Friday, December 13 was a night of extraordinary action in the NBA. 26 teams participated in 13 games that all had their own form of excitement and intrigue.
Here’s everything you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Kevin Love recorded his fifth career 40-point game with 42 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and a steal. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves lost 117-110 in yet another example of the T-Wolves lacking any form of interior defense.
The San Antonio Spurs scored an unbelievable 62 points in the paint. 22 were scored by Tony Parker, who finished with 29 points in total.
2. For just the sixth time in his illustrious 18-year career, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant started a game and scored four or fewer points. Kobe finished with four points and seven turnovers in 23 minutes in a rare start at point guard. The Lakers lost 122-97 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Before you get too carried away, Bryant also had a season-high 13 assists.
3. Lance Stephenson, the NBA’s leader in triple-doubles, put up 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Indiana Pacers past the Charlotte Bobcats 99-94. Inside, Roy Hibbert led the Pacers with 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. For Charlotte, Al Jefferson stepped up with 21 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Indiana improves to a league-best 20-3 with a home record of 11-0. This is the best start in franchise history.
4. Al Horford and Trevor Booker dueled at the Philips Arena. Horford posted 34 points and 15 rebounds for the Atlanta Hawks, and Booker finished with season-high marks of 24 points and 14 boards for the Washington Wizards.
Atlanta won 101-99 in overtime after Horford hit a jumper at the buzzer. The Hawks become the third team in the Eastern Conference with a record above .500.
5. Victor Oladipo filled up the stat sheet with a career-high 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks. The Orlando Magic ended up losing 109-100 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving countered with 31 points, and Dion Waiters scored 21 for Cleveland.
Cleveland has quietly won five of its past six games.
6. Eric Gordon put up 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting, and Jrue Holiday posted 20 points and 12 assists to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 104-98 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. New Orleans is 11-10, which is the team’s best record after 21 games since 2010-11.
Since losing three straight in mid-November, the Pelicans have won eight of 12.
7. In his Sacramento Kings debut, Rudy Gay had his best shooting performance of the year with 24 points on a mark of 8-of-12 from the floor. Sacramento fell 116-107 to the Phoenix Suns after Goran Dragic scored 29 points and Eric Bledsoe poured in 28. Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas countered with 29 of his own.
Phoenix is a stunning 13-9—the organization’s best start since 2009-10.
8. Joakim Noah posted season-high marks of 21 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 91-90 road win over the
Milwaukee Bucks. Noah added five assists, three blocks and three steals, and shot 10-of-15 from the field as the Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak.
Chicago is 9-12, which is its worst record through 21 games since 2009-10. It’s also the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.
9. The Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 90-86. The Detroit Pistons defeated the Brooklyn Nets 103-99. The two New York City squads, which were both viewed as title favorites entering the season, are a combined 14-31. Boston and Detroit, which were both viewed as borderline postseason teams, are a combined 22-27.
Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe combined for 44 points and 24 rebounds during Detroit’s win over Brooklyn.
10. Harrison Barnes, David Lee and Andrew Bogut combined for 53 points and 33 rebounds. Lee finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, Barnes had 20 and 12, and Bogut added 10 and 11 boards. The Golden State Warriors still lost, falling 116-112 to the Houston Rockets.
Chandler Parsons scored 23, Dwight Howard posted 18 and 11 rebounds, and Houston held Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to a combined shooting mark of 11-of-29 overall and 2-of-12 from 3-point range.
Bonus Fact: Manu Ginobili matched his season-high with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The 36-year-old added nine assists and is averaging 11.5 points and 5.5 assists in 20.5 minutes of action in December.
Bonus Fact: Carmelo Anthony has shot worse than 40.0 percent from the field in 10 of his first 22 games. He scored 26 points on 9-of-24 shooting against Boston.
Bonus Fact: In the face of trade rumors, Kyle Lowry posted a season-high 11 assists to guide the Toronto Raptors past the Philadelphia 76ers 108-100.