The 2013-14 NBA regular season continued on Wednesday, February 19, and there were no shortage of storylines to follow. A superstar returned to his former city, an under-the-radar player continued to turn heads and multiple teams improved their postseason odds.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Dwight Howard returned to Los Angeles with a bang as the Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 134-108. D-12 finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 28 minutes, and James Harden added 29 points and 11 assists as the red-hot Rockets won their eighth straight game.
Kendall Marshall matched a career-high with 20 points and dished out 16 assists, but the Lakers’ defense was too atrocious to overcome.
2. Patty Mills scored 29 points and Marco Belinelli chipped in 20 as the San Antonio Spurs toppled the Portland Trail Blazers 111-109. It was the second straight game that Mills scored at least 25 points in Tony Parker’s absence, and the seventh time in his past nine appearances that he’s posted at least 15.
San Antonio is a league-best 22-7 on the road.
3. Kevin Love went off for 42 points and 16 rebounds, and Ricky Rubio dished out a career-high 17 assists as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Indiana Pacers 104-91. Paul George countered with 35 points and 11 rebounds, but Indiana committed 21 costly turnovers and fell by 13 on the road.
Love has three games with at least 40 points and 15 rebounds in 2013-14. The rest of the NBA has combined for two.
4. Carmelo Anthony erupted for 42 points as the New York Knicks earned a 98-91 road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Anthony was the only Knicks starter to score in double-figures, with J.R. Smith adding 19 and Tim Hardaway Jr. dropping 16 off of the bench.
The win snaps a five-game road losing streak for New York.
5. Jimmy Butler blocked DeMar DeRozan’s field goal attempt with two seconds left in regulation and the Chicago Bulls held on for a 94-92 win over the Toronto Raptors. Carlos Boozer scored 20 points and Kirk Hinrich scored a season-high 19 points as the Bulls won their fourth straight game.
Chicago is a mediocre 28-25, but is 21-12 against the Eastern Conference. Only four teams in the NBA have more wins against their conference: the Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
6. Kemba Walker stepped up with 24 points and a career-high 16 assists as the Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Detroit Pistons 116-98. Al Jefferson added 29 points for the Bobcats, which out-rebounded the Pistons by a lopsided margin of 49-31.
At 25-30, this is the fastest Charlotte has reached 25 wins since 2009-10.
7. All-Star point guard John Wall put up 21 points and 12 assists as the Washington Wizards defeated the Atlanta Hawks 114-97. Marcin Gortat added 14 points and 12 rebounds for his 19th double-double of the season after tallying 17 in 2012-13.
With the win, Washington overtakes Atlanta for No. 5 in the Eastern Conference.
8. Kyrie Irving scored 22 points and Tristan Thompson posted another double-double to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 101-93 win over the Orlando Magic. Arron Afflalo scored 23 points and Nikola Vucevic put up 20 points and 12 rebounds, but Orlando fell to 16-40.
After going 14-27 at home in 2012-13, Cleveland is up to 14-13 at the Quicken Loans Arena in 2013-14.
9. Six separate Phoenix Suns players scored in double-figures as Jeff Hornacek’s squad defeated the Boston Celtics 100-94. Rajon Rondo countered with 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, but the Celtics ultimately fell.
With the win, Phoenix earned home victory No. 18 after winning 17 in 2012-13.
10. Joe Johnson finished with 27 points and Andray Blatche posted a season-high 25 as the Brooklyn Nets took down the Utah Jazz 105-99 on the road. Alec Burks scored 23 points for the Jazz and Trey Burke posted his fifth career double-double, but it wasn’t enough.
Brooklyn is 15-6 since January 1.
Bonus Fact: David Lee put up 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 101-92.