One night after the NBA community witnessed a 62-point eruption from Carmelo Anthony, another player made history in their own right. A rising star scored 51 points, a superstar returned from a brief injury absence in style and a championship contender matched their 2012-13 win total.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Terrence Ross scored a career-high 51 points, matching Vince Carter’s franchise record, but the Toronto Raptors still managed to lose 126-118 to the Los Angeles Clippers. Ross was 16-of-29 from the field, 10-of-17 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the free throw line with nine rebounds, one assist and a steal.
Jamal Crawford posted season-high marks of 37 points and 11 assists, and Blake Griffin scored 30 for the victorious Clippers.
2. After missing last night’s game with a shoulder injury, Kevin Durant put up a triple-double to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 103-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Durant finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a block on 12-of-17 shooting from the field.
Durant has scored at least 30 points in 10 straight games, matching Kobe Bryant and LeBron James for the longest streak of the past 10 seasons.
3. In defeat, Thaddeus Young flirted with a triple-double of his own with 13 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high eight steals. Young is the third player to record at least eight swipes during the 2013-14 regular season.
One of those players was his teammate, Michael Carter-Williams with nine, and the other was Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat with eight.
4. Going up against his former team, D.J. Augustin scored a season-high 28 points to guide the Chicago Bulls past the Charlotte Bobcats, 89-87. Joakim Noah chipped in with 11 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, one block and a steal as Chicago fought off 32 points and 13 rebounds from Al Jefferson.
Jefferson has scored at least 20 points in nine straight games and Noah has at least 10 rebounds in 16 consecutive outings.
5. Wilson Chandler scored a season-high 25 points to help the Denver Nuggets upset the Indiana Pacers 109-96. Lance Stephenson countered with 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but Indiana scored just 36 first half points and converted 63.0 percent of their free throw attempts.
Ty Lawson added 12 points and 10 assists for Denver, marking his sixth straight game with a double-double and his league-best 11th double-digit assist game of January.
6. The Portland Trail Blazers continued their winning ways with a 115-104 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. All five starters and sixth man Mo Williams scored in double-figures as Portland improved to 33-11.
Portland won 33 games in all of 2012-13.
Looking for Blazers tickets? Look no further.
7. Robin Lopez posted 15 points and 10 rebounds for Portland. It was his fifth double-double of the month and his 17th of the season. Lopez entered 2013-14 with 15 career double-doubles.
8. The Utah Jazz pulled out an upset victory over the Washington Wizards with a 104-101 escape. Enes Kanter led the charge with 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting, and Derrick Favors chipped in 11 points and 14 rebounds to flash the power of Utah’s budding interior.
Favors has a career-best 14 double-doubles in 2013-14, surpassing his mark of 13 in 2011-12.
9. The Atlanta Hawks went on the road and dominated former coach Larry Drew’s Milwaukee Bucks 112-87. Paul Millsap continued his All-Star campaign with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Louis Williams tallied 18 on 6-of-9 shooting.
Brandon Knight scored 27 points on marks of 11-of-15 from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc for Milwaukee.
10. The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Houston Rockets for the second consecutive night, this time earning a 99-81 blowout. Zach Randolph finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds, Mike Conley scored 17 and Nick Calathes tallied a career-high 11 points en route to the win.
Houston shot 37.0 percent from the floor as a team.
Bonus Fact
- Terrence Ross is the first player in NBA history to score at least 50 points while averaging less than 10.0 per game.
- Ross is the fourth player in the past five seasons to score at least 50 points in a losing effort. The others are Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry and Kevin Love.
- This is the first time since March 14, 2009 that players have scored at least 50 points on consecutive calendar days. Before they were teammates, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade did it. This time around, it was Ross and ‘Melo.
- At least one NBA player has scored at least 40 points on five consecutive days. It’s the first time that’s happened since April 18, 2012.