The Cavaliers and Warriors both grabbed impressive wins but Russell Westbrook is again the talk of the town as he notched up his 34th triple-double of the season in a night of wonderful action in the NBA.
Westbrook show dominates OKC win over Raptors
Russell Westbrook is a man on a very special mission as he claimed his 34th triple-double of the season as he inches ever closer to the NBA record of 41. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and assisted 16 buckets as the Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors 123-102. Again Victor Oladipo was the perfect foil as he scored 23 points of his own. Enes Kanter was the next highest scorer with 14 points off the bench and Andre Roberson added 13 points to the total.
For the Raptors DeMar DeRozan was the focal point with Kyle Lowry still out injured. DeRozan scored 22 points. Norman Powell scored 13 points off the pine, while Corey Joseph weighed in with 11 points and six assists. Former Thunder player, Congolese star Serge Ibaka, faced his old teammates and ended with 10 points, three rebounds an assist and a block.
King James shines as Cleveland thump Utah
The Cleveland Cavaliers were rolling again as they made light work of the Utah Jazz, winning 91-83. LeBron James was his usual dominant self as he scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Kyrie Irving contributed 21 points to the team tally and J.R. Smith supplied 12 points to the score. Kevin Love returned to the starting lineup after an injury layoff and he scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Rudy Gobert was the main man for the Jazz with a monster double-double of 20 points and 19 rebounds. Gordon Hayward scored 13 points and Joe Johnson and Joe Ingles combined for 24 points as they scored 12 apiece. French-Senegalese center Boris Diaw scored four points in his 17-minute showing.
Warriors humble Magic in Oakland
The Golden State Warriors roared back to life at Oracle Arena with a 122-92 blowout win over the Orlando Magic. Klay Thompson had the game’s high-score with 29 points. Stephen Curry looked more like his two-time MVP self with 25 points and nine assists. Andre Iguodala scored 14 points off the bench with fellow reserve Ian Clark adding 12 points. Zaza Pachulia recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Elfrid Payton and Jeff Green both scored 13 points for their side as they struggled. Algerian-French guard Evan Fournier added 12 points to the team total while Nikola Vucevic finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. DRC-born big man Bismack Biyombo only scored three points but grabbed 10 boards.
Nuggets add to Clippers woes
The Denver Nuggets took down the understrength LA Clippers to win 129-114 in Colorado. The Nuggets only used three substitutes and one of them, Will Barton, was the destroyer-in-chief. Barton top-scored with 35 points, hitting seven of his ten three-point shots. Nikola Jokic was the star man though as he weighed in with another triple-double, scoring 17 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing 11 assists. Gary Harris scored 20 points, Jameer Nelson had 16 points and Mason Plumlee had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan were rested for the trip. J.J. Redick lead the way for the Clippers as he scored 22 points. Chris Paul claimed a double-double with 18 points and 14 assists. Austin Rivers also started and scored 17 points and Brandon Bass added 15 points to the score. Cameroonian Luc Mbah-a-Moute scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Rest
In other results the Brooklyn Nets beat the New York Knicks 121-110 with Brook Lopez scoring 24 points and the Memphis Grizzlies got the better of the Atlanta Hawks, winning 103-91 with Mike Conley scoring 22 points and dishing 12 assists.
By Cyrus Rogers
