Post Up: Kings Conquer

Kings 116 (16-27), Cavs 112 (30-14) (OT)

LeBron was right when he said, “It’s been a shitty 2017 so far” for the defending NBA champs. Arron Afflalo hit a three-pointer with 17.3 seconds left in OT to hand the Cavs their their straight loss, and sixth of their last eight.

Bron put up nifty 24 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, but Cleveland only hit 17-34 from the line and committed 18 TOs.

DeMarcus Cousins was only 11-30 from the field, but finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. After the game, the Kings cooked up this epic troll job on twitter:

Rockets 109 (34-15), Celtics 120 (27-18)

After falling to the Wizards in #TheFuneral less than 24 hours prior, the Celtics turned things around with a nice win against Houston. Isaiah Thomas relentless once again, scoring 13 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter. Boston scored a whopping 64 points in the paint and only missed one free-throw attempt.

Heat 109 (16-30), Nets 106 (9-36)

The Nets held an 18-point lead to start the fourth quarter, but eventually saw it all dwindle away at the hands of who else, but Dion Waiters.

Forty-eight hours after beating the Warriors at the buzzer with a dagger three-pointer, Waiters nailed a dagger three to complete the huge fourth quarter comeback.

Waiters finished with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists and couldn’t be any hotter right now.

Hawks 119 (27-19), Bulls 114 (23-24)

Despite 40 points from Jimmy Butler and 33 points from Dwyane Wade, Chicago blew a 10-point lead with 3 minutes left in a heartbreaking loss.

After the game, Chi-Town’s two leaders, upset with the meltdown, ripped their teammates for their lack of heart.

D-Wade pretty much summed up his feelings with the team with this tweet:

76ers 114 (17-27), Bucks 109 (21-24)

Despite not having Joel Embiid for a third straight game, the Sixers found a way to win. They’re unquestionably the NBA’s best story in 2017, and somehow are now 10-3 in their last 13 contests.

Milwaukee, on the other hand, has only managed to win one of their past seven games, and things won’t get much easier with Toronto, Boston and Utah next on their schedule.

Raptors 99 (28-18), Grizzlies 101 (27-20)

Memphis nearly blew a 12-point lead with just over 4:30 left to play, but hung on to pick up a big win. Vince Carter, on the eve of his 40th birthday, took our breathe away once again by completing a 360 layup early in the second quarter.

Marc Gasol led the way with a career-high 42 points. He’s as hot as can be right now.

Thunder 114 (27-19), Pelicans 105 (18-28)

Russell Westbrook’s unprecedented statistical campaign continued, as he recorded his 23rd triple-double (27 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 8 TOs) of the season.

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Russ has triple-doubled in 18 of the Thunder’s 27 wins this season. But that also means that OKC has just a 7-16 record when he doesn’t triple-double. Food for thought…

Warriors 113 (39-7), Hornets 103 (23-23)

Coming off a loss to the Miami Heat on Monday, this wasn’t Golden’s State’s A-game by any means, but they’ll certainly take the W. The Warriors were actually losing through most of the fourth quarter, until Kevin Durant (33 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks) went hammer around the six-minute mark, and Golden State took the lead for good. The Dubs’ 23 assists tied the team’s second lowest total of the season.

Knicks 95 (20-27), Mavs 103 (16-29)

Dallas has enjoyed a two-week stretch of easy opponents, and has delivered for the most part: The Mavs are 5-2 in that span. Dirk had 19 points on 8-12 shooting, and the team turned the ball over only 7 times (compared to the Knicks’ 18).

Dallas closes out January against the Thunder, Spurs and Cavs—with Dirk already scheduled to sit out at least one of those games—so it’ll be interesting to watch how the Mavs fare.

Lakers 98 (16-33), Blazers 105 (20-27)

For as much as the Blazers have disappointed this season, the Lakers have been worse. L.A.’s 10-10 start gave fans hope, but the team has only won six games since.

The Lakers’ starters managed just 27 points on the night—a stark contrast to Portland’s 86 for their starters. Mason Plumlee had another nice game for the Blazers, finishing with 19 points, 13 boards and 3 assists.