The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Wednesday, January 14 with a healthy slate of 10 games featuring 20 teams. A legend moved up an all-time list, a number of championship contenders made statements and a young gun out-dueled an established star.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague both put up 22 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 105-91 victory over the Boston Celtics. Paul Millsap tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a pair of steals for Atlanta, while Avery Bradley led Boston with 17 points.
Atlanta has won 10 consecutive games.
2. Paul Pierce finished with an efficient 22 points and John Wall picked up 21 points, nine assists and two steals as the Washington Wizards worked past the Chicago Bulls 105-99. Derrick Rose scored a season-high 32 points for the Bulls, but it was yet another game of Chicago relying too heavily on one player.
Rose’s 32 points were his most since March 12, 2012.
3. LaMarcus Aldridge was superb, but the Los Angeles Clippers took down the Portland Trail Blazers 100-94. Aldridge put up 37 points and 12 rebounds for Portland, but DeAndre Jordan was nearly perfect with 17 points and 18 rebounds on 8-of-8 shooting from the field and Chris Paul put up 23 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals for Los Angeles
The win snaps the Clippers’ five-game road losing streak.
4. Stephen Curry came through with 32 points and seven 3-point field goals as the Golden State Warriors pulled out a 104-89 victory over the Miami Heat. Hassan Whiteside had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Chris Bosh scored 26 points for Miami, while Andre Iguodala came off the bench to dish out seven assists and facilitate Golden State’s offense.
Golden State has won eight consecutive games overall and 15 straight at home.
5. Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried took over to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 114-107 victory over the short-handed Dallas Mavericks. Lawson finished with 29 points and 12 assists, and Faried tallied 22 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in a game in which Tyson Chandler, Dirk Nowitzki and Rajon Rondo were all sitting.
Denver has quietly won five straight games.
6. Manu Ginobili efficiently dominated with 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Charlotte Hornets 98-93. Kemba Walker posted 28 points for the Hornets, marking the sixth consecutive game in which he’s reached that scoring plateau.
Charlotte had won five in a row leading up to this loss.
7. Anthony Davis put forth a phenomenal two-way effort with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks as the New Orleans Pelicans beat the red-hot Detroit Pistons 105-94. Brandon Jennings led the Pistons with 19 points, while Tyreke Evans picked up 18 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, one block and a steal for the Pelicans.
New Orleans had lost five consecutive road games before this win.
8. Zach Randolph provided an interior punch with 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies took down former coach Lionel Hollins and the Brooklyn Nets 103-92. Mason Plumlee led the Nets with 15 points and nine rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome 18 points from Courtney Lee and 18 points and eight rebounds from Marc Gasol for the Grizzlies.
Jeff Green scored 10 points in 27 minutes in his Grizzlies debut.
9. DeMar DeRozan returned in style as the Toronto Raptors blew out the Philadelphia 76ers 100-84. DeRozan scored 20 points in 29 minutes, Louis Williams had 19 points in 24 minutes and Kyle Lowry put up 18 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and three steals for the Raptors, while Michael Carter-Williams tallied 29 points for Philadelphia.
DeRozan hadn’t played since November 28.
10. Victor Oladipo went off for 32 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals on 12-of-19 shooting to lead the Orlando Magic to a 120-113 upset of the Houston Rockets. Nikola Vucevic added 25 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando, while James Harden had 26 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, five steals and one steal, and Dwight Howard had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead Houston.
This is the first time in Oladipo’s career that he’s scored at least 30 points in consecutive games.
Bonus Fact: Paul Pierce passed Jason Kidd to move into No. 4 on the all-time 3-point field goals made list.