An exciting Friday night in the NBA saw several players posting career-high point totals. Chandler Parsons stole the show in Houston with 31, nailing 13-of-17 shots including four triples, and adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and a block. Teammate James Harden had 33 (plus 9 assists) and Jeremy Lin did a competent job against his former team, but Omer Asik (18 PTS, 14 REB) deserves plenty of credit for the blowout win.
“We just weren’t ready to play,” said Mike Woodson about his Knicks, who gave up 131 in regulation, 72 in the first half. Carmelo Anthony scored 37 and Raymond Felton added 17, but the defensive effort that got them off to an 8-2 record was completely absent. Starting SF Ronnie Brewer played just 15 minutes as Steve Novak and J.R Smith kept firing away, with little success.
Other November 23 Games
CLE @ ORL: Despite another solid job by Jeremy Pargo (15) as the interim PG, 25 points from Dion Waiters and a double-double (19 PTS, 17 REB) by Anderson Varejao, the Cavs came up short. Jameer Nelson led the way with 22 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB and 2 STL, and sixth man J.J. Redick added 18, as the surprising Magic improved to 5-7.
TOR @ DET: The Raptors losing in the final seconds has become commonplace. Kyle Lowry (19) kept feeding a red-hot Andrea Bargnani (34) but nobody else scored in double figures. The Pistons pulled out the W with a more balanced attack, led by Greg Monroe (19 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST) and Tayshaun Prince (16), while rookie Andre Drummond set new career highs in minutes (24:24) and rebounds (13). Rodney Stuckey’s line was disappointing (8 PTS on 2-of-9 shooting) so he isn’t going to steal the job of Kyle Singler (6 PTS in 29 minutes) just yet, but stay tuned.
ATL @ CHA: As anticipated, Al Horford was unstoppable — 26 PTS, 13 REB, 3 BLK — and Kyle Korver (16 PTS, four 3PTM) stayed hot to lead the visiting Hawks. DeShawn Stevenson (9 PTS, 6 REB) returned to the starting lineup, bumping Devin Harris (8 PTS, 3 BLK) back to a reserve role. For Charlotte, rookie SG Jeffery Taylor had a career-high 16, and with Ben Gordon (1-for-8) ice cold, Ramon Sessions scored 22 off the bench.