In a rather quiet Sunday NBA-wise (maybe due to selection Sunday) the Cleveland Cavaliers stood out with their impressive performance in Los Angeles against the Clippers, Giannis Antetokounmpo keeps showing he can do everything on the court and the Los Angeles Lakers sink a little bit lower at the hands of another disappointing team, the New York Knicks.
Cleveland Cavaliers 114 Los Angeles Clippers 90: A dominant performance as can be by the Cavaliers on both ends of the floor in a would-be tough road game. LeBron James led the way with 27 points and got help from Kyrie Irving (17) and J.R. Smith (17), who also scored 11 in a row at one point as the Cavs broke away in the third quarter.
Indiana Pacers 75 Atlanta Hawks 104: The Pacers looked exhausted and played that way, as Paul George shot 3-of-15 from the field en route to a bad loss against a team playing some very nice basketball. Paul Millsap and Al Horford each finished with 18 points, getting help from Kyle Korver with 14.
Utah Jazz 108 Sacramento Kings 99: A big night for the Jazz with 55 combined points for Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward, while the Kings, as usual, seem to be going nowhere. DeMarcus Cousins scored 31 points and Omri Casspi added 20, but the Kings don’t look anything like a team that’s improving or are on some sort of track towards the playoffs at some point.
Milwaukee Bucks 109 Brooklyn Nets 100: The walking highlight film named Giannis Antetokounmpo keeps on putting up triple doubles, his fourth in 11 games. He scored 28 points to go with 11 boards and 14 assists, but also added 4 steals and 2 blocks in one of the more complete performances we’ve seen recently. The Nets turned the ball over 20 times to cancel their 55.7% shooting. Jabari Parker added 23 points, Khris Middleton finished with 19.
New York Knicks 90 Los Angeles Lakers 87: It came down to Jose Calderon winning the game with a three-pointer after his inbound pass was almost lost by Robin Lopez. Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points as Phil Jackson spoke after the game, hinting that it was kinda bad. Kobe Bryant finished with 14 as the Lakers shot just 18.8% from beyond the arc.
Eastern Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 46 | 18 | .719 | – | 64 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 44 | 20 | .688 | 2.0 | 64 |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | 39 | 27 | .591 | 8.0 | 66 |
| 4 | Miami Heat | 38 | 28 | .576 | 9.0 | 66 |
| 5 | Charlotte Hornets | 37 | 28 | .569 | 9.5 | 65 |
| 6 | Atlanta Hawks | 37 | 29 | .561 | 10.0 | 66 |
| 7 | Indiana Pacers | 35 | 30 | .538 | 11.5 | 65 |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 34 | 32 | .515 | 13.0 | 66 |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 32 | 32 | .500 | 14.0 | 64 |
| 10 | Washington Wizards | 30 | 35 | .462 | 16.5 | 65 |
| 11 | Orlando Magic | 28 | 37 | .431 | 18.5 | 65 |
| 12 | Milwaukee Bucks | 28 | 38 | .424 | 19.0 | 66 |
| 13 | New York Knicks | 27 | 40 | .403 | 20.5 | 67 |
| 14 | Brooklyn Nets | 18 | 47 | .277 | 28.5 | 65 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 9 | 57 | .136 | 38.0 | 66 |
Western Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 59 | 6 | .908 | – | 65 |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 56 | 10 | .848 | 3.5 | 66 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 44 | 22 | .667 | 15.5 | 66 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 42 | 22 | .656 | 16.5 | 64 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 39 | 27 | .591 | 20.5 | 66 |
| 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | 35 | 32 | .522 | 25.0 | 67 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | 33 | 33 | .500 | 26.5 | 66 |
| 8 | Dallas Mavericks | 33 | 33 | .500 | 26.5 | 66 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 30 | 35 | .462 | 29.0 | 65 |
| 10 | Denver Nuggets | 28 | 38 | .424 | 31.5 | 66 |
| 11 | Sacramento Kings | 25 | 39 | .391 | 33.5 | 64 |
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 24 | 41 | .369 | 35.0 | 65 |
| 13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 21 | 45 | .318 | 38.5 | 66 |
| 14 | Phoenix Suns | 17 | 49 | .258 | 42.5 | 66 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Lakers | 14 | 52 | .212 | 45.5 | 66 |