Annihilation Nation: Led by Chris Paul’s 20 points (9 of 12) and 14 dimes, the Los Angeles Clippers destroyed the visiting Detroit Pistons by a margin of 32 points with ease. The Pistons, after witnessing the death of Brandon Knight, were never the same, as they returned in the second half without any answers on either side of the floor. Blake Griffin racked up 22 points and snagged 8 rebounds in just 21 minutes of play. He also crossed some dudes up.
Rolling Thunder: The Oklahoma City Thunder have won 5 straight in the victory over the Boston Celtics. The C’s kept it close for the most parts of this game, but OKC held them to 14 points in the 4th quarter and only 34 points in the second half on 25 percent shooting to come out on top. Kevin Durant led the way with 23 points (6 of 16), and 11 boards. Russell Westbrook added 15 on 5 of 11 shooting. It was all Paul Pierce for the men in green, as he goes for 20 points (6 of 12), 4 rebounds and 6 assists to end Boston’s 5 game winning streak.
L.A. Quest: With the win against the injury depleted Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon, the Lakers have clinched the eighth spot and still has an opportunity to move up in the seeding if they can continue to win. The Bulls struggled to hit anything from the field, shooting 37 percent. While the Lakers hit their shots at a 45 percent clip. Kobe Bryant has returned to Earth with 19 points (7 of 16), 7 rebounds and 9 dimes. Dwight Howard dominated the glass with 21 boards to go with his 16 points (8 of 14).
Hive Buzz: Down 2 with 15 seconds left to play, Damian Lillard hits a huge three to give his Portland Trail Blazers, a one point lead in the remaining 11 seconds. But to their demise, Ryan Anderson of the Hornets would come up even bigger, completing a game winning three point play to snap a three game losing streak. Lillard would end up with 20 points (9 of 16) and 8 assists, while Anderson finishes with 20 points (7 of 15) and 13 rebounds.
Antler Attack: In the absence of Ersan Illyasova and Larry Sanders, the shorthanded Bucks made a late run to pull out with the victory against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings had it going early with DeMarcus Cousins going for 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting and 10 boards before getting ejected for a flagrant elbow to the head of Mike Dunleavy Jr. Without their scoring punch, Sacramento had no defense to fall back on, as they watch the Bucks creep from behind to take the W. Monta Ellis had 29 points on 24 shots and 9 assists.
A Few Notes: The Miami Heat improves to 18 in a row in the assassination of the Indiana Pacers to become the 9th team in NBA history to accomplish such a feat. In a special game like this, of course you would expect a big game from the Big 3, but nope. It was Mario Chlamers that scored a game-high 26 points, shot 5 of 6 from fown town and snagged 7 boards. Chris Bosh chipped in for 24 points, Dwyane added another 23. David West of the Pacers had 24 points on 7 of 10 shooting and 5 rebounds in the loss.
The Raptors without Rudy Gay, came back from 17 down to take out the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cav’s’ star, Kyrie Irving left the game in the third quarter after suffering a left shoulder contusion in the collision with Jonas Valaciunas. Amir Johnson stepped up for 17 points (8 of 19), and 16 boards in the place of Rudy. With a one point lead in less than 20 seconds to play, Kyle Lowry hits the toughest 2 points of his total 15 to seal the win. He also finished with 9 rebounds and 5 dimes.
K-L-O-E.
Fantasy Shoutouts: Vince Carter turned the clock back with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting and 9 boards in the Dallas victory over the miserable Minnesota Timberwolves, who has now lost 8 of their last 9 games and remains the worst three point shooting team in the league.
In his return to Philadelphia, Nikola Vucevic went for 14 points (7 of 13) and 17 rebounds to show his former team what they missed out on. His fellow Orlando Magic teammate, Jameer Nelson had 24 points (9 of 17), 5 rebounds and 10 assists in the win. Sixers’ Thaddeus Young led his team with 26 points (13 of 17), 12 boards and 5 steals.
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