GAME OF THE NIGHT -- HAWKS 104 ROCKETS 96
: Atlanta started with some uncharacteristically sloppy basketball, turning the ball over nine times in the first quarter and allowing Houston to create open looks on the other end. The Rockets, playing without James Harden because of his one-game suspension for an ill-advised kick, moved the ball like the Hawks do and built what eventually became an 18-point lead.
Credit Houston for looking pretty good without its two best players. Terrence Jones (18 points, 8-11 FG, eight rebounds, two assists, three blocks) continued to impress and Jason Terry (21 points) couldn't miss. The Rockets couldn't keep it going for 48 minutes, though.
Atlanta cut into the lead after halftime and outscored Houston 32-15 in the final frame. The Hawks were everywhere, with Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder pushing the pace and creating open shots. The Rockets got nothing in the paint, and the missed jumpers meant Atlanta was able to pull off quite the comeback. KA-KAW!
TROLL OF THE YEAR
: Josh Smith didn't have a bad game against his former team, but he might have provided his ex-teammates some extra motivation. Late in the third quarter, he hilariously shushed the crowd after getting a lucky bounce on a 3-pointer:
A few minutes later, he swished a 3 and did it again:
A 21-3 Atlanta run soon followed. Never anger the Hawks.
BLOWOUTS!: The Cavs and Kings both led by as many as 44 points against the Celtics and Knicks, respectively. Neither game took long to get ridiculously one-sided, which made it easier to decide which games to watch on League Pass. Some fun and not-fun-at-all numbers:
LeBron James was +35 in 26 minutes. Plus-35! He also piled up 27 points in that time, with five assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block. He started the game looking to score almost every time down the floor.
James hit all three of his free throws, if you were wondering.
The Kings' Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins and Ben McLemore combined for 67 points on 37 shots. None of them played in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Bass led Boston in scoring with 15 points (on 15 shots). Isaiah Thomas was his only teammate in double figures, with 11 (on 13 shots).
Alexey Shved led New York in scoring with 15 points (on 11 shots). Shane Larkin and Jason Smith added 13 apiece. The Knicks' starters shot 8-for-29 from the field for a total of 24 points.
The Celtics shot 35.2 percent from the field. The Knicks shot 36.6 percent.
Cleveland's Kendrick Perkins played the entire fourth quarter and attempted seven shots. He made two of them.
The Cavs have won 12 games in a row at home.
BEHIND THE BRON: Look how excited this Cavs fan is after James goes behind-the-back on a fast break.
Oh, one other thing about James: he passed his former teammate, Ray Allen, to move into 21st place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He has 24,508 points, and he'll overtake Patrick Ewing (24,815) pretty soon.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
: Gee, I wonder why DeMarcus Cousins isn't used to stuff like this.
Boogie on 44-point lead: "Felt kinda weird."
— alex (@steven_lebron) March 4, 2015
DUNK OF THE NIGHT: Jeffery Taylor got some serious air on his driving dunk against the Lakers.
That came in a 104-103 Hornets win, which means they're tied with the Nets for the eighth playoff spot in the East.
LINE OF THE NIGHT -- RUDY GOBERT: You have to love the Jazz lately. They're defending out of their minds, and a lot of it is because of the presence of the Stifle Tower. Gobert actually didn't block a single shot in Utah's 93-82 win over the Grizzlies, but he still had a crazy line: 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, 24 rebounds and one assist in 36 minutes.
MEMPHIS NEEDS TO GET HEALTHY
: The already ailing Grizz had to move Kosta Koufos into the starting lineup with Zach Randolph under the weather, so this was their entire bench: Jon Leuer, JaMychal Green, Nick Calathes and Jordan Adams. They're 5-5 in their last 10 games.
SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENED FOR THE BULLS
: After an awful loss to the Clippers and the news that Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler would be out for a while, Chicago took advantage of a team in perhaps even deeper trouble. The Wizards and Bulls played an ugly game, and -- hey, this is familiar -- the undermanned Chicago team came away with a 97-92 victory.
Pau Gasol had 20 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 8-for-11 from the field. Nikola Mirotic scored a game-high 23 points off the bench. Washington's lost 12 of 15, which, yikes.
BLOCK OF THE NIGHT: Giannis Antetokounmpo was kind enough to demonstrate how you make up for a turnover.
THE NUGGETS HAVE A PULSE: Denver dismissed Brian Shaw on Tuesday, and under Melvin Hunt the team did appear to have a bit more energy. We haven't seen plays like this one from Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried as much as we should have lately:
MEANWHILE IN MIAMI: It's Shane Battier's annual Battioke. Michael Beasley and Henry Walker sang Vanessa Carlton.
