The Hangover: Curry Beats Wall In Shootout; Durant Hits Game-Winner In Orlando

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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: Rob Carr/Getty Images.)

Busy, busy Wednesday night. And we had a point guard duel for the ages. Check it.

02/03/2016

THE GAMES

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 97 (35-13) @ CHARLOTTE HORNETS 106 (24-25)

(PHOTO CREDIT: Neil Redmond/AP.)

Charlotte took the lead halfway through the third quarter. They outrebounded the Cavs by 21 (what?!) and, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the start of Linsanity, Jeremy Lin led the Hornets with 24 points.

Watch your back, Tyronn Lue!

BEHIND THE LINES
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (CHA): 11 pts, 13 rebs.
Jeremy Lin (CHA): 24 pts, 5 rebs, 8 assts.
Kevin Love (CLE): 12 pts, 12 rebs.
Kyrie Irving (CLE): 26 pts, 5 assts.
LeBron James (CLE): 23 pts, 6 rebs, 6 assts.

ATLANTA HAWKS 124 (29-22) @ PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 86 (7-42)

This was so bad that the most minutes by a Hawk starter was 25 (Paul Millsap). The Hawks request that they play the Sixers 31 more times this season.

BEHIND THE LINES
Mike Scott (ATL): 13 pts, 9 rebs.
Tim Hardaway, Jr. (ATL): 13 pts, 7 rebs.
Nik Stauskas (PHI): 17 pts.

DETROIT PISTONS 95 (26-24) @ BOSTON CELTICS 102 (29-22)

(PHOTO CREDIT: Charles Krupa/AP.)

Boston built a 24-point lead. Detroit did cut the lead to single digits by the fourth quarter but Marcus Smart made a three with a minute left to go to snuff the rally. Boston continues to play well and it’s still unbelievable to me that they’re tied for third in the East.

BEHIND THE LINES
Isaiah Thomas (BOS): 17 pts, 5 rebs, 7 assts.
Reggie Jackson (DET): 17 pts, 7 assts.
Andre Drummond (DET): 16 pts, 13 rebs.

INDIANA PACERS 114 (26-23) @ BROOKLYN NETS 100 (12-38)

When it comes to the NBA, Brooklyn feels like a sad, lonely, desolated price with no hope and where players go to die. It’s deserted. There’s no sunshine. There are no leaves on trees. There are tumbleweeds. There is no end to the misery.

If the Nets do win, it’s like finding a stream of water out of nowhere. Unfortunately, the Pacers took all the water. Especially C.J. Miles. He had enough water for five canteens. Bastard.

BEHIND THE LINES
Paul George (IND): 17 pts, 6 assts, 5 stls.
C.J. Miles (IND): 27 pts.
Brook Lopez (BRK): 21 pts, 8 rebs.
Thaddeus Young (BRK): 16 pts, 14 rebs.
Joe Johnson (BRK): 20 pts, 9 assts.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 134 (45-4) @ WASHINGTON WIZARDS 121 (21-26)

Stephen Curry nearly outscored the entire Wizards team by himself in the first quarter as he put in 25 points (9/10 FG). He would finish with 36 by the half. The Wizards cut the lead to single digits due to John Wall (whose game was overshadowed by Curry) but the Warriors built the lead back with their array of weapons. Wall and Draymond Green had disgusting games (a good thing, I assure you) as well but both were overshadowed by the reigning, defending MVP.

BEHIND THE LINES
Stephen Curry (GS): 51 pts (11/16 3FG), 7 rebs, 3 stls.
Draymond Green (GS): 12 pts, 10 rebs, 12 assts, 5 blks.
Klay Thompson (GS): 24 pts.
John Wall (WAS): 41 pts, 10 assts.

ORLANDO MAGIC 114 (21-27) @ OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 117 (38-13)

(PHOTO CREDIT: J Pat Carter/AP.)

The Magic and Thunder had another classic.

Russell Westbrook had another triple-double and he did it by the third quarter! Victor Oladipo had a huge offensive game. But it was all about Serge Ibaka on one end and Kevin Durant at the other. With the game tied, Oladipo was blocked by Ibaka with 10 seconds left. Then Durant lost Tobias Harris and made a three before the buzzer.

Can we just have these guys play in the Finals? We know Orlando isn’t good but for some reason, these two teams against each other put up some wild basketball games.

BEHIND THE LINES
Kevin Durant (OKC): 37 pts, 5 rebs, 5 assts, 3 blks.
Serge Ibaka (OKC): 9 pts, 7 rebs, 6 blks.
Russell Westbrook (OKC): 24 pts, 19 rebs, 14 assts.
Victor Oladipo (ORL): 37 pts, 7 rebs.

MIAMI HEAT 93 (28-22) @ DALLAS MAVERICKS 90 (28-24)

This wasn’t the 2011 NBA Finals but the ending was nearly as exciting as that series. With the Heat leading by three, Raymond Felton had 14 seconds to tie the game for the Mavericks. But the Heat did a good job preventing Dirk Nowitzki from getting the ball and Felton was forced to pull up from nearly 30 feet. It was straight but it bounced off the back of the rim.

Heat get revenge from 2011! (No, not really.)

BEHIND THE LINES
Hassan Whiteside (MIA): 10 pts, 9 rebs, 5 blks.
Chris Bosh (MIA): 20 pts, 4 rebs.
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL): 28 pts, 3 blks.
Zaza Pachulia (DAL): 10 pts, 15 rebs.

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 97 (18-30) @ SAN ANTONIO SPURS 110 (41-8)

(PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Gay/AP.)

