The NBA provided seven games with 14 teams, and the results were as intriguing as ever. A star stepped up with his best performance of the season, a contender did something for the first time since 1999 and a franchise known for its big men set a stunning new low.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. James Harden erupted for a season-high 43 points, eight assists and three steals in three quarters of play as the Houston Rockets blew out the Sacramento Kings 129-103 at the Sleep Train Arena. Dwight Howard added 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks on 7-of-9 shooting, while Rudy Gay posted 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting for Sacramento.
Harden joins Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only Rockets in the past 25 seasons to post at least 40 points, eight dimes and three swipes in the same game.
2. Houston is 17-5 since January 1. That’s the best record in the NBA in that timeframe.
3. Damian Lillard stuffed the stat sheet with 31 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, one block and a steal to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 100-95 win over the Denver Nuggets. Mo Williams added 14 points off of the bench, while Randy Foye scored 17 for the Nuggets.
The most memorable battle of the night was at center, where Robin Lopez took over with 12 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, and J.J. Hickson posted 16 points and career-best marks of 25 rebounds and 15 offensive boards.
Those 15 offensive rebounds are the most by any Nuggets player since the franchise joined the NBA in 1976.
4. This is the first time since 1999 that the Trail Blazers have earned consecutive wins over the Nuggets in Denver.
5. Paul George dropped 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block as the Indiana Pacers destroyed the Los Angeles Lakers 118-98. Evan Turner made his debut with the team, posting 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal in 26 minutes.
Perhaps most significantly, Indiana won the battle on the boards 62-42. This was the 17th consecutive game in which the Lakers failed to out-rebound their opponent.
That’s a franchise record.
6. Kevin Love flirted with a triple-double by posting 33 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks as the Minnesota Timberwolves took down the Phoenix Suns 110-101. Rookie small forward Shabazz Muhammad continued to make the most of his newfound opportunities by scoring a career-high 20 points for the T-Wolves.
This marked the seventh time this season that Love has fallen short of a triple-double while dishing out at least eight assists.
7. With the win, Minnesota improved to 28-29 overall and 12-18 on the road. In 2012-13, Minnesota was 11-30 away from home.
8. DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points and Terrence Ross pitched in 19 as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93. Kyrie Irving posted 25 points and nine assists, and Spencer Hawes tallied 15, but the Cavaliers suffered another loss.
After going 13-15 in its first 28 games, Toronto is 19-10 during its past 29.
9. Joakim Noah posted 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals on 9-of-13 shooting as the Chicago Bulls tackled the Atlanta Hawks 107-103. Mike Dunleavy added 22 points to help overcome 26 points from Jeff Teague of the Hawks.
After starting at 11-17 through its first 28 games, Chicago is 19-9 during its most recent 28 to reach 30-26. Atlanta, meanwhile, has lost nine of 10 to fall to 26-30.
10. Four separate starters scored at least 20 points to lead the Washington Wizards past the Orlando Magic 115-106. Trevor Ariza (22), Bradley Beal (21), Marcin Gortat (21) and John Wall (27) combined for 91 points on 61.8 percent shooting from the floor.
Washington is 29-28, marking its best record through 57 games since 2006-07.
Bonus Fact: James Harden is the first player to score 40-plus points without playing the 4th quarter since LeBron in 2011.