10 Fast Facts from Last Night’s Games — Numerous Players Set Career Highs and Postseason Standings Altered

The 2013-14 NBA regular season has come to a close.

The association pulled out all of the stops on Wednesday, April 16 with every single team in action. The postseason picture was significantly altered, multiple players set career-highs in scoring and multiple players joined the ranks of history.

Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.

1. Kevin Durant closed out his MVP campaign in style with 42 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Detroit Pistons 112-111. Durant threw down a dunk with 16 seconds on the clock to clinch the win as the Thunder locked up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

The silver-lining for the Pistons is that rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope put up a career-high 30 points.

2. Bradley Beal scored 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Trevor Booker had 20 on a mark of 9-of-13 from the floor as the Washington Wizards defeated the Boston Celtics 118-102. Kelly Olynyk scored 24 points and Phil Pressey dished out 10 assists, but Boston couldn’t match Washington’s offensive attack.

At 44-38, the Wizards have won their most games since 2004-05.

3. Tyler Zeller posted 22 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor as the Cleveland Cavaliers destroyed the Brooklyn Nets 114-85. Andray Blatche had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Marcus Thornton scored 20 of his own, but Brooklyn rested Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

With its loss and Washington’s win, the Nets fell from the No. 5 seed to the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.

4. Zach Randolph out-dueled Dirk Nowitzki and Mike Conley stepped up in the clutch as the Memphis Grizzlies outlasted the Dallas Mavericks 106-105 in overtime. Nowitzki scored 30 points for Dallas, while Z-Bo tallied 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Grizzlies.

With its win, Memphis overtakes Dallas for the No. 7 seed.

5. Trey Burke scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 136-130 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in double-overtime. Kevin Martin gave Minnesota a season-high 36 points and Kevin Love tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss.

Love becomes the first player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 900 rebounds and 100 3-point field goals in the same season.

6. Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson and Kendall Marshall all recorded double-doubles as the Los Angeles Lakers stunned the San Antonio Spurs 113-100 on the road. Tim Duncan sat and Tony Parker only played 16 minutes, but this was a very improbable defeat.

This was San Antonio’s first home loss since January 29.

7. The Toronto Raptors closed out the season in an underwhelming manner, falling 95-92 to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. J.R. Smith scored 30 points and Cole Aldrich finished with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for the victorious Knicks.

Alrdich has a double-double in back-to-back games. He had two career double-doubles entering 2013-14.

8. Jordan Crawford scored a career-high 41 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 116-112 victory over the Denver Nuggets. It was an impressive way to close out the season, as the Warriors entered the playoffs with quite the momentous victory.

Golden State secured its 51st win of the season—its most since 1991-92.

9. Tyreke Evans ripped off 25 points and 10 assists to guide the New Orleans Pelicans to a 105-100 win over the Houston Rockets. Terrence Jones scored 17 points for the Rockets, while Austin Rivers put up 18 points and eight assists for the Pelicans.

The story of the game was D-League star and current Houston swingman Troy Daniels, who recorded a career-high 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc.

10. Rookie shooting guards dueled as Archie Goodwin led the Phoenix Suns past Ben McLemore and the Sacramento Kings 104-99. Goodwin scored a career-high 29 points on 11-of-13 shooting, while McLemore finished with a career-high 31.

Phoenix’s 48 wins are tied with the 2007-08 Golden State Warriors for the most of any team to miss the playoffs since the format changed to 16 games in 1983-84.

Bonus Facts

• Kevin Durant joins Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to lead the NBA in total points scored in five straight seasons.
• The Philadelphia 76ers ended the season in the same way that they started it, defeating the Miami Heat 100-87.
• Brandon Knight scored 31 points, but the Milwaukee Bucks fell 111-103 to the Atlanta Hawks.
• Paul George, Lance Stephenson and David West rested, but the Indiana Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic 101-86.
• Will Barton scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 110-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
• Kemba Walker scored 22 points and Al Jefferson grabbed 18 rebounds as the Charlotte Bobcats took down the Chicago Bulls 91-86.