San Antonio Spurs 87-79 Golden State Warriors
Lot of streaks stayed alive as the San Antonio Spurs came out as winners from a grind out game with the Golden State Warriors. A showdown between the two best teams in the league turned into a defensive slugfest in a low scoring game of chess. Both teams went small to start the game and that’s when the chess matches began with the match-ups.
The Spurs have now won 35 straight at home to begin the season and 44 overall, to tie the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls record for second most consecutive wins at home. The Warriors losing streak also stayed alive at the AT&T Center, extending the number of games since they won in San Antonio to 33.
This stat shows how good the Spurs’s defense was tonight:
Kawhi Leonard (18 pts, 14 rebs, 4 asts) and LaMarcus Aldridge (26pts, 13 rebs) starred for the Spurs. For the Warriors with the Splash brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson struggling to shoot (combined 8-20), Draymond Green had the most effective contribution with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Both teams still play each other twice in the season’s last five games. The game had no Playoff standings change given the big lead the Warriors had built. San Antonio only marginally cut the lead from 4 to 3.5 games.
Oklahoma City Thunder 115-111 Indiana Pacers
Once again the Oklahoma City Thunder took a lead (1 point) heading into the fourth, this time in a game with the Indiana Pacers, and unlike their dubious records of blowing away these leads, the Thunder actually held and went on to win.
Russell Westbrook had his 14th triple-double of the season with 14 points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds while Kevin Durant had 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists as Oklahoma City outscored their opponents 27-24 in the final period to win their fourth straight game.
On the other hand, the Pacers did give OKC a run for their money with a surge in the final couple of minutes but could not complete a comeback as Durant sealed the game with free throws. Paul George led with a monster game of 45 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while taking the responsibility of guarding Durant on the defensive end.
With the Pistons win, this loss puts Indiana along with Detroit and Chicago in the battle for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference Playoff standings.
Miami Heat 122-101 Cleveland Cavaliers
After leaving the Miami Heat in the summer of 2014 to head home, LeBron James has failed to register a win as a Cleveland Cavalier in Miami. In his four games in South Beach he did not play one and lost the other three (two blowouts).
On a night that Dwyane Wade scored his 20,000th point, his Miami Heat shot an outstanding percentage throughout the game to blow the Cavs out. They shot 54.8% from the field and 57.9% from beyond the arc. Wade had 24 points, Goran Dragic put 14 points with 11 assists, Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 13 rebounds but the team’s biggest surprise efficient performer was rookie Josh Richardson, who had 19 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists on 6 of 9 shooting.
With 14 turnovers (Miami-11) and decent shooting (52.6%, 41.7%, 84.6%) the Cavs didn’t do much wrong but the Heat were too much to handle. LeBron James 26 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists but could not do much to help his team get the W.
Memphis Grizzlies 113-102 Los Angeles Clippers
Zach Randolph became the first big name to return from injury for the Memphis Grizzlies and had a huge influence he had on the game. He registered his first career triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to help the short-handed fifth-seeded Grizzlies to defeat the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.
The absence of Blake Griffin was evident in this game as the Clippers had no answer for Z-Bo and his physicality in the paint. Memphis outrebounded the Los Angeles 44-30 as forward Jamychal Green had a handy contribution off the bench with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals for the Grizzlies.
For the Clips, Chris Paul with 25 points and 6 assists, was the only player to show up for the game. Given the game difference between the two teams, the loss does not affect either team’s position in the standings, however, it acts as a huge confidence booster for the Grizz.
Denver Nuggets 101-93 Charlotte Hornets
Nicolas Batum (CHA): 24 pts, 9 asts, and 8 rebs
D.J. Augustin (DEN): 24 pts (8-11 FG’s)
Detroit Pistons 115-103 Brooklyn Nets
Thaddeus Young (BKN): 24 pts, 9 rebs, and 2 blks
Stanley Johnson (DET): 10 pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts and 4 stls
Washington Wizards 99-89 New York Knicks
John Wall (WAS): 24 pts and 10 asts
Carmelo Anthony (NYK): 20 pts, 7 rebs, and 5 asts
Atlanta Hawks 109-97 Houston Rockets
James Harden (HOU): 25 pts, 8 asts, and 6 rebs
Thabo Sefolosha (ATL): 10 pts, 5 asts, 5 stls and 4 asts
Chicago Bulls 92-85 Utah Jazz
Jimmy Butler (CHI): 13 pts, 6 asts, and 5 rebs
Taj Gibson (CHI): 15 pts, 10 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls and 2 blks
