In a short night of NBA basketball, the Houston Rockets stopped losing, the Portland Trail Blazers made things worse for the Milwaukee Bucks and Kobe Bryant had a rare moment in the spotlight this season in terms of actually playing well, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to their first win after 10 consecutive losses.
Boston Celtics 97 New York Knicks 89: The Celtics couldn’t hit anything from the outside, but got enough offense from elsewhere while holding the Knicks to 37.8% from the field. Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points to go with his 8 assists, with Tyler Zeller helping out, scoring 16.
Miami Heat 102 Houston Rockets 115: The Rockets stop their three game losing streak behind 26 points and 14 assists from James Harden. Josh Smith started at center, finishing with 19 points, while Marcus Thornton added 18 off the bench. Luol Deng led the Heat with 17 points, who turned the ball over 17 times.
Toronto Raptors 104 Phoenix Suns 97: There’s nothing like playing the Suns to get back on the winning track. The Suns also lost T.J. Warren for the season so Earl Watson, the new interim coach, has very little to work with. Kyle Lowry hit five 3-pointers and finished with 26 points while DeMar DeRozan scored 22. Markieff Morris, yes, still on the team, scored 30 points and Devin Booker, maybe the only good thing about the Suns this year, finished with 27.
Milwaukee Bucks 95 Portland Trail Blazers 107: Another loss for the Bucks, who are losing touch with a playoff spot. C.J. McCollum led the Blazers for once with 30 points while Damian Lillard finished with 14 points and 12 assists, hanging on to their 8th spot in the Western conference.
Minnesota Timberwolves 115 Los Angeles Lakers 119: The Timberwolves keep sinking, while the Lakers have their moment, or more like Kobe Bryant, who scored 38 points including seven 3-pointers in his best game of the season. Lou Williams finished with 20 points and D’Angelo Russell added 18 in a rough season for him. Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 30 points.
Eastern conference standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 35 | 12 | .745 | – | 47 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 33 | 16 | .673 | 3.0 | 49 |
| 3 | Atlanta Hawks | 28 | 22 | .560 | 8.5 | 50 |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 28 | 22 | .560 | 8.5 | 50 |
| 5 | Chicago Bulls | 26 | 21 | .553 | 9.0 | 47 |
| 6 | Miami Heat | 27 | 22 | .551 | 9.0 | 49 |
| 7 | Detroit Pistons | 26 | 23 | .531 | 10.0 | 49 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 25 | 23 | .521 | 10.5 | 48 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 23 | 25 | .479 | 12.5 | 48 |
| 10 | Washington Wizards | 21 | 25 | .457 | 13.5 | 46 |
| 11 | New York Knicks | 23 | 28 | .451 | 14.0 | 51 |
| 12 | Orlando Magic | 21 | 26 | .447 | 14.0 | 47 |
| 13 | Milwaukee Bucks | 20 | 31 | .392 | 17.0 | 51 |
| 14 | Brooklyn Nets | 12 | 37 | .245 | 24.0 | 49 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 7 | 41 | .146 | 28.5 | 48 |
Western conference standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 44 | 4 | .917 | – | 48 |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 40 | 8 | .833 | 4.0 | 48 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 37 | 13 | .740 | 8.0 | 50 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 32 | 16 | .667 | 12.0 | 48 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 29 | 20 | .592 | 15.5 | 49 |
| 6 | Dallas Mavericks | 28 | 23 | .549 | 17.5 | 51 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | 26 | 25 | .510 | 19.5 | 51 |
| 8 | Portland Trail Blazers | 24 | 26 | .480 | 21.0 | 50 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 22 | 25 | .468 | 21.5 | 47 |
| 10 | Sacramento Kings | 21 | 27 | .438 | 23.0 | 48 |
| 11 | Denver Nuggets | 19 | 30 | .388 | 25.5 | 49 |
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 18 | 29 | .383 | 25.5 | 47 |
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | 14 | 36 | .280 | 31.0 | 50 |
| 14 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 14 | 36 | .280 | 31.0 | 50 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Lakers | 10 | 41 | .196 | 35.5 | 51 |