Tuesday, December 18 featured five games of NBA action featuring 10 teams with something to gain. Whether it was a buzzer-beater or a point guard duel, there was no shortage of intrigue.
Here’s everything you need to know about last night’s games.
1. The legend of Damian Lillard continues to grow. The Portland Trail Blazers improved to a league-best 22-4 with a 119-116 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lillard was a major reason for that success.
Lillard finished with 36 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and eight 3-point field goals to become the first players with those numbers since Jason Kidd on April 11, 1995.
2. More significant than his statistics was the fact that Lillard hit the game-winner. That’s the second time this week that he’s come up with a game-winning jump shot with less than two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Lillard is just the fourth player over the past 15 seasons to hit those shots in consecutive games.
3. Lillard was spectacular, but LaMarcus Aldridge continued his MVP campaign with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Aldridge has four games with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in December alone.
4. Stephen Curry posted 28 points and 12 assists to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 104-93 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Curry has scored at least 20 points in 11 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the NBA.
Curry is tied with Chris Paul for the the league-lead at seven games with at least 20 points and 10 assists at seven.
5. David Lee posted 21 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for the Warriors. He has a double-double in six consecutive games after doing it eight times in his first 19 outings.
6. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol both scored 21 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past the Memphis Grizzlies 96-92. In chronological order, Kobe’s scoring totals since returning are: nine points, 20, four, 21, eight and 21.
It’s boom-or-bust right now.
7. The Grizzlies’ loss has sent them from the Western Conference Finals in 2012-13 to 10-14 in 2013-14. This comes after Memphis controversially let go of head coach Lionel Hollins after the best season in franchise history.
This is Memphis’ worst start since 2010-11, when the Grizzlies rallied to finished at 46-36 and infamously reached the Western Conference Semifinals.
8. The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Denver Nuggets 105-93 in one of the best point guard battles of the early season. Russell Westbrook flirted with a triple-double and posted 21 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, while Ty Lawson put up 17 points, 13 assists and four steals.
In the end, it was 30 points from Kevin Durant that sealed the Thunder’s 20th win of the year.
9. Kemba Walker scored 24 points and Gerald Henderson posted 20 to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 95-87 win over the Sacramento Kings. Charlotte is now 11-14. That’s the Bobcats’ highest win total through 25 games in franchise history.
10. Albeit in defeat, DeMarcus Cousins went absolutely bonkers on both ends of the floor. Boogie finished with 30 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and three steals to dominate his position battle with fellow star Al Jefferson.
It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to argue against DMC as an All-Star.