The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Monday, November 3 with six teams in 12 games. There were blowouts, defensive clinics and some monstrous scoring performances to hold over the fantasy basketball world.
Highlighting the evening was the return of an All-Star, the first triple-double of the season and a near 31-point comeback. In the end, it was another magnificent day in the association.
Here’s how everything transpired.
1. James Harden posted 35 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one block and a steal as the Houston Rockets defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 104-93. Trevor Ariza added 24 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals, and Dwight Howard posted 11 points, 14 boards, three dimes, four blocks and three steals.
Houston is 4-0 for the first time since 1996-97—the last time the Rockets went to the Western Conference Finals.
2. Harden is the first player to register multiple 30-point performances in 2014-15.
3. Blake Griffin put up 31 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 107-101 victory over the Utah Jazz. Gordon Hayward had 27 points for the Jazz, but Alec Burks’ late-game heroics weren’t enough to give Utah the win.
Griffin is the second player to score at least 30 points in multiple games in 2014-15.
4. Chris Paul registered the first triple-double of 2014-15 with 13 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block.
5. Chandler Parsons scored 29 points and Dirk Nowitzki posted 27 as the Dallas Mavericks overcame 35 points from Jeff Green and 32 from Avery Bradley in a 118-113 victory over the Boston Celtics. Dallas nearly blew a 31-point lead, allowing Boston to climb within one point, but Bradley missed a vital free throw.
One game after shooting an atrocious 1-of-25 from beyond the arc, Boston went 11-of-31 against Dallas. A major change of pace.
6. Rajon Rondo posted seven points, 15 assists, nine rebounds and two steals. Rondo is the first player since Magic Johnson in 1983 to post at least 35 assists and 25 rebounds in his team’s first three games of a season.
7. Brook Lopez posted 18 points in his return to the NBA, thus leading the Brooklyn Nets to a 116-85 demolition of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Deron Williams led the charge with 17 points and nine assists, while Reggie Jackson tallied 20 points for Oklahoma City.
This was OKC’s worst loss since April 13, 2009.
8. Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph all pulled down 11 rebounds in a 93-81 Memphis Grizzlies victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Gasol scored 16 points, Z-Bo had 15 and Allen put up 12 for Memphis, while Tyreke Evans scored 21 for the Pelicans.
In an ugly shooting display, the Grizzlies and Pelicans combined to shoot 8-of-38 from beyond the arc.
9. Anthony Davis came back down to earth with 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal. He’s the first player since Chris Webber in 1998 to record at least 70 points, 40 rebounds and 10 blocks in his team’s first three games.
10. Darren Collison scored 21 points and DeMarcus Cousins put up 19 to help the Sacramento Kings pull out a 110-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Ty Lawson dished out 12 assists, but Denver shot 38.7 percent from the field and 20.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Sacramento is 3-1 for the first time since 2010-11. Unfortunately, it finished that season at 24-58.
Bonus Facts
- Prior to the game against the Thunder, Lopez hadn’t played a game since December 20, 2013.
- Over the past 15 seasons, teams are 1-1057 when trailing by at least 31 points. Boston nearly became the second team to get the win.