A short day of NBA action with most of the attention going to the beginning of some college basketball thing. The Indiana Pacers impressed against the Boston Celtics, the Toronto Raptors looked good against the Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs didn’t have too much difficulty flicking away the Los Angeles Clippers.
Boston Celtics 98 Indiana Pacers 103: A game that came down to making shots in the end and hitting threes throughout it, as the Celtics were only 25% from beyond the arc on 32 attempts, while the Pacers, pulling away in the final four minutes, hit 45.5% of them, attempting just 11. Paul George led Indiana with 25 points with the win giving his team some distance and breathing room from 9th.
Denver Nuggets 110 Orlando Magic 116: In a game that meant nothing we got very little defense, a nice collection of highlights and plenty of points. Evan Fournier scored 30 points, Victor Oladipo accompanied him in the backcourt with 23 points and Jason Smith of all players added 25 off the bench. If only the Magic had something resembling a defense in recent months, they’d still be in the playoff race.
Philadelphia 76ers 114 Brooklyn Nets 131: The usual upgrade your stats game against the Sixers, in which the Nets shot 52.2% from the field and had 14 offensive rebounds. This game was about Bojan Bogdanovic erupting for a career high 44 points while Sean Kilpatrick helped out off the bench scoring 19 and Brook Lopez finished with 18. Isaiah Canaan led the Sixers with 20 points.
Los Angeles Clippers 87 San Antonio Spurs 108: The Clippers, trailing for most of the game, grabbed a 70-69 lead just before the end of the third quarter and then gave up two points. That swung the momentum, and allowed the Spurs to run all over them in the fourth quarter, winning it 37-17 with the Clippers making just four field goals when it mattered the most. Once again, Kawhi Leonard (20 points) and LaMarcus Aldridge (17 points) were on top of the scoring for San Antonio.
Sacramento Kings 106 Los Angeles Lakers 98: While the Kings had very little to play for, teams give it their all against the Lakers, even when they’re the worst bunch West of the Mississippi. DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison each had 22 points, while Rudy Gay finished with 20. Playing without Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were led by Lou Williams with 17 points.
Eastern Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 47 | 19 | .712 | – | 66 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 45 | 21 | .682 | 2.0 | 66 |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | 39 | 28 | .582 | 8.5 | 67 |
| 4 | Miami Heat | 39 | 28 | .582 | 8.5 | 67 |
| 5 | Atlanta Hawks | 38 | 29 | .567 | 9.5 | 67 |
| 6 | Charlotte Hornets | 37 | 29 | .561 | 10.0 | 66 |
| 7 | Indiana Pacers | 36 | 31 | .537 | 11.5 | 67 |
| 8 | Chicago Bulls | 33 | 32 | .508 | 13.5 | 65 |
| 9 | Detroit Pistons | 34 | 33 | .507 | 13.5 | 67 |
| 10 | Washington Wizards | 31 | 35 | .470 | 16.0 | 66 |
| 11 | Orlando Magic | 29 | 37 | .439 | 18.0 | 66 |
| 12 | Milwaukee Bucks | 29 | 39 | .426 | 19.0 | 68 |
| 13 | New York Knicks | 28 | 40 | .412 | 20.0 | 68 |
| 14 | Brooklyn Nets | 19 | 48 | .284 | 28.5 | 67 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 9 | 58 | .134 | 38.5 | 67 |
Western Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 60 | 6 | .909 | – | 66 |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 57 | 10 | .851 | 3.5 | 67 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 45 | 22 | .672 | 15.5 | 67 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 42 | 24 | .636 | 18.0 | 66 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 39 | 28 | .582 | 21.5 | 67 |
| 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | 35 | 33 | .515 | 26.0 | 68 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | 34 | 33 | .507 | 26.5 | 67 |
| 8 | Dallas Mavericks | 34 | 33 | .507 | 26.5 | 67 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 32 | 35 | .478 | 28.5 | 67 |
| 10 | Denver Nuggets | 28 | 40 | .412 | 33.0 | 68 |
| 11 | Sacramento Kings | 26 | 40 | .394 | 34.0 | 66 |
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 24 | 42 | .364 | 36.0 | 66 |
| 13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 21 | 46 | .313 | 39.5 | 67 |
| 14 | Phoenix Suns | 18 | 49 | .269 | 42.5 | 67 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Lakers | 14 | 54 | .206 | 47.0 | 68 |