The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued on Sunday, March 15. A perennial All-Star returned from an extensive injury absence, a number of championship contenders clashed and a number of superstars put forth outstanding performances.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. Starting in place of All-Star point guard Jeff Teague, Dennis Schroder put up 24 points and 10 assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the Los Angeles Lakers 91-86. Al Horford added 21 points and Shelvin Mack tallied 18 points of his own for Atlanta, while Ed Davis had seven points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal for the Lakers.
Atlanta is tied with the Golden State Warriors at a league-best 52 wins.
2. James Harden put up 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Houston Rockets escaped with a 100-98 road victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Trevor Ariza added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Terrence Jones tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds for Houston.
Houston improves to 24-4 when Harden scores at least 30 points. It’s 20-18 when he doesn’t.
3. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 113-97 win against the Toronto Raptors. DeMar DeRozan recorded 22 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors, while Damian Lillard scored 23 points and Nicolas Batum dished out 12 assists for the Trail Blazers.
Portland has won three in a row and eight of nine.
4. Russell Westbrook put up 36 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a steal on 12-of-27 shooting to help the Oklahoma City Thunder pull out a 109-100 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Nikola Mirotic‘s rise to stardom continued with 27 points for the Bulls, and Enes Kanter put up 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Thunder.
OKC has won consecutive games and is back in possession of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
5. The San Antonio Spurs dished out 38 assists as a team and had eight scorers in double-figures in a 123-97 obliteration of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 15 points, six rebounds and five steals in 25 minutes, while rookie Zach LaVine had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Timberwolves.
At 41-24, the Spurs secure a record of .500 or better for the 18th consecutive season. Tim Duncan—10 points, six rebounds, six assists, three blocks and a steal in 22 minutes—has been there for every one of them.
6. Kyrie Irving scored 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting and LeBron James tallied 21 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds, three steals and a block as the Cleveland Cavaliers took out the Orlando Magic 123-108. Victor Oladipo had 25 points and seven assists, Tobias Harris tallied 24 points and eight rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic tallied 22 points and 15 boards, but Orlando ultimately fell short.
Cleveland has won four in a row, including three straight on the road.
7. Irving’s 33 points are the most of any player to shoot at least 80 percent from the field since Blake Griffin on March 10, 2014. The last perimeter player to do it was Gordon Hayward on January 7, 2014.
8. Anthony Davis went off for 36 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, nine blocks and a steal, but the New Orleans Pelicans fell apart late in a 118-111 double-overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets. Will Barton stepped up for Denver with 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal, while Tyreke Evans finished with 25 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and two blocks for New Orleans.
Denver has won four straight games and six of eight since firing Brian Shaw.
9. Davis has two games with at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in 2014-15. No one else has done it a single time.
10. Eric Bledsoe was explosive, putting up 21 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and two steals to help the Phoenix Suns get past the New York Knicks 102-89. Andrea Bargnani and Alexey Shved both scored 18 points for the Knicks, while Marcus Morris had 20 points and Brandan Wright put up 18 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-8 shooting for the Suns.
New York has lost seven of its past eight games.
Bonus Fact: Blake Griffin had 11 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block in his first game back for the Clippers. Griffin had missed the past 15 games.