Mere days into the new year, the NBA provided its loyal community of fans with a number of extraordinary scoring feats. From the best individual offensive performance of the year to an improvement upon one’s standing in the ranks of the all-time greats, there was no shortage of glory.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Paul Pierce moved into 19th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 89-82. Pierce finished with 17 points and passed Allen Iverson to improve his standing amongst the best scorers of all time.
Pierce is 432 points behind Patrick Ewing for the No. 18 spot.
2. Kevin Durant went off. The three-time scoring champion posted a season-high 48 points with seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block as the Oklahoma City Thunder silenced the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 115-111 statement win.
23 of Durant’s 48 points were scored in the fourth quarter. No player has scored more in a game or the fourth quarter this season than Durant did last night.
3. Behind Paul George’s first double-double since November 5, 2013, the Indiana Pacers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 99-82. George dropped 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Roy Hibbert added six points, eight boards and five blocks.
Indiana is a league-best 26-6.
4. LeBron James posted 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and both Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade scored 20 points as the Miami Heat defeated the Orlando Magic 110-94. LeBron was just 5-of-13 from the field, but Miami found a way to win.
It was the first time since March 20, 2013 that LeBron failed to shoot at least 40.0 percent from the field in a regular season game.
5. Bosh scored 20 points on a perfect shooting mark of 9-of-9. He’s the first player to convert 100 percent of his field goals while putting up at least nine attempts during the 2013-14 season.
6. In their first game without Chris Paul, the Los Angeles Clippers were destroyed by the San Antonio Spurs, 116-92. Darren Collison posted 14 points, six assists and three steals on 6-of-9 shooting in his first start for CP3, but the Clippers shot just 3-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Paul leads all players in assists per game and points created via assist, and tops all guards in double-doubles. He’s out 3-to-5 weeks with a separated shoulder.
7. The Spurs’ win wasn’t only impressive, but it was the continuation of a trend. Tim Duncan had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Tony Parker tallied 17 points and nine assists, and Tiago Splitter scored a season-high 22 for San Antonio.
The Spurs improve to 8-0 following a loss.
8. Behind 30 points from Thaddeus Young and 23 from Evan Turner, the Philadelphia 76ers went on the road to earn a shocking 101-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. LaMarcus Aldridge posted 27 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high five blocks for the Trail Blazers, but Philly ultimately prevailed.
After starting at 1-13 away from home, the Sixers have won four straight road games.
9. Kemba Walker scored 30 points and Al Jefferson dropped 27 on the eve of his 29th birthday as the Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Sacramento Kings 113-103. With the win, Charlotte improves to 15-20 overall and 7-10 on the road.
For perspective, Charlotte won six road games in 2012-13.
10. Gerald Green started in place of Eric Bledsoe and stepped up with 24 points and a career-high five steals for the Phoenix Suns. The Suns went on to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 116-100 as Channing Frye scored 22 points and Markieff Morris added 14 off of the bench.
Phoenix is 20-12. That’s the team’s best start since posting that same record in 2009-10, when it finished 54-28 and reached the Western Conference Finals.
Bonus Fact: Mike Dunleavy scored 20 points to lead the Chicago Bulls past the Atlanta Hawks for a 91-84 win. It’s the first time Dunleavy has scored at least 20 points since December 11, 2013.
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