Post Up: Shake Down the Thunder

Spurs 119 (45-13), Lakers 98 (19-41)

The Warriors may have clinched a playoff spot with their win over the Nets on Saturday night, but the Spurs are hot on their heels. With a 119-98 win over the Lakers on Sunday afternoon, San Antonio has improved to 45-13 and sit four games behind Golden State for first place.

Kawhi Leonard led the way with 25 points, 3 boards and 1 assist and Dewayne Dedmon had 11 points, including this dunk on Brandon Ingram:

Ingram had 22 for L.A.

Bucks 100 (26-31), Suns 96 (18-41)

Tony Snell hit a clutch corner 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds left as the Bucks were able to hold off the Suns:

Giannis Antetokounmpo had another ridiculous night with 28 points, 8 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocks. TJ Warren led the Suns with 23 points on 11-14 shooting.

Grizzlies 105 (35-25), Nuggets 98 (26-33)

After dropping two straight, the Grizzlies get a much needed win over the Nuggets on Sunday night. Mike Conley paced the Grizz with 31 points and Marc Gasol dropped 23.

Nuggets guard Gary Harris has been on a tear lately, averaging 22.5 points over his last four games. Tonight he had 19 and one massive dunk over Zach Randolph:

Jazz 102 (37-22), Wizards 92 (34-23)

The Jazz humbled one of the League’s hottest teams with a big eight-point win in DC. All-Star Gordon Hayward led all scorers with 30 points while Rudy Gobert had a monster 15-point, 20-rebound, 4-block performance. The win marked the rare occurrence where Derrick Favors, George Hill, Rodney Hood, Gobert and Hayward were on the court together for an extended time.

Utah currently sits in fourth place in the West and have a chance to gain ground as they play OKC, Minneosta, Brooklyn, Sacramento and New Orleans over the next eight days.

Raptors 112 (35-24), Trail Blazers 106 (24-34)

With Kyle Lowry sidelined due to a wrist injury, the Raptors improve to 2-0 since acquiring Serge Ibaka and PJ Tucker at the trade deadline. Ibaka finished with an 18 and 10 double-double and DeMar DeRozan had his second-straight 30-plus point game as he dropped 33 to lead all scorers.

Damian Lillard paced the Blazers with 28 points, 8 assists and 6 boards but Portland remains on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture. With a 25-34 record, they are 1.5 games out of the eighth seed.

Celtics 104 (38-21), Pistons 98 (28-31)

Behind a back-breaking four-point play from Jaylen Brown late in the game, the Celtics downed the Pistons on Rip Hamilton Night in Detroit:

Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points, giving him 43-straight games with at least 2o points.

Thunder 118 (34-25), Pelicans 110 (23-37)

Russell Westbrook went down in the second quarter with an injury and limped to the locker room at the half, but came back full strength in the second half to finish with a 41-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double. Russ closed out his evening with two ferocious dunks:

Enes Kanter played his second game since returning from injury and had 20 points. For the Pelicans, Anthony Davis scored 24 points in the first quarter en route to 38 points and DeMarcus Cousins finished with 31 points, 10 boards and 3 assists. The rest of the Pelicans combined for 41 points as New Orleans falls to 0-3 since making the Boogie deal.

Clippers 124 (35-23), Hornets 120 (25-33) (F/OT)

Finally healthy, the Clippers get a much-needed win after dropping two straight to the Spurs and Warriors. Led by Chris Paul’s 15 points, 17 assists, 9 boards and 0 turnovers, Blake Griffin’s 43 points, and DeAndre Jordan’s 20 points and 19 rebounds, the Clippers pulled out a win in overtime against the visiting Hornets.

After a promising start to the season, the Hornets have lost 13 out of their last 15 and have slid to three games out of the eight seed in the East.