Post Up: The League’s Best

by Jake Fischer / @JakeLFischer

Sixers (13-28) 99, Wizards (20-20) 107

The Wiz moved back to .500 with a solid win over the struggling Sixers to kick off MLK Day in the NBA. Bradley Beal bounced back from his 2-14 shooting vs. Detroit on Saturday to score 23 points, grab 9 boards and dish 8 assists. Michael Carter-Williams was unreal for the Sixers, scoring 31 points while adding six rebounds and 5 assists. Washington will have a chance to improve to over .500 for the firs time since October 31, 2009 when they take on the Celtics on Wednesday

Mavericks (25-18) 102, Cavaliers (15-26) 97

Dallas raced out to a 24-point lead, thanks to Shawn Marion and DeJaun Blair combing for 25 points on 10-10 shooting in the first half, in Luol Deng’s home-opener as a Cav. But the Mavs nearly surrendered their gigantic lead as Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters went off in the fourth quarter. With 2.8 seconds left and a chance to tie the game down three, the Cavs got called for five seconds trying to throw the ball in…

Clippers (29-14) 112-103, Pistons (17-24) 103

In a battle of enormous freak-athletes, DeAndre Jordan out-muscled Andre Drummond in the paint, dunking seven times to finish with 16 points and 21 rebounds. Can you believe the Clips have gone 5-2 since CP3 went down?

Raptors (20-20) 95, Bobcats (18-25) 100

With Kemba Walker on the shelf for 10-14 days, the Cats held off the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors thanks in part to Big Al Jefferson’s 22 points, 19 rebounds and 7 assists.

Nets (17-22) 103, Knicks (15-26) 80

Deron Williams was solid in his first game back from missing five games with an ankle injury. In fact, it was his first game coming off the bench since February 22, 2006. The Nets just simply blew the doors off this game behind Joe Johnson’s 25 points on four threes. With the Knicks now losers of four-straight, Carmelo Anthony said “we didn’t fight as a team,” following the game.

Pelicans (16-24) 95, Grizzlies (20-20) 92

New Orleans snapped its eight-game losing streak by edging out the Grizz in Memphis. Anthony Davis was a monster, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds to go with 4 blocks and 4 steals. Z-Bo chipped in an impressive effort in Memphis’ loss, putting up 23 points and pulling down 20 rebounds.

Heat (29-12) 114, Hawks (21-19) 121

The Hawks closed the game on a 17-7 run to end Miami’s seven-game winning streak in Atlanta. Of course, Kyle Korver drilled a triple for the 109th-straight game, but Atlanta’s balanced scoring attack proved to push the home team to a big victory. Paul Milsap scored 26 points to head the eight ATL scorers in double-figures. LeBron James did score 30 points, but it came on just 11-21 shooting.

Lakers (16-26) 100, Bulls (20-20) 102

The Bulls outlasted the Lakers in overtime despite strong efforts from Nick Young (31 points) and Pau Gasol (20 points and 19 rebounds). With the buzzer about to sound and send the game into a second OT, Taj Gibson had other plans.

Chi-Town has gone an incredible 6-2 since trading Luol Deng and is now 2.5 games up on Brooklyn for the 6-seed in the East. Thibs ain’t going to the lottery!

Trail Blazers (31-10) 113, Rockets (28-15) 126

Portland failed to complete its sweep of the Texas Triangle, getting trounced by the Rockets in Houston, despite LaMarcus Aldridge’s 27 points and 20 rebounds. Chandler Parsons flirted with a double-double, dropping a line 31 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists and the Rockets shot a ridiculous 48.5 percent from three-point land as a team.

Pacers (33-7) 102, Warriors (26-17) 94

Indiana had all five starters score in double-figures to give the Pacers the NBA’s best record through 40 games. Paul George started the game incredibly, hot dropping 14 of his team-high 23 points in the first quarter. On the other side of the floor, Klay Thompson drilled five three-pointers in the Dubs’ losing effort. Also, Steph Curry doesn’t pull off a shooting sleeve.