The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Sunday, March 1 with eight games featuring 16 teams and a number of contenders. MVP candidates battled, rising stars shined and a team erased a 26-point deficit to pull out a comeback victory.
This is how it all transpired.
1. James Harden out-dueled LeBron James as the Houston Rockets took down the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers 105-103 in overtime. Harden finished with 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, two blocks and 15 free throws made, while James had 37 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals, but shot 15-of-35 from the field and 3-of-11 from the free throw line.
Harden, 25, made at least 15 free throws for the 21st time in his career. That ties him with Carmelo Anthony for No. 17 all-time.
2. Stephen Curry went off for 37 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field, 5-of-8 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 at the charity stripe as the Golden State Warriors overcame the Boston Celtics 106-101. Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points and Jae Crowder pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds, but Boston fell apart down the stretch.
Golden State trailed by as many as 26 points before completing a massive comeback to reach 46-11.
3. Chris Paul recorded 28 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and a block to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a gritty 96-86 road win over the Chicago Bulls. Nikola Mirotic scored a career-high 29 points for the Bulls, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the shorthanded Clippers.
DeAndre Jordan recorded nine points, 26 rebounds, two blocks and two steals for his eighth straight game with at least 15 boards.
4. Jordan has played in a league-best 300 consecutive regular season games.
5. Damian Lillard took over with 31 points and seven assists to help the Portland Trail Blazers get past the Sacramento Kings 110-99. Rudy Gay recorded 24 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, while Wesley Matthews scored 17 points for the thriving Trail Blazers.
Portland has won three in a row and five straight games in which its scored at least 100 points.
6. Andre Miller recorded 12 points and 10 assists for the Kings. This was Miller’s first double-double since April 6, 2013.
7. George Hill tallied 17 points and nine rebounds, and Roy Hibbert put up 14 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and two steals as the streaking Indiana Pacers dominated for a 94-74 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Nerlens Noel recorded 10 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and a steal for the Sixers, while Luis Scola had 15 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes.
Indiana has won eight of 10 and is now in possession of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
8. Tyreke Evans stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a steal as the New Orleans Pelicans went on the road to pick up a 99-92 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and Will Barton recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, while Eric Gordon continued his rebound season with 18 points for the Pelicans.
New Orleans has won five consecutive games. Anthony Davis has played a grand total of eight minutes and 53 seconds in those outings.
9. D.J. Augustin scored 18 points and Enes Kanter tallied 16 points, 15 rebounds and five assists as the recent acquisitions led the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Los Angeles Lakers 108-101. Jeremy Lamb added 14 points in 16 minutes, and Serge Ibaka put up 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for OKC, while Jeremy Lin had 20 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals for Los Angeles.
OKC improves to 5-10 in games played without both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
10. Mo Williams maintained his phenomenal play with 23 points and 11 assists to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 98-83 victory over the Orlando Magic. Victor Oladipo scored a team-high 21 points for the Magic, but the Hornets ultimately prevailed.
Williams is averaging 23.4 points, 7.0 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 3.8 3-point field goals made on a slash line of .462/.422/.824 in five games since being traded to the Hornets.
Bonus Fact: After averaging 3.0 points on 38.0 percent shooting from the field in 30 games with the Trail Blazers, Will Barton is averaging 16.6 points on a 49.2 percent conversion rate with the Nuggets.