Jeff Teague leads the way for the Hawks…
The Atlanta Hawks prevailed in a battle between the two top teams in the NBA as they defeated the Golden State Warriors at the Philips Arena on Friday night.
Jeff Teague scored 23 points but seven Hawks players ended the game with double figures as the team outshone the one-two back-court punch of the Warriors.
Klay Thompson scored 29 points while Stephen Curry added 26 with nine assists, but it wasn’t enough to deny Atlanta improving to 42-9 for the season for the league’s best record.
Al Horford had 12 points and 14 rebounds while Paul Millsap added 21 for the hosts as Warriors coach Steve Kerr conceded that they broke them down defensively as they are a very good team on offense.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers saw their winning streak end at 12 after a loss to the Indiana Pacers with David West putting up 20 points, 13 rebounds and three assists for the hosts.
Kyrie Irving had 29 points for the Cavs, but it wasn’t enough as the Pacers picked up a huge win with CJ Miles scoring 26 points to give them the boost they needed to overcome their Eastern Conference rivals.
Staying in the East, the Toronto Raptors overcame a slow start to beat the Los Angeles Clippers with DeMar DeRozan filling the stat line with 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Blake Griffin responded for the Clippers with 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss.
Elsewhere, the Houston Rockets built on James Harden’s 33 points to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks as they hit 15 3-pointers as a team to claim the win while the San Antonio Spurs were led by Kawhi Leonard to a win over the Miami Heat in their first meeting since the NBA Finals last year.
Nevertheless, the drama of the night came in Oklahoma City as the New Orleans Pelicans overcame their rivals the Thunder with a dramatic buzzer-beater from Anthony Davis.
Davis finished the game with 41 points and 10 rebounds to out-do Russell Westbrook (48 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists), as he nailed his first 3-pointer of the season and proved he is one of the best clutch players in the NBA as he sealed the win in a thrilling game between two rivals fighting for the last playoff spot in the West.
“If you don’t want to be great, step aside and let somebody else be great,” Davis said. “Everybody just wanted to be great tonight. I know I had to be great. I want to be great, so you have to be able to accept the challenges.”
NBA Results
New York Knicks 88-92 Brooklyn Nets
Cleveland Cavaliers 99-103 Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers 97-103 Orlando Magic
Los Angeles Clippers 107-123 Toronto Raptors
Golden State Warriors 116-124 Atlanta Hawks
Philadelphia 76ers 96-107 Boston Celtics
Denver Nuggets 88-98 Detroit Pistons
Milwaukee Bucks 111-117 Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzlies 89-90 Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans 116-113 Oklahoma City Thunder
Utah Jazz 93-100 Phoenix Suns
Miami Heat 85-98 San Antonio Spurs
COMMENTS