NBA wRap: Anthony Davis explodes for 43 points

MANILA, Philippines – The Cleveland Cavaliers’ early-season woes continued on Sunday, November 23, as the Toronto Raptors came to town and stole a win from the home club. Out west, Chandler Parsons made his return to Houston while Anthony Davis had the best game of his young career. All that and more in Sunday’s NBA wRap:

New Orleans Pelicans (7-5) – 94 Utah Jazz (5-9)
NOP: Anthony Davis: 43 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals
UTA: Gordon Hayward: 31 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists

Fantasy Line of the Day: Anthony Davis had his best career as an NBA player against the Jazz on Sunday. He finished with a carer-high 43 points on 16-of-23 shooting, went 11-of-12 from the free throw line, grabbed 15 rebounds, had 2 steals, and recorded a block. He had just 2 turnovers.

Phoenix Suns (9-5) 106 – 83 Indiana Pacers (5-8)
PHX: Gerald Green: 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
IND: Ian Mahimni: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists

The Suns’ bench was absolutely tremendous, going off for 63 points. Green came off the bench to provide 23 markers while Isaiah Thomas and Anthony Tolliver combined for 27 points.

Indiana’s injury woes took another turn for the worse on Sunday when they lost big man Roy Hibbert to a sprained left ankle early in the first period. With David West, George Hill, and Paul George still injured, things are looking bleaker for Indiana.

Game highlights:

Miami Heat (7-6) 99 – 92 Orlando Magic (6-9)
MIA: Chris Bosh: 32 points, 10 rebounds, 4 3-pointers
ORL: Nikola Vucevic: 33 points, 17 rebounds, 1 block

Bosh and Mario Chalmers took over for the Heat in the fourth quarter, combining for 24 of their team’s 31 points. Chalmers finished with 24 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds, making up for the absence of Dwyane Wade who missed his fifth straight game due to a strained hamstring.

Game highlights:

Toronto Raptors (11-2) 110 – 93 Cleveland Cavaliers (5-7)
TOR: Lou Williams: 36 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
CLE: Kyrie Irving: 21 points, 6 assists, 2 blocks

The Cavaliers were ahead 26-8 at one point in the first quarter and were up 34-21 entering the second period. Then the Raptors turned things around and took total control of the game in the third quarter, where they outscored Cleveland 29-17.

Tweet of the Day:

LeBron: "We’re a very fragile team right now … And this isn’t even the lowest it can get"

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 23, 2014

The loss sent the Cavs to a 5-7 record through their first 12 games this season, which is the worse start for any of the teams LeBron James has played for in his career.

Lou Williams had his best game as a Raptor scoring a career-high 36 points. Toronto has won four in a row and is off to its best start in franchise history at 11-2. 

Game highlights:

New York Knicks (4-10) 91 – 83 Philadelphia 76ers (0-13)
NYK: Carmelo Anthony: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
PHI: Nerlens Noel: 17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists

Houston Rockets (10-3) 95 – 92 Dallas Mavericks (10-4)
HOU: James Harden: 32 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
DAL: Monta Ellis: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

Houston beat their Texas rivals despite the absence of Dwight Howard, who missed the game as his knee continues to trouble him. Dallas was actually ahead 91-86 late in the final period before a couple of drives by James Harden got him to the free throw line, where he regained the lead for Houston.

Chandler Parsons, in his first game back in Houston, finished with 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Patrick Beverley had an outstanding game for the Rockets with 20 points hitting a career-high 6 three-pointers in the process.

Sacramento Kings (8-5) 113 – 101 Minnesota Timberwolves (3-9)
SAC: DeMarcus Cousins: 31 points, 18 rebounds, 2 blocks
MIN: Andrew Wiggins: 29 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals

Rookie Andrew Wiggins had his best game of the season, while second-year man Anthony Bennett continued his good play with 10 points and 6 rebounds against the Kings.

Washington Wizards (9-3) 111 – 100 Milwaukee Bucks (7-7)
WAS: Paul Pierce: 25 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
MIL: Brandon Knight: 27 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds

San Antonio Spurs (9-4) 99 – 87 Brooklyn Nets (5-8)
SAS: Danny Green: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks
BKN: Deron Williams: 24 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds

The win extended the Spurs’ winning streak to four games after they got off to a slow star this NBA season. During their victory over Brooklyn, San Antonio played a little bit of football on this connection between Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard:

– Rappler.com