Some business as usual in a busy NBA night, with the Golden State Warriors picking up another win through a big Stephen Curry game and another loss for the Philadelphia 76ers, this time to the Toronto Raptors. The Los Angeles Clippers keep building their winning streak against the sinking Charlotte Hornets despite the impressive Jeremy Lin, and the Atlanta Hawks stop the surging Chicago Bulls with some impressive defense.
Charlotte Hornets 83 Â Los Angeles Clippers 97:Â Streaks continue, as the Clippers move on to 8 in a row while the Hornets lose for a sixth straight time. No Blake Griffin isn’t a problem with Chris Paul scoring 25, Jamal Crawford adding 19 and J.J. Redick 17. The Hornets had the finest of Jeremy Lin with 26 points and a very good game from Jeremy Lamb scoring 18, but the defense is bad and the offense is terrible when Kemba Walker is playing, shooting 4-of-16 from the field.
Chicago Bulls 105 Â Atlanta Hawks 120:Â The Bulls six-game win streak is over, crashing in Atlanta. The Bulls started weakly and finished poorly after an impressive third quarter comeback. Al Horford scored 33 points to go with 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks, while Paul Millsap helped out with 18 points and 6 blocks. The Bulls turned the ball over 21 times and once got very little from their bench, while Jimmy Butler with 27 points and Nikola Mirotic scoring 24 carried most of the load.
Washington Wizards 105 Â Orlando Magic 99:Â John Wall had 24 points, 10 assists and 4 steals (but also 7 turnovers) as the Wizards shot 55.3% from the field and 56.5% from beyond the arc, as five more players finished in double figures, including both Jared Dudley and Otto Porter Jr. scoring 16 points. It means the Wizards swept the four-game season series with the Magic, who were led by Nikola Vucevic scoring 23 points.
Brooklyn Nets 89 Â Detroit Pistons 103:Â The Nets had another one of those really bad games in which they don’t look like anything resembling a basketball team, while the Pistons simply made the most of it, led by the usual duo of Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, both scoring 23 points. Ersan Ilyasova had a double double as well with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Brook Lopez led the Nets with 19 points, in what was a third straight win for Detroit.
Toronto Raptors 108 Â Philadelphia 76ers 95:Â Ish Smith is doing a great job for the Sixers with 28 points while Jahlil Okafor, scoring 19, had some nice numbers as well. But the Sixers remain far from winning games most of the time, while the Raptors had the usual contribution from DeMar DeRozan (19 points) and Kyle Lowry (25 points), but also help from Jonas Valanciunas with 17 and 16 from Terrence Ross.
Miami Heat 83 Â Utah Jazz 98:Â A huge night for Gordon Hayward (34 points) paved the way for the Jazz in another impressive defensive stand at home, holding the Heat to just 41.5% from the field, as Rudy Gobert with 4 blocks was swatting everything in his path. Chris Bosh led the Heat with 24 points.
Golden State Warriors 128  Sacramento Kings 116: In Warriors terminology, this is called a close game, beating the Kings for the fourth and final time this season, scoring 120 points in the final three games. Stephen Curry showed no sign of injury with 38 points and 11 assists, and Draymond Green helped out with 25 points. The Kings, ninth in the West, trying to get past the Utah Jazz, will look for opportunities against someone else. DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 33 points.
Eastern Conference Standings
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 25 | 9 | .735 | â | 34 |
2 | Chicago Bulls | 22 | 13 | .629 | 3.5 | 35 |
3 | Toronto Raptors | 24 | 15 | .615 | 3.5 | 39 |
4 | Atlanta Hawks | 23 | 15 | .605 | 4.0 | 38 |
5 | Miami Heat | 22 | 15 | .595 | 4.5 | 37 |
6 | Indiana Pacers | 21 | 15 | .583 | 5.0 | 36 |
7 | Detroit Pistons | 21 | 16 | .568 | 5.5 | 37 |
8 | Boston Celtics | 19 | 17 | .528 | 7.0 | 36 |
9 | Orlando Magic | 20 | 18 | .526 | 7.0 | 38 |
10 | New York Knicks | 18 | 20 | .474 | 9.0 | 38 |
11 | Charlotte Hornets | 17 | 19 | .472 | 9.0 | 36 |
12 | Washington Wizards | 16 | 19 | .457 | 9.5 | 35 |
13 | Milwaukee Bucks | 15 | 23 | .395 | 12.0 | 38 |
14 | Brooklyn Nets | 10 | 27 | .270 | 16.5 | 37 |
15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 4 | 35 | .103 | 23.5 | 39 |
Western Conference Standings
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Golden State Warriors | 35 | 2 | .946 | â | 37 |
2 | San Antonio Spurs | 32 | 6 | .842 | 3.5 | 38 |
3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 26 | 11 | .703 | 9.0 | 37 |
4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 24 | 13 | .649 | 11.0 | 37 |
5 | Dallas Mavericks | 21 | 16 | .568 | 14.0 | 37 |
6 | Memphis Grizzlies | 20 | 18 | .526 | 15.5 | 38 |
7 | Houston Rockets | 18 | 19 | .486 | 17.0 | 37 |
8 | Utah Jazz | 16 | 20 | .444 | 18.5 | 36 |
9 | Sacramento Kings | 15 | 22 | .405 | 20.0 | 37 |
10 | Portland Trail Blazers | 16 | 24 | .400 | 20.5 | 40 |
11 | Denver Nuggets | 13 | 24 | .351 | 22.0 | 37 |
12 | Phoenix Suns | 13 | 26 | .333 | 23.0 | 39 |
13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 12 | 25 | .324 | 23.0 | 37 |
14 | New Orleans Pelicans | 11 | 24 | .314 | 23.0 | 35 |
15 | Los Angeles Lakers | 8 | 30 | .211 | 27.5 | 38 |