Post Up: Lowry Power

Raptors 117 (40-27), Pacers 98 (30-36)

So much talk of headbands recently. Last night, Kyle Lowry decided to don one for the Raptors’ road game against the Indiana Pacers. It just so happened that Lowry had a pretty decent game—20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists—his second triple-double this season.

Four more Raps scored in double-figures to help lift T-Dot over Indy. Lou Williams led all scorers with 24 off the bench, with 12 of his points coming in the final period when Toronto outscored the home team 29-17.

Wizards 105 (39-28), Trail Blazers 97 (44-21)

The Washington Wizards started off pretty hot last night as they hosted the Portland Trail Blazers in D.C. They completed the first half on an 11-0 run to take a 20-point lead heading into the third. With this reverse slam from Nene, the Wizards’ lead hit its peak at 25:

The Blazers hadn’t lost hope yet—they worked to outscore the Wizards 34-21 in the third, and cut the deficit to 3 points with 8:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. They weren’t able to complete the task though, as John Wall (21 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds) and his Wiz took down LaMarcus Aldridge (24 points, 12 rebounds) and the Blazers for their fourth straight victory.

Also, Robin Lopez likes to mess with mascots:

Celtics 108 (30-36), Sixers 89 (15-52)

The Boston Celtics scored a whopping 38 points to open up the game at the TD Garden last night, taking an early 20-point lead over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers. Both Tyler Zeller (career-high 26 points) and Avery Bradley (20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) scored 10 in that first quarter. The Celtics’ lead would grow as large as 27, and the Sixers never led once. They did shoot 73 percent in the third quarter though, and that could be sort of impressive if the score was different.

Grizzlies 92 (47-20), Nuggets 81 (26-42)

The Denver Nuggets were looking for their fifth consecutive win when they went to Memphis yesterday to face the Grizzlies. After trailing by 10 at halftime, Denver managed to take a 1-point lead in the third quarter, but Memphis wasn’t going anywhere. The gap was a mere two points at the start of the final period. But Zach Randolph (21 points, 16 rebounds) and Co. outscored their opponents by 9 by the end of it all to win their second straight. Jameer Nelson led all scorers with 24 in the loss.

Nets 122 (27-38), Timberwolves 106 (14-52)

In the first match-up between his current and former team, Kevin Garnett didn’t play. Neither did Ricky Rubio or Nikola Pekovic or Gary Neal. The Wolves used an eight-man rotation when they hosted the Brooklyn Nets at the Target Center yesterday night. Joe Johnson took full advantage, pouring in 22 points on 10-14 shooting from the field. The Nets shot 57.8 percent as a team, with 78 of their 122 points coming in the paint. Bojan Bogdanovic added 21 off the bench as the Nets look to inch closer to a Playoffs spot.

Heat 106 (30-36), Cavaliers 92 (43-26)

LeBron James was back in Miami last night as his Cleveland Cavaliers took their talents to South Beach to face the Heat. At the end of the first quarter, Miami was up by 5. In the second quarter, Dwyane Wade scored 16 points, the same amount as the entire Cavs team. Wade finished with 32 on the night to lead all scorers:

The Heat led 56-38 heading into the locker room, and their advantage would hit 25 in the third quarter. LeBron James (26 points) and the Cavs were unable to catch up, despite LBJ’s own 16 in the fourth. The Land shot just 38 percent from the field, compared to Miami’s 55.3 percent.

Mavericks 119 (43-25), Thunder 115 (37-30)

Russell Westbrook earned six triple-doubles in nine games heading into the match-up last night. Although he didn’t record another trip-doub yesterday in Dallas, he sure flirted with one—24 points, 12 assists, and 8 rebounds. Despite his strong performance, and five more Thunder guys in double-figs, the hometown Mavericks came out with the win. Chandler Parsons led the Mavs with 31 points, two of which came from this dunk:

Monta Ellis added 24, and Dirk Nowitzki dropped 22 to storm back from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter. The Mavs outscored the Thunder 39-29 to tie it all up heading into the fourth, in which they finished off the visitors for good.

Jazz 94 (30-36), Hornets 66 (29-36)

The score you see above is the definition of a blowout. The Utah Jazz beat the Charlotte Hornets by 32 points to earn their sixth straight win. Their lead was as great as 44 yesterday, as they shot 62.5 percent from the arc—including 11 straight. Rodney Hood led all scorers with 24 and Rudy Gobert finished with 9 points and 22 rebounds—that’s his third 20+ rebound game this month. The Charlotte Hornets shot just 29.5 percent from the field, and their final 66 points were a season low.

Hawks 110 (53-14), Kings 103 (22-44)

It was a relatively close game last night when the Atlanta Hawks traveled cross country to Sacramento to take on the Kings. The Hawks were without Kyle Korver, and the Kings played without Rudy Gay. Although both teams were a little shorthanded, the Hawks had the edge. Six of their nine guys who saw minutes finished in double-figures. Jeff Teague led all scorers with 23, and Paul Millsap added 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Hawks’ third straight win. The Kings also had six of their guys in double-figs led by DeMarcus Cousins (20 points, 13 rebounds), but 20 turnovers can clearly hurt.

Warriors 108 (53-13), Lakers 105 (17-49)

The Warriors have officially clinched a Playoffs berth, and it wasn’t even due to their win last night. (It was thanks to the Thunder loss in Dallas.) But really, no one is surprised as the Dubs still sit atop of the West and the NBA.

Golden State played host to the Los Angeles Lakers last night. The game remained close throughout, with the lead staying in the single-digit realm. Klay Thompson finished with a game-high 26 (12 in the first quarter). Stephen Curry added 19 points and 9 assists, including this no-look beaut that’s becoming a common occurrence:

Shaun Livingston had one of those too:

And obvs, Steph loved it

The Warriors were up by 3 when the Lakers had possession with 3.4 seconds left on the clock. But Wesley Johnson, defended by Draymond Green, lost the ball out of bounds, and that was game.