Some spectacular performances last night, and I’m not talking about Usher’s ‘Amazing Grace,’ or Boyz II Men, though those were touching in their own rights.
Kyrie Irving went off the charts shooting over 82 percent to net his 54 point performance, and Damian Lillard hit 48 to set new NBA records, while Anthony Davis fueled his performance with love, emotion, and talent to get 37 and 15 in a loss.
Let’s not overlook the New Orleans Pelicans, who had Zion Williamson lead them to his first home win, where Brandon Ingram hasn’t missed a beat, and Lonzo Ball is resurrecting his career, not in his father’s image.
Ten games today, but last night’s seven weren’t anything to have missed.
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Toronto Raptors 105
Detroit Pistons 92
A 60-47 first half burst gave the Toronto Raptors all the advantage and momentum they needed to motor past the Detroit Pistons last night. Pascal Siakam took the wheel with 30 points to lead all scorers, shooting 66.7 percent from the field. Derrick Rose led the Pistons, who’ve lost 33 of 50 this season. Andre Drummond had a 20-20 double-double in the loss. It was Toronto’s 10th straight win and, as a result, head coach Nick Nurse will coach Team Giannis in the All Star Game in Chicago two weeks from now.
| RAPTORS (35-14) 2nd in the East | PISTONS (17-33) 11th in the East |
| Pascal Siakam 30 points – seven rebounds – four assists – one block | Derrick Rose 21 points – three assists |
| Serge Ibaka 21 points – six rebounds – three assists | Andre Drummond 20 points – 20 rebounds – one assist – one steal |
| Fred VanVleet 16 points – eight rebounds – nine assists – two steals | Svi Mykhailiuk 13 points – four rebounds – two assists |
NEXT GAMES
Nuggets at Pistons – Sunday
Bulls at Raptors – Sunday
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Chicago Bulls 118
Brooklyn Nets 133
Kyrie Irving only missed four shots, scored 54 points, the Nets scored at least 30 points in every quarter, including 73 in the first half, to soundly defeat the visiting Chicago Bulls last night. The man they call ‘Uncle Drew’ shot an amazing 82.6 percent from the field in the win, 77.8 from downtown and 90 percent from the free throw line. This is the Kyrie Irving we’ve expected to see in Brooklyn (and Boston before this) and came after sitting out the Nets’ last game due to grieving over the passing of Kobe Bryant. Welcome back, Kyrie.
| BULLS (19-32) 9th in the East | NETS (21-26) 7th in the East |
| Zach LaVine 22 points – two rebounds – eight assists – one steal | Kyrie Irving 54 points – five rebounds – five assists – one steal |
| Luke Kornet 19 points – four rebounds – two assists – one steal – one block | Spencer Dinwiddie 20 points – one rebound – seven assists – one block |
| Tomas Satoransky 15 points – four rebounds – eight assists – one steal – one block | Taurean Prince 16 points – eight rebounds – three assists |
NEXT GAMES
Nets at Wizards – Tonight
Bulls at Raptors – Sunday
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Dallas Mavericks 121
Houston Rockets 128
The Houston Rockets used launches of 35-28 in the first quarter and 36-25 in the third quarter to blast past the Dallas Mavericks for the win, but more importantly, passing the Mavericks for fifth place in the Western Conference in a month that saw the Rockets flagging at best. Of course, Dallas played without Luka Doncic (sprained right ankle), but Houston will take it any way they can get it when it comes to W’s. On a date just a couple days removed from the one year anniversary of Kristaps Porzingis’ trade from the New York Knicks to the Dallas Mavericks, he led the team in scoring with 35 and 12. James Harden returned to leading the Rockets, albeit on 40 percent shooting, as he and Russell Westbrook combined for 67 points in the much needed win. Houston played with a lineup with no player taller than 6’6’.
| MAVERICKS (29-19) 6th in the West | ROCKETS (30-18) 5th in the West |
| Kristaps Porzingis 35 points – 12 rebounds – two steals – one block | James Harden 35 points – 16 rebounds – six assists – four steals |
| Seth Curry 16 points – two rebounds – four assists | Russell Westbrook 32 points – six rebounds – nine assists – three steals |
| Tim Hardaway, Jr. 15 points – three rebounds – four assists | Eric Gordon 17 points – one rebound – four assists – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Hawks at Mavericks – Tonight
Pelicans at Rockets – Sunday
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Memphis Grizzlies 111
New Orleans Pelicans 139
The New Orleans Pelicans utilized a nine point first quarter advantage, a 17 point third quarter advantage, and home court advantage to get Zion Williamson’s first win at Smoothie King Arena under their waistbands over what was a streaking Memphis Grizzlies basketball team. The Grizzlies win streak was stopped at four with the loss. They had won 11 of their last 13 games. Memphis had seven players score in double digits, but New Orleans had eight, and won the battle of the boards running away, 57-34.
