Post Up: Free Basketball

Hawks 108 (14-6), Pacers 92 (7-14)

In the Hawks’ and Pacers’ second meeting of the season, Atlanta once again walked away with a victory. The visiting Hawks beat the home team by double figures for their seventh consecutive win. Al Horford (25 points and 8 rebounds) and the Hawks led pretty much the entire game after they got the ball rolling in the first quarter. They built a lead as great as 21, and the Pacers simply were unable to catch up. Atlanta outscored Indiana in every quarter except the fourth—but by then it was too late. Even CJ Miles’ scoring all 15 of his points in the final period wasn’t enough to snap the Hawks’ winning ways.

Wizards 133 (14-6), Celtics 132 (7-12) 2OT

A lot happened in the second of the back-to-back match-ups between the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics. The Wiz built up a 23-point lead with a mere 2:28 left on the clock in the third quarter. But in the final period, the Celtics rallied to outscore D.C. 34-18, with their usual main main Rajon Rondo on the bench. Jeff Green (28 points), Brandon Bass (19 points and 9 rebounds), and rookie Marcus Smart (23 points and 5 assists) led the comeback. This 3 from Evan Turner (18 points and 8 assists) forced the first OT:

Paul Pierce (28 points), who passed Reggie Miller for 16th place on the all-time scoring list, scored a 3 of his own off one of John Wall’s career-high 17 assists to send the game to double OT. In the final two minutes of the game, Wall scored 10 straight points to seal the deal on what was an emotional night for him.

After a thrilling double-overtime win and putting up 26 points paired with 17 assists, John Wall was the sought-after interviewee, per usual. He let himself have a very human moment to mourn the loss of his 6-year-old buddy, Miyah Telemaque-Nelson, a warrior who lost her battle with cancer this past weekend. Prayers up for her and her family.

Cavaliers 110 (12-7), Nets 88 (8-11) Some players from the Cavaliers and Nets took the opportunity during the pre-game shootaround to follow in the footsteps of Derrick Rose and wear shirts that read “I can’t breathe” as a part of a worldwide protest (part of which was taking place right outside Barclays during the game) of the decision to not indict the NYPD officer who put Eric Garner in a chokehold and killed him, despite the unarmed father’s repeated pleas of “I can’t breathe.”

Inside the arena, a Nets’ #3rdQofDoom—with Dikembe Mutombo, Jay-Z and Beyonce, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge all watching on the sidelines—saw a 35-18 onslaught of the home team, courtesy of LeBron James (18 points and 7 assists), Dion Waiters (26 points and 4 assists), and the rest of the Cavaliers. Cleveland maintained its advantage in the fourth to win their seventh game in a row.

Raptors 112 (16-5), Nuggets 107 (9-12) OT

Recent history shows the Toronto Raptors usually lose when they play in an overtime game, but that wasn’t the case last night in the Air Canada Centre as they outlasted the Nuggets for their 16th win of the season. A clutch 3 from Patrick Patterson (19 points and 8 rebounds) off an assist from Kyle Lowry (13 points and 13 assists) tied the game with 28 seconds remaining on the clock. In OT, Louis Williams (26 points) and the North took care of thier opponent for good, outscoring them 10-5. The Nuggets lost their fourth straight game, despite double-doubles from Ty Lawson (22 points and 12 assists), Timofey Mozgov (15 points and 12 rebounds), and Darrell Arthur (12 points and 13 rebounds).

Warriors 102 (18-2), Timberwolves 86 (4-16)

The Golden State Warriors are handing losses out left and right to teams all around the League. With their win in Minnesota last night, the Warriors claimed their 13th straight victory—a franchise record—and they sit atop the NBA with a near perfect 18-2 (0.900 pct) W-L. The Splash Bros. each scored 21 points on the night, and three other Warriors were also in double figures. They held the home team to a subpar 36 percent shooting night from the field. In the Wolves sixth straight loss, rookie Andrew Wiggins nailed 21 points, and Zach LaVine showed off some impressive hops:

Kings 101 (11-10), Jazz 92 (5-16)

Behind a strong performance from Rudy Gay (29 points and 6 rebounds) and a career night from rookie Nik Stauskas (15 points and 8 rebounds), the Sacramento Kings got another solid win at home. The Utah Jazz however, dropped their ninth straight. After an impressive first quarter in which Gordon Hayward scored 12 of the Jazz’s 31 points, the Kings went on an 11-2 run to end the first half. They outscored the Jazz 32-18 in the second quarter. Despite only putting up 13 points in the third, the Kings never fully reliquished the lead they built in the first half and were able to claim the victory.

Clippers 121 (15-5), Suns 120 (12-10) OT

Blake. Griffin. With 2.6 seconds remaining in OT and his Clips down 2, Blake stepped behind the arc and let the ball fly. It hit the rim.

And then it bounced right into the hoop as the clock expired. Just watch:

Now watch again along with some of Blake’s other highlights…because you know you want to.

Blake already had 42 points on the night before he sank that triple to win the eighth straight game for his Clippers. The game stayed close throughout with 17 lead changes and the biggest lead not exceeding 12 points. So it makes sense the game went into OT. What doesn’t make sense was Jamal Crawford’s first career ejection. He was sent out in the fourth quarter after receiving a technical foul.

The Suns had six of their nine active players in double figures, most notably Eric Bledsoe, who recorded his first triple-double (27 points, 11 rebounds, 16 assists). A big night from him and Markieff Morris (21 points and 7 assists) came up just a tad short as Phoenix lost its second straight game.