The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Saturday, November 15 with 20 teams taking the court in 10 games. In a balanced night across the association, there were blowouts, close encounters and down-to-the-wire finishes.
Individually, multiple young players had career nights and numerous veterans put on stunning displays. Whether it was dominating the glass or lighting up the scoreboard, it was a superb evening for some of the game’s most promising players.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. The Cleveland Cavaliers had 39 assists on 49 field goals in a 127-94 drubbing of the Atlanta Hawks. LeBron James led the charge with 32 points and Kyrie Irving added 20 for the Cavaliers, while Paul Millsap scored a team-high 16 points for the Hawks.
Cleveland made nine consecutive and a franchise-record 19 total 3-point field goals.
2. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph took over to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 95-88 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Gasol had 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal, and Zach Randolph tallied 17 points, 22 boards and four assists to lead the Grizzlies to the win, while Greg Monroe had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit.
Memphis is a league-best 9-1.
3. Jimmy Butler scored a career-high 32 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Chicago Bulls in a 99-90 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Solomon Hill posted 21 points and 12 rebounds, Luis Scola tallied 21 points and 11 boards, and A.J Price scored 21 points for Indiana.
Butler scored at least 20 points in five games in 2013-14. He has at least 20 in five of his first eight appearances in 2014-15.
4. DeMar DeRozan went off for 27 points to lead the Toronto Raptors past the Utah Jazz 111-93. Kyle Lowry scored 19 points and Jonas Valanciunas posted 17 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks for the Raptors, while Derrick Favors had 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
At 8-2, Toronto is off to its best 10-game start in franchise history.
5. Six players scored in double-figures to help the Washington Wizards get past the Orlando Magic 98-93. John Wall led the charge with 16 points and 10 assists, while Tobias Harris scored 19 points and Victor Oladipo had 18, seven rebounds and seven assists for Orlando.
Washington dished out 31 assists to 11 turnovers. Orlando had 14 dimes to 15 turnovers.
6. Damian Lillard posted 28 points and 10 assists, and Meyers Leonard pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers picked up a 97-87 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Brook Lopez had 21 points, Joe Johnson tallied 20 and Deron Williams scored 19, but Portland fell short of the victory.
With 12 points and 12 rebounds in 27 minutes, Kevin Garnett posted his third double-double of 2014-15. He had three in all of 2013-14.
7. Monta Ellis scored 30 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 131-117 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kevin Martin scored 34 points for the T-Wolves, while Dallas had eight players in double-digit scoring.
At 7-3, Dallas is off to its best 10-game start since 2010-11—the year it won the NBA championship.
8. DeMarcus Cousins posted 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Sacramento Kings to another surprising win. This time around, it was a 94-91 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, thus spoiling a 21-point performance from Manu Ginobili.
At 6-4, the Kings are above .500 after 10 games for the first time since 2004-05.
9. Harrison Barnes scored 17 points in 23 minutes to help the Golden State Warriors run past the Charlotte Hornets 112-87. Stephen Curry posted 19 points and nine assists, and Klay Thompson tallied 21 points as Golden State improved to 7-2.
Golden State has posted a superior field goal percentage to its opponents in all nine games this season.
10. Chris Paul posted 32 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 120-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns. DeAndre Jordan posted 12 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks to fuel the Clippers’ interior, while Gerald Green had 26 points for the Suns.
Alex Len had his second career double-double with career-best marks of 17 points and 11 rebounds in just under 26 minutes of play.
Bonus Fact: Solomon Hill recorded his first career double-double against the Bulls.