After acquiring two marquee players (Paul George and Carmelo Anthony) in the off-season, the Thunder remain out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference. James Harden continues to make his case for league MVP. With a victory over the Celtics, the Bulls have now won three straight to double their season total to six. Kevin Durant got it done again versus the Trail Blazers.
Rockets (21-4) defeat Pelicans (14-14) - 130-23
The Rockets had an impressive first quarter, scoring 35 points on 59.1 percent shooting. But the Pelicans were even better; New Orleans knocked down 72.7 percent of their shots for 41 points.
E'Twaun Moore and DeMarcus Cousins each dropped 13 points in the opening frame. The two teams continued to score at a high clip in the second. Eric Gordan and Clint Capella combined for 40 points in the first half to help the Rockets to a 78-76 lead.
The Pelicans continued to knock down shots in the third quarter, but Houston failed to keep up. Jrue Holiday scored 12 points to boost New Orleans to a 103-96 lead. But the Rockets turned their offense back on in the fourth. With 3:31 left in the game, the Pelicans were up 119-117 when James Harden went on a personal 12-2 run to drop the mic on the game. Harden finished with 26 points and 17 assists. Holiday had a game-high 37 points for New Orleans.
Hornets (10-16) defeat Thunder (12-14) - 116-103
Paul George sat out the two previous games for Oklahoma City with a calf injury, but came back against the Hornets to score 10 first quarter points. While Charlotte held a 34-26 lead after one, the Thunder battled back in the second to tie the game 52-52. George had 15 points in the first half, while Russell Westbrook added 11 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
Charlotte put on their Superman cape at halftime to take over the game. The Hornets outscored Oklahoma City 40-22 in the third to build an 18-point lead. The Thunder would never get any closer than 11 in the final quarter. Dwight Howard led the Hornets with 23 points and seven rebounds. Westbrook had 30 points, seven assists, and this savage dunk.
Warriors (22-6) defeat Trail Blazers (13-13) - 111-104
In the two games that the Warriors have played without Steph Curry, Kevin Durant has averaged 35.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists. Against the Trail Blazers, Durant poured in 17 points on 7-11 shooting as Golden State jumped out to a 60-47 halftime lead. The Warriors' 13-point lead swelled to 18 in the third quarter behind nine more points from Durant.
Portland star Damian Lillard did everything possible to get the Trail Blazers back in the game. His nine points helped spark an 18-8 run to slash the deficit to eight halfway through the fourth quarter. But Portland wouldn't get any closer than that before a final bucket at the buzzer made it a seven-point game.
Durant led the Warriors with 28 points and nine rebounds. Lillard had a game-high 39 points.
Bulls (6-20) defeat Celtics (23-6) - 108-85
Despite Celtics' star Kyrie Irving sitting out with a quad contusion, Boston held a one-point lead after one. Marcus Smart, starting in place of Irving, knocked down three three-pointers for nine early points. While the Bulls are dead last in the Eastern Conference, they came out in the second quarter and dominated the first-place Celtics to the tune of 28-13.
Chicago nudged their 14-point halftime lead up one in the third quarter, but in the fourth, the Bulls rained down buckets on the Celtics. Chicago dumped 30 points on Boston to secure the 23-point victory and earn the highlight of their season.
Nikola Mirotic led the Bulls with 24 points and eight rebounds.
Clippers (10-15) defeat Raptors (17-8) - 96-91
The Raptors raced out to a 30-19 lead in the first quarter, but the Clippers fought back in the second, reducing the deficit to two at halftime. Jonas Valanciunas led Toronto with 17 points on perfect shooting in the first half; he was 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from the charity stripe. With Kyle Lowry (4-13) struggling from the field, the Raptors were just up four points by the end of the third.
Los Angeles tied the score at the 8:51 mark, but didn't take their first lead until Austin Rivers made a layup with 3:22 remaining. The Raptors got back within one on a Lowry bucket and foul with 53 seconds left, but Milos Teodosic answered by drilling a three to put the game out-of-reach.
Heat (13-13) defeat Grizzlies (8-19) - 107-82
The Grizzlies had lost 14 of 15 prior to this game, but managed to take a two-point lead after the first quarter. Memphis extended that number to seven early in the second; however, Miami went on a 9-0 run to jump ahead. The Heat's three-point lead at halftime grew to ten in the third quarter. The Grizzlies' offense struggled to manufacture points all night (38.9 percent shooting), and a 13-3 Miami run in the fourth put the game away. Goran Dragic had 19 points to lead the Heat.
