Thursday, January 9 was a night in which the NBA put forth some of its finest action to date. There were game-winning jump shots, top contenders that faced upsets, and a legendary head coach who squared off against his former team.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Two of the hottest teams in the NBA clashed as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Golden State Warriors 102-98. Joe Johnson scored 27 points and Andray Blatche posted 17 in 25 minutes as Brooklyn improved to 14-21 and 9-9 at home.
The Nets have won four straight, while Golden State had its 10-game winning streak snapped. Brooklyn is finally in possession of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
2. The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Orlando Magic 110-94 behind a fourth quarter in which they outscored the opposition 39-19. LaMarcus Aldridge posted 36 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Nicolas Batum ripped off a triple-double with 14 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds, one block and a steal.
Batum is second in the NBA with two triple-doubles. Portland is 3-4 in its past seven games after opening the year at 24-5.
3. Gerald Green sank a game-winning jump shot with 3.9 seconds remaining as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-103. Goran Dragic led the charge with 26 points, nine assists, six rebounds and a steal as Phoenix overcame another game without Eric Bledsoe.
Kevin Love shot just 4-of-20 from the field for Minnesota.
4. James Harden scored 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 113-99 home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Harden added four rebounds, four assists and five steals to just one turnover on 14-of-23 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc.
The Bearded One is the first Rockets player since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994-95 to score at least 37 points in three straight games.
5. Kyle Korver scored 17 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 97-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Korver was 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range to extend his NBA record to 105 consecutive games with a 3-point field goal.
Indiana still owns the NBA’s best record at 28-7.
6. Trevor Ariza recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Washington Wizards defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 102-96 to improve to 16-17. Ariza hadn’t scored more than 10 points in any of his previous four games.
More surprisingly, Ariza has five double-doubles in 2013-14. He registered five total from 2010-11 to 2012-13.
7. The Toronto Raptors defeated the Detroit Pistons in convincing fashion, earning a 112-91 home win. Terrence Ross made five 3-point field goals, which was more than the entire Pistons team accounted for.
Toronto becomes the fourth Eastern Conference team to reach .500 at 17-17.
8. Doc Rivers faced his former squad as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Boston Celtics 111-105. Blake Griffin finished with 29 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals, and Jared Dudley had 18 points, four steals and two blocks.
Los Angeles’ bench continued to struggle, combining for just 12 points.
9. The San Antonio Spurs continued their dominance, earning a 112-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Tony Parker scored 25 points and Tim Duncan posted 16 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks on just eight field goal attempts.
Only one player on San Antonio’s roster saw at least 30 minutes of action: Danny Green
10. Monta Ellis scored 21 points, but the story of the night for Dallas was future Hall of Fame power forward Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk scored just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting during his battle with Duncan.
Prior to the month of January, 2014, Dirk hadn’t scored less than 10 points in a single game since April 7, 2013. Through five games in January, he’s done it twice.
Bonus Fact: Jerryd Bayless made his debut for the Celtics after he was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies for Courtney Lee. He finished with 11 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals in 20 minutes.