NBA
December 31, 2016

Post Up: 52

Pacers 111 (16-18), Bulls 101 (16-17)

The Pacers snapped their four-game losing streak thanks to 32 points from Paul George and 17 assists from Jeff Teague. Though the Bulls tied the game late in the fourth, Indy led the whole way. They opened the game with a 20-8 lead. Jimmy Butler scored 25 and Dwyane Wade added 20.

Wizards 118 (16-16), Nets 95 (8-24)

Right from the first quarter, John Wall seemed like he was out to embarrass the Nets. He finished with 19 points and 14 assists and a whole lotta highlight plays. He set up Trey Burke numerous times, who filled in for the injured Bradley Beal. Burke scored a season-best 27. Marcin Gortat had 19 and 13 rebounds and Jason Smith, Otto Porter and Markieff Morris all scored in double-figures. The Wizards had more rebounds, assists, steals and blocks than the Nets and shot 56% from the floor.

Celtics 117 (20-14), Heat 114 (10-24)

Isaiah Thomas just locked up an All-Star spot for himself. His 52 points tonight is the third most in the Celtics storied history. Only Larry Bird (60 in 1985 and 53 in 1983) and Kevin McHale (56 in 1985) have scored more. And the only other Celtics besides those three to score 50 or more are Sam Jones and Paul Pierce. Thomas also tied the franchise record for most three-pointers in one game. He joined Antoine Walker with 9 three-balls. And for good measure, only Wilt Chamberlain has scored more in a fourth quarter in NBA history. Wilt had 31 during his 100-point game. Thomas had 29 tonight. This man is FIVE-FEET-EIGHT-INCHES tall.

After the Heat took an 89-84 fourth-quarter lead, Thomas drained five 3-pointers over a stretch of just 3 minutes. The last one gave Boston a 101-93 lead. Wayne Ellington’s layup tied the game at 104 but that’s when IT4 stepped up yet again, making two free-throws, a layup and the dagger three-ball that gave him 50 for the game.

Pelicans 104 (14-21), Knicks 92 (16-16)

The Pelicans used a balance team effort to win their fourth straight game. Anthony Davis had 23 points and 18 rebounds, Tyreke Evans had 16 points, Jrue Holiday had 12 points and 11 assists and three more Pels scored at least 10 points. New Orleans shot 45% for the game and 12-29 from outside. They held the Knicks to just 7-23 three-point shooting.

Rockets 140 (25-9), Clippers 116 (22-13)

James Harden’s seventh triple-double of the season propelled an offensive explosion. The Rockets shot 55% from the floor, made 14 three-pointers and shot 36-43 from the foul line. Harden had 30 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals. Montrezl Harrell (shouts to the fam) had a career-high 29 points. Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverly and Corey Brewer scored in double-figures, too.

The Clippers were without Chris Paul because of a sore hamstring. Then Austin Rivers got ejected, followed shortly by his pops. Raymond Felton scored 26 off the bench. LA has lost five in a row, their longest losing streak since February 2011.

Wolves 116 (11-22), Bucks 99 (15-16)

Andrew Wiggins’ 31 points proved to be the difference in this one. Maple shot an efficient 10-18 and chipped in 5 rebounds and 6 helpers. Zach LaVine hit 6 three-pointers en route to 24 points and Shabazz Muhammad had 22 off the pine. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds. The Wolves led by as much as 19 and Ricky Rubio had 9 of their 30 assists.

Hawks 105 (17-16), Pistons 98 (15-20)

Paul Millsap broke out of his shooting slump to score 26 points on 9-20 shooting. Kyle Korver had 22 as the sixth man. Atlanta had 29 assists on 39 buckets, led by Dennis Schroder and Malcolm Delaney, who each had 7. Even though five Pistons scored at least 12 points–Jon Leuer had 22–they dug themselves a hole by only shooting 37% for the first three quarters.

Spurs 110 (27-6), Blazers 94 (14-21)

Nothing to see here, just the Spurs being the Spurs. Actually, Jonathon Simmons had a pretty crazy 19 points. Juice only had to make 5 field goals for his points. He shot 7-8 from the line in 29 minutes. He got a chance to score because Kawhi Leonard’s dealing with a stomach bug and he missed his second straight game. Danny Green and Tony Parker each scored 18. The Spurs shot 50% from the floor and the three-point line, making their way back from a 13-point first half deficit. CJ McCollum had 29 for Portland. Damian Lillard missed his third straight game with a sprained ankle.

Sixers 124 (8-24), Nuggets 122 (14-19)

If we’re about to get 10 or more years of Joel Embiid against Nikola Jokic, the world should start picking sides right now. The big men had a duel that was crazy even. Embiid had 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Jokic had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. They got into it a few times. Neither was backing down.

This game came down to the wire. 17 lead changes and 15 ties set up a four-point game with 3 seconds left. Embiid fouled Jokic on a three-point attempt. The Joker made the first two and missed the third intentionally. The rebound fell right into Gary Harris’ hands but he couldn’t tie the game.

Warriors 108 (29-5), Mavs 99 (10-24)

Kevin Durant had his first triple-double of the season with 19 points, 11 boards and 10 dimes. Klay Thompson caught fire in the third, allowing the Dubs to blow the game open. Thompson had 29 points for the game, making 5 from downtown. GSW had 31 helpers on 42 baskets. Dallas played hard, but 8-32 from three-point range wasn’t enough to hang with the Dubs. Harrison Barnes had 25 in his return to Oracle.

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