With the loss by the Hawks to the Pelicans, the Cavs become the NBA’s “hottest team”, winning their 11th straight. Close behind are the Grizzlies who won their 7th straight tonight. Elsewhere the Nets revenged a bad loss from last week, and the Mavs get a win without Rondo.
Let’s get to the games:
76ers 84 (10-39) – Cavaliers 97 (30-20)
Despite a second half rally from the scrappy 76ers, the Cavaliers early lead held up giving them their 11th straight win. With the chemistry issues seemingly fixed, the Cavs have been a much better team while also facing a somewhat easier schedule, and have now won 11 in a row. Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 24, while LeBron James added 18 with 11 assists. For the 76ers, Robert Covington continued to shine with 18.
Hornets 92 (21-27) – Wizards 88 (31-18)
The Hornets have now won 6 of their last 8, and are comfortably in the Eastern Conference playoff standings after a win over the banged-up Wizards. Washington has now dropped three straight, and are looking to come together, get healthy, and generally give a little more effort. The Hornets were led by Al Jefferson and Brian Roberts, both with 18 points, while Gerald Henderson added 17. For the Wizards, Bradley Beal had 18 and John Wall finished with 16 and 10 assists.
Bucks 82 (26-22) – Raptors 75 (33-16)
Despite only scoring 9 points in the 4th quarter, big first and third periods from the Bucks were enough to get the win in Toronto. The Bucks were without their leader, Brandon Knight, who was ruled out just before the game. Instead, Khris Middleton picked up the slack for 25 points and Jared Dudley added 14 while Giannis added 12 points and 12 boards. For the Raptors, DeMar DeRozen had 16 and Jonas Valanciunas added 12 plus 13 boards.
Clippers 100 (33-16) – Nets 102 (19-28)
After being blown out on national TV last week the Nets were looking for revenge, and having Deron Williams back in the lineup meant another potential option off the bench for a team that has looked pretty thin of late. It took a Jarret Jack jumper with 1.3 seconds left to get the win, though, and break a 7-game home losing streak. Brook Lopez finished with 24, Joe Johnson with 22, and Willaims with 15 for the struggling Nets who are on the outside of the playoff race. The Clippers were led by DeAndre Jordan with 22 and 20 boards, and all-star guard Chris Paul with 20 points.
Hawks 100 (40-9) – Pelicans 115 (26-22)
We knew the streak would come to an end, and the return of Anthony Davis for the Pelicans seemed to give them an extra push they needed to get the win. New Orleans jumped out in the 1st and never looked back, perhaps showing a way to beat these Hawks – get up on them early. Davis had 29 points and 13 rebounds while Tyreke Evans had 15 points with 12 assists. For the Hawks, Jeff Teague finished with 21 and Paul Milsap had 15 in their first losing effort since December.
Magic 97 (15-36) – Thunder 104 (24-24)
Without Kevin Durant, the Thunder rode Russell Westbrook to victory over a hobbling Magic team abuzz in rumors of a head coaching change. OKC jumped out in the first and kept pushing to get the win. Westbrook finished with 25 points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds on the night for his 3rd triple-double of the season. Dion Waters added 24 points and Serge Ibaka added 16 in the win. For the Magic, Victor Oladipo starred with 22 while Nikola Vucevic added 20 in the loss.
Timberwolves 94 (8-40) – Mavericks 100 (33-17)
The return of Ricky Rubio was spoiled by a Mavs team in search of the winning formula and missing new point-guard Rajon Rondo for the night. Dallas led throughout, but the feisty Timberwolves kept it close and never allowed the Mavs to take their eyes off the road. Dallas were led by Monta Ellis with 23 and Chandler Parsons with 18, while the Wolves took the lead from Kevin Martin who finished with 19 points.
Grizzlies 102 (36-12) – Suns 101 (28-22)
The Suns thought they had the win in the bag but a 7 point rally in the last 90 seconds brought the Grizzlies back and got them their 7th straight win. A close game throughout, it took the last minute rally and defensive stands from the Memphis frount-court to pull out the victory over the Suns who have held their ground in the Western playoff race. Mike Conley led Memphis with 23 points and Zach Randolph added 19 and 9 rebounds, just missing another double-double. For the Suns, Isaiah Thomas had 14 points and Eric Bledsoe finished with 21 in the close loss.