Last night, Ben Simmons helped hold another L.A. team in check, Zion Williamson had a career night against Portland, and James Harden and Russell Westbrook doubled down to end the Celtics' seven game win streak.
Los Angeles Clippers 103 Philadelphia 76ers 110
If the Philadelphia 76ers end up meeting either of the L.A. teams in the NBA Finals, they have a fighting chance of being an NBA Champion. The Sixers are 1-0 thus far against each of the L.A. teams, both games at Wells Fargo. But there’s a lot of work to be done before that happens. Last night the Sixers mastered the Clippers with an impressive triple double from Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid matched Simmons’ point output, and #VFL Josh Richardson has bounced back nicely from his injury. Kawhi Leonard led all scorers, but Paul George shot only 20 percent on the night and Marcus Morris had 13 points in his second game as a Clipper, shooting 41.7 percent on the night. Neither team plays like they did last night consistently, which gives hope to both sides, especially for the Sixers to build on.
CLIPPERS (37-17) 3rd in the West
SIXERS (34-21) 5th in the East
Kawhi Leonard 30 points – four rebounds – nine assists – one steal – two blocks
Ben Simmons 26 points – 12 rebounds – 10 assists – one steal
Landry Shamet 19 points – one rebound
Joel Embiid 26 points – nine rebounds – two assists – one block
Marcus Morris 13 points – five rebounds – one assist – one block
#VFL Josh Richardson 21 points – five rebounds – two assists – one block
NEXT GAMES Los Angeles at Boston – Thursday Brooklyn at Philadelphia – Thursday, February 20th
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Chicago Bulls 114 Washington Wizards 126
Just a week ago, the Chicago Bulls had inched up to ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, begging the question: Do you want to make the playoffs and get a moderate pick in a draft that gets weaker after the first three picks or should Zach LaVine come up with a nagging hip injury that drops your record and leads you to chose James Wiseman in the draft? After watching last night’s game, I’m leaning toward Wiseman, though LaVine was far from a hip pointer at a game leading 41 points and nine rebounds. He didn’t get as much assistance, though, as the Wizards gave Bradley Beal. Head coach Scott Brooks got double digit scoring out of seven of his players, a 10 point run in the first quarter, and an 11 point run in the third to seal the 12 point win.
BULLS (19-36) 10th in the East
WIZARDS (19-33) 9th in the East
Zach LaVine 41 points – nine rebounds – four assists – two steals
Bradley Beal 30 points – four rebounds – seven assists – one steal
Tomas Satoransky 19 points – two rebounds – eight assists
Rui Hachimura 20 points – four rebounds – three assists – two steal – two blocks
Coby White 14 points – five rebounds – seven assists – four steals
Ian Mahinmi 15 points – six rebounds
NEXT GAMES Washington at New York – Tonight Cleveland at Chicago – Thursday, February 20th
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Portland Trailblazers 117 New Orleans Pelicans 138
Only 1.5 games separate the Portland Trailblazers and the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference standings, as both teams make a push for a spot in the postseason. The Pelicans seem to want it a little bit more as they blew out the Blazers and are tied with the San Antonio Spurs right behind Portland. Last night was the game people have been waiting for with Zion Williamson having his career best night, the Pelicans having a 41-21 third quarter, and the Pelicans still having that voodoo curse over the Blazers that dates back to the Pels bouncing Portland out of the playoffs two seasons ago. New Orleans’ defense limited Portland’s backcourt to just 40 points, an average that Damian Lillard was having on his own the last 15 games.
