The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Wednesday, November 19 with a healthy slate of games. 22 teams took part in 11 outings that featured game-winners, a star’s return from injury, upsets and a number of big individual performances.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. Two of the league’s elite met as the 9-2 Toronto Raptors sent the Memphis Grizzlies to 10-2 with a 96-92 victory. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Kyle Lowry tallied 18 to lead the Raptors to the tough win.
Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for 59 points, 40 rebounds, nine assists and five steals. The rest of the team had 33 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
It was a top-heavy attack.
2. Monta Ellis scored a season-high 34 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 105-102 road victory over the Washington Wizards. Marcin Gortat and Paul Pierce both scored 17 points and John Wall had 11 assists, but Ellis shouldered the scoring load to give Dallas the win.
Bradley Beal scored 21 points in 26 minutes in his first appearance of the 2014-15 season.
3. Boris Diaw and Tim Duncan led the San Antonio Spurs to a 92-90 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Diaw tallied 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds, three steals and a block, while Duncan had 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a pair of steals.
LeBron James shot just 6-of-17 from the field and committed the game-ending turnover.
4. Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo had career nights as the Milwaukee Bucks outlasted the Brooklyn Nets 122-118 in triple-overtime. Parker scored a career-high 20 points and Antetokounpo posted 18 points and a career-best 12 rebounds, while Brook Lopez tallied a season-high 26 points for Brooklyn.
Milwaukee has won three straight games for the first time since taking four in a row between February 26 and March 4 of 2013.
5. Kevin Martin erupted for a season-high 37 points with a career-high seven 3-point field goals to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 115-99 victory over the New York Knicks. Shabazz Muhammad scored 17 points and Mo Williams tallied 14 points and 13 assists, while Carmelo Anthony tallied 20 points for the Knicks.
Martin has scored at least 30 points in consecutive games for the first time since April 5, 2011.
6. Jamal Crawford scored 22 points and Blake Griffin posted 20 as the Los Angeles Clippers picked up a 114-90 victory over the Orlando Magic. Tobias Harris put up 25 points and Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando, while Chris Paul finished with 16 points and nine assists for the Clippers.
With its bounce-back win, the Clippers haven’t lost consecutive regular season games since February 21.
7. Roy Hibbert led the charge with 18 points, 11 rebounds and a block as the Indiana Pacers worked past the Charlotte Hornets 88-86. Al Jefferson posted 28 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets, but it wasn’t enough to help them avoid yet another loss.
Since starting the season at 1-6, Indiana has won four of five games.
8. Brandon Bass scored 23 points and Jared Sullinger had 22 as the Boston Celtics downed the Philadelphia 76ers 101-90. Rajon Rondo dished out 13 assists as Boston overcome a 21-point performance from Sixers guard Tony Wroten.
Philadelphia falls to 0-11.
9. Ty Lawson posted 15 points and 15 assists as the Denver Nuggets took down the Oklahoma City Thunder 107-100. Serge Ibaka picked up 22 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Wilson Chandler’s 21 points and Denver’s balanced offensive attack.
This was Denver’s first win over a Western Conference opponent.
10. Kobe Bryant scored 29 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers get past the Houston Rockets 98-92 on the road. James Harden finished ith 24 points and Kostas Papanikolaou had a career-high 19, but Los Angeles won with 91 field goal attempts to 74 by Houston.
The Lakers have won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Bonus Fact: The Phoenix Suns held on to win an ugly 88-86 affair over the Detroit Pistons. Eric Bledsoe scored 18 points and Greg Monroe posted 18 points and 12 rebounds.