The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Wednesday, January 7. Championship contenders took center stage as some of the best players and teams in the league stepped up in a major way.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. Jeff Teague put up 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting as the Atlanta Hawks picked up a grind-it-out 96-86 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Mike Conley countered with 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals for Memphis, but Atlanta used 13 3-point field goals to down the Grizzlies.
Atlanta has won six consecutive games.
2. Greg Monroe went off for 27 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and a block to lead the Detroit Pistons past the Dallas Mavericks 108-95. D.J. Augustin scored a season-high 26 points for the red-hot Pistons, which picked up a second straight road win over a Western Conference contender.
The Pistons are 7-0 since waiving Josh Smith.
3. Klay Thompson scored 40 points for the second time in his career as the Golden State Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 117-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Stephen Curry added 17 points and 14 assists for the red-hot Warriors, while Solomon Hill led the Pacers with 21 points.
Curry is the fastest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 3-point field goals. He did it in 369 games. The next-fastest was Dennis Scott in 457.
4. The Houston Rockets endured 38 points from Kyrie Irving to earn a 105-93 road win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Dwight Howard had 17 points, 19 rebounds, 10 offensive boards, two assists and a block, and James Harden tallied 21 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and a steal for Houston.
Cleveland has lost three in a row and six of seven. It’s 1-5 without LeBron James.
5. Blake Griffin posted 27 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals to help the Los Angeles Clippers demolish the Los Angeles Lakers 114-89. Chris Paul added 24 points, 11 assists and three steals, and DeAndre Jordan had 10 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
Kobe Bryant scored four points on 2-of-12 shooting—his lowest career scoring total on at least 10 field goal attempts.
6. Goran Dragic scored 25 points and Gerald Green tallied 21 to help the Phoenix Suns get past the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-111. Andrew Wiggins finished with 25 points, Mo Williams put up 23 points and 11 assists, and Anthony Bennett came through for 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Bennett has two double-doubles in 2014-15. He had two in all of 2013-14.
7. Nene Hilario put up 20 points in 20 minutes to get the Washington Wizards past the New York Knicks 101-91. John Wall added 18 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals on 5-of-9 shooting, while Jose Calderon led New York with 17 points.
The Knicks have lost 13 consecutive games—the longest single-season streak in franchise history.
8. Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert took over to give the Utah Jazz a lopsided 97-77 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Favors had 20 points, 11 rebounds and two steals, while Gobert put up 11 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
The loss snaps Chicago’s six-game winning streak against the Western Conference.
9. Rudy Gay posted 28 points and nine rebounds, and Darren Collison had 24 points and seven assists to help the Sacramento Kings down the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-83. Kevin Durant scored 24 points and Serge Ibaka blocked eight shots, but Russell Westbrook went 3-of-19 from the field and OKC shot just 32.6 percent from the field.
Sacramento improves to 13-11 with DeMarcus Cousins active and 2-9 without him.
10. Kemba Walker scored 31 points and sank the game-winner with 1.4 seconds on the clock as the Charlotte Hornets took down the New Orleans Pelicans 98-94. Anthony Davis put up 32 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for New Orleans, but Walker’s heroics propelled Charlotte to victory.
Walker has scored at least 30 points in a career-best three straight games. Charlotte is 3-0 in that time.
Bonus Facts
- Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton both scored 18 points as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 97-77.
- Ty Lawson had 23 points and five assists in a 93-90 Denver Nuggets victory over the Orlando Magic.
- Avery Bradley posted 21 points and Tyler Zeller had 18 as the Boston Celtics secured a low-scoring 89-81 win against the Brooklyn Nets.