Cavs Rout Kings
The red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers have won 14 of their last 15 games, the latest a 136-110 rout of the Sacramento Kings. They matched the franchise record for most wins in a 15-game span, last achieved in the 2017-18 campaign (LeBron James’ final season in Cleveland). Cleveland has moved into second place in the Eastern Conference standings, percentage points ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 29 points and dished out five assists, shooting 11-20 from the field with five 3-pointers made. He was not charged with a turnover in a team-high 33 minutes played. Mitchell has scored at least 23 points in each of his last eight games, averaging 29.8 PPG and 8.3 APG with a field goal percentage of 50.9% over that span.
Mitchell received help from Max Strus (22 points, five rebounds, 6-10 on 3-pointers), Jarrett Allen (19 points, seven rebounds, 8-10 field goals), Caris LeVert (17 points, seven assists, six rebounds), and Evan Mobley (11 points, team-high 14 rebounds, seven assists).
Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis recorded his 15th triple-double of the season, tying Nikola Jokic for the league lead. Sabonis scored 12 points (6-9 field goals) to go with game highs of 19 rebounds and 15 assists.
Sabonis is just the third big man (i.e., power forward or center) in NBA history to record at least 15 triple-doubles in a season, joining Nikola Jokic (four times) and Wilt Chamberlain (twice). Overall, he’s the 11th player to accomplish the feat, with a total of 25 instances.
Sabonis extended his career-long double-double streak to 32 games, the second-longest such streak in franchise history. The franchise record of 55 such games in a row is held by Jerry Lucas, a streak which spanned the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons.
Forward Harrison Barnes paced the Kings with 22 points, shooting 8-15 from the floor with six 3-pointers made. Kings guards De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk added 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Lakers Hold Off Hornets
The Los Angeles Lakers held off the hapless Charlotte Hornets 124-118, handing Charlotte its eighth straight loss and 26th in the last 29 games. The Lakers have won three consecutive games, moving two games above .500 for the first time since December 28.
The Lakers’ Anthony Davis recorded his third career triple-double, scoring 26 points (12-16 field goals) to go with game highs of 15 rebounds, 11 assists (tied with teammate Austin Reaves), and three blocks. Davis became the first player in franchise history to record a 25-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist game with a field goal percentage of at least 75%.
The second member of the Lakers’ dynamic duo, LeBron James, tallied 26 points and seven assists, hitting 12 of his 22 shots from the floor. James has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 10 games. At 39 years and 37 days old, he’s the oldest player in NBA history to record 10 such games in a row.
D’Angelo Russell scored a team-high 28 points and handed out six assists for the Lakers, shooting 10-21 from the field with five 3-pointers made. Russell has averaged 24.0 PPG and 6.5 APG with 47/47/88 shooting splits in his 13 games since being reinstated as a starter on January 13.
Charlotte’s Miles Bridges led all scorers with 41 points, his first career 40-point game. Bridges shot 16-26 from the field — including 5-10 on 3-pointers — and made all four of his free throws. He’s averaging career highs of 21.3 PPG and 7.2 RPG this season.
Hornets rookie Brandon Miller chipped in with 33 points and a career-high four steals, going 13-25 from the floor with five 3-pointers made. He became the first rookie in franchise history to record back-to-back 30-point games. Miller has scored at least 21 points in each of his last five games, averaging 29.2 PPG with 49/45/86 shooting splits over that span.
Clippers Outgun Hawks
The LA Clippers outgunned the Atlanta Hawks 149-144, outscoring the Hawks 47-43 in a wild fourth quarter. The Clippers have won 26 of their last 31 games, and are now just percentage points behind the Western-Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 36 points, his sixth straight 25-point game. Leonard shot 13-20 from the field (5-8 on 3-pointers) and made all five of his free throws. He’s averaging a team-high 24.4 PPG with 53/46/89 shooting splits this season.
Teammate James Harden contributed 30 points, a team-high 10 assists, and eight rebounds. He now has 102 career 30-point, 10-assist games, the second-most such games in NBA history:
230 — Oscar Robertson
102 — James Harden
98 — LeBron James
84 — Russell Westbrook
76 — Nate Archibald
Harden went 7-14 from the field — including 6-9 on 3-pointers — and shot a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. It’s the 82nd time Harden has made at least 10 free throws and five 3-pointers in a game, just one fewer such game than the next three closest players combined:
82 — James Harden
38 — Damian Lillard
25 — Stephen Curry
20 — Trae Young
De’Andre Hunter scored a team-high 27 points (10-12 field goals) in just 19 minutes played for the Hawks. The last Hawk to score at least 25 points in a game with fewer than 20 minutes played was John Drew on Nov. 18, 1981 (29 points in 19 minutes).
Atlanta’s starting backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray scored 25 and 21 points, respectively. Young also delivered a game-high 12 assists, while Murray added seven assists and five rebounds. Young and Murray have each scored at least 20 points in the same game 23 times this season, the most such games by a backcourt duo.
Young has produced at least 20 points and 10 assists in 27 games this season, eight more such games than any other player. He ranks 13th in NBA history with 154 career 20-point, 10-assist games.
The Hawks also received solid efforts from Onyeka Okongwu (18 points, five rebounds, 8-10 field goals), Saddiq Bey (18 points, five rebounds, 5-8 field goals), and Bogdan Bogdanovic (16 points, six assists, 4-8 on 3-pointers). Bogdanovic has made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 59 games, the second-longest such streak in franchise history (Kyle Korver, 127).
Quick Hitters
Tidbits from the rest of last night’s games:
The Dallas Mavericks broke open a close game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Philadelphia 76ers 41-28 en route to a 118-102 victory. Dallas’ Kyrie Irving produced game highs of 23 points (10-17 field goals) and eight assists, while Josh Green added 20 points on 6-9 shooting from the field. The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (19 points, team-high eight rebounds) was held to less than 20 points for just the fourth time this season. Tobias Harris had 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists for the Sixers, hitting eight of his 11 shots from the floor. Philadelphia has lost six of its last seven games, falling to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Jonathan Kuminga tallied 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors cut down the Brooklyn Nets 109-98. Kuminga shot 9-18 from the field and 10-12 from the free throw line, the 10th straight game in which he’s scored at least 15 points with a field goal percentage of 50%. The only players in franchise history to produce a longer such streak are Chris Mullin (January 1989) and David Lee (December 2012), each of whom had a 12-game streak. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry led all players with 29 points (12-24 field goals), while rookie Brandin Podziemski scored 15 points and dished out a game-high 11 assists in 38 turnover-free minutes. Cam Thomas led six Nets in double figures with 18 points, but misfired on 17 of his 21 shots from the field. Thomas tied the franchise record for lowest field goal percentage in a game with at least 20 attempts (19.0%).
The New Orleans Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 41 points to go with a game-high nine assists and six rebounds in a 138-100 blowout of the Toronto Raptors. New Orleans has won 11 games by 20 or more points this season, the most such wins in the NBA. Ingram went 16-21 from the field, making eight of his 11 attempts from 3-point range. The only other player in franchise history to record a 40-point game with 75% shooting from the field is Anthony Davis (Feb. 14, 2018). Pelicans guard CJ McCollum scored 20 points on 7-12 shooting from the floor (6-10 on 3-pointers), while center Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in just 20 minutes played. Rookie Gradey Dick scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Raptors, going 9-16 from the field with four 3-pointers made. Toronto has lost 12 of its last 14 games, falling to 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings.