Post Up: Thunder Are Rollin’

by Peter Walsh / @goinginsquad

Raptors 97 (8-19), Pistons 91 (7-21)

Despite Greg Monroe’s 35-point (14-22 shooting), 10-rebound performance the Raptors prevailed for their fourth straight victory. Monroe kept Detroit in the game during the second half, scoring 14 of the team’s 22 points in the third quarter to keep the deficit at two entering the fourth. In the last quarter, the Raptors ripped off a 15-6 run behind Alan Anderson’s 10 points to give them an insurmountable 88-77 lead.

Quick Hitters:

— DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 23 points and Anderson finished with 16 off the bench.

— Detroit has lost 6 in a row.

— Jose Calderon dropped 17 dimes. He’s going to make a contender very happy if he gets moved.

 

Knicks 100 (19-6), Nets 86 (13-12)

After sitting for two games with an ankle injury, Melo returned to lead the Knicks with 31 points to help push the Knicks to an easy win over the Nets. Tyson Chandler had about 57 dunks and J.R. Smith scored 19 off the bench. The Knicks blew the game open with a 25-7 run to take an 82-68 lead into the fourth as the Nets experienced another second half collapse to drop their third straight and eight of ten.

Quick Hitters:

— Joe Johnson led the Nets with 17 points.

— Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace combined to shoot 2-10 for six points and grabbed 14 boards.

— This was the first meeting between Brooklyn and Manhattan based sports teams for the first time since 1957 when the Brooklyn Dodgers played the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds.

 

Magic 90 (12-13), Wizards 83 (3-20)

The Magic were led by J.J. Redick’s 17 off the bench to win their fourth straight game over the Wizards. Unfortunately, Big Baby went down with a shoulder injury in the final minute to put a damper on the victory. The Wizards trailed by two at the half but came out flat in the third. They missed four of their first five shots of the third quarter and committed two turnovers and watched their two-point deficit turn into a nine-point deficit. The Magic led the rest of the way.

Quick Hitters:

— Nene scored a season-high 20 and Jordan Crawford dropped 19.

— E’Twuan Moore scored 15 in 19 minutes. He and J.J. Redick combined to shoot 7-11 from three.

Pacers 104 (14-12), Jazz 84 (14-13)

The Pacers had their most balanced offensive game of the season season during last night’s blowout over the Jazz. Gerald Green scored 21, George Hill scored 20 grabbed 5 boards and dished out 5 assists, and Paul George scored 20 while grabbing 11 boards in the win. The Pacers got their usual strong defensive effort, holding the Jazz to under 40 percent shooting while forcing 18 turnovers. In the second quarter, Paul George’s eight points triggered a 20-5 run to push Nap Town’s lead to 22 at the half. From there, Indiana kept piling it on and led by as many as 32.

Quick Hitters:

— Keep an eye on the Pacers.

— Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap combined to score 11 points on 3-15 shooting.

— The Pacers shot 56 percent from three and 51 percent overall from the field.

— Derrick Favors scored 16 and grabbed 9 boards off the bench.

 

Celtics 103 (13-12), Cavs 91 (5-22)

Paul Pierce turned back the clock and dropped 40 on 13-16 shooting to help the Celtics end their three-game losing streak. The C’s pushed the lead to 20 in the second half but the Cavs clawed back and cut it to single-digits in the fourth quarter. With the reserves playing sub-par, Doc Rivers put Pierce back in the game and The Truth scored six points during a 10-1 run to put the Cavs away.

Quick Hitters:

— Anderson Varejao missed the game with a bruised knee. Kyrie Irving dropped 22 points while rookie Tyler Zeller scored a career-high 20.

— Boston shot 59 percent from the field.

— Rajon Rondo scored 20 points and dropped 8 dimes.

