Primetime games between teams with genuine championship aspirations generally breed phenomenal results. On rare occasions, those outings end with a lopsided score and a number of disappointed fans.
There was a fair balance of both on Tuesday, November 4.
The 2014-15 NBA season resumed with a bang. There were monstrous individual performances, early-season statement wins and a number of players who out-shined seemingly superior competition.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. The Houston Rockets prevailed in a battle of the undefeated, downing the Miami Heat 108-91 on the road. Dwight Howard posted 26 points and 10 rebounds, and James Harden tallied 25 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two blocks and one steal to lead Houston to a 5-0 record.
Houston is the second team in NBA history to open up a season with five consecutive wins by at least 10 points. The only other team was the 1985-86 Denver Nuggets, which did it in six straight outings.
2. With 21 points against Houston, Chris Bosh has opened the season with four consecutive 20-point performances. He had one streaks of that nature in 2012-13 and 2013-14 combined.
3. Damian Lillard scored 27 points and Wesley Matthews had 21 to lead the Portland Trail Blazers past the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-82. Kevin Love posted 22 points and 10 rebounds, but LeBron James was just 4-of-12 from the field and Kyrie Irving converted an awful 3-of-17 for Cleveland.
James was held scoreless in the second half for the first time since November 5, 2003—the fourth game of his rookie season.
4. Despite trailing at halftime, the Washington Wizards used a monster third quarter to achieve a 98-83 victory over the New York Knicks. Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple both scored 17 points for the Wizards, while Iman Shumpert had a game-high 19 for the Knicks.
Washington has won three straight games at Madison Square Garden.
5. Playing without both Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls held on for a 98-90 win over the Orlando Magic, Jimmy Butler put up 21 points and nine rebounds, and Pau Gasol tallied 16 points, 13 boards. and two blocks for the Bulls.
This marks the second time in Butler’s career that he’s scored at least 20 points in consecutive games.
6. Nikola Vucevic posted 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic. He has four consecutive double-doubles to open the season.
Vucevic achieved such a streak just once in 2013-14, when he achieved the feat in eight straight appearances from February 25 to March 12, 2014.
7. Anthony Davis posted 24 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks to lead the New Orleans Pelicans past the Charlotte Hornets 100-91. Tyreke Evans added 16 points and 10 rebounds,, Jrue Holiday tallied 16 points and nine assists, and Omer Asik put up 10 points and 11 rebounds to round out an excellent effort by the Pelicans.
The result: MVP chants.
A smiling Anthony Davis on his reaction to the “M-V-P!” chant for him: “My biggest thing was alright, I better not miss these 2 free throws”
— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) November 5, 2014
It’s a little too early for that, but Davis is well on his way to consideration.
8. Kobe Bryant scored 39 points on 37 field goal attempts for the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Phoenix Suns emerged as the 112-106 road victors. Gerald Green scored 26 points, Markieff Morris had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Isaiah Thomas tallied 22 and nine assists, thus helping Phoenix overcome 18 points from Jeremy Lin and a 15-point and 15-rebound performance by Jordan Hill.
The 39-point outburst was Bryant’s biggest since April 10, 2013.
9. The Toronto Raptors converted 32 field goals on 39.5 percent shooting from the field, while the Oklahoma City Thunder made 34 field goals on a conversion rate of 50.0 percent. OKC also won the battle on the boards with 41 rebounds to 39 by Toronto.
The Raptors still managed to win 100-88 by sinking 28 free throws and committing 10 turnovers to 14 freebies and 19 cough-ups by the Thunder.
10. Brandon Knight tallied 23 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a rare 87-81 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Roy Hibbert had 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks for the Pacers, but Indiana’s late comeback attempt fell short.
Milwaukee snapped a six-game losing streak against the Pacers.
Bonus Fact: Elfrid Payton became the third player in NBA history to start his career with four straight games of seven assists or more.