The NBA Roundup: November 30, 2013

It was Black Friday in the States, but things were even darker for the New York Knicks, who continue to underwhelm this season. In the meantime, Miami reeled in its ninth straight win, while Russell Westbrook got a measure of revenge as he hit a game-winner against the Golden State Warriors.

Russell Westbrook's reaction is priceless after he
nailed the game-winning three to bury the Warriors.
(image by Layne Murdoch/Getty Images)

The Best:

• It sure looks like Jamal Crawford will figure in this season’s Sixth Man of the Year talks once again. Crawford came off the bench to drop 31 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds, and 3 triples as the Clippers survived a gritty Sacramento quintet in overtime. The Clips have now won 4 in a row, while the Kings dropped their third straight contest.
• Jrue Holiday hasn’t really been playing as well as he did last year, but his performance against his former team did raise some eyebrows (the good way). Holiday shot 8/13 from the field to finish with 20 points while also adding 13 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. This was Holiday’s first return to the City of Brotherly Love since he turned into a Pelican.
• Wesley Johnson is no Kobe Bryant, but he sure made a great impression last night as the Lakers won on the road in Michigan. Johnson connected on all but one of his 7 three-point attempts and registered 27 markers. He also hauled down 6 rebounds and blocked 3 shots in 33 minutes of play. Mike D’Antoni’s boys came back from 8 points down in the final five minutes to steal the road W.

The Worst:

• Kyrie Irving struggled big time as his Cavaliers went down against the unheralded Celtics, 103-86. Uncle Drew shot just 7/16 from the floor, including 0/4 from beyond the arc to finish with 17 points in 36 minutes of play. He also managed to turn the ball over 4 times while handing out only 3 assists.
• Is it too early to give up on the Knicks, who have just lost their eighth straight game? Melo returned to the Rockies to play against his former team, and he actually did well, dropping 27-and-7 on the Nuggets. He did, however, miss a potential tie-making 14-foot J at the buzzer that allowed Denver to escape with their fifth straight victory. Meanwhile, the Knicks continue to bring up the rear in the Atlantic Division with a barf-worthy 3-12 card.

Final Score: Charlotte 92, Milwaukee 76

Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Al Jefferson scored 23 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 92-76 victory over Milwaukee to send the Bucks to their 11th consecutive defeat. Gerald Henderson scored 19 points, while Ramon Sessions and Kemba Walker scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Charlotte, which snapped a two-game skid. Brandon Knight had 17 points, while Gary Neal and Ekpe Udoh each had 10 points for the Bucks, who have their longest slide since dropping 15 straight, March 4-30, 1996.

Final Score: San Antonio 109, Orlando 91

Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Tim Duncan and Marco Belinelli led a balanced San Antonio attack with 19 points apiece in the Spurs' 109-91 rout of the Orlando Magic from Amway Center. Duncan shot 8-of-13 from the floor and added a game-high nine rebounds, while Belinelli shot 4-of-4 from behind the arc off the bench. Cory Joseph started in place of Tony Parker, who had the night off to rest a sore ankle, and added 13 points for the Spurs. San Antonio bounced back with a strong performance following its second loss of the season on Wednesday to Oklahoma City. Manu Ginobili chipped in 11 points and five assists. Orlando was also without its starting point guard, as Jameer Nelson did not play with a sprained foot. Victor Oladipo played well in his absence with 15 points and three blocked shots, and Arron Afflalo led the Magic with 17 points in the setback.

Final Score: Miami 90, Toronto 83

Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James scored a game-high 27 points with six rebounds and Dwayne Wade added 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Miami Heat staved off a Toronto comeback attempt to defeat the Raptors, 90-83. DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 25 points, while Rudy Gay chipped in 21 points and 11 rebounds and Kyle Lowry netted 15 points with six assists. James went flying in for an uncontested slam to give the Heat a 74-54 lead with 5:13 remaining in the third quarter, but the Raptors proceeded to end the period on a 16-4 run which cut the deficit to eight. Miami missed 4-of-5 shots after James' dunk and committed three turnovers in the final five minutes which sparked the Toronto spurt. The Raptors pulled to within two with 4:40 left after a layup from Gay cut the lead to 83-81, but went 2- for-10 from the free throw line in the stanza and James iced it for Miami with two buckets late.

Final Score: Atlanta 88, Dallas 87

Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Al Horford's jumper with 4.2 seconds left lifted the Atlanta Hawks to an 88-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. The Hawks trailed by as many as 17 in the second half and 13 in the fourth quarter. After Dirk Nowitzki made it 80-67 with a 3-pointer early in the frame. Atlanta, used a 14-5 burst to pull within 85-81 with just under four minutes left. The teams traded free throws, and after Nowitzki missed a short jumper, Paul Millsap buried a triple to make it 87-86 with 1:16 left. After Monta Ellis couldn't get a tough hook shot to fall, Jeff Teague missed an easy layup. The Mavs took the shot clock down until Nowitzki misfired from just above the foul line. Horford responded with the clock winding down with a jumper from the top of the key to give Atlanta the lead. Vince Carter's shot at the buzzer wasn't close.

Final Score: Boston 103, Cleveland 86

Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jordan Crawford registered a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, as the Boston Celtics pounded the Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-86, at TD Garden. Jeff Green posted 31 points and Avery Bradley scored 21 for the Celtics, who shot 61 percent in the first quarter when they raced to an 18-point lead. Brandon Bass and Jared Sullinger each had 12 points for Boston, which has won three of its last four games. The Celtics, who never trailed, snapped a four-game skid at home. Dion Waiters scored 21 in a reserve role for the Cavaliers, who have lost five in a row and eight of their last nine games.

