On a sunday that was full of NBA games from as early as 1pm eastern all the way until the night cap at 9:30 eastern there were some moments to be made. Check out the recap of the games the NBA had to offer its fans.
San Antonio Spurs at Boston Celtics. Spurs beat Celtics 111-89.
With Coach Gregg Popovich returning after missing the last 2 games due to a medical procedure, the San Antonio Spurs Pulled away late to defeat the Celtics.
Spurs were led by shooting guard Danny Green with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists with 3 steals, Boris Diaw had 15 with 7 rebounds and Tim Duncan had 14 points with 8 rebounds as well. They got a surprising 13 point and 5 rebound performance from 6-foot-10 reserve center, Aron Baynes. Kawhi Leonard had 12 points with 6 rebounds.
Celtics had a lead at halftime but the Spurs did what the Spurs do best and held Boston in check. Jeff Green lead Boston with 16 points and Avery Bradley had 11 points, the only 2 Celtics in double-figures. Evan Turner came off the bench to contribute 12 points with 4 rebounds. Brandon Bass had 10 points and Marcus Thornton had 10 points as well.
San Antonio Spurs are 12-4. Boston Celtics are 4-10.
Full game highlights, courtesy ESPN.
Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets. Bulls beat Nets 102-84.
An almost completely healthy Bulls team came into Brooklyn and took over for the night, held a lead from the tip and never relinquished it. All 5 starters for Chicago were positive in the +/- and they were lead by a big 26 points from Jimmy Butler. He had 26, 5 assists and shot 11-13 from the charity stripe. Pau Gasol had 25 points with 13 rebounds and Derrick Rose had 14 points with 6 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to score 12 points with 12 rebounds and Aaron Brooks had 11 points.
The Rookie Bojan Bogdanovic had 13 points and 5 rebounds on the night for the Nets. Brook Lopez had 11 points and Deron Williams had 10 points on 3-12 shooting. Jarret Jack came off the bench to score 12 points. The Nets shot 37% compared to the Bulls 49%. Chicago Bulls are 11-6. Brooklyn Nets are 6-9. Full game highlights, courtesy ESPN.
Golden State Warriors at Detroit Pistons. Warriors beat Pistons 104-93.
Stephen Curry left the game due to an small tweak to his ankle that may not be too serious, but he managed to help his team get a big lead in the second quarter and they finished off strong without Curry. Curry finished the game with 16 points and 10 assists, Klay Thompson had 15 points. Draymond Green had 20 points with 6 rebounds. Shaun Livingston had 12 points with 4 rebounds and Marreese Speights continued his great play off the bench with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope lead the Pistons with 23 points and 4 rebounds and Brandon Jennings had 22 points with 6 assists in his return back to the lineup after a thumb injury. Josh Smith had 14 points with 12 assists and the lineup shifted a little bit when they put Kyle Singler in the line up and benched Greg Monroe who had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Golden State Warriors are 14-2. Detroit Pistons are 3-14.
Full game highlights, courtesy ESPN.
Memphis Grizzlies at Sacramento Kings. Grizzlies, NBA’s best beat Kings 97-85.
In the first game between the two teams since that wonderful finish at the rim for Grizzlies guard Courtney Lee, the Grizzlies this time went to Sacramento and there was no doubt who would win.
Grizzlies were lead by all 5 started who scored in double-figures. Zach Randolph had 22 points with 12 rebounds and front court partner, Marc Gasol, had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Tony Allen had 13 points, Mike Conley had 10 points and 6 assists and Lee, the hero from their last match-up had 11 points.
Rudy Gay lead the Kings who were without DeMarcus Cousins for the second straight game. He had 20 points on the night and Ben McLemore put up 18 points. Darren Collison had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. The star for the Kings on the night was Reggie Evans who had 17 points and 20 rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies are 15-2. Sacramento Kings are 9-8.
Full Game Higlights
Miami Heat at New York Knicks. Heat beat Knicks 86-79.
