Happy Halloween!
It’s early in the 2014-15 NBA season, but the marquee matchups continued on Friday, October 31. Some players pulled their masks back and began to show their true form, while others looked like stars of an entirely different caliber when it mattered most.
With 12 teams featured in six games, there was a healthy slate of action. The Eastern Conference’s elite clashed, a former MVP suffered another injury and a number of players used this platform as an opportunity to take over.
Here’s what you need to know about last night’s action.
1. LeBron James took over with 36 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-108 overtime win over Chicago. Kirk Hinrich scored 20 clutch points for the Bulls, while Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Dion Waiters combined for 48 points on 14-of-44 shooting from the floor for Cleveland.
Tristan Thompson tied a Cavaliers franchise record with 12 offensive boards.
2. For the second straight night, a superstar point guard suffered an injury. After Oklahoma City Thunder floor general Russell Westbrook broke his hand on October 30, Bulls star Derrick Rose who sprained his left ankle on October 31.
Rose missed a majority of the second half and all of overtime. Before going down, he had 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two 3-point field goals on 8-of-16 shooting from the field in 25 minutes.
Fortunately, X-Rays came back negative.
3. Rose’s 20 points were the most he’s scored since November 22, 2013—the final game he played in 2013-14.
4. Pau Gasol’s six blocks against the Cavaliers were his most since December 26, 2009.
5. Before Thompson, the last player to grab at least 12 offensive rebounds and no more than one defensive rebound was former Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas on February 16, 2005.
6. Rudy Gay went off for 40 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 103-97 upset the Portland Trail Blazers. Gay was 13-of-19 from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 from the charity stripe.
Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, only four players have scored at least 35 points on less than 20 field goal attempts in multiple games: Blake Griffin, James Harden, LeBron James and Gay.
7. Speaking of Griffin, he came up with a 39-point outburst to help the Los Angeles Clippers avoid an upset and secure a 118-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Jordan Hill had 23 points, Kobe Bryant had 21 and seven assists, and Jeremy Lin had 17 and nine dimes for the Lakers, while Jamal Crawford scored 22 and Chris Paul put up 12 points and 10 assists for the Clippers.
Griffin was 2-of-2 from 3-point range. It was his first game with multiple 3-point field goals made since December 18, 2013.
8. Isaiah Thomas put up 23 points and Markieff Morris tallied 20 and 11 rebounds to help the Phoenix Suns take down the San Antonio Spurs 94-89. The Spurs started Austin Daye at center and Phoenix took full advantage of the move, scoring 54 points in the paint.
Morris registered his first double-double of the season against San Antonio in both 2013-14 and 2014-15.
9. Zach Randolph put up 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Marc Gasol tallied 20 as the Memphis Grizzlies went on the road to beat the Indiana Pacers 97-89. Indiana won the battle on the boards 46-40, but it committed 18 turnovers to nine by Memphis.
Gasol has scored at least 20 points in consecutive games to open the 2014-15 season. He did that once in all of 2013-14.
10. O.J. Mayo was hot again, dropping 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 93-81 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Nerlens Noel had 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Philadelphia, while Jabari Parker put up 11 points, 10 rebounds and a steal for Milwaukee.
Noel and Parker become the first 2014-15 rookies to record a double-double.
Bonus Facts
- Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard went 0-for-5 on the day the Spurs failed to give him a contract extension. He finished with six points and eight rebounds.
- Only two players grabbed at least 12 offensive rebounds in all of 2013-14: Andre Drummond on April 11 and J.J. Hickson on February 25. Tristan Thompson did it just two games into the 2014-15 season.