NBA wRap: Kerr makes history as Warriors win 14th straight

 

MANILA, Philippines – History was made in the Bay Area for Golden State head coach Steve Kerr as his Warriors beat the Houston Rockets. In Charlotte, Rajon Rondo dropped another triple-double but also threw a nasty elbow. In Orlando, the Wizards barely scraped by the Magic thanks to some late-game magic from Bradley Beal. All that and more in Thurday’s, December 11, NBA wRap:

 

Charlotte Hornets (6-15) 96 – 87 Boston Celtics (7-13)

CHA: Al Jefferson 23 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists

BOS: Rajon Rondo 12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists

Lance Stephenson didn’t have a great game, scoring 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting. But he did put Evan Turner on a highlight reel, and provided a nice shimmy-shimmy dance move after:

It looks like Rondo, who had a triple-double, wasn’t a fan of Stephenson’s antics and decided to take matters into his own hands, or, well, elbow:

 

Los Angeles Clippers (16-5) 103 – 96 Indiana Pacers (7-15)

LAC: Chris Paul 17 points, 15 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals

IND: CJ Miles 30 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

That’s now nine straight wins for the Clippers. DeAndre Jordan was great with 12 points and 19 rebounds, while Blake Griffin also had an all-around effort with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jamal Crawford came off the bench to register 18 points.

 

Washington Wizards (15-6) 91 – 89 Orlando Magic (9-15)

WAS: John Wall 21 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds

ORL: Victor Oladipo 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

Bradley Beal nailed an alley-oop off an inbound pass from Andre Miller to win the game for Washington at the buzzer:

Atlanta Hawks (15-6) 95 – 79 Philadelphia 76ers (2-19)

ATL: DeMarre Carroll 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

PHI: Michael Carter-Williams 8 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists

The Hawks have now won eight straight, which is their longest winning streak in the past four seasons. Kyle Korver was tremendous against Philly, scoring 17 points thanks to five 3-pointers.  

 

Chicago Bulls (13-8) 105 – 80 Brooklyn Nets (8-12)

CHI: Pau Gasol 16 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks

BKN: Deron Williams 17 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds

 

Minnesota Timberwolves (5-16) 90 – 82 Portland Trail Blazers (17-5)

MIN: Andrew Wiggins 23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists

POR: Damian Lillard 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists

Lillard throws it down!

 

And so does Shabazz Muhammad, who posterized Chris Kaman:

 

Dallas Mavericks (17-7) 112 – 107 New Orleans Pelicans (10-11)

DAL: Monta Ellis 26 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds

NOP: Anthony Davis 31 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks

Here is your daily reminder that Anthony Davis is freakishly athletic:

Anthony Davis only needs one hand. http://t.co/izcZ6bfbG4

— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) December 11, 2014

San Antonio Spurs (16-8) 109 – 95 New York Knicks (4-20)

SAS: Marco Belinelli 22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

NYK: Tim Hardaway Jr 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

The Spurs won without Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan. Sure, the Knicks played without Carmelo Anthony, but they should have put on a much better effort as they went up against a starting unit of Cory Joseph, Danny Green, Kyle Anderson, Matt Bonner, and Aron Baynes.

 

Golden State Warriors (19-2) 102 – 93 Houston Rockets (16-5)

GSW: Steph Curry 20 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists

HOU: James Harden 34 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals

At one point in the fourth quarter, Houston was down only two, 91-89. And then GSW took over with a Green-Barnes-Curry-Thompson-Livingston lineup. The Warriors finished the game on a 22-7 run, and their fourth quarter, as their play-by-play man said, was a “sight to behold.” 

GSW extends their franchise-best winning streak to 14 games, and Kerr now has the best record to start a season through 21 games for an NBA rookie head coach in history. The Dubs are in good position, even if they had to play without the injured Andrew Bogut. David Lee’s returning soon as well.

 

Denver Nuggets (10-12) 102-82 Miami Heat (10-12)

DEN: Arron Afflalo 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist

MIA: Chris Bosh 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block 

At the half, the Heat and Nuggets were tired at 48-all. And then the second half was all Denver as Miami went ice-cold on offense and couldn’t stop any Nugget from scoring.

 

Fantasy Line of the Day: Despite the loss, James Harden gave his fantasy owners another reason to be happy. With 34 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. He shot 14-of-27 from the field, hit 3 of his 8 attempts from downtown, went 3-of-4 from the line, and threw away 5 turnovers. 

– Rappler.com