As the 2013-14 NBA regular season winds down, every single result is of the utmost importance. On Monday, March 17, such was placed on display. A second team reached 50 wins, a superstar continued his path to MVP and tanking continued to be re-defined.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s games.
1. Kevin Durant posted 35 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a big 97-85 road win over the Chicago Bulls. Russell Westbrook added 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on a night in which neither team shot better than 42.0 percent from the field.
Durant has 40 games with at least 30 points. Second in that regard is LeBron James with 23.
2. Durant has scored at least 25 points in 32 consecutive games. That continues to be the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it in 40 straight during the 1986-87 season.
3. J.J. Hickson and Kenneth Faried out-gunned Chris Paul and Blake Griffin as the Denver Nuggets upset the Los Angeles Clippers 110-100. Faried recorded 18 points and 16 rebounds and Hickson posted 21 points and 11 boards, while CP3 dropped 29 points and Griffin put up 26, 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a pair of steals.
The loss snapped the Clippers’ NBA-best 11-game winning streak.
4. Griffin has scored at least 20 points in 27 consecutive games. That’s well-beyond the franchise record and the second-longest active streak in the NBA behind Durant.
5. Lance Stephenson put up 25 points and Paul George tallied 24 as the Indiana Pacers took down the Philadelphia 76ers 99-90. Thaddeus Young had 23 points and Henry Sims grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Indiana from becoming the second team to reach 50 wins.
It’s the first time the Pacers have won 50 games since 2003-04, when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
6. The 76ers have lost a franchise-record 21 consecutive games. At least some of their supporters had a good night. Among the bookmaker William Hill betting offers was the Sixers minus 19 1/2. It was one of the few spreads Philadelphia has covered lately.
7. Terrence Jones scored 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting and Jeremy Lin posted 17 points and nine assists to lead the Houston Rockets to a 124-86 blowout of the Utah Jazz. Omer Asik made a rare start in the place of the injured Dwight Howard, registering 12 points and 11 rebounds.
After recording 33 double-doubles in 2012-13, this was Asik’s first of 2013-14.
8. Deron Williams went off for 28 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the floor as the Brooklyn Nets took down the Phoenix Suns 108-95. The Nets put on an offensive clinic, with the starting lineup combining to score 83 points on 68.8 percent shooting from the floor.
After entering 2014 at 19-11, Phoenix is 19-18 since January 1.
9. Former teammates clashed as Paul Millsap led the Atlanta Hawks past Al Jefferson and the Charlotte Bobcats 97-83. Millsap finished with 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting, while Jefferson put up 16 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte.
Since losing 14 of 15, the Hawks have won four in a row.
10. The Dallas Mavericks won ugly with a 94-89 escape of the Boston Celtics. Vince Carter, Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki combined to shoot 14-of-41 from the field, but Dallas still managed shoot 19-of-21 from the free throw line and prevail victorious.
With its win, Dallas clinched a record of .500. The last time the Mavericks failed to finish at .500 or better was 1999-00.
Bonus Facts
- Celtics completed a winless season on the road against Western Conference teams. The last time that happened: never.
- Prior to his 30-point performance, Terrence Jones had scored 31 points over the course of his previous five games.