The birds kept it close but LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard were too much for them. Both of them scored all the points in a 12-3 run that paralyzed the Pelicans. The Spurs are now 27-0 at home and are truly showing home court dominance that hasn’t been seen since… oh, yeah. The Warriors went 39-2 last year and are 22-0 this season. NEVER MIND.

BEHIND THE LINES
LaMarcus Aldridge (SA): 36 pts, 6 rebs, 3 blks.
Kawhi Leonard (SA): 26 pts, 5 rebs.
Jrue Holiday (NO): 20 pts, 5 assts.
Ryan Anderson (NO): 10 pts, 10 rebs.
Anthony Davis (NO): 28 pts, 10 rebs, 4 blks, 4 stls.

DENVER NUGGETS 81 (19-31) @ UTAH JAZZ 85 (23-25)

Scoring-wise, this wasn’t pretty. And it’s just what you’d expect in a Jazz game. Derrick Favors was rejecting everyone like I was rejecting everybody for the Winter Formal… well, that’s not true. Anyway, Favors also made a short jumper that made it a four-point game late. And with Utah hanging on to a two-point lead, Favors got the offensive board with 10 seconds left and that pretty much sealed the deal in Salt Lake.

Jazz like to crawl in these games but, sometimes, you have to before you can walk then run. Right now, that works for them.

BEHIND THE LINES
Derrick Favors (UTA): 16 pts, 11 rebs, 6 blks.
Gordon Hayward (UTA): 16 pts, 5 assts.
Danilo Gallinari (DEN): 24 pts.
Will Barton (DEN): 10 pts, 10 rebs.

CHICAGO BULLS 107 (27-21) @ SACRAMENTO KINGS 102 (21-28)

There was no Jimmy Butler… but there was E’Twaun Moore! Moore put up a career-best 24 points. The Kings were able to make it a game at the end but they blew so many opportunities even when Moore missed a couple of foul shots. Bulls held on after Pau Gasol taught them a lesson in free throws.

BEHIND THE LINES
E’Twaun Moore (CHI): 24 pts, 5 rebs.
Derrick Rose (CHI): 21 pts, 6 rebs, 9 assts.
Pau Gasol (CHI): 16 pts, 13 rebs.
DeMarcus Cousins (SAC): 30 pts, 11 rebs, 3 stls.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 108 (15-36) @ LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 102 (32-17)

The Clippers were in for a challenge against the hungry Wolves, who lost to the Lakers the night before. Minnesota built a 10-point lead in the third before losing it late in the game. The game was tied before Andrew Wiggins made a lay-up with 47 seconds left. With 20 seconds left and the Wolves hanging on to a two-point lead, the Clips trapped Ricky Rubio only for Chris Paul to get called for a foul. CP3 got whistled for what seemed to be quick technical foul.

Free throws made it into a four-point game. Then J.J. Redick would kick the ball out of bounds in their next possession. Minnesota won but please help clean up the mess Rubio made.

(PHOTO CREDIT: Mark J. Terrill/AP.)

BEHIND THE LINES
Ricky Rubio (MIN): 8 pts, 5 rebs, 7 assts, 5 stls.
Andrew Wiggins (MIN): 31 pts.
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN): 17 pts, 12 rebs.
Gorgui Dieng (MIN): 12 pts, 10 rebs.
Chris Paul (LAC): 22 pts, 8 assts.
DeAndre Jordan (LAC): 18 pts, 15 rebs, 3 blks.
Jamal Crawford (LAC): 21 pts.

GETTING SOCIAL

WATCH THIS PLAY

Don’t forget about Kevin Durant, guys.

https://youtu.be/YdnHBfbRr1U

(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA Highlights.)

THE TAKEAWAY

I don’t think I’ve seen a point guard duel like the one Curry and Wall had in a long time. One had over 50 and one had over 40? Incredible.

Curry has hit 11 three-pointer twice in his career now. It’s only a matter of time before he breaks the record of 12, held by Kobe Bryant and one Donyell Marshall. By the way, Curry is at 232 three-pointers and he still has 33 games left to go to hit 286, which is the record that he set last season. And he’s shooting at a ridiculous .458 clip.

The Spurs are no longer in pace for 70 (they’re on pace for 69 wins). I think it’s still amazing they are only four games behind the Warriors, who are 45-4. I really think that the way both teams are playing at their home court that they’d PREFER to have the #1 seed. Both teams are experienced enough that it doesn’t matter as much if they go on the road but if you’re UNDEFEATED at your home court and you can sleep in your own bed, wouldn’t you want that advantage?

Not many people noticed it because of the ridiculous lines Curry and Wall put out but Draymond Green had his 10th triple-double this season. Let’s see who’s had the most triple-doubles in a season this CENTURY.

Jason Kidd (2007-08): 13
Jason Kidd (2006-07): 12
Russell Westbrook (2014-15): 11
Draymond Green (2015-16): 10

Yup. Green has a chance to beat Kidd’s little record this season.

We all noticed Wizards assistant coach (and, right now, acting head coach) Don Newman wears a giant eyepatch because of eye problems. He’s been wearing it the entire season and has worn it in the past. We don’t know the exact problem of that eye but, nevertheless, he looks like a badass. I immediately compared him to Street Fighter’s Sagat.

And being the Street Fighter II nerd that I am, I HAVE made Street Fighter II references in the past while watching in the NBA. Check out my other comparisons:

I’m still amazed about these splits by Harrison Barnes. It hurt just watching him do that.

Happy Thursday!

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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