The most impressive teams on a short Thursday night of NBA basketball were the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by a generous LeBron James against the Los Angeles Clippers, and the San Antonio Spurs in an easy, as expected, win over the sad looking Phoenix Suns.

Los Angeles Clippers 102  Cleveland Cavaliers 115: Another strong performance from the Cavaliers, who improve to 16-2 at home and 2-for-2 since the Warriors humiliation. A strong second and third quarters made the game easy, led by 22 points from LeBron James who also finished with 12 assists, aided by J.R. Smith, also scoring 22 points. Chris Paul finished with 30 for the Clippers, who have almost forgot what it’s like to lose.

Detroit Pistons 99  New Orleans Pelicans 115: Missing Eric Gordon doesn’t bother the Pelicans, winning convincingly at home against a tired Pistons team. Anthony Davis has another big night, scoring 32 points with 7 rebounds, getting plenty of help from Tyreke Evans who scored 22. Andre Drummond put up another impressive stat line with 19 points and 22 rebounds, this time not having to break the wrong kind of records from the free throw line.

Memphis Grizzlies 102  Denver Nuggets 101: A big three points from Marc Gasol with 12.2 seconds in the game put the Grizzlies in front for good in a tough contest against the stubborn Blazers. Gasol led Memphis with 27, followed by Mike Conley with 20 points. Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari scored 17 points each for the Nuggets.

Atlanta Hawks 88  Sacramento Kings 91: The combination of DeMarcus Cousins (24 points) and Willie Cauley-Stein is working quite well in the Kings frontcourt, now only four games below .500, beating the Hawks with some excellent defense and enough support around their big man, including 14 points for Ben McLemore and 13 for Omri Casspi.

San Antonio Spurs 117  Phoenix Suns 89: The Spurs take advantage of the Suns’ sad state which allowed them plenty of garbage time basketball. Kawhi Leonard led the way scoring 21 points, followed by Boban Marjanovic, scoring 17 to go with 13 rebounds in 22 minutes.

Eastern Conference Standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	Cleveland Cavaliers *	30	11	.732	–	41
2	Toronto Raptors *	27	15	.643	3.5	42
3	Atlanta Hawks *	26	17	.605	5.0	43
4	Chicago Bulls	24	17	.585	6.0	41
5	Indiana Pacers	23	19	.548	7.5	42
6	Detroit Pistons	23	20	.535	8.0	43
7	Miami Heat	23	20	.535	8.0	43
8	Boston Celtics	22	21	.512	9.0	43
9	New York Knicks	22	22	.500	9.5	44
10	Washington Wizards	20	21	.488	10.0	41
11	Orlando Magic	20	21	.488	10.0	41
12	Charlotte Hornets	19	23	.452	11.5	42
13	Milwaukee Bucks	19	25	.432	12.5	44
14	Brooklyn Nets	11	32	.256	20.0	43
15	Philadelphia 76ers	6	38	.136	25.5	44

Western Conference Standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	Golden State Warriors *	39	4	.907	–	43
2	San Antonio Spurs *	36	6	.857	2.5	42
3	Oklahoma City Thunder *	32	12	.727	7.5	44
4	Los Angeles Clippers	27	15	.643	11.5	42
5	Dallas Mavericks	25	19	.568	14.5	44
6	Memphis Grizzlies	24	19	.558	15.0	43
7	Houston Rockets	22	22	.500	17.5	44
8	Sacramento Kings	18	23	.439	20.0	41
9	Utah Jazz	18	24	.429	20.5	42
10	Portland Trail Blazers	19	26	.422	21.0	45
11	Denver Nuggets	16	26	.381	22.5	42
12	New Orleans Pelicans	15	27	.357	23.5	42
13	Phoenix Suns	13	30	.302	26.0	43
14	Minnesota Timberwolves	13	31	.295	26.5	44
15	Los Angeles Lakers	9	35	.205	30.5	44

Highlight of the Night: Rajon Rondo Guessing the Hawks Final Play and Yelling at Cousins to go Stand in the Corner

Top Image: Source