The Thunder and 76ers played the game of the season, while James Harden and Chris Paul took it to the San Antonio Spurs. After winning three games all year, the Bulls have now won five straight, and the Grizzlies finally snapped another losing streak. The Nuggets made a second-half comeback versus the Pelicans, and the Raptors destroyed the Nets over the course of 48 minutes.
Thunder (14-14) defeat 76ers (14-14) - 119-117 3OT
Oklahoma City earned a much-needed win over the Pacers on Wednesday (Dec. 13), and the 'Big 3' came to play versus Philly.
Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony combined to shoot 8-12 for 20 points to go up 28-23 after one. Anthony caught the hot hand in the second, dropping 10 points in the quarter to boost the Thunder's lead to 55-47.
The Sixers cut the deficit to four in the third quarter, but got down by 11 with 5:35 in the game. However, the Philly defense clamped down, holding the Thunder scoreless for the remaining of regulation to send the game into overtime. The Sixers had a five-point lead with just over a minute left in the first overtime, but George knocked down a three and Westbrook hit a basket to tie the score.
The two teams traded buckets evenly throughout the second overtime and into the third.
With 1:31 on-the-clock, Joel Embiid tied the game once more making two clutch free throws. But finally, with nine seconds left, Westbrook found Andre Roberson for a game-winning layup. Westbrook had 27 points (10-33 shooting), 18 rebounds, and 15 assists. Embiid led the Sixers with 34 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Rockets (23-4) defeat Spurs (19-10) - 124-109
Despite Kawhi Leonard recently returning to the Spurs' lineup, the Rockets blew the doors off the Spurs. Houston opened the game by going ahead 31-16 and took a 17-point lead into halftime. James Harden and Chris Paul each had 13 points for the Rockets. The game was never close in the second half.
Houston's lead reached 26 before settling at 15. Harden and Paul each finished with 28 points.
Nuggets (16-13) defeat Pelicans (15-15) - 116-111
The Pelicans raced out to a 33-20 lead after one and went by 18 with 1:58 left in the second. But the Nuggets scored the final six points to cut the lead back to 12. Anthony Davis had 16 points and eight rebounds in the first half. Denver came out of halftime and dropped 30 points in the third, but was only able to trim the lead by two.
Down by 10 heading into the fourth, the Nuggets kicked their game into overdrive, outscoring the Pelicans 22-10 to grab the lead with 3:13 remaining. Davis tied the score at the 1:19 mark with a bucket and then New Orleans went ahead on a DeMarcus Cousins free throw.
The two teams traded baskets in the final minute, and a Mason Plumlee dunk with 19 seconds left sent the game into overtime. The score remained close until Nuggets' guard Will Barton knocked down a three-pointer with just under a minute left to give the Denver the lead for good.
Pistons (16-13) defeat Pacers (16-13) - 104-98
The Pistons snapped their seven-game losing Thursday (Dec. 14) night and got off to a strong start against the Pacers. Andre Drummond dominated in the paint early, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds to help Detroit to a 27-19 lead. The Pacers stormed back in the second. Victor Oladipo hit three triples in the final 2:22 of the quarter to put Indiana ahead by two at the break.
Domantas Sabonis also threw one down in the first half.
The game remained close for most of the third quarter, but with 5:28 remaining, the Pistons' two-point lead grew to 12 after an 18-8 run. The Pacers came back again in the fourth to cut the deficit to two with 1:34 left, but Detroit iced the game with four straight free throws. Drummond had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons.
Heat (14-14) defeat Hornets (10-18) - 104-98
The Hornets shot 6-22 (27.3 percent) from the floor in the first quarter and scored just 19 points as they got down by five early. Wayne Ellington came off the Miami bench to score 10 points in the first half to help the Heat nudge their lead to 53-47 at halftime. Charlotte cut the deficit to two points on a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist bucket with 6:25 left in the third, but Miami responded by going on a 13-3 run to go ahead by 12.
The Heat's lead was seven heading into the final quarter and reached 17 at the 7:30 mark. But Kemba Walker poured in 15 points to make it a two-point game with 1:31 remaining. However, Charlotte wouldn't score again. Ellington and Tyler Johnson each had 16 points for Miami. Walker had a game-high 25 points.
