The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Tuesday, December 9 with one of the best days of action yet. Three separate games went to overtime, including one to double-OT, and one ended with a game-winning buzzer-beater.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both scored 21 points to help the Golden State Warriors pull away for a 102-86 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points, Gorgui Dieng grabbed 11 rebounds and Zach LaVine dished out eight assists, but Minnesota shot just 36.0 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Golden State has won 13 consecutive games.
2. Blake Griffin erupted for a season-high 45 points as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled out a 121-120 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns. Eric Bledsoe went off for 27 points, 16 assists, 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, but the Suns ultimately fell short.
To complement his scoring outburst, Griffin hit the game-winning buzzer-beating 3-point field goal.
3. The Clippers have won eight straight games.
4. Paul Pierce scored a season-high 28 points and John Wall tallied 26 points, 17 assists, seven rebounds and three steals as the Washington Wizards defeated the Boston Celtics 133-132 in double-overtime. Jeff Green led the Celtics with 28 points, Kelly Olynyk had 19 and 11 rebounds, and Evan Turner posted 18 points, eight assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
Wall’s 17 assists set a new career-high.
5. Marcus Smart scored a career-high 23 points. He also played significant minutes over a healthy Rajon Rondo throughout the second half and overtime periods.
6. Dion Waiters scored a season-high 26 points and Kevin Love tallied 19 points and 14 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 110-88 at Barclays Center. Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton were in attendance, and LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams and Alan Anderson were amongst the players donning, “I Can’t Breathe,” T-Shirts.
Cleveland has won seven in a row.
7. Louis Williams scored 26 points and Patrick Patterson added 19 with eight rebounds as the second unit stepped up to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 112-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, and Kyle Lowry had 13 points and 13 assists for Toronto, while Arron Afflalo led Denver with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Denver has lost four in a row.
8. With 22 points and 12 assists, Ty Lawson extends his career-best streak to nine consecutive games with at least 10 assists.
9. Al Horford scored a season-high 25 points and Jeff Teague posted 21 points of his own as the Atlanta Hawks ran past the Indiana Pacers 108-92. Both teams committed a high number of turnovers, but Atlanta made 19 free throws to nine by the Pacers for a plus-10 advantage.
Atlanta is up to seven consecutive wins
10. Rudy Gay scored 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting as the Sacramento Kings defeated the Utah Jazz 101-92. Gordon Hayward led Utah with 19 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Jazz to step up and steal the road victory.
Utah has lost nine straight games.
Bonus Fact: Jamal Crawford was ejected during the fourth quarter after a clear path foul was registered as his second technical of the night. It was the first time in Crawford’s career that he’s been ejected from a game.
Last night was Crawford’s 976th career regular season appearance. He also has 42 postseason games played without an ejection.