Final Score: LA Lakers 106, Detroit 102

Auburn Hills, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Wesley Johnson had 27 points and six rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons, 106-102, on Friday night. Lakers erased an eight-point gap in the final 4:22. Brandon Jennings' reverse layup staked Detroit a 99-91 before the Lakers ripped off 12 straight. Jordan Farmar had seven points during the surge and Nick Young's driving layup made it 103-99 with 1:05 to go. Jennings nailed a jumper at the other end and Pau Gasol split a pair of foul shots with 33 ticks remaining, which made it 104-101. Jennings was fouled on a 3-point attempt from the left wing with 16.7 seconds on the clock, but missed the first two foul shots. He drained the last one to make it a two-point game. Farmar missed two critical free throws at the other end. Josh Smith, though, was whistled for an offensive foul with 2.7 seconds. He drove in from the top of the key, but Young stepped in and drew the charge. Young then made two foul shots to seal the outcome.

Final Score: Houston 114, Brooklyn 95

Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Chandler Parsons shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and made a season-high six 3-pointers as the Houston Rockets rolled past the Brooklyn Nets, 114-95. The Rockets jumped out to a 25-8 lead nine minutes into the contest and were never threatened by the slumping Nets, who have dropped two in a row and seven of eight. Parsons led six Rockets in double figures with 21 points. Omri Casspi and Aaron Brooks tallied 16 and 14 points, respectively, off the bench, while Francisco Garcia went 5- of-7 from 3-point range for 15 points. James Harden and Brooks handed out seven assists apiece.

Final Score: Indiana 93, Washington 73

Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul George scored 23 points, while Lance Stephenson nearly had his third triple-double of the season with seven points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Indiana Pacers posted a 93-73 drubbing of the Washington Wizards on Friday night. George Hill and Roy Hibbert added 13 points apiece for Indiana, which remained unbeaten at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with its ninth consecutive win to open the season. Marcin Gortat tallied 17 points with 10 rebounds for Washington and Trevor Ariza added 14 points in the setback. John Wall scored just eight points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Final Score: Oklahoma City 113, Golden State 112 (OT)

Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - The Oklahoma Thunder answered the Golden State Warriors' buzzer-beater from two weeks ago with a dagger of their own. And ever since that defeat, the Thunder have been on a roll. Russell Westbrook's go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining in overtime lifted Oklahoma City past Golden State, 113-112, on Friday night. After Serge Ibaka missed a foul-line jumper with 5.9 seconds left, Westbrook skied over two Warriors in defensive rebounding position, got his hand on the ball and bounced it off the floor near the left baseline. Thabo Sefolosha saved the ball from going out of bounds by flipping it over his head and to Westbrook, who raced to the 3-point line in the left corner and knocked down the go-ahead shot for his 34th point of the night.

Final Score: New Orleans 121, Philadelphia 105

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jrue Holiday had 20 points and 13 assists in his return to Philadelphia, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the 76ers, 121-105, Friday night. Eric Gordon scored 26 points and had seven assists for the Pelicans. Anthony Davis scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Ryan Anderson added 18 points and eight rebounds, as the Pelicans snapped a four-game road skid. Holiday, who was traded to the Pelicans on draft night, shot 8-of-13 from the field and had seven rebounds. He was Philadelphia's lone All-Star a season ago. Tony Wroten scored a career-high 24, Evan Turner had 22 and Thaddeus Young added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, who have lost nine of their last 11 games.

Final Score: Denver 97, New York 95

Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Ty Lawson scored 22 points and handed out eight assists as the Denver Nuggets held on for a 97-95 win over the New York Knicks at Pepsi Center. Randy Foye scored 17 points and J.J. Hickson poured in 13 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who have won five straight. Nate Robinson added 16 points off the bench in the win. Carmelo Anthony, who spent his first 7 1/2 seasons with Denver, scored a game-high 27 points and pulled down seven rebounds against his former club. Andrea Bargnani added 22 points, while Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith finished with 11 points apiece for the Knicks, who have lost eight straight to fall to a woeful 3-12.

Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks fell short against the Nuggets.
(image by Garrett W. Ellwood/Getty Images)

Final Score: Phoenix 112, Utah 101

Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Markieff Morris poured in a game-high 23 points off the bench as the Phoenix Suns took care of the Utah Jazz with a 112-101 win on Friday night. Goran Dragic scored 19 points with nine assists, while Eric Bledsoe also had 19 points off the bench, and Miles Plumlee netted 15 with 10 rebounds for Phoenix, which has won four of its last five. Channing Frye and Gerald Green each chipped in 13 points. Marvin Williams led six Utah players in double figures with 18 points, while Alec Burks tallied 16 points off the bench and Derrick Favors finished with 15.

Final Score: LA Clippers 104, Sacramento 98 (OT)

Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jamal Crawford had 31 points and 11 assists off the bench as the Chris Paul-less Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Sacramento Kings in overtime, 104-98, on Friday night. Blake Griffin added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won four consecutive games. DeMarcus Cousins tallied 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Sacramento, which has dropped three straight and five of its last seven tilts.

Russell Westbrook's Game-winner:

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