Trail Blazers (15-13) defeat Magic (11-19) - 95-88
After a five-game losing streak, the Trail Blazers finally earned a win over Miami on Wednesday (Dec. 13). Portland jumped out to a 24-20 first-quarter lead against Orlando despite 10 points and three rebounds from Magic forward Aaron Gordon. The Trail Blazers drilled 7-13 (53.8 percent) from deep in the first half to push their lead to 50-43 at halftime.
Al-Farouq Aminu led Portland with 11 points.
Damian Lillard scored 13 points in the third as the Trail Blazers' lead pushed to nine. That number grew to 17 in the fourth, but Orlando went on a 12-0 run to slash the deficit to five with 3:04 remaining. But that's as close as the Magic would get. Lillard led Portland with 21 points.
Bulls (8-20) defeat Bucks (15-12) - 115-109
After winning three games all year, the Bulls came into this matchup having won four in a row. Chicago continued to play well in the first quarter against the Bucks. Bobby Portis and David Nwaba came off-the-bench to combine for 17 points to put the Bulls ahead 33-30. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 10 points on powerful drives and stealth moves around the basket in the second to trim the deficit to one heading into halftime.
Milwaukee tied the score in the third, and the game was back-and-forth throughout the fourth quarter. The two teams were tied 104-104 with 3:10 remaining, but Nikola Mirotic scored nine points to finish off the Bucks and secure the Bulls' fifth straight win. Portis led Chicago with 27 points, while Mirotic added 22. Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 16 rebounds.
Wizards (16-13) defeat Clippers (11-16) - 100-91
Lou Williams has been on a tear recently, scoring over 30 points in two of his last three games. But Williams shot 0-4 in the first quarter as the Wizards led 25-18. Los Angeles came back somewhat in the second; Williams scored seven points in the quarter to trim the deficit to five at halftime.
Wizards' reserve Mike Scott scorched the nets in the third, dropping 10 points to give Washington a nine-point lead. The Clippers blitzed the Wizards to start the fourth, going on a 15-4 run to tie the score 79-79. However, Washington answered with a run of their own to push the lead back to double digits before winning by nine. Scott had a team-high 22 points on 9-10 shooting. Williams finished with 23 points, but was just 5-14 from the field.
Jazz (14-15) defeat Celtics (24-7) - 107-95
Jazz center Rudy Gobert has been back five games since returning from an injury, but left the game after apparently hurting his knee in the first quarter. To add insult to injury, Utah got off to a slow start, finding themselves down by five to Boston after one.
But the Jazz turned-the-tables on the Celtics in the second, outscoring Boston 25-13 to take a 46-39 halftime lead. Ricky Rubio led the Jazz with 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Utah continued to play well on-the-road in the third, extending their lead to 12 points. In the final quarter, the Jazz managed to keep any Boston comeback attempt at arm's length. Rubio led Utah with 22 points, while Kyrie Irving had 33 for the Celtics.
Raptors (19-8) defeat Nets (11-17) - 120-87
DeMar DeRozan poured in 12 points in the first quarter as the Raptors took on a commanding 30-20 lead. But Brooklyn answered in the second; Nik Stauskas went on a scoring binge, dropping 12 points in the first 2:34 to briefly give the Nets the lead.
However, DeRozan added eight more points in the quarter as Toronto reclaimed the lead and went up by 14 at halftime.
The Raptors came out and buried Brooklyn in the third. Toronto's lead swelled from 14 points to 27, putting the game completely out-of-reach. DeRozan scored 31 points in the 33-point win.
Grizzlies (9-20) defeat Hawks (6-23) - 96-94
The Grizzlies came into this matchup on a five-game skid and in three of those games haven't passed the 90-point threshold. Again, versus the Hawks, Memphis' offensive woes continued as they scored just 17 points in the first quarter. The Hawks led by four initially and extended that number to seven by halftime behind 11 points from Kent Bazemore.
The Grizzlies finally found their offensive game in the third quarter.
Marc Gasol scored 13 points as Memphis outscored Atlanta 32-26 to make it a one-point game. The Grizzlies tied the score 81-81 with 7:51 left on a Tyreke Evans three-pointer. The score remained tight until the very end. Evans put Memphis ahead by two with just over a minute on the clock and those points were the final ones of the game. Evans had a game-high 22 points.