The returns of 2 former All-stars, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony to their respective teams made this match-up in MSG a very interesting one. Wade lead the way for his Heat team with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists but he did have 7 turnovers, half of Miami’s total for the night. 20 points and 9 rebounds from Chris Bosh who’s been playing fantastic all season long without LeBron James on the team anymore. Luol Deng had 10 points and 10 rebounds but went 2-11 shooting on the night.
Carmelo Anthony returned to the Knicks lineup and had a strong performance with scoring 31 points and 8 rebounds on the night. He sparked several runs throughout the night but couldn’t help his team enough as they struggled to get anyone going outside of the most expensive bench player in the league. Amar’e Stoudemire scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on the night coming off the bench but the efforts of the Knicks most expensive players weren’t enough, not another member of the team scored in double figures and J.R. Smith only played 6 minutes, and didn’t score a single point as he continues to struggle this season. Miami Heat are 9-7. New York Knicks are 4-14. Full game highlights, courtesy ESPN.
Orlando Magic at Phoenix Suns. Magic beat Suns 93-90.
21 points from Tobias Harris who also had 8 rebounds and that led the way for the Magic on the night. Nikola Vucevic also had 18 points with 8 rebounds for the against the Suns. The back-court duo of Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo continues to work for Orland. The 2 guys feed off eachother, with Oladpio being more of a flashy player offensively along with a great perimeter defender and then Fournier can flat out score when called upon. Oladipo had 12 points with 4 assists and Fournier had 15 points with 5 rebounds for the Magic.
Goran Dragic had 22 points with 8 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the way for Phoenix. Markieff Morris had 18 points with 10 rebounds and 7 assists on the night and his brother Marcus had 4 points with 5 rebounds. Eric Bledsoe had 13 points with 6 assists and Miles Plumlee had 12 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.
The man who stole the show though was Gerald Green. It wasn’t because he scored 11 points, but his tenacious slam off the backboard captivated fans everywhere.
Orlando Magic are 7-12. Phoenix Suns are 10-8.
Gerald Green’s insane dunk, courtesy ESPN.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Portland Trail Blazers. Blazers beat T-Wolves 107-93.
One of the best duos in the NBA, LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, had another nice night together. Aldridge had 26 points with 15 rebounds while Lillard had 17 points with 8 assists. Wesley Matthews had 23 points on the night with 6 rebounds and Nicolas Batum, while still struggling to find his shot this season, had 10 points with 8 rebounds.
Another player came off the bench for the T-Wolves and had a big night but this time it was in a loss. Shabazz Muhammad had 28 points with 5 rebounds. Mo Williams had 21 points with 11 assists to lead all starters. Thaddeus Young had 14 points with 5 rebounds and Gorgui Dieng had 11 points with 8 rebounds. Minnesota Timberwolves are 4-11. Portland Trail Blazers are 13-4. Full game highlights, courtesy ESPN.
Toronto Raptors at Los Angeles Lakers. Lakers beat Raptors in overtime, 129-122.
When 7 players score in double-figures, you should win. but when your opposing team had 122 points on the night, most teams lose. The Lakers found a way to win, behind a historic night from Kobe Bryant. Kobe had his 20th triple double of his career when he had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists and he also became the first player in NBA history to score 30,000 points with 6,000 assists in a career. Guess he does pass after-all.
Nick Young came off the bench to score 20 points on the night. Wayne Ellington also came off the bench and scored 10. Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 9 rebounds on the night. Jordan Hill had another double-double on the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Wesley Johnson had 13 points and Jeremy Lin had 11 points on the night.
The Raptors were without DeMar DeRozan as a groin tear will keep him out for an extended amount of time. Kyle Lowry lead the Raptors with 29 points and 9 assists. Terrence Ross scored 20 points with 5 rebounds on the night and Greivis Vasquez, who got the start on the night in place of the injured DeRozan, had 19 points and 5 assists. Louis Williams came off the bench to score 19 points and Patrick Patterson had 10 points and 13 rebounds coming off the bench with Williams.
Toronto Raptors are 13-4. Los Angeles Lakers are 4-13.
Full game highlights, courtesy ESPN.
