LeBron James asserted himself as one of the game’s greatest players on Tuesday, while the Rockets found out that they miss their potential MVP more than they may have realized. And in Charlotte, chemistry may be brewing as the regular season draws to a close.
Let’s get to the games:
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Boston Celtics | 79 | (23-35) |
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Cleveland Cavaliers | 110 | (38-24) |
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LeBron James tipped his cap to a former teammate with his 27-point performance against the Celtics on Tuesday. By registering his 24,508th career point, James is now 21st on the list of all-time career NBA scorers. To get there, he passed up his former Miami Heat teammate, Ray Allen. James also added five assists, three steals and three rebounds in the win. A total of seven Cleveland players reached double figures in scoring, including all five starters. Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup and added 18 points with five assists, while J.R. Smith and Kevin Love each scored 12. The Cavaliers held a 52-42 rebounding advantage, though no player had more than eight, but all 12 players that appeared in the game had at least one rebound. For the Celtics, Brandon Bass scored 15 points.
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Los Angeles Lakers | 103 | (16-43) |
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Charlotte Hornets | 104 | (25-33) |
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Al Jefferson and Mo Williams combined for 41 points as the Hornets came from behind to beat the Lakers. Jefferson had 21, while Williams had 20 as he has averaged in double digits in all six of his games with Charlotte since coming over from Minnesota. Williams registered 13 assists, while Jefferson grabbed 16 of the team’s 42 rebounds. Williams hit a 3-pointer to give Charlotte the lead for good with a minute to play and sunk five free throws down the stretch to seal it. Gerald Henderson also scored 21 points to lead the Hornets. Jeremy Lin came off the bench to score 23 points for Los Angeles.
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Sacramento Kings | 124 | (21-37) |
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New York Knicks | 86 | (12-47) |
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The Knicks have seen a lot of bad losses this season (47, to be exact), but none was worse than the beating laid down by the Kings. Sacramento led for the entire game and led by as many ass 44 points. It scored 35 points in the first and third quarters. Rudy Gay led the way with 25 points and DeMarcus Cousins added 22 with 10 rebounds. No Knicks starter reached double figures, as Tim Hardaway Jr. totaled the most with seven, but rarely used Alexy Shved scored 15 points to pace New York, which played all 13 players.
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Houston Rockets | 96 | (41-19) |
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Atlanta Hawks | 104 | (48-12) |
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A 32-15 fourth quarter left no doubt for the Hawks. Jeff Teague scored 25 points, while Paul Milsap scored 16 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta. The Hawks had to overcome an 18-point deficit early in the second half to secure its billing as the top team in the league with a six-game winning streak. The Rockets were playing without the suspended James Harden. In his place, Trevor Ariza scored nine points. Jason Terry led the way with 21 points, but no Houston player recorded a double-double.
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Washington Wizards | 92 | (34-27) |
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Chicago Bulls | 97 | (38-23) |
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The big guys did their part to get the Bulls a monumental victory. Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah reach registered a double-double as Chicago improved to 4-2 on a seven-game homestand. Gasol scored 20 points with 14 rebounds and Noah scored 14 points with 12 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic scored 23 points off the bench for the Bulls. For the Wizards, John Wall scored 21 points with 11 assists and Marcin Gortat scored 12 and grabbed 12 rebounds.
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Utah Jazz | 93 | (24-35) |
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Memphis Grizzlies | 82 | (42-17) |
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One of the league’s best teams at home gave one away because of poor shooting. The Grizzles have now lost three of their last four games. In the loss against the Jazz, Memphis shot just 40-percent and was under 30-percent from behind-the-arc. Utah was led by Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward, who each scored 21 points. Rudy Gobert scored 15 points to go with 24 rebounds. The Grizzles still managed to have four players reach double figures in scoring with Courtney Lee pacing the team with 18 points.
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Milwaukee Bucks | 95 | (32-28) |
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Denver Nuggets | 106 | (21-39) |
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Danilo Gallinari has made his most of the extended playing time he is seeing with Denver. In a strong win over the Bucks, Gallinari scored a career-high 26 points, including four 3-pointers. Ty Lawson added 16 points, with 10 assists and Kenneth Faried had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Ersan Ilyasova led Milwaukee with 21 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo registered a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. In a close first half, the Nuggets managed to put the game in hand by outscoring the Bucks, 51-44 in the second half.