Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter and Rany Foye) scored in double figures as there were chants of “Come to Boston” by the crowd when KD went to the free throw line.
For Boston after winning 14 straight games at home, they have now lost two in a row at home(previous loss against Houston Rockets) and three of their last four games. Isaiah Thomas scored a team-high 29 points, Amir Johnson had 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists but it simply not enough against the Thunder, who outrebounded the C’s (53-42) and restricted them to just 17 assists ( team average- 24.5).
While the win helps OKC keep their lead over the Los Angeles Clippers for the third spot, the loss pulls the C’s down from the third to the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference Standings.
Dallas Mavericks 98-99 Cleveland Cavaliers
With a rough schedule ahead and this being the third game in four nights for the Cavaliers, superstar LeBron James was rested. The team was 0-2 without him so far this season but Kevin Love (23 points, 18 rebounds) and Kyrie Irving (33 points) had something to say about that stat in this game. Irving had a key steal in the closing minutes of the game to help the Cavs escape with a 99-98 win.
For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki and David Lee each scored a team-high 20 points but the team just could not seal the game in the closing moments with two turnovers in the final minute. With the Utah Jazz winning three in a row and Dallas losing five of their last six, the Mavs have gone from comfortably in the sixth spot to holding a small lead for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference Playoffs race.
Watch Irving’s 33 points here:
Los Angeles Clippers 122-106 Houston Rockets
After being restricted to 87 points by the San Antonio Spurs defense on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Clippers came out red hot on offense, scoring 72 points in only the first half. Here are some of the number’s from their first half:
After leading by 22 at halftime, the Clippers never looked back and won the game 122-106. Chris Paul starred with 15 points and dished out 16 assists while center DeAndre Jordan had a dominant game on the glass with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Shooting guard J.J. Redick had 25 points on 7 of 15 shooting.
With the bottom four of the top eight teams losing, this win helps the Clippers solidify the fourth seed in the West. Although not confirmed, given the state of the standings it can be safely said that Clippers will have home court advantage at least in the first round.
James Harden scored a game-high 33 points and had 8 assists but once again failed to lead his team to victory. He had some sloppy defensive plays and to make matters worse was accountable for 8 of the team’s 16 turnovers. The Rockets are now tied with the Mavericks for the eighth spot and also hold a slim lead over the surging Utah Jazz.
Orlando Magic 99-107 Charlotte Hornets
Nicolas Batum (CHA): 27 pts, 9 asts, 7 rebs
Victor Oladipo (ORL): 25 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts, 3 blks
Atlanta Hawks 118-114 Detroit Pistons
Al Horford (ATL): 21 pts, 11 rebs, 4 asts
Andre Drummond (DET): 18 pts, 18 rebs
Minnesota Timberwolves 114-108 Memphis Grizzlies
Lance Stephenson (MEM): 24 pts, 11 rebs, 7 asts
Gorgui Dieng (MIN): 15 pts, 7 asts, 6 rebs
New Orleans Pelicans 123-108 Sacramento Kings
Anthony Davis (NOP): 27 pts, 14 rebs
DeMarcus Cousins (SAC): 20 pts, 12 rebs, 5 asts
Chicago Bulls 96-117 Washington Wizards
Jimmy Butler (CHI): 17 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 3 stls
John Wall (WAS): 29 pts, 12 asts, 10 rebs
Guess the Lakers players!
