The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Wednesday, March 4 with a historically significant evening. One of the association’s premier players maintained a pace that hasn’t been seen in almost 26 years.
This is how it all transpired.
1. Russell Westbrook went off for 49 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and a block as the Oklahoma City Thunder escaped with a 123-118 overtime win against the Philadelphia 76ers. Isaiah Canaan posted a career-high 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a steal, and Jason Richardson scored a season-high 29 points for the Sixers.
Westbrook is the first player to record a triple-double in four consecutive games since Michael Jordan did it in seven straight in 1988-89.
2. LeBron James shined with 29 points, 14 assists and six rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Toronto Raptors 120-112. Kyrie Irving added 26 points and eight assists, and Kevin Love recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, while DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Louis Williams all scored in excess of 25 points for Toronto.
Cleveland has won six of eight.
3. Marc Gasol recorded 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a block on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Houston Rockets 102-100. Zach Randolph added 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block for Memphis, while Terrence Jones had 21 points and nine rebounds, and James Harden posted 18 points and 13 assists for Houston.
Gasol sank a jumper with 0.1 seconds on the clock to give Memphis the win.
4. Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 102-93 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Stephen Curry added 19 points and 11 assists for the Warriors, while Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams both scored 16 points for the Bucks.
Milwaukee has lost five of six and has scored less than 100 points in six of its seven games since trading Brandon Knight.
5. Chris Paul went off for 36 points and 12 assists, and he held Damian Lillard to 1-of-13 shooting, but the Los Angeles Clippers found a way to lose 98-93 in overtime to the Portland Trail Blazers. LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points and nine rebounds on 12-of-30 shooting and Nicolas Batum recorded 20 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, two blocks and one assist to lead Portland to the win.
The Trail Blazers have won four in a row.
6. Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a much-needed 112-85 blowout of the Sacramento Kings. Tony Parker tallied 19 points in 25 minutes for the Spurs as they secured a winning home record.
This was San Antonio’s first home game since February 6.
7. Brandon Knight scored 28 points and Markieff Morris tallied 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting as the Phoenix Suns downed the Orlando Magic 105-100. P.J. Tucker put in 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Suns, which picked up a vital win.
Victor Oladipo led the Magic with a career-high 38 points. He’s averaging 19.9 points per game since January 1.
8. The stars aligned as the Miami Heat picked up a crucial 100-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, Goran Dragic put up 21, Luol Deng scored 15 and Hassan Whiteside was a monster with 18 points, 25 rebounds and four blocks.
Whiteside’s 25 rebounds are the most by any Heat player since Rony Seikaly pulled down 34 on March 3, 1993.
9. Anthony Davis returned in style to lead the New Orleans Pelicans past the Detroit Pistons 88-85. Davis finished with 39 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, eight blocks and three steals after spending the previous five games sidelined by an injury.
New Orleans has quietly won six of its past seven games.
10. Six players scored in double-figures to help the Charlotte Hornets pull out a massive 115-91 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Charlotte, winners of three in a row, own a 1.0-game edge over the Nets as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Mo Williams tallied 14 points and 14 assists, and is averaging 21.6 points and 8.9 assists since being traded to the Hornets.
Bonus Facts:
- Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points and Tyler Zeller sank a buzzer-beater to help the Boston Celtics get past the Utah Jazz 85-84. Rudy Gobert had 10 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal for the Jazz
- George Hill scored 21 points to lead the Indiana Pacers past the New York Knicks 105-82. New York’s suffered consecutive losses by 23 points or worse. Indiana has nine wins in its past 11 games.
- Kenneth Faried put up 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets pulled out a 100-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points for Minnesota, but it wasn’t enough. Denver is 2-0 since Brian Shaw was fired.