| GRIZZLIES (24-25) 8th in the West | PELICANS (20-29) 12th in the West |
| Jonas Valanciunas 18 points – eight rebounds – one steal – four blocks | Zion Williamson 24 points – six rebounds – three assists |
| Ja Morant 16 points – one rebound – three assists | Brandon Ingram 20 points – seven rebounds – four assists – one steal |
| Jae Crowder 15 points – five rebounds – one assist – two steals | Lonzo Ball 19 points – six rebounds – eight assists – one steal |
NEXT GAMES
Pelicans at Rockets – Sunday
Pistons at Grizzlies – Monday
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Denver Nuggets 127
Milwaukee Bucks 115
Milwaukee came out and blasted the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter, providing themselves a 43-35 margin … but they couldn’t score more than 24 points in any quarter after that and the Nuggets dug themselves out by outscoring Milwaukee 92-72 the rest of the way to upset the NBA’s best team last night. Denver had nine players hit double digits, while the Bucks just stayed with their top three. Michael Porter, Jr. continues his evolution into the lineup and hopefully will be a viable piece for the Nuggets in the playoffs where they fell flat last year. Nikola Jokic also had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in the win.
| NUGGETS (34-15) 2nd in the West | BUCKS (41-7) 1st in the East, NBA |
| Will Barton 24 points – seven rebounds – eight assists – one steal | Giannis Antetokuonmpo 31 points – 16 rebounds – nine assists – one steal – two blocks |
| Malik Beasley 16 points – four rebounds – one assist – two steals | Khris Middleton 24 points – two rebounds – nine assists |
| Michael Porter, Jr. 15 points – 11 rebounds – one assist – one steal – two blocks | Eric Bledsoe 15 points – three rebounds – seven assists – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Nuggets at Pistons – Sunday
Suns at Bucks – Sunday
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Oklahoma City Thunder 111
Phoenix Suns 107
The Oklahoma City Thunder have now won seven consecutive games on the road after last night’s win in Phoenix, where Devin Booker didn’t get an All Star nod, but Chris Paul has his first in four years. The Thunder ran off 13 straight in the fourth to turn a seven point deficit into a six point lead. Danilo Gallinari may have led the team in scoring, but it’s Paul’s presence in the Thunder locker room and on the floor that has them at a 30-20 position after 50, and 24-9 since Thanksgiving Day.
| THUNDER (30-20) 7th in the West | SUNS (20-28) 11th in the West |
| Danilo Gallinari 27 points – four rebounds | Kelly Oubre, Jr. 27 points – 11 rebounds – two steals |
| Dennis Schroder 24 points – four rebounds – six assists – two steals | Devin Booker 27 points – three rebounds – five assists |
| Chris Paul 20 points – six rebounds – 10 assists – three steals | Deandre Ayton 16 points – six rebounds – one assist – three blocks |
NEXT GAMES
Suns at Bucks – Sunday
Cavaliers at Thunder – Wednesday
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Portland Trailblazers 127
Los Angeles Lakers 119
On an extremely emotional night in Los Angeles, the Portland Trailblazers fueled their win on emotion and laser like focus to take the game from the Lakers at the Staples Center. While L.A. is firmly entrenched as the No. 1 team in the Western Conference (and in America’s hearts, after the death of the legendary Kobe Bryant), Portland is trying to get to the .500 mark and into the playoff conversation. Damian Lillard, who has scored 30+ in seven straight games, eight of his last 10, and has put up 391 points over his last 10 games. He also hit seven three pointers last night, giving him a total of 40 three pointers over his last five games – an NBA record – and is only the third player with at least six three pointers in five straight games. Carmelo Anthony was too overwhelmed with grief to play last night.
| TRAILBLAZERS (22-27) 9th in the West | LAKERS (36-11) 1st in the West |
| Damian Lillard 48 points – nine rebounds – 10 assists – two steals | Anthony Davis 37 points – 15 rebounds – six assists – one steal – five blocks |
| Hassan Whiteside 30 points – 12 rebounds – two assists – two steals – five blocks | LeBron James 22 points – eight rebounds – 10 assists – one block |
| C.J. McCollum 19 points – six rebounds – five assists | Kyle Kuzma 17 points – 15 rebounds |
NEXT GAMES
Lakers at Kings – Tonight
Jazz at Blazers – Tonight
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SATURDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern Standard Time)
| 3:30 p.m. Minnesota Timberwolves Los Angeles Clippers FSN Prime Ticket | 7 p.m. New York Knicks Indiana Pacers Fox Sports Midwest – Indiana | 7 p.m. Miami Heat Orlando Magic Fox Sports Florida |
| 8 p.m. Golden State Warriors Cleveland Cavaliers NBC Sports California | 8 p.m. Brooklyn Nets Washington Wizards YES | 8:30 p.m. Philadelphia 76ers Boston Celtics ABC |
| 8:30 p.m. Atlanta Hawks Dallas Mavericks Fox Sports Southwest | 9 p.m. Charlotte Hornets San Antonio Spurs Fox Sports Southeast | 10 p.m. Los Angeles Lakers Sacramento Kings NBC Sports California |
| 10:30 p.m. Utah Jazz Portland Trailblazers AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain |
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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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