West leads by example and guides Pacers to dominant win.
There were six games on the NBA schedule on Monday night, with the Indiana Pacers securing their biggest win of the season so far against the Denver Nuggets.
David West scored 25 points in less than 27 minutes while Roy Hibbert added 14 as the NBA’s top team moved to 40-11 for the season.
“We played with the right attitude. We came out aggressively. We got off to a good start,” West said. “Tonight, we made a concentrated effort to get to the goal. No letdowns.”
Indiana have the league’s best record, the best home mark (25-2) and the best defense as they now lead the Miami Heat by four games at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Paul George finished with just 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, but such was Indiana’s dominance in the contest that coach Frank Vogel was able to rest his entire starting line-up for the whole of the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets have been left short-handed by injuries, with Wilson Chandler stepping up to post 17 points and 5 rebounds as their best performer on the night.
Elsewhere, the Detroit Pistons got a reaction in John Loyer’s first game in charge as interim coach following the firing of Maurice Cheeks, by sealing a home win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Brandon Jennings finished with 21 points while Rodney Stuckey and Greg Monroe added 20 and 15 respectively, with the latter grabbing a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Marco Belinelli led the Spurs with 20 points, but coach Gregg Popovich was disappointed as he described the team’s defensive play as “the worst defense we’ve played all season”.
San Antonio were still without Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard, as the Pistons made it five straight wins at The Palace after a 7-15 home start.
The Golden State Warriors were also victorious on Monday night, with Marreese Speights scoring a career-high 32 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
It was a night to forget for the Sixers, with forward Evan Turner revealing that they players wouldn’t be turning on the TV or reading the papers after a 43-point loss.
Stephen Curry added 23 points and eight assists as Golden State coach Mark Jackson called the performance a “thing of beauty” as the Warriors moved to 31-21 for the season while Philadelphia slip to 15-38, with rookie Michael Carter-Williams top-scoring with 24 points.
Elsewhere, the Toronto Raptors returned to winning ways at home against the New Orleans Pelicans as Kyle Lowry had 19 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists, while Dwight Howard’s double-double helped the Houston Rockets overcome Kevin Love (31 points and 10 rebounds) and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
NBA Results:
Denver Nuggets 80-119 Indiana Pacers
New Orleans Pelicans 101-108 Toronto Raptors
San Antonio Spurs 100-109 Detroit Pistons
Boston Celtics 102-86 Milwaukee Bucks
Houston Rockets 107-89 Minnesota Timberwolves
Philadelphia 76ers 80-123 Golden State Warriors
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