Golden State Warriors 102-94 Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are on a seven-day road trip along the West coast playing all the Pacific division teams on the road. They registered a win in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers, however, game 2 against the defending champs wasn’t going to be so easy.
If they would have won against the Warriors, they would have been the only team to beat the Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs this season.
The Wizards competed but couldn’t keep up with the Golden State Warriors, as they pushed their NBA record home winning streak to 54 games. Stephen Curry starred with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals while Draymond Green had a near triple-double of 15 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists.
The Warriors with the win not only tied the franchise record from last season but also joined the Chicago Bulls (1995-96 & 1996-97) as the only teams to register back to back seasons with 67 wins. The loss means the Wizards are practically out of contention for the Playoffs. Their loss helps the Atlanta Hawks seal their ticket to the post-season.
Detroit Pistons 88-82 Oklahoma City Thunder
This was a pivotal game for the Detroit Pistons who were fighting for the eighth and final Playoff spot in the East. However, heading into the game, the talk was all about the Oklahoma City Thunder and how they have dominated teams during their eight-game winning streak.
That streak halted at the Palace of Auburn Hills as the Pistons picked up an important win behind Andre Drummond’s 13 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks. The win along with the Indiana Pacers’ loss earlier in the night helps the Pistons jump the Pacers and now they sit in the seventh seed.
There was a lot of chatter about how analytically Russell Westbrook had improved his game and whether he is among the top five players in the league right now. His performance last night, with Kevin Durant sitting, made a huge dent in his arguments.
He scored 24 points, dished out 6 assists and grabbed four rebounds but more importantly, he shot only 8 of 28 (28.5%) from the field. Here’s an interesting stat about how the Thunder fare without Durant:
On the flip side when Durant was the lone bearer of the team with Russell Westbrook missing time, Durant was named the league MVP and the team finished second in the Western Conference standings.
Houston Rockets 106-100 Cleveland Cavaliers
Well before the game, it was known that LeBron James was to take the day off and that wasn’t a very good sign for the Cavaliers. Heading into their match-up with the Houston Rockets, Cleveland were 1-2 with no James and unfortunately this game did no good.
Having said that they started the game strong leading at half time by as many as 19 points but the last 23 minutes of the game belonged to the Rockets, who eventually picked up the win.
Here’s a summary of the game:
James Harden led Houston with his 27 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, scoring 16 of his 27 in the final quarter. Michael Beasley contributed 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 27 minutes of the floor. This win is huge for the Rockets as it helps them stay alive in the three-team tussle for the last two Playoff spots in the West.
On the other hand for the Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 31 points and dished out 8 assists while the rest of the team struggled to shoot efficiently from the field. Although they have the first seed locked up in the East, such kind of collapses are concerning for Cleveland who consider themselves formidable championship contenders.
This game was the biggest lead blown by the Cavs since January 2014.
Orlando Magic 139-105 Brooklyn Nets
Elfrid Payton (ORL): 11 pts, 12 asts, 5 rebs, 2 stls
Andrew Nicholson (ORL): 24 pts, 9-9 FG’s
Charlotte Hornets 100-85 Philadelphia 76ers
Nicolas Batum (CHA): 19 pts, 12 rebs, 12 asts
Cody Zeller (CHA): 18 pts, 11 rebs, 7-8 FG’s
Chicago Bulls 98-96 Indiana Pacers
Paul George (IND): 20 pts, 9 rebs, 5 asts, 4 stls
Nikola Mirotic (CHI): 28 pts, 10 rebs
Guess the Lakers players!
