Monday was a night of shock defeats for both of the NBA League conference leaders as the Cleveland Cavaliers were beaten by the New Orleans Pelicans and the Golden State Warriors lost to the Miami Heat.
Pelicans stun Cavs
The New Orleans Pelicans were without Anthony Davis but still managed to pull off a surprise 124-122 victory over the defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers. Terrence Jones had a 36-point, 11-rebound double-double, Jrue Holiday also had a double-double with 33 points and 10 assists, while Donatas Motiejunas finished with 14 points and four rebounds.
The Cavs were led by Kyrie Irving with 49 points and four assists, LeBron James had a 26-point, 10-rebound, 12-assist triple-double, and Kevin Love had a 22-point, 16-rebound double-double.
Heat singe Warriors
In another surprise result, a 3-pointer from Dion Waiters in the final seconds helped the Heat beat the Golden State Warriors 105-102 in Miami. Waiters matched his career-high 33 points, five rebounds and four assists, Goran Dragic had 19 points four rebounds and five assists, while Hassan Whiteside finished with a 10-point, 15-rebound double-double.
Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 27 points and six rebounds, Klay Thompson had 22 points and five rebounds and Stephen Curry ended the game with a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Thunder strike Jazz
Not only did Russell Westbrook hit the game winner in OKC’s 97-95 win over the Utah Jazz, he also had a 38-point, 10-rebound, 10 assist triple-double and matched Larry Bird for fifth position on the NBA’s all-time list. Nigerian-American guard Victor Oladipo had 18 points and four rebounds, while Enes Kanter had 14 points and five rebounds.
The Jazz were led by Gordon Hayward with 17 points and six rebounds, Alec Burks had 13 points, Rudy Gobert had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Derrick Favors had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. Senegalese-French center Boris Diaw had six points and five assists.
Clippers down Hawks
The LA Clippers beat the Atlanta Hawks 115-105 on the back of Austin Rivers’ 27 points, four rebounds and six assists, Jamal Crawford had 19 points and four assists, JJ Redick had 17 points and Cameroonian forward Luc Mbah a Moute ended the game with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Kent Bazemore led the Hawks with 25 points, Gambian-German guard Dennis Schroder had 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists, while Dwight Howard had a 16-point, 12-rebund double-double. South African-Swiss forward Thabo Sefolosha had 11 points and three rebounds.
Bucks trample Rockets
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Houston Rockets 127-114. Nigerian-Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and seven rebounds, Jabari Parker had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Greg Monroe had a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Rockets were led by James Harden with a 26-point, 12-assist double-double, Patrick Beverly had 18 points, and Nene finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.
The rest
The Washington Wizards beat the Charlotte Hornets 109-99 on the back of John Wall’s 24 points and four assists, Patty Mills’ 20 points off the bench helped the San Antonio Spurs beat the Brooklyn Nets 112-85, Carmelo Anthony led the New York Knicks to a 109-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers with 26 points and five rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings defeated the Detroit Pistons 109-104 on the back of DeMarcus Cousins’ 22-point, 14-rebound double-double.
By Kaunda Chama
