A night of comebacks, with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics on the right end of them, although what most people will talk about today is James Harden getting called for two offensive fouls in the end of the Rockets loss at Boston.
Detroit Pistons 89 Minnesota Timberwolves 102: After 9 consecutive losses, the Orlando Magic taste victory. Elfrid Payton scored 19 to go with 8 rebounds and 8 assists, Evan Fournier added 17 and Marreese Speights added 16 in 15 minutes off the bench. Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 21 points against his former team.
Houston Rockets 98 Boston Celtics 99: The Rockets drop a 26-point lead to lose in Boston, but the even bigger news were the two offensive, off-the-ball fouls called on James Harden that won the Celtics the game, as they were fouls that no one ever calls, on bigger and smaller names in the league.
Marcus Smart, who scored 13 points, gets the credit of selling Harden’s fouls on him. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 26 points, while Harden took the lead for the Rockets, still without Chris Paul, scoring 34 points.
Minnesota Timberwolves 96 Milwaukee Bucks 102: Minnesota’s big 3 scored 20 points or more, but that wasn’t enough on a night when Eric Bledsoe erupts for 26 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo helps out with 22 and 10 rebounds. The Bucks shot 54.7% from the field, including 7-for-7 by John Henson.
New York Knicks 107 San Antonio Spurs 119: The Knicks continue to slide with a 4th consecutive loss, now 2-12 on the road, as the French point guard derby went to Tony Parker, with 14 points, part of six Spurs players in double figures. LaMarcus Aldridge led them with 25 and Pau Gasol added 17. The Knicks continue to struggle with their outside shots, and were once again led by Marcus Beasley, adding 23 off the bench.
Philadelphia 76ers 110 Portland Trail Blazers 114: The Sixers lose for the 6th time in 7 games despite holding a double digit lead in the second half. Shabazz Napier of all people made everyone forget, at least for one night, that Damian Lillard is missing, and finished with 23 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter. C.J. McCollum led the Blazers with 34, Jusuf Nurkic scored 21. Joel Embiid and Dario Saric scored the most for Philly, combining for 54 points.
Eastern Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | 29 | 10 | .744 | – | 39 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 23 | 10 | .697 | 3.0 | 33 |
| 3 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 24 | 11 | .686 | 3.0 | 35 |
| 4 | Detroit Pistons | 19 | 15 | .559 | 7.5 | 34 |
| 5 | Washington Wizards | 19 | 16 | .543 | 8.0 | 35 |
| 6 | Indiana Pacers | 19 | 16 | .543 | 8.0 | 35 |
| 7 | Milwaukee Bucks | 18 | 15 | .545 | 8.0 | 33 |
| 8 | Miami Heat | 18 | 16 | .529 | 8.5 | 34 |
| 9 | New York Knicks | 17 | 18 | .486 | 10.0 | 35 |
| 10 | Philadelphia 76ers | 15 | 19 | .441 | 11.5 | 34 |
| 11 | Chicago Bulls | 12 | 22 | .353 | 14.5 | 34 |
| 12 | Brooklyn Nets | 12 | 22 | .353 | 14.5 | 34 |
| 13 | Charlotte Hornets | 12 | 22 | .353 | 14.5 | 34 |
| 14 | Orlando Magic | 12 | 24 | .333 | 15.5 | 36 |
| 15 | Atlanta Hawks | 9 | 25 | .265 | 17.5 | 34 |
Western Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 28 | 7 | .800 | – | 35 |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | 25 | 8 | .758 | 2.0 | 33 |
| 3 | San Antonio Spurs | 25 | 11 | .694 | 3.5 | 36 |
| 4 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 14 | .611 | 6.5 | 36 |
| 5 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 20 | 15 | .571 | 8.0 | 35 |
| 6 | Denver Nuggets | 19 | 16 | .543 | 9.0 | 35 |
| 7 | Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 16 | .529 | 9.5 | 34 |
| 8 | New Orleans Pelicans | 18 | 16 | .529 | 9.5 | 34 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Clippers | 14 | 19 | .424 | 13.0 | 33 |
| 10 | Utah Jazz | 15 | 21 | .417 | 13.5 | 36 |
| 11 | Phoenix Suns | 13 | 23 | .361 | 15.5 | 36 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 12 | 22 | .353 | 15.5 | 34 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Lakers | 11 | 22 | .333 | 16.0 | 33 |
| 14 | Memphis Grizzlies | 11 | 24 | .314 | 17.0 | 35 |
| 15 | Dallas Mavericks | 11 | 25 | .306 | 17.5 | 36 |