NBA scores 2014: Kemba Walker strikes again and 3 other things we learned

The Charlotte guard continued his streak of clutch baskets with a late dagger against Toronto.

Jan 9, 2015, 12:55 PM UTC

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Is Kemba Walker clutch? Is anyone clutch? Maybe, maybe not -- and as we decided earlier, who cares as long as it's fun to watch.

Walker hit yet another dagger shot late in a Hornets win on Thursday, continuing of the most fun trends thus far this season. Since limping to a 6-19 start, Charlotte has won eight of their last 13 games and surged back into playoff consideration -- they sit just two and a half games out now. This late-game specialty from Walker sealed a 103-95 win against the Raptors.

Charlotte had a four-point lead with less than 20 seconds left, so they probably were going to win even if Walker’s shot missed. But he didn’t, even while flinging himself backwards in a step-back attempt that just cleared Amir Johnson’s outstretched fingertips and landed home in the basket seconds later. The shot removed any doubt of the impending outcome.

Meanwhile, Toronto's loss makes it four straight for the team that had sat atop the Eastern Conference nearly the entire season. They've now tumbled to the third seed behind the Hawks and the Bulls.

The East is evening out of late, as teams who started poorly find their feet and squads that began the year unreasonably hot fall back to earth. As long as it keeps happening in ways similar to Walker’s entertaining run in the clutch, nobody is complaining one way or another.

3 other things we learned

Portland takes over in the second half. The Trail Blazers outscored the Heat by 17 in the third quarter, but the definitive sequence came with just under 10 minutes to go. Wesley Matthews sprinted to the corner in transition, the ball rotated to him and he drained a 3-pointer. Seconds later, Chris Kaman swatted a shot and this time Matthews started the transition opportunity, driving into the lane and throwing a pass out to Allen Crabbe, who buried a 3-point of his own. The Blazers went up by 15 and never gave Miami another chance in a 99-83 win.

So much for the Josh Smith effect (well, at least for one team). Houston has won three of their last four, including a 120-96 laugher on Thursday against the Knicks that featured seven Rockets in double figures. Houston moved Smith to the bench and he's been more effective playing with their second unit, where his defensive impact can make more of an impression. It's the right role for the controversial big man, something Houston must convince him of.

Chris Bosh struggles in the Miami loss. The Heat still have some talent, but their bottom five offense and clunky offense lacking any magic has struggled against just about everyone of late. They've lost 14 of their last 20 and did it again on Thursday. Although he's having a great statistical season, Bosh only managed 18 points on 5-of-16 shooting against Portland and it showed as the Heat offered little resistance to the Blazers' second-half rally.