After a quiet Thursday that had only three games played, 24 teams took the floor on Friday night. The New York Knicks played the Charlotte Bobcats for the second time in a week, the Indiana Pacers won yet again, Andrew Bynum returned to Philly and much, much more.
Here's the recap...
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| NY | 28 | 23 | 34 | 16 | 101 |
| CHA | 22 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 91 |
The Knicks broke the game open in the second half with a quick 19 -7 run to start the third quarter, and they never looked back. The Bobcats beat the Knicks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, but couldn’t prevail at home. Knicks legend Patrick Ewing coached his first game in the NBA
due to Steve Clifford missing it with a medical procedure (he had a procedure Friday morning where doctors inserted two stents in his heart). Last season’s NBA leading scorer Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points on 12-22 shooting. Andrea Bargnani, starting at center for the
injured Tyson Chandler, had his best game as a Knick with 25 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. The Bobcats, despite the loss, still have a better record than the Knicks at 3-3. New York is now 2-3 on the season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| TOR | 32 | 14 | 13 | 25 | 84 |
| IND | 22 | 22 | 28 | 19 | 91 |
Rudy Gay dominated early, but Paul George dominated when it counted most. Gay, who’s in his first full season with the Raptors, was unstoppable from the field in the first half. Gay was hitting tough jumpers against the suffocating defense of George, the 2013 Most Improved Player, for 22 points entering halftime. While George ended with five points on 2-10 shooting, the second half was a different story. George wasn’t going to let Indiana lose their first game of the year to the Raptors. Thus, the Pacers outscored Toronto, 28-13, in the third and George outscored them by himself, 15-13. The former Memphis Grizzlies forward struggled shooting in the second half, going 3-13. DeMar DeRozan had a forgettable game shooting 2-15 from the floor. Roy Hibbert had his best scoring game of the season with 20 points, helping Indiana go to 6-0, their best start in franchise history. They still remain the only unbeaten team in the league.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| BOS | 17 | 29 | 25 | 20 | 91 |
| ORL | 24 | 25 | 19 | 21 | 89 |
The Celtics held a lead the entire second half, but it was never enough to create a big distance from the Magic. Orlando, who had a big win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, committed 20 turnovers that helped the Celtics score 25 points off of them. Arron Afflalo scored the last nine points, however his jumper with four seconds to go that could have tied the game was ruled a two-pointer. The Celtics have won their second straight game. Former Magic forward Brandon Bass scored 16 points, as he was one of the team's six players in double-figures.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| CLE | 28 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 79 |
| PHI | 14 | 30 | 33 | 17 | 94 |
Andrew Bynum is back in Philadelphia! Bynum, who came to Philadelphia in the trade that sent Dwight Howard to Los Angeles and Andre Iguodala to Denver in the summer of 2012, appeared at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time since he was a member of the Lakers. In 18 minutes, Bynum went 2-3 for four points and five rebounds. However, the Sixers had the final laugh at the end. The Cavaliers took over the game quickly, ending the first quarter with a 14-point lead, 28-14. But the Sixers answered back and went to the locker room with a 46-44 lead. The third quarter wasn’t much different for the Cavaliers, as they got outscored by 14 — they never recovered. Evan Turner led the Sixers with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2011 NBA Draft, struggled from the field going 4-17.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T |
| BKN | 33 | 25 | 15 | 26 | 9 | 108 |
| WSH | 27 | 26 | 20 | 26 | 13 | 112 |
The Nets were ahead by six, 96-90, when Nene, in his second game back from injury, took over. The Brazilian scored the final nine of the Wizards points in the fourth quarter, including the tip-in after John Wall missed a layup that sent the game to an extra five minutes. Two Marcin Gortat free throws and a Bradley Beal jumper to start OT gave the Wizards a quick four-point lead. Deron Williams and Paul Pierce were responsible for a 7-2 run that put their team up two with 40 seconds left; however, Trevor Ariza knocked down a huge three-pointer to give them a two-point lead. Wall, the Wizards No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, drew a charge on Deron Williams, then added two free throws that sealed the deal. Beal had a great game with 29 points and three rebounds. Center Brook Lopez scored 23 points and Johnson had 16 for the Nets, who are still looking for their first win away at home.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| OKC | 20 | 35 | 29 | 35 | 119 |
| DET | 22 | 29 | 25 | 34 | 110 |
The Thunder broke the game open in the second quarter, acquiring an 11-point lead at one point after Kevin Durant’s 3-pointer. But the Pistons finished the first half strong, doubling the Thunder in scoring, 14-7, to get the 11-point deficit down to four. With the Pistons trailing by just one, 77-76, with a minute go to in the third quarter, Oklahoma City's younger core responded in a big way and were responsible for the team’s second half surge. Two free throws from Reggie Jackson and a driving layup, a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Jeremy Lamb and two straight baskets at the start of the fourth by center Steven Adams had the Thunder up by double-figures again. Kevin Durant, the three-time NBA scoring champion, went 9-15 from the field and 17-19 from the free throw line for a game-high 37 points. Russell Westbrook, in his third game back, scored 20 points, and rookie Steven Adams added 17 poins and 10 rebounds. Josh Smith went for 25 points on 10-20 shooting while Brandon Jennings added 22 points and 11 assists.
