Friday, January 17, 2014 was a day that NBA viewers will long remember. One superstar put on the greatest individual performance of his career, while another returned from an extensive injury absence.
Here’s a breakdown of those monumental moments and everything else that you need to know about from last night’s action.
1. Three-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant set a new career-high with 54 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Golden State Warriors 127-121 in regulation. Durant was 19-of-28 from the field, 5-of-9 from 3-point range and 11-of-13 from the free throw line.
Somehow, Durant made Stephen Curry’s 37 points and 11 assists seem weak.
2. Rajon Rondo made his first appearance since tearing his ACL on January 25, 2013. Rondo finished with eight points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals in 19 minutes on 4-of-9 shooting as the Boston Celtics fell 107-104 to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kelly Olynyk was an instant benefactor for Boston with career-high marks of 25 points and seven assists.
3. Kendall Marshall continued his Most Improved Player of the Year campaign with 19 points and 14 assists for the Lakers. Pau Gasol added 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, but the stars of the win were the unspoken of players.
2010’s No. 4 overall draft choice, Wesley Johnson, recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and rookie power forward Ryan Kelly scored a career-high 20 points.
4. The Washington Wizards became the fifth Eastern Conference team to reach .500 with a 96-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls. John Wall led Washington with 23 points and 11 assists, and Bradley Beal added 14 points in 23 minutes.
In defeat, Joakim Noah recorded nine points, 12 rebounds, six assists and a steal to extend his career-best streak to 11 straight games with double-digit rebounds.
5. Chris Bosh registered 25 points, six rebounds, four assists, five blocks and two steals as the Miami Heat defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 101-86. LeBron James added 21 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and a block on a night in which Dwyane Wade attempted just six field goals on his 32nd birthday.
The five swats mark Bosh’s first game with at least five blocks since November 4, 2007. The win snaps Miami’s three-game losing streak.
6. Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford dominated the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden as the Los Angeles Clippers secured a 109-95 victory. Griffin finished with 32 points and Crawford added 29 as L.A. won its fifth straight game.
Carmelo Anthony countered with 26 points and a season-high 20 rebounds, but he shot just 4-of-23 from the field.
7. The Portland Trail Blazers went on the road and secured confidence in their legitimacy with a 109-100 win over the San Antonio Spurs. LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up with 26 points and 13 rebounds, Wesley Matthews scored 24, Damian Lillard tallied 21 and Nicolas Batum flirted with a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 29 points for San Antonio, but it was Portland that won to move within .5 games of the first-place Spurs in the Western Conference.
8. In a meeting between two teams competing for playoff spots, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns 110-107 on the road. Monta Ellis scored 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki posted 21 for Dallas. Goran Dragic put up 28 points and Markieff Morris dropped 24 and 12 rebounds for Phoenix.
Mavericks rookie point guard Shane Larkin scored a career-high 18 points in 27 minutes.
9. Kyrie Irving scored 23 points and Tristan Thompson tallied 20 and 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers upset the Denver Nuggets 117-109. Ty Lawson did all he could to prevent the loss, finishing with 19 points, 11 assists and two steals in 40 minutes.
Lawson has three straight double-doubles, as well as eight in his past nine games and nine in his past 12. By comparison, he had nine in all of 2012-13.
10. Trey Burke had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists as the Utah Jazz defeated the Detroit Pistons 110-89. In his previous game, Burke set a career-high with 11 assists. That’s what you call constant improvement.
Bonus Facts
- Kevin Durant has three 50-point games during the past three seasons. The rest of the NBA has four combined, with no player tallying more than one.
- Al Jefferson was brilliant again. He had 30 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 111-1011 win over the Orlando Magic. Kemba Walker added 19 points and 11 assists for Charlotte, while Arron Afflalo scored 24 and Victor Oladipo put up 11 and 10 dimes for Orlando.
- Mike Conley scored 25 points for the Memphis Grizzlies in a 91-90 win over the Sacramento Kings. Rudy Gay had 19 points against his former team, and DeMarcus Cousins pieced together 22 points and 17 rebounds on 6-of-20 shooting
- Kyle Lowry scored 24 points on a season-high six 3-point field goals made. The Toronto Raptors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-89 to improve to 20-18.