What a strange night in the NBA.
One of the most improbable scoring performances took place as a career role player eclipsed the 50-point plateau. A team that’s unfamiliar with success secured the Atlantic Division title, a meeting between championship contenders ended in a blowout and a legendary organization continued to reach new heights of regular season success.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Corey Brewer scored a career-high 51 points—that’s not a mistype—and the Minnesota Timberwolves escaped with a 112-110 victory over the Houston Rockets. Gorgui Dieng added 20 rebounds and Dante Cunningham posted season-high marks of 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in one of the most improbable games of the year.
Brewer’s scoring outburst matched Kevin Love’s franchise record.
2. In a surprisingly lopsided affair, LeBron James went off for 36 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 98-86 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Miami was again without Dwyane Wade, but LeBron’s scoring and the Heat’s lockdown team defense were enough to emerge with a convincing win.
The Heat overtake the Pacers for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
3. Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points and Amar’e Stoudemire tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks past the Toronto Raptors 108-100. Jonas Valanciunas grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds, but Toronto shot just 39.5 percent from the field and New York committed just eight turnovers.
The 24 points were Stoudemire’s most in a single game since March 9, 2012.
4. Paul Millsap continued his All-Star season with 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a much-needed 93-88 road win over the Brooklyn Nets. As for how unlikely the loss was, the Nets hadn’t lost at home since January 31.
Brooklyn’s loss means the Raptors clinch the Atlantic Division title for the first time since 2006-07.
5. Stephen Curry went off for 30 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds and two steals to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Los Angeles Lakers 112-95. Nick Young countered with 25 points and Jordan Hill tallied 18 points and 12 rebounds, but it was Curry who moved into a tie for the league-lead with four triple-doubles in 2013-14 and thus led Golden State to the win.
The Warriors have clinched postseason berths in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1991 and ’92.
6. Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Russell Westbrook took over to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 116-94 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Durant scored 27 points, Westbrook dropped 24 and Ibaka stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks.
Ibaka is just the second player this season to post at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks in the same game. Roy Hibbert is the other.
7. Nene Hilario scored 17 points in 20 minutes and John Wall tallied 10 points and 12 assists as the Washington Wizards defeated the Orlando Magic 96-86. Jameer Nelson tallied 12 points and 11 assists for the Magic, but the Wizards used a dominant fourth quarter to earn a big win.
At 41-38, Washington has secured a record of .500 or better for the first time since 2007-08.
8. Andre Drummond erupted for 26 points and 26 rebounds, but the Detroit Pistons fell 106-98 on the road against the Chicago Bulls. D.J. Augustin posted 24 points and Joakim Noah finished with six points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, three blocks and two steals for the victorious Bulls.
Drummond joins LaMarcus Aldridge as the only players to finish with at least 25 points and 25 rebounds in the same game since the beginning of the 2012-13 season.
9. Danny Green scored a career-high 33 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 112-104 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Eric Bledsoe countered with 30 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and three steals, but he also committed seven of Phoenix’s 18 turnovers.
At 62-18, this is San Antonio’s winningest season since 2005-06.
10. March Gasol recorded 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks to guide the Memphis Grizzlies to a 117-95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Zach Randolph added 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Miller put up 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Grizzlies.
Z-Bo has 46 double-doubles in 2013-14. He had 45 in 2012-13.
Bonus Facts
- Paul Pierce becomes the 18th player in NBA history to score at least 25,000 career points.
- Phil Pressey dished out a career-high 13 assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 106-103 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
- Brandon Knight scored 24 points and Ramon Sessions had 20 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 119-116 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- The Portland Trail Blazers moved to within .5 games of the No. 4 seed with a 111-99 victory over the Utah Jazz.
- Over the past 25 seasons, the following players have at least 45 points and six steals in the same game: Clyde Drexler, Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan and Corey Brewer.