The Hangover: Warriors Obliterate Cavs in Cleveland; Clippers Escape In OT

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This is the Hangover. We get basketball-wasted all the time. Yes, we recap the NBA every night in our own way.

(PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Miller/Getty Images.)

Ten games on Martin Luther King Day. Thank goodness for him because now we don’t have to question who gets to play in the NBA.

01/18/2016

THE GAMES

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 113 (5-38) @ NEW YORK KNICKS 119 (21-22) (2OT)

(PHOTO CREDIT: Seth Wenig/AP.)

The Knicks almost choked it all away. It would’ve been kinda hilarious. Just kinda because this Knicks team is actually not hapless like last season.

New York had a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter and that disappeared within minutes. The Sixers had a three-point lead in the waning seconds before Carmelo Anthony sent it to OT with a three with three seconds left in regulation.

In OT, the Knicks had a three-point lead themselves before Robert Covington made a three with seven seconds left in the first OT. They would go for another five minutes and that’s where the Knicks settled down. Melo made a bucket with a minute left to put New York up six and the Sixers were handed with yet another loss.

BEHIND THE LINES
Arron Afflalo (NY): 25 pts, 7 rebs.
Kristaps Porzingis (NY): 16 pts, 12 rebs, 3 blks.
Robin Lopez (NY): 16 pts, 10 rebs.
Nerlens Noel (PHI): 18 pts, 13 rebs, 3 blks.
Jahlil Okafor (PHI): 20 pts, 7 rebs.
Ish Smith (PHI): 16 pts (8/28 FG), 7 rebs, 16 assts.

UTAH JAZZ 119 (18-23) @ CHARLOTTE HORNETS 124 (19-22) (2OT)

This one also went to double OT but what the Jazz couldn’t do was stop Kemba Walker from dancing. Well, playing basketball, too. But the quick-on-his-feet Kemba nearly had a triple-double while scoring a whopping 52 points. It was his two big buckets and multiple free throws in the second OT that put Utah away.

BEHIND THE LINES
Kemba Walker (CHA): 52 pts, 9 rebs, 8 assts.
Rudy Gobert (UTA): 14 pts, 14 rebs.
Gordon Hayward (UTA): 36 pts, 5 rebs, 9 assts.
Trey Burke (UTA): 25 pts.

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS 108 (19-25) @ WASHINGTON WIZARDS 98 (19-21)

The Wizards were beat up from long distance. The Blazers went on a 20-0 run in the third quarter, which included six three-pointers that ripped through the nets in D.C. Portland has won four of their last five games and that loss was somehow against the brutal Sixers in a blowout.

BEHIND THE LINES
C.J. McCollum (POR): 25 pts.
Mason Plumlee (POR): 10 pts, 11 rebs, 7 assts.
Garrett Temple (WAS): 18 pts.
Marcin Gortat (WAS): 16 pts, 13 rebs.

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 99 (13-27) @ MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 101 (24-19)

(PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Dill/AP.)

Balanced scoring (I mean, look at those lines) was the key for Memphis against the Pelicans. New Orleans was also held scoreless for a four-minute period in the fourth. With the Grizzlies clinging to a one-point lead, Courtney Lee made the first foul shot to make it two then missed the second. Luckily for the Grizz, they had Marc Gasol to get the rebound and preserve the Memphis win.

BEHIND THE LINES
Marc Gasol (MEM): 16 pts, 10 rebs, 6 asts.
Jeff Green (MEM): 16 pts, 6 rebs.
Courtney Lee (MEM): 16 pts.
Matt Barnes (MEM): 16 pts.
Mike Conley (MEM): 15 pts, 10 asts.
Jrue Holiday (NO): 23 pts, 9 assts.
Anthony Davis (NO): 21 pts, 8 rebs, 3 blks, 3 stls.

CHICAGO BULLS 111 (24-16) @ DETROIT PISTONS 101 (22-19)

The Bulls were able to escape from the Pistons after a big fourth from Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose. They would account for 14 straight points in the last period, giving the Bulls a double-digit lead and a win from their old rivals. The Pistons should hold more Ben Wallace nights.

BEHIND THE LINES
Pau Gasol (CHI): 31 pts, 12 rebs, 3 blks.
Derrick Rose (CHI): 20 pts.
Ersan Ilyasova (DET): 19 pts, 11 rebs.
Reggie Jackson (DET): 19 pts, 6 assts.
Andre Drummond (DET): 13 pts, 16 rebs.

