Spurs, Rockets, Heat and Pacers all secure wins.
In a thrilling night of NBA action on Friday, the Oklahoma City Thunder put on a real show with the Golden State Warriors while there were big wins for the top teams elsewhere.
There’s no better place to start other than the Chesapeake Energy Arena though, with Russell Westbrook sealing a 113-112 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors with a corner three with 0.1 seconds remaining.
In a repeat of their thrilling encounter a fortnight ago, these two Western Conference contenders were inseparable but with Andre Iguodala sidelined with injury, there was no incredible late comeback this time round for the Warriors.
Westbrook had a game-high 34 points along with 7 assists, while Stephen Curry added 32 points for the visitors although ultimately it wasn’t enough.
Meanwhile, the title contenders were all in good from across the West and East, with the likes of the San Antonio Spurs, Miami and Indiana Pacers all picking up wins.
The Spurs solidified their spot at the top of the Western Conference as they moved to 14-2 for the season with a 109-91 win over the Orlando Magic.
Gregg Popovich’s side bounced back immediately from the disappointment of seeing their 11-game winning streak snapped by OKC, and with Tim Duncan and Marco Belinelli both going for a team-high 19 points, Popovich will be delighted that they won without the injured Tony Parker while also limiting his starting line-up to under 25 minutes once again.
The Heat were 90-83 victors over the Toronto Raptors, with LeBron James (27 points) and Dwyane Wade (22 points) leaving DeMar DeRozan disappointed despite an impressive scoring night for the Raptors guard.
Indiana were more comfortable during their 93-73 win over the Washington Wizards to extend their franchise best start to 15-1.
Paul George had 23 points while Roy Hibbert had 13 points and eight rebounds against the Wizards who were hampered by injuries.
In contrast, the misery continues for the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets who lost to the Denver Nuggets and the Houston Rockets respectively.
Both teams have now lost 12 games so far this season as their title credentials continue to take hits, with the Milwaukee Bucks the only team worse off in the Eastern Conference.
In the night’s other notable performance, Jeff Green had 31 points as the Boston Celtics cruised past the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-86, with his tally the most scored by a Celtics player so far this season.
NBA Results:
Milwaukee Bucks 76-92 Charlotte Bobcats
San Antonio Spurs 109-91 Orlando Magic
Miami Heat 90-83 Toronto Raptors
Dallas Mavericks 87-88 Atlanta Hawks
Cleveland Cavaliers 86-103 Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers 106-102 Detroit Pistons
Brooklyn Nets 95-114 Houston Rockets
Golden State Warriors 112-113 Oklahoma City Thunder
Washington Wizards 73-93 Indiana Pacers
New Orleans Pelicans 121-105 Philadelphia 76ers
New York Knicks 95-97 Denver Nuggets
Phoenix Suns 112-101 Utah Jazz
Los Angeles Clippers 104-98 Sacramento Kings
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