Meanwhile, Knicks stop their slide with shock win in Minnesota.
There were 10 games on the NBA schedule on Wednesday night, with Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah posting up his second triple-double of the week.
After putting on a show against the New York Knicks on Sunday, Noah was back at it in Detroit against the Pistons after finishing with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
It was a sixth triple-double of his career thus far, with teammate Jimmy Butler insisting that he is “our leader” and that the team as a whole are starting to expect those kind of numbers from him.
Butler finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, although the remaining starters struggled in comparison with reserves D.J. Augustin and Taj Gibson combining for 48 points to help the Bulls to victory.
Augustin ended the game with 26 points while Gibson had 22 as Chicago made it four wins from their last five to improve to 34-27 which moves them level with the Toronto Raptors for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t such a successful night for the leaders in the East as the Indiana Pacers were defeated by the Charlotte Bobcats.
Al Jefferson scored 34 points to stun Indiana who slip to two consecutive losses for just the second time this season, as the Bobcats move to 28-33 after winning their fifth straight home game.
Kemba Walker added 19 points and nine assists to help secure the win, while on the other end Evan Turner had 22 points for the Pacers.
However, it wasn’t enough for Indiana (46-15) who have been showing signs of weakness in recent weeks despite the fact that they are the first team to secure their playoff spot.
Elsewhere, there was a real shock in the West as the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a significant home loss to the New York Knicks, who ended a seven-game losing streak.
Carmelo Anthony had 33 points while Raymond Felton added 18, but it was undoubtedly a team effort as both Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire stepped up to ensure that the losing came to an end.
Kevin Love had 19 points and eight rebounds but scored just one point in the second half, and although coach Rick Adelman was disappointed with the loss, he is keen to see his players react and bounce back immediately against the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors stayed hot on their latest Eastern Conference road trip, with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combining for 32 points to help their team to victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Warriors were determined not to slip after their impressive win over the Pacers the previous night, and Thompson insisted that “this win validates last night” as Golden State improve to 38-24, with a staggering 20 road wins this season.
There was disappointing news in Portland though, as Kyle Korver’s record streak of games with consecutive three-pointers made came to an end at 127 during Atlanta’s defeat to the Trail Blazers.
NBA Results:
Indiana Pacers 87-109 Charlotte Bobcats
Houston Rockets 101-89 Orlando Magic
Utah Jazz 91-104 Washington Wizards
Golden State Warriors 108-88 Boston Celtics
Memphis Grizzlies 94-103 Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bull 105-94 Detroit Pistons
Sacramento Kings 116-102 Milwaukee Bucks
New York Knicks 118-106 Minnesota Timberwolves
Dallas Mavericks 110-115 Denver Nuggets
Atlanta Hawks 78-102 Portland Trail Blazers
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