Bucks 98 (17-16), Thunder 94 (21-14)
The Greek Freak did his thing in this one, dropping 26 points and 10 rebounds, including a nasty poster slam. Milwaukee trailed by six at the half, but used a 29-16 third quarter to propel them to victory. Russ struggled from the field (9/28), but still posted 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Cavaliers 90 (26-7), Pelicans 82 (14-22)
No Kyrie (tight hamstring), no problem for the Cavs. LeBron scored 26 points and dunked all over the Pels. Anthony Davis had an impressive double-double (20p, 17r) in the losing effort. Cleveland has won eight of their last nine.
Jazz 101 (22-13), Nets 89 (8-25)
This game was all tied up at 70 after three quarters, but Utah owned the final period to get the 12-point victory. Gordon Hayward led the way with 30 points on 9/18 shooting. Trevor Booker had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Brooklyn.
Magic 115 (16-20), Knicks 103 (16-18)
Orlando made it rain at the Garden tonight, hitting 48.4% of their threes (15/31). Jodie Meeks was their top scorer with a season-high 23. Ibaka and Aaron Gordon each had 22. The Knicks, who were without Porzingis tonight (sore Achilles), have now lost five in a row and eight of their last ten.
Bulls 118 (17-18), Hornets 111 (19-16)
JIMMY BUCKETS. With Dwyane Wade out, Butler dominated this one: 52 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. He is the eighth different player to drop 50+ this season, tying an NBA record. The game was close down the stretch, but Jimmy completely took over, scoring 17 over the final four minutes. He out-dueled Kemba, who had 34 points and 11 rebounds, including a few fancy moves:
Rockets 101 (27-9), Wizards 91 (16-17)
The Beard became the first player in Rockets history to notch three straight triple-doubles (23p, 10a, 10r), helping Houston overcome a 12-point halftime deficit and get their fifth win in a row. Eric Gordon was their leading scorer with 31. The highlight of the game came from John Wall (18p, 11a), however:
Bradley Beal had 27 after missing Washington’s last game with an ankle sprain.
Warriors 127 (30-5), Nuggets 119 (14-19)
Denver hung around this one, but the Warriors proved too much to handle. Durant, Thompson, and Curry all scored 20+, and Draymond had a triple-double (15p, 13a, 10r). For the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic continued to impress, posting 21 and 13 boards:
Clippers 109 (23-14), Suns 98 (10-24)
Chris Paul missed another game with his hamstring injury, but the Clips took care of business. J.J. Redick had the hot hand, scoring 22 points on 9/14 shooting. DeAndre Jordan snatched 20 boards. Phoenix was led by T.J. Warren (24p, 8r) and Eric Bledsoe (22p, 9a, 8r).
