The NBA continued its ratings battle against the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 22, and it came through with some surprising results. Inferiority continued to be re-defined, a superstar was at his best and multiple teams earned statement wins.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Another day, another defeat.
Joakim Noah scored a team-high 20 points and Taj Gibson tallied 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks as the Chicago Bulls downed the Philadelphia 76ers 91-81. Thaddeus Young tallied 28 points and Henry Sims had another big game with 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for Philadelphia to win.
The Sixers have lost 24 consecutive games. That’s the second-longest streak in NBA history.
2. Tiago Splitter stepped up with his second consecutive double-double to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Golden State Warriors 99-90. Tony Parker scored 20 points to counter 20 from Stephen Curry on a night in which neither team shot better than 40.3 percent from the field.
The Spurs extend their NBA-best winning streak to 13 consecutive games.
3. Chris Paul torched the Detroit Pistons for 28 points, 15 assists, four rebounds and six steals as the Los Angeles Clippers held on for a 112-103 win. Jonas Jerebko tied his career-high with 22 points, but Detroit was unable to play adequate enough defense to pull out the victory.
As for CP3, he has 36 double-doubles in 51 appearances. The next-leading guard is John Wall with 26 in 69 games played.
Perspective.
4. Blake Griffin finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, one block and a steal. Griffin has scored at least 20 points in 28 consecutive games, which is second to just Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The last time Griffin failed to score 20 was January 18, when he tallied 19 against the Indiana Pacers.
5. Gerald Henderson, Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker all exceeded 20 points as the Charlotte Bobcats demolished the Portland Trail Blazers 124-94. Jefferson scored 28, Walker tallied 26 and Henderson put up 23 for this surging Charlotte squad.
At 34-36, the Bobcats have matched their highest win total since 2010-11.
6. Anthony Davis put on yet another show with 30 points and 11 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Miami Heat 105-95. LeBron James scored 25 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and one block, but Miami fell victim to yet another untimely defeat.
At 47-21, the Heat have lost their most games in a single season since 2010-11.
7. James Harden out-dueled Dion Waiters as the Houston Rockets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-111. Harden put up 37 points and 11 assists, while Dion Waiters recorded 26 points and eight dimes for the short-handed Cavaliers.
The loss may sting, but second-year center Tyler Zeller scored a career-high 23 points for the Cavaliers.
8. Rookie point guard Matthew Dellavedova stepped up with 14 points and 10 assists for the Cavaliers. After failing to record a single double-double in any of his first 58 games, Dellavedova has tallied at least 10 points and 10 assists in back-to-back appearances.
9. Mike Conley scored 21 points and Zach Randolph tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies shut down the Indiana Pacers by a score of 82-71. It was as ugly a game as you’ll see, with the Pacers shooting 36.5 percent from the field.
At 41-28, the Grizzlies have secured a record of .500 or better in four consecutive seasons. It’s the first time Memphis has achieved that feat in franchise history.
10. Lottery-bound franchises met as the Utah Jazz tackled the Orlando Magic 89-88 in Salt Lake City. Both Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter recorded double-doubles, while rookie guard Victor Oladipo scored 19 points for the Magic.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Jazz and gave the Magic eight consecutive defeats.
Bonus Fact: The Spurs became the first Western Conference team to clinch a postseason berth.