Wednesday, March 12 was a day of significant proportions for the NBA. A legendary player moved into 12th on the all-time scoring list, a preseason title contender continued to display signs of life and a new chapter was written in a budding rivalry.
Here’s everything that you ned to know about last night’s action.
1. Paul Pierce scored 29 points and Mirza Teletovic added 17 as the Brooklyn Nets went on the road to take down the Miami Heat 96-95. Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 65 points on 60.5 percent shooting, but Miami coughed it up 17 times and shot just 9-of-27 from beyond the arc.
Brooklyn is an Eastern Conference-best 23-9 since January 1 and 3-0 against the Heat.
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2. Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points on 12-of-14 shooting to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 108-101 victory over the Utah Jazz. Monta Ellis added 16 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and a steal, while Utah rookie Trey Burke scored 20 points.
With the scoring outburst, Nowitzki passed John Havlicek for No. 12 on the all-time scoring list.
3. Blake Griffin posted 30 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers past the Golden State Warriors 111-98. Chris Paul posted 16 points and 12 assists, and DeAndre Jordan tallied 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks to help L.A. emerge victorious.
Griffin has 24 consecutive games with at least 20 points and the Clippers have won eight straight.
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4. Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter both recorded double-doubles as the San Antonio Spurs took down the Portland Trail Blazers 103-90. The story of the night for Portland was the loss of All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who suffered a back contusion after scoring 14 points in 21 minutes.
San Antonio extended its winning streak to eight games and is in sole possession of the best record in the NBA.
5. Tyson Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire and Rajon Rondo were all absent as the New York Knicks took down the Boston Celtics 116-92 at the TD Garden. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 to help New York overcome a 27-point scoring outburst from Boston forward Jeff Green.
Starting in place of Chandler, Cole Aldrich registered his first double-double with season-high marks of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
6. DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Amir Johnson tallied 20 to lead the Toronto Raptors past the Detroit Pistons 101-87. Brandon Jennings scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, but Detroit shot just 41.7 percent from the free throw line on 24 attempts.
Since trading Rudy Gay, Toronto is 29-15. Should we hand Masai Ujiri the Executive of the Year award now, or wait until the season comes to a close?
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7. Eric Bledsoe returned from a 33-game absence, but it was Kyrie Irving who took over in the fourth quarter to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Phoenix Suns 110-101 at the US Airways Center. Bledsoe finished with 15 points and nine assists, but shot just 5-of-16 from the floor.
Cleveland snapped a four-game losing streak, while Phoenix falls to a full 2.0 games behind the No. 8 seed Dallas Mavericks.
8. When will it end?
The Philadelphia 76ers’ dreadful season continued with a 115-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings at Wells Fargo Center. Rudy Gay scored 27 points, Isaiah Thomas posted 20 and DeMarcus Cousins finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds to help Sacramento pick up a rare win.
As for Philadelphia, it’s lost 18 straight games.
9. The Memphis Grizzlies continued to solidify their status as a postseason team with a 90-88 road win over the New Orleans Pelicans. It was no easy task to overcome the Pelicans with Anthony Davis putting up 29 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.
It’s the third time this season that Davis has reached those marks. The rest of the NBA has combined for three, as well.
10. Al Jefferson took over with 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 98-95 road win over the Washington Wizards. John Wall scored 23 points and Bradley Beal put up 18, but it wasn’t enuogh for Washington to pull out the victory.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist tallied his first double-double of the 2013-14 with 10 points and a season-high 12 rebounds in 30 minutes.
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Bonus Facts
- Kenneth Faried posted 26 points, Wilson Chandler tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Ty Lawson dropped 17 points and 12 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets past the Orlando Magic 120-112. Lawson is tied with Stephen Curry for the third-most double-doubles amongst point guards with 22.
- LeBron James ended his streak of two consecutive games without a free throw attempt.
- Danny Granger scored a season-high 18 points for the Clippers.