The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Saturday, November 8 with 16 teams taking part in eight games. It was a day of close encounters, with six separate games being decided by single-digits and two by one possession
At the heart of those affairs were throwback performances and unheralded balance in bounce-back victories by contenders. Most significantly, three undefeated teams put their records on the line and only one emerged without a loss.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. Four separate players scored at least 20 points for the Los Angeles Clippers in a 106-102 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. J.J. Redick scored 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting, Blake Griffin had 23, Jamal Crawford tallied 20 and Chris Paul had 22 points and 11 assists.
L.A. had less assists, less rebounds and less 3-point field goals than Portland, but scored 19 points off of turnovers to five by the Trail Blazers.
2. The Clippers have hasn’t lost a home game against the Trail Blazers since October 27, 2010.
3. Anthony Davis took over with 27 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and four steals to lead the New Orleans Pelicans past the San Antonio Spurs 100-99. Tony Parker scored a game-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting for San Antonio, while Tyreke Evans had 18 points and Jrue Holiday posted 15, 11 assists and three steals for the Pelicans.
Davis has five games with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks since the beginning of 2013-14. The rest of the NBA has six.
4. Dwyane Wade finished with 25 points, eight assists and two steals to lead the Miami Heat to a 102-92 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Chris Bosh added 24 points to counter 19 points and 11 rebounds from Minnesota’s Nikola Pekovic.
Wade has 25 points in consecutive regular season games for the first time since December 16 and December 18 of 2013.
5. Stephen Curry was magnificent, posting 34 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals on 13-of-19 shooting from the field, 6-of-9 from distance and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. Andrew Bogut added eight points, 18 rebounds and four blocks to give the Golden State Warriors a boost down low in a 98-87 road victory over the Houston Rockets.
Golden State improves to 5-0, while Houston drops to 6-1.
6. Isaiah Canaan scored a career-high 21 points for the Rockets.
7. John Wall scored 18 points and Nene Hilario had 17 to lead the Washington Wizards to a 97-90 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The key to the game was ball movement, with Indiana dishing out just 11 assists to 23 by the Wizards.
Second-year forward Solomon Hill scored a career-high 28 points for the Pacers.
8. Kyle Korver scored 27 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the New York Knicks 103-96. Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points and Iman Shumpert added 19 with seven assists for the Knicks, but Derek Fisher‘s crew fell to 2-4.
Korver’s 27 points are his most since he scored 28 on December 18, 2013.
9. Despite playing without both Rajon Rondo and Marcus Smart, the Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls 106-101. Aaron Brooks scored 26 points for Chicago, but the team ultimately fell at home against the Celtics.
Kelly Olynyk posted 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, giving him two double-doubles in his past three games. He had three double-doubles in all of 2013-14.
10. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 18 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 93-92 upset of the Memphis Grizzlies. Zach Randolph had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Memphis, but Milwaukee held the Grizzlies to 35.4 percent shooting from the field.
With Memphis’ loss, the Warriors are the last undefeated team.
Bonus Fact: Home and road teams went an even 4-4.
Bonus Fact: Tim Duncan recorded his 800th career double-double against the New Orleans Pelicans.