Another Night of NBA action featured Dirk Nowitzki showing off his crunch time skills, the Oklahoma City Thunder making it through overtime in New York, the Miami Heat winning on the road again and the Orlando Magic falling into a bottomless pit.
Los Angeles Clippers 91 Indiana Pacers 89: While Blake Griffin took up most of the headlines for breaking his hand due to hitting equipment manager Matias Testi in the face, the Clippers ignored the distractions and pulled away for a tough win in Indianapolis with 26 points from Chris Paul and 19 by J.J. Redick, while the 31 from Paul George weren’t enough. One absolute game from this game was Lance Stephenson talking to Paul George and George Hill before the game, as if he’s trying to explain what happened in the Griffin fight.
Phoenix Suns 103 Philadelphia 76ers 113: The Sixers move one step closer towards not setting any new records with their 7th win of the season. Six players scored in double figures, including Ish Smith with 20 points and Robert Covington helping out with 19, while Jahlil Okafor didn’t play. Archie Goodwin was hot, but not enough, for the Suns, scoring 26 points.
Miami Heat 102 Brooklyn Nets 98: The Heat seem to be quite comfortable away from home with another road win, getting 27 points from Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each, which means 55 points over the last two games for Wade. Just like in the win over the Bulls, it was all about the two of them, combining to score the team’s last 12 points.
Oklahoma City Thunder 128 New York Knicks 122: In the fun game of the night, the Thunder outlast the Knicks in overtime behind 44 points from Kevin Durant, who also got plenty of help from Russell Westbrook, finishing with 30 points and 10 assists. For the Knicks, their leading scorers came from the bench; Langston Galloway with 21 points and Derrick Williams adding 21.
Washington Wizards 89 Toronto Raptors 106: The Raptors complete a season sweep against the Wizards behind 29 points from Kyle Lowry, getting help from his backcourt partner DeMar DeRozan who scored 17 points. John Wall finished with 18 points and 14 assists for the losers, picking up a fourth loss in the last five games.
Orlando Magic 100 Milwaukee Bucks 107: The Magic lose for the seventh time in a row, falling to 20-24, while the Bucks get Jason Kidd back on the sidelines. Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo each scored 25 points while Greg Monroe helped out with 21 more. Victor Oladipo led the Magic with 18 points.
Sacramento Kings 97 Portland Trail Blazers 112: An easy win for the Blazers against what looked like an exhausted Kings team, not getting enough time to recover from their two-overtime loss against the Hornets. C.J. McCollum scored 18 points in a relatively spread out scoring effort from the Blazers, while DeMarcus Cousins, coming off his 56-point performance, finished with 17 points.
Dallas Mavericks 92 Los Angeles Lakers 90: Dirk Nowitzki added another game-winning shot to his collection, hitting one over Julius Randle with 2.1 seconds left in the game. J.J. Barea led the Mavs with 18 points off the bench and Chandler Parsons scored 17. Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 18 points, playing without Kobe Bryant. Bryant provided the funniest moment of the game, by making one of the players on the bench get up because there wasn’t a seat open.
Eastern Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 31 | 12 | .721 | – | 43 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 30 | 15 | .667 | 2.0 | 45 |
| 3 | Atlanta Hawks | 27 | 19 | .587 | 5.5 | 46 |
| 4 | Chicago Bulls | 25 | 19 | .568 | 6.5 | 44 |
| 5 | Boston Celtics | 25 | 21 | .543 | 7.5 | 46 |
| 6 | Miami Heat | 25 | 21 | .543 | 7.5 | 46 |
| 7 | Detroit Pistons | 24 | 21 | .533 | 8.0 | 45 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 23 | 22 | .511 | 9.0 | 45 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 22 | 23 | .489 | 10.0 | 45 |
| 10 | New York Knicks | 22 | 25 | .468 | 11.0 | 47 |
| 11 | Washington Wizards | 20 | 23 | .465 | 11.0 | 43 |
| 12 | Orlando Magic | 20 | 24 | .455 | 11.5 | 44 |
| 13 | Milwaukee Bucks | 20 | 27 | .426 | 13.0 | 47 |
| 14 | Brooklyn Nets | 12 | 34 | .261 | 20.5 | 46 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 7 | 39 | .152 | 25.5 | 46 |
Western Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 41 | 4 | .911 | – | 45 |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 38 | 7 | .844 | 3.0 | 45 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 34 | 13 | .723 | 8.0 | 47 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 29 | 16 | .644 | 12.0 | 45 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 26 | 20 | .565 | 15.5 | 46 |
| 6 | Dallas Mavericks | 26 | 21 | .553 | 16.0 | 47 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | 25 | 22 | .532 | 17.0 | 47 |
| 8 | Portland Trail Blazers | 21 | 26 | .447 | 21.0 | 47 |
| 9 | Sacramento Kings | 20 | 25 | .444 | 21.0 | 45 |
| 10 | Utah Jazz | 19 | 25 | .432 | 21.5 | 44 |
| 11 | Denver Nuggets | 17 | 28 | .378 | 24.0 | 45 |
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 16 | 28 | .364 | 24.5 | 44 |
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | 14 | 32 | .304 | 27.5 | 46 |
| 14 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 14 | 32 | .304 | 27.5 | 46 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Lakers | 9 | 38 | .191 | 33.0 | 47 |