The 2014-15 NBA regular season continued with a bang on Monday, March 16. There was a triple-double from an All-Star, a pair of grind-it-out performances by top contenders against underachievers and a number of big wins for teams in pursuit of a postseason berth.
This is how it all transpired.
1. Klay Thompson scored 26 points and Stephen Curry put up 19 points and nine assists to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Los Angeles Lakers 108-105. Jordan Hill finished with 15 points, 12 rebonds, five assists and three steals for the Lakers, while Draymond Green finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, five steals and a block for the Warriors.
Golden State clinches a spot in the playoffs with this win.
2. Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll stepped up to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 110-103 victory over DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings. Teague scored a game-high 23 points, Millsap had 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a block, and Carroll put up 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Hawks. Cousins tallied 20 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals for the Kings.
Atlanta and Golden state share the league lead at 53 wins.
3. Dwyane Wade went off for 32 points and five steals on 13-of-18 shooting as the Miami Heat picked up a commanding 106-92 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Goran Dragic added 20 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals for Miami, while LeBron James scored 26 points and Kyrie Irving had 21 for Cleveland.
Wade has two 30-point performances games against James and the Cavaliers in 2014-15. He has two 30-point games against the rest of the NBA.
4. Bradley Beal scored 23 points and John Wall went off for 21 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals to give the Washington Wizards a critical 105-97 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, but all five starters scored in double-figures for the Wizards.
Washington has won four consecutive games and five straight at home.
5. Kyle Lowry took over with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals on 7-of-13 shooting to lead the Toronto Raptors past the Indiana Pacers 117-98. Louis Williams scored a game-high 24 points and DeMar DeRozan added 22 points for the Raptors, while George Hill scored 23 points and Rodney Stuckey had 20 for the Pacers.
Indiana has lost consecutive games for the first time since January 23.
6. Chandler Parsons scored 31 points and Rajon Rondo finished with 11 points and 13 assists as the Dallas Mavericks out-dueled the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-115. Russell Westbrook had 24 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds and four steals, and Enes Kanter dropped 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder in a losing effort.
This was just Rondo’s third double-double in 33 games with the Mavericks. He had nine in 22 games with the Boston Celtics.
7. Zach Randolph took over with 21 points and 14 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies outmuscled and shut down the rising Denver Nuggets 92-81. Denver shot just 37.0 percent from the field and 61.9 percent from the charity stripe, while Memphis went 24-of-28 from the free throw line in this grind-it-out game.
Denver had won four in a row entering this game.
8. The Brooklyn Nets shot 57.8 percent from the field in a 122-106 blowout of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Joe Johnson led the charge with 22 points and rookie Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 for the Nets, while Kevin Martin scored 23 points and Zach LaVine put up 20 for the Timberwolves.
Brooklyn scored a franchise record 78 points in the paint.
9. Rodney Hood put up a career-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field as the Utah Jazz demolished the Charlotte Hornets 94-66. Rudy Gobert pulled down 22 points to complement Hood, who set a new career-high in scoring for the third time in four games.
Utah has quietly won six consecutive games, as well as 13 of its past 16 outings.
10. Engaged in a tight race for the playoffs, Tyler Zeller erupted for 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting as the Boston Celtics secured a vital 108-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Avery Bradley put up 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals for the Celtics, while Nerlens Noel led the 76ers with 18 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block
Boston has won five straight games.
Bonus Fact: If the season ended today and only the Top 8 teams by winning percentage made the playoffs, only one Eastern Conference team would qualify: the Hawks. One team.