Lakers (8-16) 100, T-Wolves (5-18) 94
Two terrible teams actually played a pretty good game last night, but the main story is, of course, Nick Young’s 2/9 shooting performance after the greatest postgame interview in NBA history Kobe.
The Black Mamba dropped 26 on the T-Wolves, and leapfrogged Michael Jordan for third on the all-time scoring list in the process. With under six minutes to play in the first half, Kobe knocked down a pair of free throws, first tying then surpassing MJ. Hats off to an active legend.
A man of nearly equal legend status, Carlos Boozer, erupted for 22 and 13 in the win.
Meanwhile, Shabazz Muhammad actually led all scorers with 28 (12/21). He’s been inconsistent this year, but has shown major signs of life after a silent rookie campaign. Andrew Wiggins added 16 (8/8 FT) in the loss.
Warriors (21-2) 128, Pelicans (11-12) 122
New Orleans went up against the best team in the League without its best player and played four even quarters. In OT, though, Golden State’s stars took over and iced the game in about 90 seconds.
Stephen Curry (34, 7 and 7) and Klay Thompson (29) led the way for the Dubs, who have now won 16 straight. Draymond Green continued his campaign as the world’s greatest role player with 11 points, 13 boards, 5 assists and 4 blocks in a game-high 48 minutes. Andre Iguodala chipped in 20 off the bench.
The Pelicans got huge performances from Tyreke Evans (34, 8 and 5) and Jrue Holiday (30, 9 and 5 steals), but just ran out of gas in the extra period. No shame in that.
Bulls (15-8) 93, Heat (11-13) 75
This game started slow (39-32 Bulls at half) before Chicago pulled away in the third quarter.
Mike Dunleavy hit 8/11 shots (4/5 from deep) and led all scorers with 22 points. Jimmy Butler (17 points, 9/10 free throws), Taj Gibson (15 and 9) and Derrick Rose (14) were all solid for Chicago as well.
Miami was without Chris Bosh, and never managed to get anything going. Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng led the team with 17 each, but as a whole the Heat hit just 35 percent from the floor and 4/22 from three.
Wizards (17-6) 93, Jazz (6-18) 84
Utah actually held a five-point lead at the break last night before the Wiz caught fire and ran away with a home W.
John Wall posted a ridiculous 16 points, 8 assists, 6 boards, 5 steals and 3 blocks, and his buddy Bradley Beal led the team with 22 points. Washington is now 12-2 at home.
Utah got nice production from its backcourt guys — Alec Burks (19), Gordon Hayward (16) and Trey Burke (15) — but not enough from the supporting cast.
Thunder (11-13) 112, Suns (12-13) 88
OKC dropped forty-one in the first quarter last night, and took a 22-point edge into the break.
Russell Westbrook hit all 13 of his free throws and finished with 28, 8 and 8, while Kevin Durant chipped in an easy 23 on 8/13 shooting. The Thunder already look more or less like their old selves, and are now tied with Phoenix in the loss column for the West’s 8th seed.
The Suns were as bad offensively as they were defensively, hitting under 35 percent of their shots. Gerald Green led the team with 15 points on 5/13 shooting.
Spurs (17-7) 99, Nuggets (10-14) 91
Denver jumped out to an early lead last night before fizzling in the second quarter (12 points). They never quite recovered.
Seven players cleared 11 points for the Spurs, led by Kawhi Leonard, who scored 18 to go with a wild 5 steals and 6 blocks. Cory Joseph filled in nicely for Tony Parker, hitting 6/7 shots for 13 points.
Arron Afflalo led all scorers with 31. Wilson Chandler (14) and Timofey Mozgov (11 and 13) were both solid, but Ty Lawson (2/10) struggled badly with his shot.
Raptors (18-6) 95, Knicks (5-21) 90
A Carmelo Anthony triple knotted this game at 84 with three minutes left before both offenses went cold, eventually sending the game to OT at 86 apiece. New York disappeared in overtime, though, as the Raptors put the game away.
Toronto got 22 points from Terrence Ross and 21, 11 and 6 steals from Kyle Lowry in the W. Lou Williams chipped in 15 off the bench. Landry Fields started and played 23 minutes in his return to New York, but flopped: 0 points, 0 assists and 1 rebound.
Melo dropped 34 and the Knicks still only managed 90, so that tells you nearly all you need to know about the team this year. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 despite hitting just 4/15 shots from the floor (9/9 free throws).
The two teams combined for 45 turnovers and 39 assists in what can only be described as Eastern Conference Basketball.