Thunder 100 (21-4), Hawks 92 (15-8)

The Thunder are on fire right now and won their 12th straight last night in Atlanta. Kevin Durant went off with 41 points, 13 boards and 3 assists on 14-23 shooting which is probably the best line I have ever seen from him. In the fourth, the Hawks cut the lead to five with a little over five minutes to go but Atlanta couldn’t capitalize on their momentum. Durant turned the ball over after Lou Williams hit a three but Kyle Korver returned the favor with a turnover of his own. Williams missed another jumper and KD made them pay this time with a three to make it an 88-80 game with four and a half minutes to go. The Hawks kept battling but couldn’t get it closer than seven.

Quick Hitters:

— Russ Westbrook scored 21 in the first half and finished with 27 and 11 dimes.

— Jeff Teague scored 19 and dropped 9 dimes. Josh Smith scored 17 and grabbed 12 boards.

 

Rockets 125 (13-12), Sixers 103 (12-14)

Jeremy Lin scored 18 and dropped 6 dimes while backcourt mate James Harden scored a game-high 33 and the Rockets shot 56 percent from the field in a blowout win over the Sixers. Philly has lost five in a row and have really lost their way with Jrue Holiday on the bench with an injury. The Sixers trailed by eight with eight minutes to go but the Rockets ripped off a 17-5 run that gave the Rockets a 115-95 lead with just under four minutes to go.

Quick Hitters:

— Nick Young led the Sixers with 21 and Dorrell Wright scored 20.

— Omer Asik scored 17 and grabbed 15 boards.

— Evan Turner hurt his ankle in the third quarter but said he would play Friday.

 

Suns 121 (11-15), Bobcats 104 (7-18)

Shannon Brown scored a season-high 26 points as the Suns led by as many as 30 in an easy dub over Charlotte. Goran Dragic scored 21 and dropped 11 dimes and Jared Dudley chipped in with 20 to lead the Suns to their fourth straight victory.

Quick Hitters:

— Mike Kidd-Gilchrist scored 25 points and grabbed 12 boards. He and LeBron James are the only two players to have two 25-point, 12 rebound games before the age of 20.

— Kemba Walker scored 27.

Grizzlies 90 (17-6), Bucks 80 (13-11)

The Grizzlies held the Bucks to just 35 percent shooting and outrebounded them 56-44 as they notched their 17th win of the season. Memphis took the Bucks out of the game in the third quarter with a 13-6 run to give them a 15-point lead heading into the fourth. In the fourth, the Grizzlies were outscored 29-24 but had done enough over the first three quarters to get an easy win.

Quick Hitters:

— Z-Bo scored 15 and grabbed 17 boards.

— Monta Ellis had a tough night. He shot a miserable 1-14 from the field and finished with just 4 points.

— Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 26 points.

 

Kings 131 (8-17), Warriors 127 (17-9)

With the game tied at 118 with two minutes and change left, John Salmons took it right at Steph Curry, who had 32 points (23 in the second half), and drew a foul which was Curry’s sixth. With Curry out of the game, the Kings outscored the Warriors 13-9 the rest of the way to get a four-point win over one of the NBA’s hottest teams.

Quick Hitters:

— DeMarcus Cousins scored 24 points and grabbed 7 boards. Aaron Brooks shot 9-12 for 23 points and Marcus Thornton chipped in with 19.

— Jarrett Jack scored 28 points and grabbed 7 boards. David Lee finished with 29 points and 8 boards.

— The two teams combined to shoot 24-45 from three.

Clippers 93 (19-6), Hornets 77 (5-20)

Good night for the Clippers: they won their franchise-tying best 11th straight and Chris Paul dropped the 5,000th dime of his career. He is the third youngest player behind Isiah and Magic to do so. The Hornets pulled within five in the third quarter but the Clippers responded with a 13-3 run and held a double-digit lead the rest of game.  CP3 finished with 10 points and 12 dimes and Jamal Crawford chipped in with 17 off the bench.

Quick Hitters:

— Robin Lopez scored 22 points and grabbed 9 boards while Ant Davis dropped 16.

— Blake Griffin scored 18.

— Los Angeles forced 21 turnovers.