A short list of games on a Sunday NBA day, with the Cleveland Cavaliers lasting the Charlotte Hornets, the Golden State Warriors big three bombing the Phoenix Suns and Serge Ibaka hitting a game winning shot for the Orlando Magic against his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Charlotte Hornets 93 Cleveland Cavaliers 100: The Cavaliers didn’t have an easy time against a tough Hornets team, but a good defensive stretch in the middle of the fourth quarter opened a margin the one-dimensional Hornets couldn’t close. Channing Frye led the Cavs with 20 points on six 3-pointers, while both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving finished with 18 points. Kemba Walker (who else) led the Hornets with 21 points.
Orlando Magic 119 Oklahoma City Thunder 117: Serge Ibaka returned to OKC and had his best game of the season, with 31 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. Most importantly, he hit the game winning jumper with less than a second to go. Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with a 41 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists triple double.
Los Angeles Lakers 99 Minnesota Timberwolves 125: Maybe the most encouraging game this season from the Timberwolves on both sides of the ball. Andrew Wiggins scorched with 47 points (17 of them from the line)and Nemanja Bjelica helped scoring 24. A 29-7 run to close the second quarter put the game into very early garbage time mode.
Phoenix Suns 120 Golden State Warriors 133: The Suns and the Warriors were tied at 114-114 with 5:05 to go, but Klay Thompson hit some clutch 3’s to finish with 30 points, Stephen Curry scored 30 as well and the Dubs big three that includes Kevin Durant finished with 89 points to win their fourth consecutive game and 8th in their last nine.
Denver Nuggets 105 Portland Trail Blazers 112: Damian Lillard was 15-for-15 from the line in his 31-point effort, in a not-so-easy-on-the-eyes game, with both teams shooting under 40% from the field. C.J. McCollum scored 21 points to help out, Danilo Gallinari and Jamal Murray both finished with 19 points on the Nuggets side.
Eastern Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 8 | 1 | .889 | – | 9 |
| 2 | Atlanta Hawks | 7 | 2 | .778 | 1.0 | 9 |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | 7 | 2 | .778 | 1.0 | 9 |
| 4 | Charlotte Hornets | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2.0 | 9 |
| 5 | Chicago Bulls | 6 | 4 | .600 | 2.5 | 10 |
| 6 | Boston Celtics | 5 | 4 | .556 | 3.0 | 9 |
| 7 | Milwaukee Bucks | 5 | 4 | .556 | 3.0 | 9 |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 5 | 5 | .500 | 3.5 | 10 |
| 9 | Brooklyn Nets | 4 | 5 | .444 | 4.0 | 9 |
| 10 | Orlando Magic | 4 | 6 | .400 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | 6 | .400 | 4.5 | 10 |
| 12 | New York Knicks | 3 | 6 | .333 | 5.0 | 9 |
| 13 | Miami Heat | 2 | 6 | .250 | 5.5 | 8 |
| 14 | Washington Wizards | 2 | 7 | .222 | 6.0 | 9 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 1 | 8 | .111 | 7.0 | 9 |
Western Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Clippers | 9 | 1 | .900 | – | 10 |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 8 | 2 | .800 | 1.0 | 10 |
| 3 | San Antonio Spurs | 7 | 3 | .700 | 2.0 | 10 |
| 4 | Portland Trail Blazers | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2.5 | 11 |
| 5 | Utah Jazz | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2.5 | 11 |
| 6 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 6 | 4 | .600 | 3.0 | 10 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | 5 | 4 | .556 | 3.5 | 9 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Lakers | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3.5 | 11 |
| 9 | Memphis Grizzlies | 4 | 5 | .444 | 4.5 | 9 |
| 10 | Sacramento Kings | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5.5 | 11 |
| 11 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 3 | 6 | .333 | 5.5 | 9 |
| 12 | Denver Nuggets | 3 | 7 | .300 | 6.0 | 10 |
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | 3 | 8 | .273 | 6.5 | 11 |
| 14 | Dallas Mavericks | 2 | 6 | .250 | 6.0 | 8 |
| 15 | New Orleans Pelicans | 1 | 9 | .100 | 8.0 | 10 |