LeMarcus Aldridge made the choice to give his painful hand a try, putting off surgery that would have put him out 6-8 weeks. The choice led to a big Blazers win to stem the tide of their losing streak. Elsewhere, the Bucks and Jazz shot the lights out, and the Hornets moved into playoff position with a win over the streaking Knicks.
Let’s get to the games:
Knicks 71 (8-37) – Hornets 76 (19-26)
The Charlotte Hornets moved into the 8th playoff spot with a win over the Knicks, who broke a 3-game winning streak with the loss. The Hornets have now won 9 of their last 11, and have not seemed to miss a beat with Kemba Walker in and out of the lineup. Brian Roberts, in for Walker tonight, had 17, while Gerald Henderson had 14 and Michael Kidd-Gilchest had 10 with 7 rebounds. For the Knicks, who were missing Carmelo Anthony, Tim Hardaway Jr led the team with 25 points plus 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Lance Thomas had 16 with 8 boards, and Cole Aldrich added 13 rebounds off the bench.
Pistons 86 (17-27) – Bucks 101 (22-21)
A Huge 2nd quarter put the Bucks ahead and an even stronger 3rd led to the blowout of the red-hot Pistons. The take-away from this game, however, will be a 2nd half injury to Detroit’s Brandon Jennings, who has already been ruled out for Sunday night’s game at Toronto. The Bucks shot 11 for 17 from behind the arc, and were led by O.J. Mayo with 20, while Brandon Knight had 14, and Kris Middleton added 16 with 7 rebounds. For the Pistons, Jennings had 16 before being helped off the court, while Greg Monroe had 8 with 16 rebounds and Andre Drummond had 10 with 7 rebounds.
76ers 83 (8-36) – Grizzlies 101 (31-12)
The more experienced Grizzlies took the lead early and a big 2nd quarter put this game out of reach early. The Memphis starters were able to rest the entire 4th quarter, with Jeff Green finishing with 18, while Zach Randolph had a double-double with 17 and 14 rebounds. Vince Carter added a nice night off the bench with 13. For the 76ers, Jerami Grant had 16, while Michael Carter-Williams had 10 with 6 rebounds, and Furkan Aldemir added 11 boards off the bench.
Nets 73 (18-26) – Jazz 108 (16-28)
A big 2nd quarter, including some great shooting from behind the arc, led to the 2nd straight blowout loss for the Nets. Brooklyn is in a free-fall, and with a tough schedule coming up the next two weeks, this may be the time to make some personnel decisions that the Nets have been putting off. For the Jazz, Gordon Hayward led the scoring with 24, while Trey Burke, coming off the bench for the first time, had 19. Joe Ingles added 16 and Rudy Gobert had a big night inside with 11 rebounds. The Nets were generally kept stifled, with Jarret Jack again leading the way with 16 and 7 assists, while Mason Plumlee had 11 and 6 rebounds.
Wizards 96 (29-15) – Trail Blazers 103 (32-13)
The big news of LeMarcus Aldridge’s decision to put off his hand surgery was the story of the day, and Aldridge led the way for the Blazers to overcome the Wizards. Washington had a great first half, but the 2nd half was a different story, and the Blazers fought their way back for the win. Aldridge went at the Wizards, finishing with 26 and 9 rebounds, while Damian Lillard had 20 with 7 assists and Wesley Matthews added 19. For the Wizards, John Wall had 25 with 9 assists, Paul Pierce had 19 with 6 rebounds, and Bradley Beal had 16 with 5 assists.