ORLANDO MAGIC 81 (20-20) @ ATLANTA HAWKS 98 (25-17)

That 7-0 start by the Hawks set the tone for the rest of the contest. The Hawks never trailed in this game as they held Orlando to .345 shooting. And with ATL shooting .513 themselves, it would be tough to lose that game.

Orlando has lost seven of their eight games. Rough.

BEHIND THE LINES
Al Horford (ATL): 15 pts, 7 rebs.
Paul Millsap (ATL): 13 pts, 12 rebs, 6 assts.
Nikola Vucevic (ORL): 10 pts, 11 rebs.
Aaron Gordon (ORL): 18 pts, 7 rebs.

BROOKLYN NETS 100 (11-31) @ TORONTO RAPTORS 112 (26-15)

(PHOTO CREDIT: Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press/AP.)

With Team Canada making a final push for Eastern Conference All-Star starting spots in their home city, both former all-stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan both scored 30+ to make their cases. Raptors had a big fourth quarter to seal the win. By the way, the dinosaurs have won five in a row.

BEHIND THE LINES
DeMar DeRozan (TOR): 30 pts, 5 assts.
Kyle Lowry (TOR): 31 pts, 8 assts, 3 stls.
Brook Lopez (BRK): 29 pts, 10 rebs.
Joe Johnson (BRK): 22 pts, 5 rebs, 7 assts.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 132 (38-4) @ CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 98 (28-11)

We expected this to be a potential candidate for Best Game of the Season. This was like when you expected the Star Wars prequels to be really, really good.

Then Jar Jar Binks came and destroyed everything.

BEHIND THE LINES
Draymond Green (GS): 16 pts, 7 rebs, 10 assts.
Stephen Curry (GS): 35 pts (7/12 3FG), 5 rebs, 3 stls.
Andre Iguodala (GS): 20 pts, 5 assts.
LeBron James (CLE): 16 pts, 5 rebs, 5 assts.

BOSTON CELTICS 113 (22-20) @ DALLAS MAVERICKS 118 (24-19) (OT)

This one also went an extra period after Jae Crowder made three free throws on a Raymond Felton foul with six seconds left in regulation. Then the Mavs reloaded and hit their targets from afar; Deron Williams and Dirk Nowitzki made three three-pointers to make it a seven-point lead in OT. The Mavs would hold on for a big win against an Eastern playoff team.

BEHIND THE LINES
Zaza Pachulia (DAL): 5 pts, 19 rebs.
Deron Williams (DAL): 20 pts, 5 rebs, 6 assts.
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL): 31 pts, 11 rebs.
Marcus Smart (BOS): 20 pts, 8 rebs.
Jared Sullinger (BOS): 12 pts, 11 rebs.
Isaiah Thomas (BOS): 20 pts, 7 assts.

HOUSTON ROCKETS 132 (22-21) @ LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 140 (27-14) (OT)

(PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Gallardo/AP.)

We thought we would get the same movie in this game.

You’re familiar with this plot: one team gets a big lead in the fourth quarter, only for it to disappear because a random rotation player would bring them back with some wild outside shooting.

In this case, the Clippers had a 14-point lead going into the fourth. Then Marcus Thornton would make three-pointers to help the Rockets come back. Thornton would make one more three with seven seconds left in regulation to send the game to OT. Clippers fans panicked for sure.

But three-pointers from J.J. Redick (who had a career night), Chris Paul, and Jamal Crawford put the Rockets away for a twist ending. Redick would score 40 points in a rough game. The Clippers have now won 11 of 12.

BEHIND THE LINES
J.J. Redick (LAC): 40 pts (9/12 3FG).
Chris Paul (LAC): 26 pts, 6 rebs, 12 assts, 6 stls.
DeAndre Jordan (LAC): 16 pts, 15 rebs.
Marcus Thornton (HOU): 23 pts, 5 assts.
Dwight Howard (HOU): 36 pts, 26 rebs.
James Harden (HOU): 20 pts, 8 assts.

GETTING SOCIAL

WATCH THIS PLAY

Go get it, Nerlens Noel.

(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA India.)

Follow Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass for all tweets about the NBA and terrible pop music. Also, check out his podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental.

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