The Bulls, which were struggling badly for a win, didn’t struggle here. Chicago ended the first quarter on a 21-11 run that got them a double-figure lead, 30-18, after the first 12 minutes. After almost an even second quarter (22-21, Jazz), the Bulls had another outstanding run. This time, they used a 26-17 third quarter for a 22-point lead heading into the fourth. The Jazz, who are rebuilding, have started 0-6, their worst start since their debut season in the 1974-1975 season. Luol Deng came close to a triple-double with 19 points, 11 boards and nine assists. Derrick Rose had a quiet 12-point, five-assist performance in 27 minutes. Gordon Hayward had the best night for the Jazz with a 15-6-5.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| DAL | 24 | 32 | 25 | 27 | 108 |
| MIN | 28 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 116 |
Kevin Love and Kevin Martin are proving to be one hell of a tandem. Love dropped 32 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists. Martin, who reunited with Rick Adelman for third stint together, also scored 32 for the Timberwolves, which now have a 4-2 record. The Mavericks, which trailed the entire fourth quarter but remained close, saw their attempt fail when the duo of Love and Martin combined to score seven straight points to push a 105-102 deficit to 115-105 with less than a minute to go. Dallas starting point guard Jose Calderon had a season-high six 3-pointers for 21 points, and Monta Ellis went 9-24 for 25 points.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| LAL | 27 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 85 |
| NO | 28 | 27 | 14 | 27 | 96 |
Anthony Davis, the 2012 No. 1 overall pick in the draft, dominated the Lakers with 32 points (career-high), 12 rebounds, three steals and six blocks to give the Pelicans their second straight victory. New Orleans held a close lead for the majority of the game, but their 12-0 run sparked by Davis with three minutes left in the game helped them get the 11-point win. Steve Nash was out for the Lakers, of course, as he’s sitting the second game of back-to-backs this season. Chris Kaman was the team’s leading scorer with 16, followed by Nick Young and Steve Blake with 13. Anthony Davis made history in this game, as he became the youngest player in NBA history to have 30 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in a game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| GS | 20 | 13 | 22 | 19 | 74 |
| SA | 27 | 13 | 24 | 12 | 76 |
The Spurs are winning a lot of games these days, and point guard Tony Parker deserves nearly all the credit. Parker, the 2007 NBA Finals MVP, once again took over in the final period to give the Spurs another victory in a very low-scoring contest. Boris Diaw made a layup, Patty Mills hit a 3-pointer and every other field goal in the fourth quarter was made by Parker. The point guard scored the final seven points for the Spurs when the rest of his teammates were extremely cold. Stephen Curry was out, he hurt his ankle on Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Warriors still had a chance to tie the game in the closing moments. Andre Iguodala drove to the basket, but couldn’t convert the shot that would’ve given them five more minutes to play. Parker ended with 18 points, third-year forward Kawhi Leonard added 13. Backup point guard Tony Douglas had his best game as a member of the Warriors with 21 points on 5-9 from downtown.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| DEN | 29 | 18 | 40 | 16 | 103 |
| PHX | 35 | 29 | 20 | 30 | 114 |
So. Many. Runs. The Phoenix Suns, one of the surprises of the season so far, led by 17 at the end of the first half, but they almost blew it allowing the Nuggets to outscore them, 40-20, in the third quarter. The Nuggets led by as many as 10 during the period. However, Markieff Morris and Ish Smith scored the final 10 of the Suns points in the third quarter to keep them within distance. Marcus and Markieff Morris combined to score more than half of the Suns field goals in the final period when the team outscored the Nuggets, 30-16, to get a double-digit win. Markieff Morris scored 14 of his career-high 28 in the last quarter. After an inspiring third quarter, the Nuggets were flat at the end to drop to 1-4 in Brian Shaw’s debut season as a coach. Ty Lawson scored 29 and dished four assists, though.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| SAC | 22 | 27 | 17 | 25 | 91 |
| POR | 29 | 25 | 23 | 27 | 104 |
The Blazers finished the third quarter on a decisive 21-11 run after Patrick Patterson’s basket had the Kings trailing by one, 56-55, in the third quarter. DeMarcus Cousins’ two straight baskets late in the fourth quarter brought the Kings to within eight with less than four minutes remaining. However, Portland's LaMarus Aldridge took over, making four baskets in a row, and there was nothing the Kings could do. Portland, who had six players in double-figures (including all five starters) were led by last season’s Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard’s 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Cousins had a monster game with 35 points and nine rebounds, but they weren’t enough.
Tonight's NBA Schedule
Jazz @ Raptors
Magic @ Hawks
Pacers @ Nets
Sixers @ Cavaliers
Celtics @ Heat
Clippers @ Rockets (GAME OF THE NIGHT)
Warriors @ Grizzlies
Mavericks @ Bucks
Trail Blazers @ Kings
By John Ledesma
