Hornets 108 (17-13), Lakers 98 (5-27)
It was Kobe Bryant’s final time playing in Charlotte, against the team that originally drafted him. Hornets owner Michael Jordan even paid him a tribute before tip-off. But even with all the applause and his team-high 20 points, the Black Mamba and the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t get ‘er done. Kemba Walker’s 38 points had a lot to do with that.
Pacers 93 (18-12), Hawks 87 (20-13)
Monta Ellis finished with a season-high 26 points to carry the Indiana Pacers to victory against the visiting Atlanta Hawks. After trailing by 6 points at the end of the opening quarter, Indy outscored ATL 31-13 in the 2Q to take a 12-point halftime lead. The two teams continued to battle in the Eastern conference match-up until the home team prevailed.
Magic 104 (18-13), Pelicans 89 (10-21)
With a season-high 28 points paired with 8 boards and 7 assists, Nikola Vucevic led his Orlando Magic to a W over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans. Evan Fournier added 20 points of his own as the Magic held control of the game against Anthony Davis (20 points) the rest of the squad.
Clippers 108 (19-13), Wizards 91 (14-15)
Chris Paul (23 points, 7 assists) was out there dunking the basketball on Monday night, and so was DeAndre Jordan (15 points, 13 boards), as usual. The Clippers bench finished with 54 points on 19-36 shooting, and L.A. led the entire way against John Wall (23 points, 11 assists) and the Wiz.
Nets 111 (9-22), Heat 105 (18-12)
The Brooklyn Nets headed down to South Beach for their Monday night match-up against the Miami Heat. Brook Lopez and Wayne Ellington (seven 3-pointers) finished with 26 points apiece to lead the Nets to a road victory. For Miami, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade put up 24 points each, but Ellington’s timely triples could not be matched.
Bulls 104 (17-12), Raptors 97 (19-13)
With 22 points coming from Pau Gasol and another 22 points coming from Tony Snell, the Chicago Bulls were able to pull off a home win against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night. Derrick Rose added in another 20, and even with a game-high 28 from Kyle Lowry, the Raps came away with an L.
Mavericks 103 (18-13), Bucks 93 (12-20)
Wesley Matthews finished with 22 points for the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night at home, including a couple clutch 3-balls in the fourth quarter to keep his team ahead of the visiting Milwaukee Bucks. The Mavs led the entire game, but the Bucks managed to tie it in the final period before Matthews sank those successful shots from long range and secured the W.
Also, this was weird:
Spurs 101 (27-6), Timberwolves 95 (11-20)
It was another one of those “close but no cigar” games for Minnesota on Monday night against the Spurs. The Timberwolves managed a 12-point lead at the AT&T Center, and rookie Karl-Anthony Towns even earned his fifteenth double-double of the season. But despite their opponents’ effort, San Antonio remained 18-0 at home.
Cavaliers 101 (20-9), Suns 97 (12-21)
Kyrie Irving drained a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to secure the Cleveland Cavaliers their 20th win of the season. The W came against the shorthanded Phoenix Suns on Monday, as LeBron James became No. 17 on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring List.
Jazz 95 (13-16), Sixers 91 (2-31)
The Utah Jazz took care of the Philadelphia 76ers at home on Monday night, thanks to Gordon Hayward’s 24 points. Three of those points came late in the fourth quarter that helped secure the W over the visiting team. Recenty re-acquired Ish Smith scored 22 points and handed out 11 assists for Philly, but the home team celebrated the win when all was said and done.
Warriors 122 (29-1), Kings 103 (12-19)
After not scoring for the first 21 minutes of the game, Stephen Curry (23 points, 14 boards, 10 assists) went off at the end of the first half as he poured in 17 points in three minutes. By the end of the third quarter, he racked up a triple-double. The Kings, led by Omri Casspi (36 points) were up by three points at halftime before the Golden State Warriors (the team that sank 20 triples this game) outscored their guests 32-14 in the third. Sacramento looked pretty decent early on in the game, but the momentum shifted soon after DeMarcus Cousins was ejected after receiving his second T early in the third quarter.
