The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Tuesday. December 2 with eight teams taking part in four games. There were down-to-the-wire finishes, dominant two-way performances and everything in between.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. Kawhi Leonard went off for 26 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead the short-handed San Antonio Spurs past the Philadelphia 76ers 109-103. Michael Carter-Williams countered with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Alexey Shved posted a season-high 19 points for Philadelphia.
This was Leonard’s fourth 20-point game of 2014-15. He had three in all of 2013-14.
2. The 2009-10 New Jersey Nets hold the all-time record with 18 consecutive losses to open up a season. At 0-17, Philadelphia is just one defeat shy of tying that mark.
3. Blake Griffin put up 23 points and eight rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves en route to a 127-101 victory. J.J. Redick scored 23 points in 23 minutes for the Clippers, while Shabazz Muhammad led Minnesota with 18 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and four assists.
This was Muhammad’s first career double-double.
4. Ty Lawson and the Denver Nuggets out-dueled Trey Burke and the Utah Jazz in a 103-101 nail-biter. Lawson finished with 15 points and 12 assists, while Burke had 18 points and eight assists to complement a 25-point performance from Gordon Hayward and 22 points from Alec Burks.
Since opening the season at 1-6, Denver has won eight of its past 10 games.
5. Rasual Butler scored 23 points and John Wall tallied 18 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block as the Washington Wizards decimated the Miami Heat 107-86. Chris Bosh posted 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Dwyane Wade put up 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting for Miami.
With his ninth double-double of the season, Wall is tied with Chris Paul for the most amongst point guards.
Bonus Fact: Rasual Butler has 23 points in two of his past three games. Before 2014-15, he hadn’t scored 20 points in a game since March 28, 2010.