For the first time since January 20, no one hit 40 points. Nevertheless, the NBA had more than enough excitement to go around on a day that was filled with historic feats and emotional returns.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett returned to the TD Garden to help the Brooklyn Nets earn an 85-79 win over the Boston Celtics. Pierce and Garnett were both held to six points in limited action, but Boston committed 16 costly turnovers and shot just 37.8 percent from the field.
Pierce spent 15 seasons with the Celtics and KG donned Celtic green for five. In that time, they won an NBA championship and made a second finals appearance.
Both men received a very warm reception from the city that they once called home.
2. In a rematch of the 2013 NBA Finals, the Miami Heat took down the San Antonio Spurs 113-101. Chris Bosh took over for 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting and LeBron James posted 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a steal to four turnovers.
Dwyane Wade came off of the bench for the first time since January 6, 2008.
Looking for Miami Heat tickets? Look no further.
3. Tim Duncan posted an extraordinarily efficient 23 points in 24 minutes for the Spurs in the losing effort. He was 9-of-13 from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe with three rebounds, two steals and one block.
Duncan passed Allen Iverson to move into 20th on the all-time scoring list. He also broke out of a tie with Shaquille O’Neal for sole possession of seventh on the all-time blocks list.
4. One game removed from dropping 62 points, Carmelo Anthony lit up the scoreboard for 35 as the New York Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 110-103. ‘Melo was 14-of-31 from the field, 2-of-7 from 3-point range, 5-of-6 from the charity stripe and added five assists for the victorious Knicks.
New York is 7-2 when Anthony has at least five assists and 10-25 when he doesn’t.
5. Markieff Morris erupted for 27 points and a season-high 15 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-90. Phoenix trailed by 19 points at halftime, but shut Cleveland down in the second half and came back to win by nine.
The Cavaliers scored just six points during the third quarter after scoring 61 in the first half.
6. Dirk Nowitzki tallied 28 points, nine rebounds, four assists and a steal on 10-of-16 shooting as the Dallas Mavericks escaped the Detroit Pistons 116-106. Jose Calderon had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and Dallas shot 58.1 percent from the field as a team.
Brandon Jennings scored 26 points, Josh Smith posted 25 and Greg Monroe added 20, but the rest of the Pistons combined for just 35 points on 14-of-36 shooting.
7. Anthony Davis posted 22 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and seven blocks as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Orlando Magic 100-92. Tyreke Evans added 23 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block to overcome 25 points from Arron Afflalo.
Davis is the third player since 2007 to record at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks in the same game. Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets and Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls are the others to pull off the feat.
8. Stephen Curry fell two points short of extending the NBA’s streak of 40-point games to six consecutive days, but the Golden State Warriors took down the Portland Trail Blazers 103-88. Curry finished with 38 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals on 13-of-23 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
The rest of the Warriors combined to shoot just 36.8 percent from the field, but Curry found a way to lead an upset of one of the NBA’s hottest teams.
9. In a testament to their consistency, 88 points was the Trail Blazers’ lowest scoring output of the 2013-14 regular season. The last time Portland scored less than 90 points was April 17, 2013.
10. Ty Lawson stepped up with 27 points and Wilson Chandler scored 20 to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 125-117 road win over the Sacramento Kings. Kenneth Faried added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Denver, which has won two straight games after losing four of five.
As for Sacramento, Isaiah Thomas posted 22 points and eight assists, and rookie Ben McLemore put up 18 points. Thomas has at least 20 in five straight games.
Bonus Facts
- The Brooklyn Nets are a league-best 10-1 in January. Brooklyn was 10-21 before January.
- Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett combined for 12 points against the Boston Celtics. In the five seasons that they teamed together in Boston, they never once combined for less than 15.
Jason Kidd almost cost the Nets the game by playing Pierce 29 awful minutes.
Fortunately Andrei Kirilenko saved the day again, as he has for every win in 2014, when he returned to line up. You don’t see what AK47 does by just looking at the box score. You have to watch.
At least KG had some big plays including the game saving steal and finish, as he has done so many times in the past.
Brooklyn only shot 39%, thanks to a 4 for 17 for Pierce+Joe Johnson.
-Until Kidd realizes that team would be better with less Paul Pierce at PF and instead playing Blatche (30-34 min) and KG together, the Nets upside is limited.