Nothing surprising in a busy night of NBA action on Friday: The Golden State Warriors cruised without Stephen Curry in Milwaukee, the Houston Rockets leisured in Phoenix without Chris Paul and the fully stacked Cleveland Cavaliers dropped another winnable game, this time blowing a 22-point lead in Indianapolis.
Utah Jazz 88 Charlotte Hornets 99: Despite another ROY-worthy performance from Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz fell to 8 games under .500 and only 4-18 on the road. Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 22 points, helped by Frank Kaminsky with 16 off the bench.
Cleveland Cavaliers 95 Indiana Pacers 97: A third straight loss for the Cavs, who let a 22-point lead slip away from them. Darren Collison scored 22 points and got plenty of help from Victor Oladipo (19) and Lance Stephenson (16). LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 27 points, and missed a potential clutch layup right at the end.
Orlando Magic 119 Washington Wizards 125: The Magic continue to tumble down the standings, now 5-19 when on the road. Bradley Beal and John Wall each scored 30 points while Ian Mahinmi helped out with 17 from the bench. Elfrid Payton led Orlando with 27 points.
Brooklyn Nets 110 Atlanta Hawks 105: Dennis Schroder scored 34 points, but it wasn’t enough for the hopeless Hawks. The Nets finished with 6 players in double figures, with Spencer Dinwiddie leading the team, scoring 20 along with 10 assists.
Golden State Warriors 108 Milwaukee Bucks 94: The most eventful thing in another Warriors win was Klay Thompson getting cursed by a fan, who then got thrown out. As for basketball, Kevin Durant led the way with 26 points, as the Warriors handled another game without Stephen Curry.
New York Knicks 108 Minnesota Timberwolves 118: The Timberwolves are rockin’ at the moment, even without a classic Thibodeau defense. Nine players took the floor for Minnesota, 8 of them finished with 10 points or more. Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 23 points, missing the triple double with one assist. The Knicks were led by Jarrett Jack with 18.
Portland Trail Blazers 113 New Orleans Pelicans 119: The Pelicans stay above .500 with a huge night from Anthony Davis, scoring 36 along with 25 by Jrue Holiday and 24 from DeMarcus Cousins. In short, the Pelicans need every star they have to produce big in order to win games and stay in the playoff hunt.
Memphis Grizzlies 78 Denver Nuggets 87: In the ugly game of the evening, the Nuggets had Will Barton pull them to a win with 17 points, as both teams shot under 40% from the field. Marc Gasol led Memphis with 22 points.
Houston Rockets 112 Phoenix Suns 95: Not having James Harden wasn’t a problem, with Chris Paul used to doing this on his own. He scored 25 points while Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza pitched in with 18 a piece. Devin Booker led the Suns with 27 points.
Eastern Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Celtics | 34 | 10 | .773 | – | 44 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 29 | 11 | .725 | 3.0 | 40 |
| 3 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 26 | 16 | .619 | 7.0 | 42 |
| 4 | Miami Heat | 24 | 17 | .585 | 8.5 | 41 |
| 5 | Washington Wizards | 24 | 18 | .571 | 9.0 | 42 |
| 6 | Detroit Pistons | 22 | 18 | .550 | 10.0 | 40 |
| 7 | Milwaukee Bucks | 22 | 19 | .537 | 10.5 | 41 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 22 | 20 | .524 | 11.0 | 42 |
| 9 | Philadelphia 76ers | 19 | 20 | .487 | 12.5 | 39 |
| 10 | New York Knicks | 19 | 23 | .452 | 14.0 | 42 |
| 11 | Charlotte Hornets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 16.0 | 40 |
| 12 | Brooklyn Nets | 16 | 26 | .381 | 17.0 | 42 |
| 13 | Chicago Bulls | 15 | 27 | .357 | 18.0 | 42 |
| 14 | Orlando Magic | 12 | 31 | .279 | 21.5 | 43 |
| 15 | Atlanta Hawks | 11 | 31 | .262 | 22.0 | 42 |
Western Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 34 | 9 | .791 | – | 43 |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | 30 | 11 | .732 | 3.0 | 41 |
| 3 | San Antonio Spurs | 28 | 15 | .651 | 6.0 | 43 |
| 4 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 28 | 16 | .636 | 6.5 | 44 |
| 5 | Portland Trail Blazers | 22 | 20 | .524 | 11.5 | 42 |
| 6 | Denver Nuggets | 22 | 20 | .524 | 11.5 | 42 |
| 7 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 22 | 20 | .524 | 11.5 | 42 |
| 8 | New Orleans Pelicans | 21 | 20 | .512 | 12.0 | 41 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Clippers | 20 | 21 | .488 | 13.0 | 41 |
| 10 | Utah Jazz | 17 | 25 | .405 | 16.5 | 42 |
| 11 | Phoenix Suns | 16 | 27 | .372 | 18.0 | 43 |
| 12 | Dallas Mavericks | 15 | 28 | .349 | 19.0 | 43 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Lakers | 14 | 27 | .341 | 19.0 | 41 |
| 14 | Memphis Grizzlies | 13 | 28 | .317 | 20.0 | 41 |
| 15 | Sacramento Kings | 13 | 28 | .317 | 20.0 | 41 |