Stop me if you’ve said this with me before: what a night in the NBA.
Superstars clashed at the Staples Center, a top contender became the first team to 40 wins and a legend further established his all-time greatness. That doesn’t even begin to cover season-high scoring outputs, a bizarre game in Cleveland and a recovering star flirting with a triple-double.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-97 behind 26 points from Kevin Durant. Reggie Jackson added 20 points and nine assists, helping to counter a huge night from Dante Cunningham, who scored a season-high 18 points with eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals for Minnesota.
OKC is the first team to reach 40 wins. The past five teams to achieve said feat failed to win the NBA championship.
2. In one of the best duels of the year, Blake Griffin put up 43 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, and LeBron James posted 31 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds, three steals and a block as the Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 116-112. The scoring outburst set a new season-high for Griffin, while LeBron had his second consecutive double-double.
Miami is 35-13 after 48 games. By comparison, the Heat went 35-13 in 2011-12 and 34-14 in 2012-12. They won the title both times.
3. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-108 in one of the strangest games of the season. Ryan Kelly scored a career-high 26 points and Wesley Johnson added 20, helping the Lakers overcome an eight-man rotation that was limited to five available players due to injuries and foul trouble.
Steve Blake did all he could to help L.A. pick up the win with 11 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals for his first triple-double since April 14, 2010.
4. Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple-double, posting eight points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in 32 minutes to lead the Boston Celtics past the Philadelphia 76ers 114-108. It was Rondo’s second consecutive double-digit assist game after posting 19 points and 10 assists in his previous outing.
Despite playing in a grand total of eight games, Rondo already has more double-digit assist outings than any other guard on Boston’s roster.
5. Tim Duncan turned back the clock with 31 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Washington Wizards 125-118 in double-overtime. Patty Mills added a season-high 23 points to counter 29 points, nine assists, five rebounds, four steals and one block from John Wall of the Wizards.
San Antonio improves to a league-best 18-5 on the road.
6. The Portland Trail Blazers went on the road to defeat the New York Knicks 94-90. Nicolas Batum posted 20 points and 10 rebounds, and LaMarcus Aldridge tallied 15 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and one block.
Over the past month, the Knicks have gone on the following streaks in consecutive fashion: five straight wins, five straight losses, four straight wins and three straight losses.
7. Going up against his former team, Rudy Gay put up 24 points, 10 rebounds and four steals as the Sacramento Kings took down the Toronto Raptors 109-101. DeMarcus Cousins put up 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Isaiah Thomas had 23 points for Sacramento.
Steve Novak matched a season-high with 12 points, but it was Gay who got the best of his former squad.
8. Anthony Davis put up 27 points and 10 rebounds in a 105-100 New Orleans Pelicans win over the Atlanta Hawks. All-Star power forward Paul Millsap struck with 26 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, and Jeff Teague chipped in 13 assists, but Atlanta still fell.
Davis has 22 double-doubles in 2013-14 after posting 20 as a rookie.
9. Ty Lawson posted 18 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds as the Denver Nuggets took down the Milwaukee Bucks 110-100. Wilson Chandler poured in 24 points, and J.J. Hickson tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds as Denver moved above .500 at 24-23.
Larry Sanders countered with season-high marks of 25 points and 15 rebounds, but the Bucks just didn’t do enough on defense to win on the road.
10. Three separate Detroit Pistons players had double-doubles, but Maurice Cheeks’ crew fell 112-98 to the Orlando Magic. Andre Drummond continued his impressive sophomore campaign with 15 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, and Josh Smith posted 25 points and 12 rebounds, but Brandon Jennings was 5-of-23 and Detroit shot 60.9 percent from the charity stripe.
Drummond has 36 double-doubles in 2013-14, second-best in the NBA, after recording nine as a rookie.
Bonus Facts
- Tim Duncan joins Michael Jordan and Karl Malone as the only players age 37 or older to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists during the past 25 seasons.
- Dwight Howard stuffed the stat sheet with 34 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and two blocks to help the Houston Rockets take down the Phoenix Suns 122-108.
- Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks past the Memphis Grizzlies 110-96. Dirk has at least 23 points in five straight games.
- Steve Blake joins Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson as the only Lakers with a 15-assist triple-double over the past 25 seasons.
- The Lakers made a franchise-record 18 3-point field goals in regulation.