LeBron Becomes Youngest to 22k, J-Smoove Joins Dream and Kareem

The NBA provided its fans with a night of extraordinary action on Friday, January 10, 2014. A previously sluggish squad continued its recent string of success, the two-time defending champions went to double-overtime, and a rising star hit a game-winner.

Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.

1. The Indiana Pacers took their elite level of defensive play to another echelon against the Washington Wizards by securing a 93-66 victory. The Pacers held the opposition to 32.1 percent shooting from the floor. Washington did itself no favors by shooting 9-of-23 from the charity stripe.

66 points is the lowest scoring total by any team in 2013-14.

2. The Brooklyn Nets extended their league-best winning streak to five games with a shocking 104-95 double-overtime victory over the Miami Heat. Joe Johnson scored 32 points, Paul Pierce tallied 23 and Shaun Livingston added 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

It was Livingston’s first double-double since February 24, 2007.

3. It was a night of rare feats for LeBron James, who scored a game-high 36 points for Miami. He fouled out for the first time in a regular season game since April 2, 2008.

But he also became the youngest player in NBA history to 22,000 points.

4. Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith all recorded double-doubles as the Detroit Pistons defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 114-104. Josh Smith was the star of the game with an unbelievable stat line of 22 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and four steals.

According to Basketball-Reference.com, Smith is the first player to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and four steals in one game since Hakeem Olajuwon on April 22, 1993. More impressively, he entered NBA history.

Smith, Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only three players to ever post as well-rounded a stat line as J-Smoove did last night.

5. The Los Angeles Clippers left no question about which team is the best at Staples Center after earning a disturbingly lopsided 123-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Blake Griffin led the charge with 33 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. J.J. Redick scored 19 points in his first game back from injury.

The Clippers’ bench shot just 9-of-37 from the field, but that didn’t matter. The Clippers’ short-handed starting lineup took over for the most lopsided win that the franchise has ever earned over the Lakers.

6. Mike Conley tied his career-high with 31 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 104-99 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Conley previously set his career-best mark with 31 against the Suns—the same team that he torched last night—on March 7, 2009.

For what it’s worth, Conley put up 30 points in his previous game on January 7, 2014.

7. Kyle Korver scored 20 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc to lead the Atlanta Hawks to an 83-80 win over the Houston Rockets. Korver extends his streak to 106 consecutive games with a 3-point field goal made. That’s an expanding NBA record.

Atlanta improves to 20-17 overall and 14-5 at home.

8. Despite scoring just 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Chicago Bulls went on the road to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 81-72. After going 12-18 in 2013, the Bulls have won all four of their contests during the 2014 calendar year.

That all adds up to a 16-18 record that has Chicago in possession of the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.

9. Stephen Curry sank the game-winning jump shot with 2.1 seconds remaining as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 99-97. It was the second time this season that Curry has hit a game-winner with less than three seconds on the clock.

It was also a redemption shot for Curry, who was just 7-of-18 from the field with four turnovers to four assists.

10. The Celtics may have lost, but three separate players had double-doubles for this squad that’s progressively discovering a team identity. Jeff Green had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Jared Sullinger posted 21 and 11 off of the bench, and Kris Humphries tallied 16 points, 14 boards, three blocks and two steals.

Green has a double-double in consecutive games after registering one in all of 2012-13.

Bonus Fact: Luol Deng scored 10 points in 21 minutes during his first game as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs defeated the Utah Jazz 113-102.