PHI @ WAS: Overshadowed by the marquee matchups, this was a pretty good game, though Bradley Beal (14 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK) left with a sprained ankle late in the fourth. John Wall (16 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB) scored the final six points to finish an exciting comeback. Nene (15 PTS, 9 REB, 2 BLK) returned after missing two games with a sore shoulder and Martell Webster (16) missed no time with an abdominal strain. Dorell Wright led the tired Sixers with 15 off the bench and Spencer Hawes (14 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST) bounced back from a terrible night.
DAL @ HOU: We said the Mavericks would be desperate, not defenseless. They allowed Houston to shoot 57.5% and score 136 points, with Chandler Parsons making 12 of 13 shots (6-7 from deep) for a career-high 32. James Harden (21 PTS, 7 AST, 4 REB) played just 30 minutes and Jeremy Lin (21 PTS, 9 AST) was done after 24:34, as a 44-point third-quarter eruption meant plenty of garbage time. Dirk Nowitzki (8 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST in 26:35) looked gassed and there is a big fork sticking out of his team, which is old, slow and done.
DET @ SAS: Who had Cory Joseph in the pool? The surprise starter at PG (8 PTS, 4 AST, 2 STL) played 18 minutes in a timeshare with Patrick Mills (6 PTS, 4 AST in 16:08) and Nando De Colo (3 PTS, 2 AST in 13:33) which effectively ruins the fantasy value of all three. Manu Ginobili (17 PTS, 3 AST, 3 STL) led the Spurs in an easy romp, with Tim Duncan (16 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST, 5 BLK) doing plenty of damage in just 26 minutes. It was another game where just about everyone’s stats are skewed by garbage time.
CHI @ IND: The Bulls have guts. In a back-to-back, with Kirk Hinrich (foot) and Richard Hamilton (back) joining Taj Gibson (knee) in street clothes, they never quit. Marco Belinelli (20 PTS, 5 AST) played nearly the entire game and Jimmy Butler (20 PTS, 4 REB, 2 STL) was exciting in 31 minutes off the bench. David West (31 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL) was excellent for the Pacers, and George Hill (21 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK) make all six of his shots, including three clutch 3-pointers. Roy Hibbert (18 PTS, 10 REB, 2 STL, 3 BLK) did a nice job against Joakim Noah (14 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST) whose all-out effort — despite fatigue and a foot injury — was inspirational.
ATL @ LAL: it was definitely the ‘good’ Hawks who showed up, not those impostors who laid a giant egg in Phoenix. Al Horford (24 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL) and Josh Smith (19 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST, 3 BLK) made this a helluva game. Kobe Bryant (34 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL) won it with nine seconds left; Dwight Howard (11 PTS, 15 REB, 2 STL) and Steve Nash (15 PTS, 10 AST) helped out with double-doubles. The Lakers are temporarily at .500 (for the first time in two months) but still 2.5 games back of the final playoff spot. They must visit Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
Monday Previews
NYK @ CLE: The potential for a letdown is huge. The Knicks left it all on the floor yesterday. If Kyrie Irving (knee) returns, that’s a big boost for the Cavs, who won two of three without him. Tyler Zeller isn’t feeling well, so Marreese Speights could get extra run and Tristan Thompson will need to do extra rebounding.