TRAILBLAZERS (25-30) 9th in the West
PELICANS (23-31) 11th in the West
Damian Lillard 20 points – five rebounds – six assists
Zion Williamson 31 points – nine rebounds – five assists – one steal
C.J. McCollum 20 points – one rebound – three assists
J.J. Redick 20 points – two rebounds – two assists
Carmelo Anthony 18 points – one rebound – one assist – one steal
Josh Hart 17 points – six rebounds – three assists – one steal
NEXT GAMES Portland at Memphis – Tonight Oklahoma City at New Orleans – Thursday
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San Antonio Spurs 114 Oklahoma City Thunder 106
If the Oklahoma City Thunder had a better showing in the first quarter, we might be talking about a different storyline here. But San Antonio outscored the Thunder 25-14 in the opening period, and kept them at bay with a six point margin in the fourth quarter to steal a win at Chesapeake Energy Arena last night, and hold off the New Orleans Pelicans from advancing to the 10th spot outright. LaMarcus Aldridge and Dejounte Murray combined for 50 points in the absence of DeMar DeRozan, who sat again with back spasms and now has the All Star break to mend.
SPURS (23-31) 10th in the West
THUNDER (32-22) 6th in the West
LaMarcus Aldridge 25 points – 14 rebounds – three assists – one steal – one block
Chris Paul 31 points – two rebounds – seven assists – one steal – one block
Dejounte Murray 25 points – nine rebounds – three assists – one steal
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 17 points – five rebounds – two rebounds – one steal
Patty Mills 20 points
Danilo Gallinari 15 points – eight rebounds – three assists – one steal
NEXT GAMES Oklahoma City at New Orleans – Thursday San Antonio at Utah – Friday, February 21st
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Boston Celtics 105 Houston Rockets 116
A lethargic third quarter cost the Boston Celtics last night in Houston, where the Rockets took advantage and went to the line 17 more times than the Celtics, ensuring the Houston win, as the Rockets went 88 percent from the line on the night and had four fewer turnovers than Boston. James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined for 78 points, 18 rebounds, 12 assists, and three steals to vanquish the Celtics’ seven game win streak. Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum were only able to muster 54, with Brown and Tatum unable to match even Westbrook’s output. Robert Covington finished with 12 and seven in his fourth game as a Houston Rocket.
CELTICS (37-16) 3rd in the East
ROCKETS (34-20) 5th in the West
Gordon Hayward 20 points – eight rebounds – six assists – one block
James Harden 42 points – eight rebounds – seven assists – one steal – one block
Jaylen Brown 19 points – three rebounds – one assist – one steal – one block
Russell Westbrook 36 points – 10 rebounds – five assists – two steals
Jayson Tatum 15 points – nine rebounds – four assists – four steals – one block
Danuel House, Jr. 17 points – nine rebounds – one assist
NEXT GAMES Los Angeles at Boston – Thursday Houston at Golden State – Thursday, February 20th
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WEDNESDAY’S LINEUP (All Times Eastern Standard Time)
7 p.m. Atlanta Hawks Cleveland Cavaliers Fox Sports Ohio
7 p.m. Detroit Pistons Orlando Magic Fox Sports Detroit
7:30 p.m. Milwaukee Bucks Indiana Pacers ESPN
7:30 p.m. Toronto Raptors Brooklyn Nets YES
7:30 p.m. Washington Wizards New York Knicks NBC Sports Washington
8 p.m. Charlotte Hornets Minnesota Timberwolves Fox Sports Southeast
8 p.m. Portland Trailblazers Memphis Grizzlies Fox Sports Southeast
8:30 p.m. Sacramento Kings Dallas Mavericks NBC Sports California
9 p.m. Golden State Warriors Phoenix Suns NBC Sports California
9 p.m. Miami Heat Utah Jazz AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
10 p.m. Los Angeles Lakers Denver Nuggets ESPN
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Tracy Graven is a Senior NBA Analyst for BackSportsPage.com. He has written the NBA, and done NBA radio, for the last two decades for HoopsWorld, Swish Magazine, and HoopsHype, the Coach Scott Fields Show and NBARadioShow.com, and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and will be pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage. He’s spent 20 years in locker rooms in
Orlando
Boise (G League)
San Antonio
Phoenix
Denver
Oklahoma City
Atlanta
A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in SEC Country near Knoxville, Tennessee. Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
