Cleveland Cavaliers 107-93 New York Knicks
LeBron James recorded his third triple double of the season of 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from a loss at Brooklyn to win convincingly at Madison Square Garden.
With his performance James became the only player, Knick or visitor, to have multiple 50+ point games and multiple triple doubles at the Garden. After recording just one triple double in the first 66 games, this is James’ second in the last four games.
In the absence of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love chipped in with a valuable 28 points and 12 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony top scored for his team with 28 points and grabbed 9 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to help the Knicks.
Despite the loss rookie Kristaps Porzingis etched his name in the history books. During the game he became the first rookie in NBA history to record 1000+ points, 500+ rebounds, 75+ three’s and 100+ blocks.
With the Toronto Raptors’ loss last night at Houston, this win helps Cleveland strengthen their position at the top of the East and with only nine or ten games remaining, the Cavaliers could consider themselves safe at the top.
Charlotte Hornets 115-91 Milwaukee Bucks
Frenchman Nicolas Batum led with 25 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets picked up a big win and continued their strong form post the All-Star break. There weren’t many mistakes that the Milwaukee Bucks had made but the game got away from them early and they never recovered.
By halftime, the Hornets had a lead of 17 points and they made sure to build on that in order to seal their win. Once again the Bucks played a good all-round game with only 9 turnovers and assisting on 26 of their 37 field goals but their starting line-up failed to keep up with the Hornets. All five starters for Milwaukee had a +/- rating of lesser than -21 for this game.
Charlotte might be last in the four-team tussle (Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics) for the third seed positions but they only trail the Hawks (3rd seed) by a game and half. Given the inconsistent nature of the Eastern Conference, the Hornets still have a fighting chance to have home-court for the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Oklahoma City Thunder 111-92 San Antonio Spurs
Two weeks after their huge match-up in San Antonio, the Spurs and the Thunder were set to face-off once again. Only this time the former entered Oklahoma City with four (Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) of its five players inactive for rest and Kawhi Leonard out with a right quad contusion.
Nonetheless, the Thunder had no mercy on the Spurs’ second unit winning convincingly by 19 points. Russell Westbrook went about his business filling up the box score, registering 29 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, pushing his streak of scoring 20+ points in consecutive games to 58. There’s also this surprising stat:
A contest that should have been a battle between heavyweights turned out to be a near formality as the Spurs declared well before hand the unavailability of their best players. The game had no meaning to it as the Thunder dominated despite having committed 17 turnovers.
Atlanta Hawks 112-95 Detroit Pistons
The Atlanta Hawks in their pursuit for home court advantage in the Playoffs have been dominant defensively off late. They were among the top three defenses in the month of February and this game against the Detroit Pistons was another display of the team’s outstanding defense. They restricted the Pistons to 95 points and scored 112 themselves to take the lead in the battle for the Eastern Conference’s third seed.
In March, the Hawks’ offense as started to catch up as well. As many as eight players scored in double figures for the team. They assisted on 34 of their 43 field goals while only registering four turnovers. Their slowly evolving play makes them a strong sleeper team to watch out for in the Playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Pistons, who are fighting tooth and nail for the final two spots of the East standings, stay alive in the Playoff race despite the loss, courtesy of the recent slumping performances of the Chicago Bulls.
Brooklyn Nets 120-110 Indiana Pacers
Brook Lopez (BKN): 23 pts, 9 rebs, 4 asts
Paul George (IND): 27 pts, 4 rebs, 3 stls
Toronto Raptors 115-91 New Orleans Pelicans
DeMar Derozan (TOR): 23 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts
Jonas Valanciunas (TOR): 10 pts, 9 rebs, 5 blks
Orlando Magic 111-89 Chicago Bulls
Elfrid Payton (ORL): 15 pts, 10 asts, 3 rebs, 2 blks
Utah Jazz 93-84 Minnesota Timberwolves
Ricky Rubio (MIN): 23 pts, 6 asts, 5 rebs, 4 stls
Gordon Hayward (UTA): 18 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts, 2 blks
Boston Celtics 102-99 Phoenix Suns
Isaiah Thomas (BOS): 28 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts
Evan Turner (BOS): 17 pts, 11 rebs, 3 asts
Portland Trailblazers 108-105 Philadelphia 76ers
C.J. McCollum (POR): 25 pts, 5 asts, 5 stls, 2 rebs
Ish Smith (PHI): 17 pts, 14 rebs, 9 asts
