Day 19 of the delayed/cancelled NBA simulation season as it was originally scheduled:
Chicago and Milwaukee continue to battle atop the East standings while Atlanta clamps down defensively on defending champion Dallas.
Cleveland Cavaliers 81, Charlotte Bobcats 92
Top pick Kyrie Irving had one of his best games of the early year with 25 points and 6 assists, but it was not enough to get the win. Fellow rookie Tristan Thompson helped out with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Charlotte was led by D.J. Augustin’s 21 points. Kemba Walker added 13.
New Orleans Hornets 93, Orlando Magic 109
Orlando evened up its record at 5-5 with the road win over the Hornets. Dwight Howard went a perfect 9-9 from the field and hit 9-11 free throws for 27 points. He also added 13 rebounds and 2 steals. Forwards Hedo Turkoglu and Ryan Anderson combined to score 41 points in support of Howard. Chris Paul had 20 points while Trevor Ariza had 19 points and 5 rebounds.
Dallas Mavericks 77, Atlanta Hawks 79
Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points, but none of his other teammates got any kind of offense going as Dallas was limited to just 77 points. The Mavs shot just 42 percent as a team. Atlanta had five guys score in double figures led by Josh Smith’s 20.
Minnesota Timberwolves 90, Memphis Grizzlies 104
The slide continues for Minnesota as it lost for the fourth time in a row. Rudy Gay had 33 points while Zach Randolph had 21. The Grizzlies shot 50 percent from the field and limited the Wolves to just 38.4 percent shooting.
New Jersey Nets 88, Houston Rockets 82
The Rockets had a terrible offensive performance shooting just 36 percent, and lost a winnable game to the Nets. New Jersey was led by Deron Williams who had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists. Kevin Martin had a rare inefficient night needing 17 shots to score 18 points.
Sacramento Kings 97, San Antonio Spurs 110
The Spurs shot 48 percent as a team and used a balanced attack to dismantle the Kings. Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio with 18 points on just 8 shots while Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, DeJuan Blair, and Tim Duncan all scored between 10 and 13 points. John Salmons had a monster game for the Kings with 29 points.
Portland Trail Blazers 94, Milwaukee Bucks 109
Milwaukee pushed its record to second best in the East while Portland continued to slide down the West standings. The Bucks were powered by the backcourt as Carlos Delfino, Brandon Jennings, and Stephen Jackson combined for 58 points. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Portland which fell to 2-8.
Washington Wizards 100, Denver Nuggets 135
Denver clearly got sick of losing and erupted for 135 points and a win. Danilo Gallinari and Andre Miller both scored 21 points while Ty Lawson added another 20. Chris Andersen chipped in with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. JaVale McGee had 16 points and 8 rebounds for Washington.
Chicago Bulls 89, Los Angeles Clippers 74
Carlos Boozer continued his solid regular season play with 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead Chicago. Derrick Rose had 30 points and 9 assists. The Clippers were led by Eric Gordon’s 22 points and Blake Griffin’s 12 points and 7 rebounds. No other Clipper scored in double figures.
