Six games last night as things slowly begin returning to normal in the NBA.
Six more on tap tonight …
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Chicago Bulls 106
Indiana Pacers 115 (OT)
Victor Oladipo returned to the Indiana Pacers’ lineup and not a moment too soon. His numbers weren’t anything magnanimous (nine points, two rebounds, four assists on 25 percent shooting), but he hit the shot when the team needed it the most, hitting a game-preserving three pointers with 10 seconds remaining in regulation to send it to overtime, where Indiana won it, 15-6. Domantas Sabonis had his 37th double double of the season and Indiana was seven of 37 from downtown, but made three of its last four in the waning moments of the game, including Oladipo’s.
| BULLS (19-31) 9th in the East | PACERS (31-17) 5th in the East |
| Chandler Hutchison 21 points – three rebounds – two assists – one steal – one block | T.J. Warren 25 points – four rebounds – one assist – two steals |
| Zach LaVine 20 points – four rebounds – nine assists – one steal | Domantas Sabonis 15 points – 11 rebounds – five assists |
| Thaddeus Young 16 points – two rebounds – two assists – one steal | Malcolm Brogdon 15 points – eight rebounds – nine assists – three steals |
NEXT GAMES
Bulls at Nets – Friday
Knicks at Pacers – Saturday
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Detroit Pistons 115
Brooklyn Nets 125
After playing to a near dead heat in the first half, the Brooklyn Nets broke it open in the third and fourth quarters little by little to take the 10 point win last night in Brooklyn. Spencer Dinwiddie may have changed his number from 8 to 26 out of deference to Kobe Bryant, but his play hasn’t changed. Dinwiddie remains one of the most consistent and optimistic thing about the Nets, and led them to their win against Detroit last night. Reggie Jackson has led the Pistons for the second game in a row.
| PISTONS (17-32) 10th in the East | NETS (20-26) 8th in the East |
| Reggie Jackson 23 points – three rebounds – five assists – one block | Spencer Dinwiddie 28 points – three rebounds – six assists |
| Derrick Rose 22 points – six rebounds – five assists | Taurean Prince 22 points – seven rebounds – one assist – four steals |
| Christian Wood 20 points – eight rebounds – one assist – two steals | Kyrie Irving 20 points – five rebounds – five assists – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Bulls at Nets – Friday
Raptors at Pistons – Friday
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Memphis Grizzlies 127
New York Knicks 106
The Grizzlies are on fire, having won their fourth consecutive game last night in New York. After playing to a 32-32 tie through one, the Grizzlies romped through Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks’ lineup. They outscored New York by seven, then five, and finally by nine to take the 21 point win from the Knicks, in a game that featured three ejections. It’s the first time the Grizzlies have been at the .500 mark in over 13 months.
| GRIZZLIES (24-24) 8th in the West | KNICKS (13-36) 14th in the East |
| Dillon Brooks 27 points – two rebounds | Marcus Morris 17 points – six rebounds – one steal – one block |
| Jae Crowder 18 points – seven rebounds – two assists – one steal | Julius Randle 16 points – 14 rebounds – six assists |
| Ja Morant 18 points – three rebounds – 10 assists – two steals – one block | Elfrid Payton 15 points – seven rebounds – 11 assists – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Grizzlies at Pelicans – Friday
Knicks at Cavaliers – Saturday
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Utah Jazz 120
San Antonio Spurs 127
The San Antonio Spurs snapped their three game losing streak last night at the expense of the surging Utah Jazz, who fell flat in a critical first quarter and failed to respond defensively throughout all of the second half. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 of his season high 38 points in the second half, including going three of four from the line in the final moments of the game, a place he failed in the Spurs’ previous game.
| JAZZ (32-15) 4th in the West | SPURS (21-26) 9th in the West |
| Donovan Mitchell 31 points – one rebound – four assists – one steal | DeMar DeRozan 38 points – five rebounds – five assists |
| Jordan Clarkson 20 points – two rebounds – two steals | Patty Mills 18 points – two steals |
| Rudy Gobert 17 points – 19 rebounds | Dejounte Murray 16 points – three rebounds – four assists – three steals – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Jazz at Nuggets – Tonight
Hornets at Spurs – Saturday
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Houston Rockets 112
Portland Trailblazers 125
The Portland Trailblazers pounced on the Houston Rockets in the second quarter last night, 41-24, and the Rockets never responded or recovered, dropping to their 18th loss, their second this week. This despite another stellar performance from Russell Westbrook, who led all scorers with 39 points, 10 rebounds and missing another triple double by four assists. Damian Lillard did get the triple double, with 36, 10 and 11 on the night and Trevor Ariza has resurrected his career in Portland, netting 21 points in the win.
| ROCKETS (29-18) 6th in the West | BLAZERS (21-27) 10th in the West |
| Russell Westbrook 39 points – 10 rebounds – six assists – two steals – one block | Damian Lillard 36 points – 10 rebounds – 11 assists – one steal |
| James Harden 18 points – five rebounds – four assists – two steals – two blocks | C.J. McCollum 22 points – five rebounds – three assists – two steals – two blocks |
| Austin Rivers 17 points – three rebounds – one steal | Trevor Ariza 21 points – four rebounds – one assist – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Mavericks at Rockets – Friday
Blazers at Lakers – Friday
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Oklahoma City Thunder 120
Sacramento Kings 100
A Thunder-ous first half of scoring and defense by the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road handed them an easy win against Luke Walton’s Sacramento Kings last night. Though the Thunder play each game in its own rite, their eyes are on the backs of former teammate Russell Westbrook and the Houston Rockets as the close the gap on the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City is just one game and .25 percentage points behind Houston after the Rockets dropped one to the Blazers last night. It was the Thunder’s sixth consecutive win on the road, where they are 13-3 since the beginning of December.
| THUNDER (29-20) 7th in the West | KINGS (17-30) 13th in the West |
| Dennis Schroder 24 points – four rebounds – nine assists – one steal | Bogdan Bogdanovic 23 points – five rebounds – two assists – one steal |
| Luguentz Dort 23 points – three rebounds – one steal – one block | De’Aaron Fox 19 points – five rebounds – one assist – two steals |
| Danilo Gallinari 19 points – four rebounds – four assists | Buddy Hield 13 points – two rebounds – two assists |
NEXT GAMES
Kings at Clippers – Tonight
Thunder at Suns – Friday
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THURSDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern Standard Time)
| 7 p.m. Toronto Raptors Cleveland Cavaliers Fox Sports Ohio | 7 p.m. Charlotte Hornets Washington Wizards NBC Sports Washington | 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia 76ers Atlanta Hawks NBC Sports Philadelphia |
| 8 p.m. Golden State Warriors Boston Celtics TNT | 10:30 p.m. Utah Jazz Denver Nuggets TNT | 10:30 p.m. Sacramento Kings Los Angeles Clippers NBC Sports California |
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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, and Oklahoma City.
A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in Tennessee.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
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