The 2014-15 NBA regular season returned on Wednesday, November 26 with a full slate of games. 26 teams took part in 13 games, with seven outings being decided by single-digits.
The surprising starts continued. The disappointing ones did, too.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. Deron Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and one block as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 99-91. Joe Johnson scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and Brook Lopez had 19 points on a mark of 9-of-12 from the field.
Philadelphia is 0-15. That ties the franchise record for the most consecutive losses to open up a season.
2. LeBron James went off for 29 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals as the Cleveland Cavaliers redeemed themselves with a 113-87 victory over the Washington Wizards. Rasual Butler scored a season-high 23 points for Washington, but the Wizards simply could not stop the Cavaliers’ offense.
Cleveland is 7-2 when James leads the team in scoring and 0-5 when he doesn’t.
3. Wesley Matthews scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 105-97 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Brian Roberts scored a career-high 24 points and Al Jefferson put up 21 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for Charlotte, while Damian Lillard scored 22 points for Portland.
Portland has won nine consecutive games.
4. DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points, Louis Williams put up 22 and Greivis Vasquez tallied 21 as the Toronto Raptors took down the Atlanta Hawks 126-115. Vasquez scored all 21 of his points in the second half and Kyle Lowry put up 14 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and one steal, while Jeff Teague posted 24 points and 12 assists for Atlanta.
Toronto is an NBA-best 13-2 and has won six consecutive games.
5. Stephen Curry’s hot shooting continued with 28 points to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Orlando Magic 111-96. Tobias Harris posted 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic put up 11 points and 13 rebounds, but Orlando couldn’t slow the Warriors down.
Golden State has won seven consecutive games.
6. Reggie Jackson scored 22 points, Jeremy Lamb tallied 21 and Serge Ibaka put up 20 as the Oklahoma City Thunder ran away from the Utah Jazz 97-82. Gordon Hayward posted 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals for the Jazz, while Lamb’s scoring outburst came on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, 3-of-3 from distance and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
OKC snaps a six-game losing streak with this win.
7. With Ettore Messina replacing Gregg Popovich as head coach, Manu Ginobili scored 28 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Indiana Pacers 106-100. Tony Parker picked up 21 points and six assists, and Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and 13 rebounds to overcome 22 points from Rodney Stuckey.
Leonard has as many games with at least 20 points and 10 assists in November as he’s tallied in any full regular season of his four-year career.
8. Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 30 points and Tyson Chandler posted season-best marks of 17 points and 25 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks picked up a 109-102 win against the New York Knicks. Jose Calderon led the Knicks with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
This was Chandler and Calderon’s first game against their former teams since being traded for one another.
9. Marc Gasol put up 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals as the Memphis Grizzlies pulled out a 99-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Mike Conley added 19 points of his own, while Kobe Bryant scored 22 for the Lakers.
Memphis is tied with Toronto at a league-best 13-2.
10. Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins squared off in the regular season for the first time as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-86. Parker posted 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one block and a steal, while Wiggins put up 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
The Bucks are 9-7. Milwaukee didn’t win its ninth game of 2013-14 until February 3, when it reached 9-39.
Bonus Facts
- Chris Paul posted 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled out a 104-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Andre Drummond posted 17 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals for Detroit.
- Isaiah Canaan scored a career-high 24 points and Donatas Motiejunas had a career-best 21 in the Houston Rockets’ 102-89 win over the Sacramento Kings. DeMarcus Cousins posted 29 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
- Eric Bledsoe put up 21 points and 10 assists, and Goran Dragic scored 20 to lead the Phoenix Suns past the red-hot Denver Nuggets 120-112. Gerald Green tallied 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting from distance, and Markieff Morris had 15 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and three steals.
- Ty Lawson led Denver with 17 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and two steals for his third consecutive double-double.