Not your usual busy Friday NBA night, as the Chicago Bulls destroy the New York Knicks to open up 2016, still without Derrick Rose; the Miami Heat easily dispatching of the Dallas Mavericks; Washington Wizards keeping their Orlando Magic win-streak alive; Toronto Raptors walloping the injured Charlotte Hornets; and the Los Angeles Lakers, without Kobe Bryant, getting their revenge on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Orlando Magic 91  Washington Wizards 104: Despite the Magic having a very good season, they just can’t win against the Wizards. It was Washington’s 11th consecutive win against Orlando, although they’re 3.5 games behind them right now. John Wall scored 24 points to go with 13 assists and Otto Porter Jr. added 20 points with 11 rebounds. Victor Oladipo led the Magic with 20 points off the bench.

Dallas Mavericks 82  Miami Heat 106: An impressive start to 2016 for the Heat who have a grueling January ahead of them. Hassan Whiteside was unstoppable with 25 points and 19 rebounds, helped by Gerald Green scoring 19 points and Chris Bosh adding 16, while Dwyane Wade sat out due to the flu. The Mavs were awful right from the start, shooting just 36.4% from the field, waiting to pack things up and leave Miami as soon as possible.

Charlotte Hornets 94  Toronto Raptors 104: The Hornets are fading fast, with Jeremy Lin being out, along with other injuries, not helping out. DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 23 points and Kyle Lowry added 16 with 11 assists, although both were on bad shooting performances. Kemba Walker scored 18 points but shot just 7-of-21 from the field.

New York Knicks 81  Chicago Bulls 108: The Knicks looked hungover from New Year’s celebrating, or simply shocked at what they’re doing in Chicago. The Bulls, still without Derrick Rose, were led by 23 points from Jimmy Butler, 17 each from Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic while Bobby Portis added 16 off the bench as he continues to make the most of the minutes he’s getting.

Philadelphia 76ers 84  Los Angeles Lakers 93: Revenge!!! No Kobe Bryant, but the Lakers, despite shooting just 37.9% from the field in an awful, awful game of basketball, were able to beat the 76ers to win for the 7th time this season. Lou Williams with 24 points and Jordan Clarkson scoring 19 points led the Lakers, while the Sixers, doing even worse offensively, were led by 15 points from Nerlens Noel.

Eastern Conference Standings

1	Cleveland Cavaliers	21	9	.700	–	30
2	Toronto Raptors	21	13	.618	2.0	34
3	Atlanta Hawks	21	13	.618	2.0	34
4	Chicago Bulls	19	12	.613	2.5	31
5	Miami Heat	19	13	.594	3.0	32
6	Orlando Magic	19	14	.576	3.5	33
7	Indiana Pacers	18	14	.563	4.0	32
8	Boston Celtics	18	14	.563	4.0	32
9	Detroit Pistons	18	15	.545	4.5	33
10	Charlotte Hornets	17	15	.531	5.0	32
11	Washington Wizards	15	16	.484	6.5	31
12	New York Knicks	15	19	.441	8.0	34
13	Milwaukee Bucks	13	21	.382	10.0	34
14	Brooklyn Nets	9	23	.281	13.0	32
15	Philadelphia 76ers	3	32	.086	20.5	35

Western Conference Standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	Golden State Warriors	30	2	.938	–	32
2	San Antonio Spurs	28	6	.824	3.0	34
3	Oklahoma City Thunder	23	10	.697	7.5	33
4	Los Angeles Clippers	21	13	.618	10.0	34
5	Dallas Mavericks	19	14	.576	11.5	33
6	Memphis Grizzlies	18	16	.529	13.0	34
7	Houston Rockets	16	18	.471	15.0	34
8	Utah Jazz	14	17	.452	15.5	31
9	Portland Trail Blazers	14	21	.400	17.5	35
10	Sacramento Kings	12	20	.375	18.0	32
11	Denver Nuggets	12	21	.364	18.5	33
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	12	21	.364	18.5	33
13	Phoenix Suns	12	23	.343	19.5	35
14	New Orleans Pelicans	10	22	.313	20.0	32
15	Los Angeles Lakers	7	27	.206	24.0	34

Highlight of the Night: Nikola Mirotic with the Super Deep 3-Pointer

Images: Source