LeBron James and Kobe Bryant weren’t in action, but the 10 games we did have were filled with impressive stat fillers, like Stephen Curry going for 54 points, Kevin Durant pulling off a triple double in less than three quarters of NBA basketball and other impressive stat lines from Monta Ellis and Andre Iguodala.
The Sacramento Kings continued their high scoring affairs in Florida with a 125-101 win over the Orlando Magic, but nothing special, individually at least came from that game, with Tobias Harris (Magic) scoring 23 points standing out. In Cleveland, the Cavs beat the Raptors 103-92. DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points and added 5 rebounds while Rudy Gay had a 24 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists kind of night. Not enough to win though.
In Washington, the Pistons beat the Wizards 96-95 with a few impressive individual performances. Brandon Knight led the way with 32 points, but Greg Monroe also impressed with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals. Jose Calderon had an impressive line of 18 assists with just 2 turnovers.
The Knicks beat the Golden State Warriors 109-105, but the highlight of the night belonged to Stephen Curry, scoring 54 points, including 11 three pointers. On the other side, Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points and still added 8 assists despite taking 27 shots. Tyson Chandler was impressive as well with 16 points and 28 rebounds.
The Dallas Mavericks lost again, this time to the Memphis Grizzlies, 90-84. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol dominated for the Grizzlies, as Randolph finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Gasol finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.
The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Houston Rockets 110-107 in Houston thanks to a buzzer beater by Monta Ellis. Ellis scored 27 points, adding 6 rebounds, 13 assists and 6 steals. Omer Asik was on the losing side, but impressed with 16 points and 22 rebounds.
In Oklahoma City, the Thunder had an easy 119-74 win over the New Orleans Hornets, as Kevin Durant pulled off a 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists triple double in under three quarters.
The Phoenix Suns surprised the San Antonio Spurs 105-101 in the AT&T Center, ending the Spurs’ 18 game home winning streak. Jermain O’Neal was probably the most surprising of contributors with 22 points and 13 rebounds in under 27 minutes off the bench.
The Atlanta Hawks were the next team to beat the slipping Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City 102-91. Al Horford was huge with 34 points and 15 rebounds. Josh Smith is showing he isn’t planning on taking off-night any time soon with 24 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists.
In Portland, the Nuggets beat the Blazers 111-109 with 30 points from Ty Lawson but an even more impressive game from Andre Iguodala, scoring 29 points, adding 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals.