On a night in which the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos stole headlines on the NFL’s Monday Night Football, the NBA managed to step up in a major way. A star had his best scoring performance of the season, the class of 2014-15 stayed hot and a storied organization set a franchise record.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. James Harden erupted for 44 points as the Houston Rockets picked up a 110-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Harden added seven assists, three rebounds and five steals on 14-of-26 shooting from the field, 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and 12-of-13 from the free throw line.
The 44 points for Harden, the league’s leading scorer, were a season-high.
2. Portland’s loss snapped a five-game winning streak.
3. Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose out-gunned Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors 129-120. Butler had 27 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, and Rose scored 29 points for Chicago, while Lowry had a game-high 34 points and Valanciunas put up 20 and nine rebounds.
The Bulls won behind 49 points scored during the fourth quarter—the most points in a single quarter in franchise history.
4. Toronto had won six consecutive games before its loss to Chicago.
5. Tony Parker scored 26 points and Tim Duncan put up 21 points, 12 rebounds and two steals as the San Antonio Spurs downed the Los Angeles Clippers 125-118. Chris Paul had 25 points and nine assists, and Blake Griffin tallied 22 points, six rebounds and six assists, but the Clippers ultimately fell short.
San Antonio’s win snaps a four-game losing streak.
6. Starting in place of the injured Jeff Teague, Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 22 points as the Atlanta Hawks picked up a 105-102 road win over the Dallas Mavericks. All five starters were in double-figures for Atlanta, while Rajon Rondo led the Mavericks with 13 points, 11 assists and three steals.
Atlanta has won four in a row and 13 of 14.
7. Klay Thompson scored 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting as the Golden State Warriors blew out the Sacramento Kings 128-108. DeMarcus Cousins had 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists, one block and a steal to lead Sacramento, while Stephen Curry had 12 points, 11 assists and three steals.
Golden State has won 18 of its past 19 games.
8. Justin Holiday scored a career-high 18 points in 20 minutes for the Warriors. Before last night, he’d scored 11 points in 11 games played in 2014-15.
9. Alec Burks scored 23 points and Gordon Hayward had 21 to help the Utah Jazz upset the Memphis Grizzlies. Mike Conley tallied 28 points and Marc Gasol put up 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, but the Grizzlies ultimately fell short.
Rudy Gobert stepped up with a career-high 16 rebounds for the Jazz.
10. Al Jefferson scored 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Kemba Walker had 18 points and nine assists to give the Charlotte Hornets a 110-82 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Ty Lawson led the Nuggets with 18 points, but Denver shot just 2-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Charlotte has won three in a row. It won three games in all of November.
Bonus Fact: Jason Terry became the third player in NBA history to reach 2,000 3-point field goals. Ray Allen and Reggie Miller are the other two.