With each passing day, the NBA playoffs grow nearer and the window of opportunity for teams to make a push for the postseason diminishes. In turn, the results from Wednesday, March 19 were magnified as a championship contender suffered a surprising loss, a dark-horse continued to flourish and a rising star was at his best.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. A short-handed rivalry continued as Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo led the Boston Celtics past the Miami Heat, 101-96. LeBron James was absent, but the story of the game was Rondo, who torched his familiar foe for nine points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds.
As for Bradley, he scored 21 points and made a career-high six 3-point field goals.
2. D.J. Augustin scored 20 points and Taj Gibson tallied 19 and 13 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls’ bench led a 102-94 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Thaddeus Young scored 24 points and Tony Wroten Jr. added 17, but the Bulls secured a 52-38 advantage on the glass and the Sixers shot just 47.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Philadelphia has lost a franchise record 22 consecutive games. That’s the sixth-longest streak in NBA history.
3. There wasn’t much defense, but the San Antonio Spurs still managed to earn a 125-109 road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Tony Parker scored 25 points and Kawhi Leonard tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, while Pau Gasol posted 22 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four blocks for Los Angeles.
The Spurs have won 11 consecutive games, which matches the longest streak of any team this season.
4. The New York Knicks continued their surprising string of success with a 92-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and Amar’e Stoudemire posted 21 in a continuation of their later-than-expected emergence as a star-caliber duo.
Since losing seven straight games, the Knicks have won seven in a row.
5. Ricky Rubio took over and posted 22 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds, four steals and a block to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Dallas Mavericks 123-122. Kevin Love added 35 points and eight rebounds as Minnesota continued its last-second push for the postseason.
Rubio has two triple-doubles in 2013-14 after entering the season with one.
6. Aaron Brooks erupted for a season-high 27 points and a career-high 17 assists to help the Denver Nuggets get past the Detroit Pistons 118-109. Randy Foye contributed 22 points as the Nuggets experienced a rare evening of everything coming together.
Denver has won four of five, but is still a full six games under .500.
7. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for 41 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 96-86 win over the Utah Jazz. Mike Conley added 18 points as the Grizzlies jumped into seventh place in the Western Conference.
The Grizzlies are 27-10 since January 1. Only the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs have a better record in that timeframe.
8. All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points as the Toronto Raptors outlasted the New Orleans Pelicans 107-100. Al-Farouq Aminu tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyreke Evans posted 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, but the Pelicans missed the ill Anthony Davis.
At 18-16, Toronto has its most road wins since 2001-02.
9. Deron Williams stepped up with 25 points and eight assists, and the Brooklyn Nets took down the Charlotte Bobcats 104-99. Al Jefferson posted 18 points and 13 rebounds to continue his All-NBA campaign, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Charlotte from losing another close affair.
The Nets are an Eastern Conference-best 25-10 since January 1.
10. The Phoenix Suns kept their postseason hopes alive with a 109-93 victory over the Orlando Magic. Five players scored in double-figures for Phoenix and no one managed to put up more than 18, displaying the balance that’s made this team such a pleasant surprise.
After going 19-11 before January 1, Phoenix is 20-18 since.
Bonus Fact: The Knicks are the first team to go from seven straight losses to seven straight wins since the 2003-04 Golden State Warriors. That team missed the playoffs.