The 2013-14 NBA regular season took a turn for the worst on Friday, Nov. 22. Two of the game’s biggest stars suffered severe knee injuries that have put their respective seasons in doubt.
Here’s the information on that and everything else you need to know about from last night’s games.
1. During one of his best games of the year, 2010-11 NBA MVP Derrick Rose was forced to leave the Chicago Bulls’ with a right knee injury. It was a non-contact injury that required him to be carried to the locker room after posting 20 points in 28 minutes.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the knee that he received surgery on in 2012. Unfortunately, the injury was eerily similar to that season-ending ACL tear.
Rose will undergo an MRI on Saturday. He was seen on crutches after the game.
2. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies exited the team’s 102-86 loss to the San Antonio Spurs with an apparent knee injury. It’s now being reported that Gasol suffered a sprained knee, which is expected to force him to miss roughly 10 weeks.
It gets worse.
3. A third All-Star went down when Golden State Warriors do-it-all man Andre Iguodala suffered a hamstring injury. Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Iguodala felt a pop and, “Knew it was serious.”
One night, three stars, three potentially severe injuries.
4. Amid the emotion of Gasol’s injury, Spurs won their ninth consecutive game to reach 11-1 on the season. Tony Parker scored 20 points and Manu Ginobili dropped 15, seven assists and five rebounds in 27 minutes to lead the Spurs to the 102-86 road victory.
5. Paul George scored 27 points and Lance Stephenson posted his second triple-double of the season to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 97-82 victory over the Boston Celtics. Stephenson finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals, making him the only player in the NBA with more than one triple-double.
Indiana is now 11-1, while Boston is 4-10.
Looking for Pacers tickets? Look no further.
6. Marc’s brother Pau Gasol reminded everyone who the original superstar was by going off for 24 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 102-95 win over the Warriors. As a result, he will donate $24,000 to help the relief of the Philippines after agreeing to a $1,000-per-point deal.
It’s heart-warming bonus for what was a dominant performance.
7. Going up against his former team, Josh Smith of the Detroit Pistons came off of the bench for the first time since November 18, 2005. He was 0-for-7 from the field with zero points, seven rebounds, one assist, three blocks and one steal in 20 minutes as the Pistons fell 96-89 to the Atlanta Hawks.
Kyle Singler started in Smith’s place and put up 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
8. Caron Butler of the Bucks led all scorers from last night’s games with 38 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field, 4-of-8 from three-point range and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. Butler added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 36 minutes.
It was Butler’s first 30-point game since dropping his career-best 39 points on April 15, 2009. Unfortunately, Milwaukee Lost 115-107 to the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime.
9. Evan Turner put up 27 points, Spencer Hawes had 25 and 12 rebounds, and Michael Carter-Williams dropped 12 points, 11 assists, eight boards, five steals and a block to lead the Sixers. Turner has at least 20 points in 11 of 14 appearances, Carter-Williams has four-doubles in his first 10 career games, and Hawes has back-to-back games with at least 25 and 10.
It’s the first time in his career that Hawes has scored at least 25 points in consecutive outings. He has nine double-doubles and hit a game-tying buzzer-beater at the end of regulation.
10. Monta Ellis led the Dallas Mavericks to a 103-93 win over the Utah Jazz with 26 points and six assists. He’s currently one of four players to average at least 23 points and five assists:. The others are LeBron James, Kevin Durant and James Harden.
Dirk Nowitzki finished with 18 points, Samuel Dalembert was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, and DeJuan Blair added 11 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes. The Mavericks are now 9-4 overall and 7-0 at home.
That’s the Dallas’ best home start since 2003-04, when it finished 52-30 and suffered a first-round exit
Bonus Fact: The Portland Trail Blazers are now 11-2 after defeating Chicago 98-95 to move its winning streak to nine straight games. That’s Portland’s longest winning streak since 2007, when it finished at 41-41 and missed the playoffs.
Bonus Fact: Anthony Davis finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, three blocks and two steals to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 104-100 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jrue Holiday added 15 points, 11 assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block, and Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans both scored 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
New Orleans has now won three straight games. They won three in a row just twice during the entire 2012-13 season.
Bonus Fact: John Wall of the Washington Wizards solved his recent shooting woes by putting up 37 points. He converted 15-of-21 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. It was Wall’s ninth career 30-point performance and the second time that he’s topped that plateau against the Toronto Raptors.