Nightly Recap- Jan. 16

Top Performances

Derrick Rose (Chicago PG)- Scored 29 points and dished out 10 assists in a 119-103 win over the Boston Celtics. It was easily one of his best games of the season, and his second consecutive game scoring  over 20 points. In his last two games, Rose has tallied 61 points on 24-42 shooting, as well as 11 3-pointers. Friday night was also his first 20-10 game since March of 2012.

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Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City PG)- Recorded his ninth career triple-double in a 127-115 win against the Golden State Warriors. Westbrook finished with a stat line of 17 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds in the win, and was simply all over the court during the game.

Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City SF)- Dropped 36 points on 14-18 shooting in the Thunder's win over the Warriors. The reigning MVP also chipped in nine rebounds and four assists in the big win, as OKC looked like the team that won 59 games in 2013-14. He, along with Westbrook will have to continue having big games like this if the Thunder wish to not only get into the playoffs, but avoid being an eight seed.

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Brandon Jennings (Detroit PG)- Finished with 37 points, including eight 3-pointers in a 98-96 win over the Indiana Pacers. Jennings remains in a zone from 3-point range, as he has now hit 19 of them over his last five games. His strong play has the Pistons competing for a playoff spot early in 2015, and will be worth watching come March.

Marc Gasol (Memphis C)- Flirted with a triple-double, tallying 12 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists in a 105-95 victory agains the Orlando Magic. Gasol's impressive season continues, as he fills up the stat sheet and leads the Grizzlies to wins almost every night. He is an under-the-rarer MVP candidate, and is playing the best basketball of his career.

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2014-15 NBA Standings 

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*All stats courtesy of ESPN

Daily Recap- Nov. 29

Who Was Hot

Marcin Gortat (Washington C)- Posted a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds in an 83-80 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Gortat outplayed his counterpart Anthony Davis in most facets of the game, recording two steals and four blocks in the win.

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Tyson Chandler (Dallas C)- Tallied 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 110-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Chandler posted his third straight double-double, hitting 7 of 9 shots, and also recorded four steals.

James Harden (Houston SG)- Dominated Saturday night, scoring 34 points on 9 of 14 shooting in a 117-103 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Harden continues to put up strong performances, and is averaging 25.2 points, 6.8 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game this season.

Kyrie Irving (Cleveland PG)- Put up a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 109-97 win against the Indiana Pacers. Irving was all over the place grabbing rebounds, and also chipped in five assists and three blocks.

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Michael Carter-Williams (Philadelphia PG)- Recorded his third career triple-double in the 76ers' loss to the Mavericks on Saturday. MCW scored 18 points, dished out 16 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds, once again showing off his athleticism and versatility.

Who Was Not

Enes Kanter (Utah C)- Tallied just six points and two rebounds in a 112-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night. Kanter has shown flashes of dominance this season, but continues to be very inconsistent for the Jazz.

Al Jefferson (Charlotte C)- Scored only 11 points and grabbed just three rebounds in a 105-75 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Hornets were down big early and that limited Jefferson's playing time, but he was not very effective during his time on the court, much like the rest of the team.

Play of the Night

Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down a dunk over Bulls' power forward Taj Gibson on Saturday night, showcasing his length and athleticism.

Daily Recap- Nov. 26.

Who Was Hot

Stephen Curry (Golden State PG)- Followed up his 40-point game with a 28-point, eight assist performance (Six 3-pointers) in a 111-96 win over the Orlando Magic. Curry did most of his scoring (25 points, five 3-pointers) in the first half, and is in quite a zone over his last few games.

DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento PF/C)- Put together another monster game, tallying 29 points (9-18 FG), 17 rebounds and six assists in a 102-89 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Cousins also added three blocks, and dominated the game down low without Dwight Howard to guard him.

Source- http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/nba/players/full/4258.png&w=350&h=254 

Lebron James (Cleveland SF)- Came out strong and scored 29 points on 7-14 FG (14-17 FT) in a 113-87 win over the Washington Wizards. James also dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds in the revenge win over Washington.

Jose Calderon (New York PG)- Calderon got hot Wednesday night, hitting seven 3-pointers en route to a 21 point performance in a 109-102 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Calderon also grabbed 10 rebounds in only his third game of the year (due to injuries). This won't happen on a nightly basis, but Calderon certainly enjoyed more shot attempts with Carmelo Anthony out of the lineup.

Source- http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2014/1021/ny_a_calderon01jr_D_576x324.jpg 

Tyson Chandler (Dallas C)- Scored 17 points and pulled down 25 (YES- 25) rebounds in a 109-102 overtime win over the New York Knicks. Chandler continues to be one of the best rebounders in the NBA, and is averaging a double-double 10.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg) for the season.

Isaiah Canaan (Houston PG)- Started in place of Patrick Beverley, and scored 24 points on 9-16 shooting (six 3-pointers) in a 102-89 win over the Sacramento Kings. Canaan played a strong game for Houston, adding six rebounds, four assists, four steals and only one turnover in the win.

Source- http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/nba/players/full/2490589.png&w=350&h=254 

Who Was Not

Carlos Boozer (Los Angeles PF)- Scored only four points on 2-6 shooting in a 99-93 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. It marked the second time in 10 games the Boozer failed to score in double-digits.

J.R. Smith (New York SG/SF)- Shot 7-20 from the field, tallying only 15 points in a loss to Dallas on Wednesday night. Smith started in place of Carmelo Anthony, and even though he hit the game-tying shot with less than two seconds in regulation, was not efficient for New York.

Play of the Night 

Rookies Andrew Wiggins (No. 1 overall pick) and Jabari Parker (No. 2 overall) met for the first time in the regular season on Wednesday. Wiggins sent Parker's shot driving shot into the stands late in the third quarter, providing some excitement in what was a matchup between top bottom-10 teams in the NBA.