With just hours separating the world from Super Bowl XLVIII, the NBA stepped up with a night of memorable action. From All-Stars putting on world-class performances to a transcendent point guard ripping off a triple-double, there was no shortage of outstanding results and accomplishments.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Kyle Korver scored 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Paul Millsap tallied 20 and 13 rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks took down the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-113. Kevin Love did all he could to prevent the loss with 43 points and 19 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Minnesota from falling back under .500.
Love is the fourth player in the past 25 seasons to tally at least 43 points and 19 rebounds in multiple games. The others are Patrick Ewing, Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal.
2. Jeremy Lin posted his first career triple-double to lead the Houston Rockets to a 106-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lin finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a block, and Patrick Beverley had 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals.
As for the stars, James Harden and Dwight Howard combined for 54 points on 20-of-29 shooting.
3. Zach Randolph posted 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 99-90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Nick Calathes added a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Memphis is 13-3 since January 1. The Grizzlies were 13-17 in October, November and December.
4. John Wall erupted for 17 points, 15 assists and six steals to help the Washington Wizards take down the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-81. Kevin Durant had 26 points, but only two other Thunder players scored in double-figures, with Reggie Jackson going 6-of-17 from the field.
Since 2005-06, Wall and Chris Paul are the only two players to record at least 15 points, 15 assists and six steals in the same game.
5. LeBron James scored 30 points and Dwyane Wade put up 22 on 10-of-15 shooting as the Miami Heat downed the New York Knicks 106-91. Carmelo Anthony finished with 26 points, J.R. Smith had 20 and Tim Hardaway Jr. put up 17, but the Knicks couldn’t overcome four huge 3-pointers by Shane Battier.
With the loss, New York falls to 19-28. The Knicks lost 28 games in all of 2012-13.
6. Goran Dragic scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the Phoenix Suns past the Charlotte Bobcats 105-95. Surprisingly, the Suns reached 105 points with just three players scoring at least 10 points and only Dragic hitting the 20-point plateau.
Dragic has scored at least 20 points in 21 games in 2013-14. He did it 15 times in 2012-13.
7. Anthony Davis posted another monster stat line with 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists, six blocks and three steals as the New Orleans Pelicans took down the Chicago Bulls 88-79. In defeat, D.J. Augustin countered with 23 points and seven assists.
Augustin has scored at least 20 points in five separate games in 2013-14 after failing to do it a single time in 2012-13.
8. The Los Angeles Clippers sustained their dominance at home with a 102-87 win over the Utah Jazz. Jamal Crawford scored 27 points and Blake Griffin ripped off 25 and 11 rebounds to help L.A. improve to a Western Conference-best 20-3.
Griffin has 28 double-doubles in 2013-14. That’s identical to the number of double-doubles that he achieved in 2012-13.
9. LaMarcus Aldridge continued his MVP campaign with 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 106-103 escape of the Toronto Raptors. Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews both added 21 points, and Nicolas Batum put up 18.
Aldridge wasn’t the only All-Star to showcase his talents, as DeMar DeRozan had 36 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Raptors.
10. Despite shooting 20.0 percent from beyond the arc and committing 23 turnovers, the Indiana Pacers held off the Brooklyn Nets for a 97-96 win. It was yet another horrendous performance on the boards by the Nets, who followed up a record-low 17 rebounds with just 27 boards against the Pacers.
Both benches scored 16 respective points, but it was Paul George and Roy Hibbert who led the charge with 20 each.
Bonus Facts
- Home teams went 11-1 on February 2.
- Four separate Detroit Pistons scored at least 20 points in a 113-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
- Tim Duncan ripped off 23 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, and Tony Parker had his second double-double of the year in a 95-93 San Antonio Spurs win over the Sacramento Kings.
- Jeremy Lin is the first Rockets reserve to post a triple-double since Cedric Maxwell on March 31, 1988.
- Patrick Beverley is the first player in NBA history to record at least 10 assists and five steals without scoring a single point. Steals were first recorded as a statistic in 1973-74.