UTA @ IND: Seldom at their the best on the road, though they had won in Brooklyn the previous night, the Jazz hit nothing but sour notes, shooting 37%, and let the Pacers connect at a 51% clip. Paul George (20 PTS, 11 REB, 4 BLK) and George Hill (20 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) had the juiciest fantasy lines, though Gerald Green (21 in 23 bench minutes) was a pleasant surprise to the few owners he has left. Not to blame only one Utah player for that team-wide stinker, but Al Jefferson (4 PTS, 6 REB in just 22 minutes) missed seven of eight shots; my sympathy if you played him.
OKC @ ATL: The Hawks couldn’t slow down Russell Westbrook (27 PTS, 11 AST) in the first half, and nobody on the planet could have stopped Kevin Durant (41 PTS, 13 REB) in the second half. Serge Ibaka added 14 REB and 3 BLK as the mighty Thunder made it 12 in a row. Josh Smith (17 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK) and Jeff Teague (19 PTS, 9 AST) were solid in defeat; Atlanta would have beaten most other teams.
CLE @ BOS: A lineup shuffle paid off for Boston, as Paul Pierce (40 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL) was sensational, and that’s The Truth. Rarely-used Jason Collins started at C, moving Kevin Garnett (12 PTS, 6 REB, 3 BLK) to PF and Brandon Bass (4 PTS, 3 REB) to the bench. Rajon Rondo (20 PTS, 8 AST, 4 REB) more than matched Kyrie Irving (22 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST) and the Cavs had no chance without Anderson Varejao (bruised knee). Rookie Tyler Zeller (20 PTS) did just fine in his first career start.
PHI @ HOU: Things are going from bad to worse for the Sixers. Without their leader Jrue Holiday (foot), they lost Evan Turner to an ankle injury in the third quarter and threw in the towel. James Harden scored 17 of his 33 on free throws; Jeremy Lin (18 PTS, 6 AST) plays Robin to Harden’s Batman, and Omer Asik (17 PTS, 15 REB) does the heavy lifting. Garbage time came early, so Dorell Wright (20 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST) and Nick Young (21 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST) put up big numbers. Both will get extra run as long as Turner is out. The Rockets’ Toney Douglas scored all 17 of his points in the meaningless fourth quarter.
CHA @ PHO: No offense to Suns fans, who are enjoying a 4-game win streak, but your team isn’t very good. The Bobcats are just worse. Jared Dudley (20 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST) and Goran Dragic (21 PTS, 11 AST) made their fantasy owners happy, and Shannon Brown (26) hit five 3-pointers. For Charlotte, Kemba Walker (27 PTS, 6 AST) is enjoying a breakout season and rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (25 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL) played his best game as a pro.
MIL @ MEM: The tired Bucks couldn’t keep up, though Brandon Jennings (26 PTS, 7 REB) has now scored 60 in two games. As expected, Marc Gasol (12 PTS, 12 REB, 3 BLK) and Zach Randolph (15 PTS, 17 REB) dominated the paint. The unheralded Tony Allen (8 PTS, 4 STL, 1 BLK) is not a fantasy asset, but he added another chapter to his defensive legend by holding Monta Ellis to four points on 1-for-14 shooting.
GSW @ SAC: I called Marcus Thornton (19 PTS) a sneaky fantasy play and thought DeMarcus Cousins (24 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST) might focus on basketball for a change, but never expected Sacramento to win. Defense took a holiday; Stephen Curry (32 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST) and David Lee (29 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST) padded their already-gaudy stats and sixth man Jarrett Jack (28 PTS, 7 REB) was brilliant, but the Warriors let a winnable game slip away. Just as we thought Kings’ PG Aaron Brooks was slipping, he scored 23 points to secure his job for a while longer.