With a shortened schedule and the eyes of the sports world focused on Arizona, the NBA day was highlighted by continued excellence from Hassan Whiteside. Elsewhere, Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks to another win, their 5th in the last 7 games.
Let’s get to the games:
Heat 83 (21-26) – Celtics 75 (16-30)
Hassan Whiteside continues to impress as the new go-to option for the injury ravaged Heat. With Luol Deng out for the third straight game and Dwayne Wade missing his second straight with no return in sight, Whiteside has become the big part of keeping the Heat moving forward in the Eastern Conference. The Heat jumped out in the first quarter, but Boston answered with a big third before Miami turned up the heat to put the game away. Whiteside finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds while Chris Bosh had 18 and 7 boards. For the Celtics, Avery Bradley and Tyler Zeller both finished with 17 and Brandon Bass added 15.
Lakers 80 (13-35) – Knicks 92 (10-38)
The Knicks have won five of their last 10, and continued their better run with a blow out win after jumping out in the first quarter and fighting off a Lakers run in the third. Carmelo Anthony had a big day and has seemingly silenced the rumors of him being shut down for the season anytime soon. Anthony finished with 31 points and 8 rebounds while new signee Langston Galloway had 13 and 5 rebounds. The Lakers were led by Jordan Clarkson with 19 and Carlos Boozer with 19 and 10 rebounds off the bench.