NBA Recap - January 24, 2014
Carmelo Anthony owned the night, setting a franchise and Madison Square Garden record by putting up 62 points against the Bobcats at home. The forward scored on 23 of 35 shooting, made 6 of 11 shots from beyond the arc and also pulled down 13 boards in 39 excellent minutes.
Despite the earlier fandom for Carmelo’s monster night, Anthony did not provide the only highlights in a big night around the league:
- Tobias Harris had been slow out of the gate this season due to an ankle that is not fully healed. Tonight, he shone in the best game of his career to date: 28 points on 9-15 shooting, 20 rebounds and 4 assists. Arron Afflalo and Victor Oladipo also put in 23 points and 15 points and 12 rebounds respectively in the 114-105 win over the Lakers.
- The Raptors got back to .500 on the road in Philadelphia, helped by huge nights from their All-Star caliber backcourt, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Lowry ran the Raptors offence with intelligence and talent, resulting in a triple-double of 18 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds. DeRozan also played a great game, scoring 34 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. He also took over the game in the 4th quarter, scoring 16 points in 5 of 7 shots in the 104-95 win.
- Despite the Spurs being short staffed without Tiago Splitter, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio exemplified team basketball in their win over Atlanta, holding them to under 80 points. Tim Duncan proved that age ain’t nothin but a number by putting up some good numbers of his own: 17 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists on 50% shooting all in 27 minutes. Patty Mills and Boris Diaw both came off the bench to score 18 and 21 points respectively against a depleted Hawks squad.
- The Nets continued their excellent 2014 by holding on to a win over the Mavericks 107-106. It was their ninth win in ten games. Mirza Teletovic emerged from deep within the Brooklyn bench to explode for a career-high 34 points on 67% shooting along with 6 rebounds, 7-11 from beyond the arc and 24 points coming just in the 2nd quarter. Deron Williams and Kevin Garnett also contributed great games. Both notched a double-double; KG coming up with 10 points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes while Deron had 18 points and 11 assists coming off the bench.
- The Grizzlies were able to overcome an outstanding individual performance from the Rockets with an excellent team performance. Five players scored 10 points or more for the Grizzlies while the Rockets leaned on one player. But it wasn’t D12 or the Beard who carried Houston, instead Chandler Parsons took over the game. He scored a career-high 34 points on 11 of 17 shooting, with 4 rebounds. He also matched Kenny Smith’s franchise record of 10 3-pointers made within one half. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome a Memphis defense that is on the rise following Gasol’s return to the lineup as Houston lost 88-87.
- The Kings took the Pacers to overtime without having two of their “Big Three” in the lineup. Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins were both out with injuries but the Kings had the definition of heat check Marcus Thornton rise to the challenge. Thornton dropped 22 points in the first quarter and ended up tying his career-high points with 42, along with 7 3-pointers and 5 rebounds. In a world without Melo, this would be big news. Instead it wasn’t enough as the Pacers won in overtime 116 to 111off the back of high scoring contributions from Paul George (36 points), Lance Stephenson (24 points) and David West (22).
- For the first time this season, Minnesota was able to close out a game decided by four points or less. After 11 clutch losses, Minnesota came up big – or rather Golden State couldn’t get it done, with Harrison Barnes missing on their final possession. The Kevins came up big for Minnesota with first time All-Star starter Kevin Love putting up 26 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists – the last assist coming on the game winner banked in by Kevin Martin. Martin also had 26 points and made all three shots he put up from beyond the arc. The Warriors gave it their all, with fellow first-time All-Star starter Stephen Curry notching 33 points and 15 rebounds but the Timberwolves wisely prevented the final possession from landing in Curry’s hot hands.