NBA wRap: Pelicans end Hawks’ winning streak

MANILA, Philippines – Yes. The Atlanta Hawks finally lost on Tuesday, February 3 (PH time), thanks to Anthony Davis and his New Orleans Pelicans. In other news, the Cleveland Cavaliers won again, Ricky Rubio returned, and the Memphis Grizzlies had a tremendous comeback.

All that and more on Tuesday’s NBA wRap:

Cleveland Cavaliers (30-20) 97 – 84 Philadelphia 76ers (10-39)
CLE: Kyrie Irving: 24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
PHI: Robert Covington: 18 points, 7 steals, 4 assists, 3 rebounds

The Cavaliers have now won 11 straight games thanks to a 28-19 fourth quarter against Philadelphia. LeBron James had 18 points,11 assists, and 3 rebounds in the win, while Kevin Love grabbed 15 rebounds but had just 5 points.

Love had a horrendous game shooting wise (1-of-7), but at least he threw a better pass than the one Russell Wilson had against New England down the stretch of the Super Bowl:

Seriously, why not run the ball with Marshawn Lynch?

The Cavs have now tied the Bulls in the win column and are one game back in the loss column for control over the Central Division and no. 4 seed in the East.

Charlotte Hornets (21-27) 92 – 88 Washington Wizards (31-18)
CHA: Al Jefferson: 18 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals
WAS: Bradley Beal: 18 points, 11 rebounds

Even without Kemba Walker, the Hornets beat the Wizards. Outside of Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also had a good game with 13 points and 13 rebounds while Brian Roberts put up 18 points.

Charlotte has won two straight and is 7-3 in their last 10 games. They’re one game back of Miami in the loss column for the no. 7 seed in the East.

Brooklyn Nets (19-28) 102 – 100 Los Angeles Clippers (33-16)
BKN: Joe Johnson: 22 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds
LAC: Chris Paul: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists

In a game that went down the wire, Jarrett Jack (6 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) was the hero of the contest. He delivered a pass to Alan Anderson late that led to a four-point play, and after LAC tied the match at 100-all, he hit a tough step-back jumper over DeAndre Jordan to seal the win.

Here’s Anderson’s four-point play:

And then here’s Jack’s game-winner:

Take a look at an image displaying how truly difficult Jack’s shot was:

This is how difficult Jarrett Jack’s game winner was: pic.twitter.com/eAwYSk7cHB

— Reed Wallach (@ReedWallach) February 3, 2015

On a small but related note, I love bench celebrations in the NBA. Don’t you?

THE NETS ARE EXCITED. pic.twitter.com/U2cIqYjGSQ

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) February 3, 2015

Milwaukee Bucks (26-22) 82 – 75 Toronto Raptors (33-16)
MIL: Khris Middleton: 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals
TOR: Jonas Valanciunas: 12 points, 13 rebounds, 1 block

The Bucks, even with the torn ACL injury to Jabari Parker and the fact that their starting center doesn’t like to play basketball, continues to win. They’ve now won four straight and are the no. 6 seed in the East, just two games behind Cleveland in the loss column.

Terrence Ross is a freak. And by freak, we mean athletic freak of nature:

New Orleans Pelicans (26-22) 115 – 100 Atlanta Hawks (40-9)
NOP: Anthony Davis: 29 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
ATL: Jeff Teague: 21 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds

The streak is over! New Orleans snapped Atlanta’s 19-game winning run on Tuesday thanks to the dominating performance of Davis. Eric Gordon also played well, finishing with 20 points and 7 assists, while Tyreke Evans put up 15 and 12.

The Hawks shouldn’t feel bad. They’re comfortably ahead of the standings in the East and they did just go an entire month without losing. And if their streak was going to end, it might as well have been against the team who’s going to have the best player in the NBA in four years:

Oklahoma City Thunder (24-24) 104 – 97 Orlando Magic (15-36)
OKC: Russell Westbrook: 25 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds, 4 steals
ORL: Victor Oladipo: 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

Tuesday’s game vs. the Magic was indicative of why I think Westbrook is the best point guard in the NBA. Sure, he can shoot bricks sometimes but he can affect the game in so many angles. He scored, rebounded, passed, defended, and created havoc against Orlando, leading to a much-needed W for his team who is in the battle for the last playoff seed in the West.

Oh and he can do things like this:

Dallas Mavericks (33-17) 100 – 94 Minnesota Timberwolves (8-40)
DAL: Chandler Parsons: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals
MIN: Thaddeus Young: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

Already playing without Rajon Rondo, who suffered a pair of facial injuries in his team’s last game and will be out a few games, Dallas lost back-up guard Devin Harris to a grotesque injury against Minnesota: 

Warning: This vine may be too graphic. You may go ahead and scroll down.

The good news is, x-rays came back negative.

More good news: Ricky Rubio is back! After missing close to three months, the point guard played 21 minutes, put up 10 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds, and threw this great lob to Andrew Wiggins, giving T-Wolves fans a lot of hope that the future is bright:

The Mavs have won their last three games and currently sit at no. 6 in the West standings with a 33-17 record.

Memphis Grizzlies (36-12) 102 – 101 Phoenix Suns (28-22)
MEM: Marc Gasol: 15 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
PHX: Eric Bledsoe: 21 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks

Phoenix had this game won after a triple by Isaiah Thomas (24 points) put their team up 101-94. And then Memphis rallied, capped off by an and-one play from Jeff Green (12 points, 7 rebounds) to seal the victory:

This was a bad choke-loss for Phoenix, most especially since the teams on their heels for the no. 8 seed in the West – Thunder, Pelicans – won on Tuesday.

Also, Mike Conley is mean:

– Rappler.com