The San Antonio Spurs didn’t just beat the Golden State Warriors, they may have shown a way to stop them. The Cleveland Cavaliers, a bit earlier, crashed in Miami, which is something that happens once or twice a year. The Oklahoma City Thunder rocked in Indiana and the Chicago Bulls look like they’re finally interested in making the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets 101 Charlotte Hornets 93: The Hornets lose at home for the second time in less than a week, as Kemba Walker puts on an awful display (6-of-18 from the field, 1-for-9 from three) in a game that showed the coaching limitations of Steve Clifford. Meanwhile D.J. Augustin finished with 24 points.
Brooklyn Nets 103 Detroit Pistons 115: At this point of the season, the Nets just supply wins to anyone who needs them. Detroit got Aron Baynes to lead them scoring-wise with 21 points while Anthony Tolliver helped out with 17, in a rare easy game for Detroit, clinging on to Chicago in the race for the 8th spot in the East.
Oklahoma City Thunder 115 Indiana Pacers 111: A big game for Kevin Durant with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists. Russell Westbrook had another triple double but shot just 4-for-17 from the field. The Pacers are only three games above .500, despite Paul George scoring 45 points.
New York Knicks 89 Washington Wizards 99: The Knicks are falling apart when they’re not playing the Lakers or the Suns. The Wizards have won four in a row and now just 1.5 games behind 8th in the East. John Wall scored 24 points to go with 10 assists while Markieff Morris helped out with 17.
Houston Rockets 97 Atlanta Hawks 109: Another rough moment for the Rockets, who are led in scoring by two more of the more selfish offensive players in the league. James Harden scored 25, Michael Beasley had 30 off the bench. None of it got the Rockets closer to troubling Atlanta, led by 22 points from Al Horford and 20 more by Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench.
Cleveland Cavaliers 101 Miami Heat 122: Via ESPN: The Cavs have now lost all 4 games in Miami since LeBron returned to Cleveland with James playing in 3 of them. The Cavs have scored just 92 points per game in these contests and have been outscored by 15 a game. LeBron James scored 26 points but the rest didn’t show up. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade had 24 points, the Richardson-Whiteside bench duo added 35 while both Joe Johnson and Goran Dragic scored 18 points each.
Utah Jazz 85 Chicago Bulls 92: Both teams thinking about 8th in their respective conferences. The Bulls keep their distance from 9th, while the Jazz can’t close the gap. Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 22 points, not dropping the lead in the game for a single second.
Los Angeles Clippers 102 Memphis Grizzlies 113: The Grizzlies are getting some guys back and right away look much better with Zach Randolph scoring 28 points and Tony Allen helping out with 22. Chris Paul led the Clippers with 25 points.
Golden State Warriors 79 San Antonio Spurs 87: The Warriors lose for just the 7th time this season with the Spurs holding Stephen Curry to 4-for-18 from the field. LaMarcus Aldridge led with 26 points in a mostly defensive battle. Golden State were missing both Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala. Now everyone’s wondering whether the Spurs have found the answer to stopping Curry.
Eastern Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 49 | 20 | .710 | – | 69 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 47 | 21 | .691 | 1.5 | 68 |
| 3 | Atlanta Hawks | 41 | 29 | .586 | 8.5 | 70 |
| 4 | Miami Heat | 40 | 29 | .580 | 9.0 | 69 |
| 5 | Boston Celtics | 39 | 30 | .565 | 10.0 | 69 |
| 6 | Charlotte Hornets | 39 | 30 | .565 | 10.0 | 69 |
| 7 | Indiana Pacers | 36 | 33 | .522 | 13.0 | 69 |
| 8 | Chicago Bulls | 35 | 33 | .515 | 13.5 | 68 |
| 9 | Detroit Pistons | 36 | 34 | .514 | 13.5 | 70 |
| 10 | Washington Wizards | 34 | 35 | .493 | 15.0 | 69 |
| 11 | Milwaukee Bucks | 30 | 39 | .435 | 19.0 | 69 |
| 12 | Orlando Magic | 29 | 39 | .426 | 19.5 | 68 |
| 13 | New York Knicks | 28 | 42 | .400 | 21.5 | 70 |
| 14 | Brooklyn Nets | 19 | 50 | .275 | 30.0 | 69 |
| 15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 9 | 60 | .130 | 40.0 | 69 |
Western Conference Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 62 | 7 | .899 | – | 69 |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 59 | 10 | .855 | 3.0 | 69 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 48 | 22 | .686 | 14.5 | 70 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 43 | 25 | .632 | 18.5 | 68 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 40 | 30 | .571 | 22.5 | 70 |
| 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | 36 | 34 | .514 | 26.5 | 70 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | 35 | 35 | .500 | 27.5 | 70 |
| 8 | Dallas Mavericks | 34 | 35 | .493 | 28.0 | 69 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 33 | 36 | .478 | 29.0 | 69 |
| 10 | Denver Nuggets | 29 | 41 | .414 | 33.5 | 70 |
| 11 | Sacramento Kings | 26 | 42 | .382 | 35.5 | 68 |
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 25 | 43 | .368 | 36.5 | 68 |
| 13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 47 | .319 | 40.0 | 69 |
| 14 | Phoenix Suns | 19 | 50 | .275 | 43.0 | 69 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Lakers | 14 | 55 | .203 | 48.0 | 69 |