Pistons 105 (24-43), Grizzlies 95 (47-21)
Although they trailed by 15 points at the half, the Detroit Pistons weren’t about to let their game against the Memphis Grizzlies last night slip away. They had already lost 10 in a row prior to yesterday, and they were tired of it. So they came out in the third quarter and scored 36 points, while holding Memphis to 22. They managed to tie, and by the end of the quarter, they trailed by just 1. In the fourth, Reggie Jackson did his thing—he scored 7 of his 23 points and dished 4 of his 20 assists in that final period to put the Pistons on top.
Andre Drummond added 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led all scorers with 24. Marc Gasol finished with 17 points, 11 boards, and 6 assists in the loss.
Knicks 104 (14-53), Spurs 100 (41-25) OT
The New York Knicks (aka the team with the worst record in the NBA) beat the San Antonio Spurs (aka the defending champions) last night in Madison Square Garden. Yep, you read that right.
After trailing by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, Langston Galloway (22 points) and the Knicks rallied back. A few minutes into the fourth quarter, Alexey Shved (21 points, 7 assists) tied it up at 77 with a 3-ball. The two teams then exchanged baskets, ending with the following Lou Amundson (12 points, 17 rebounds) layup off a Shved assist that’d be responsible for sending the game to overtime.
In OT, the Knicks held the Spurs to just 4 points. With 9 seconds left, Duncan missed the second of two free throws. The Knicks had a 1-point lead. Amundson was up at the line, he also hit one of two to give the Knicks a 2-point lead. When the clock started running again, Shved stole the ball, got fouled, sank both his FTs and that was game.
Rockets 107 (45-22), Magic 94 (21-48)
Six Rockets scored in double-figures last night at home to put away the visiting Orlando Magic and their young shining star Victor Oladipo (game-high 29 points). Donatas Motiejunas led Houston with 23 points. James Harden, Trevor Ariza, and Josh Smith added 17 points each. After a close three quarters, the Rockets took over in the fourth, scoring 30 points while holding their guests to just 16. Corey Brewer scored 9 of his 13 in the final period, and Houston earned its second straight win.
Pelicans 85 (37-20), Bucks 84 (34-33)
The New Orleans Pelicans opened up the game last night against the Milwaukee Bucks with a 15-0 run. Only after that did the Bucks’ shots start to fall. They held the Pels to just 10 points in the second quarter, and by halftime the Bucks had a 2-point lead over the home team. After the break, Anthony Davis (20 points, 12 rebounds) and the Pelicans scored 28 in the third to regain an 8-point lead heading into the fourth. Ersan Ilyasova (15 points) tied the game at 80 with 2:17 left on the clock. Eric Gordon responded with a 3-pointer to put New Orleans back up, and later Davis hit a jumper to respond to more FTs from Milwaukee. By the final buzzer, the Pelicans had won by a hair.
Clippers 99 (43-25), Hornets 92 (29-37)
So, Blake Griffin (19 points, 11 rebounds) is back.
The Clippers led by 18 at halftime last night when they hosted the Charlotte Hornets. Their lead went up to 22 early in the third quarter. But after last night’s tough 28-point loss, the Hornets rallied back. They finished with 33 in the third quarter, benefiting greatly from the Clips’ 8 turnovers in the period. The Hornets were within 3 by the fourth. But despite six of their nine guys who saw minutes finishing in double-figures, Chris Paul (21 points, 8 assists) and the Clippers claimed the victory.
