NBA wRap: Griffin delivers at the buzzer

MANILA, Philippines – The NBA’s schedule of games on Tuesday, December 9, featured quite a number of overtime games. In Brooklyn, royalty met royalty. In Washington, John Wall tormented the Celtics on the court. And In Los Angeles, the Clippers and Suns played a game to remember. All that and more in Tuesday’s NBA wRap:

This was hands down the best play of the day:

Atlanta Hawks (14-6) 108 – 92 Indiana Pacers (7-14)
ATL: Al Horford: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks
IND: Rodney Stuckey: 15 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists

The Hawks are on a roll, having won 7 straight and 8 of their last 9 games, which is their longest since the 2009-2010 season. It was also the 5th time Atlanta held an opponent to under 100 points in the last seven games.

Washington Wizards (14-6) 133 – 132 Boston Celtics (7-12)
WAS: John Wall: 26 points, 17 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
BOS: Evan Turner: 18 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds

Prior to the match, John Wall was going through a tough stretch after a cancer patient friend of his, Miyah Telemaque-Nelson, 6-years-old, passed away from Burkitt’s Lymphoma. Wall played the game anyway, and delivered 10 straight points in the game’s second overtime to lead his team to the win, along with dropping a career-high in the assists department.

After the game, he couldn’t hide his emotions during the post-game interview as he talked about Nelson:

It was an incredibly touching scene. Wall also sent a tweet later on:

If you were blessed to meet and get to know Miyah you know how special of a little gir… http://t.co/FjGYmt9oZR pic.twitter.com/twA7IjMI4k

— John Wall (@JohnWall) December 9, 2014

Cleveland Cavaliers (12-7) 110 – 88 Brooklyn Nets (8-11)
CLE: Dion Waiters: 26 points, 4 assists, 2 steals
BKN: Deron Williams: 13 points, 11 assists, 2 rebounds

Prior to the game, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met what some people in America consider “royalty”. Kate and William meets Jay-Z and Beyonce:

And then they watched LeBron James and the Cavs destroy the Nets for their seventh straight win. The reaction of Jay-Z to this LeBron turnaround jumper was priceless:

Toronto Raptors (16-5) 112 – 107 Denver Nuggets (9-12)
TOR: Jonas Valanciunas: 18 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks
DEN: Ty Lawson: 22 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds

Golden State Warriors (18-2) 102 – 86 Minnesota Timberwolves (4-16)
GSW: Steph Curry: 21 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
MIN: Andrew Wiggins: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists

The Warriors cruised to their 13th straight win – the longest running winning streak in the NBA today:

Sacramento Kings (11-10) 101 – 92 Utah Jazz (5-16)
SAC: Rudy Gay: 29 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
UTA: Gordon Hayward: 19 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals

Los Angeles Clippers (15-5) 121 – 120 Phoenix Suns (12-10)
LAC: Blake Griffin: 45 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
PHX: Eric Bledsoe: 27 points, 16 assists, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks

The Kings and Clippers also needed overtime to decide a winner in this Pacific Division matchup. But before we get to the conclusion of the game, let’s check out what Blake Griffin did with Julius Erving in the house:

The Suns were up 120-116 with 34 seconds to go, then somehow blew the game. First, JJ Redick hit an easy layup that cut the lead to two. Then, after Goran Dragic couldn’t make a basket, LAC received a chance to steal the game from Phoenix, and they did just that by turning to Griffin who hit his first career game-winner:

Tweet of the Day:

BABYFACE pic.twitter.com/u4erVrT2Vr

— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) December 9, 2014

Fantasy Line of the Day: Honorable mention to Griffin for his incredible performance, but the Fantasy Line of the Day belongs to Bledsoe, who put up 27 points, 16 assists, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He shot 7-of-14 from the floor, 3-of-6 from downtown, and went 9-of-9 from the line.

– Rappler.com