Thursday night featured a great “on-paper” schedule that didn’t go as planned. All three games were decided by at least 20 points, highlighted by the Brooklyn Nets losing by 30 to the New York Knicks. Here’s a roundup on the three-game blowout fest that was Thursday night in the NBA:
NBA scores 2013: Knicks dominate Nets, Heat fall to Bulls without Dwyane Wade
It was a night of blowouts in the NBA, featuring the Battle in New York and a good ole’ Bulls-Heat game.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
New York Knicks 113, Brooklyn Nets 83
New York led by as many as 34 points and snapped a nine-game losing streak by beating the pants off of Brooklyn wire-to-wire. Except Andrea Bargnani -- he pulled their shorts. No, really:
When he wasn’t busy throwing Garnett to the floor, he was throwing dunks down after blowing by him:
Or talking trash after draining a three over him and getting ejected for his second technical on the night:
We now live in a world where Andrea Bargnani talks trash to Kevin Garnett. Rightfully so. Bargnani had a solid night, making seven of his 13 shot attempts to finish the night (a littler earlier than anticipated) with 16 points. Carmelo Anthony was also efficient from the field, shooting 66.7% while scoring a team-high 19 points.
Brooklyn’s defense looked like the worst defense in the league. Probably because it is. They’re were at the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency, allowing 110.6 points per 100 possessions going into the night, per Basketball-Reference. Allowing the Knicks to shoot 57 percent from the field probably isn’t going to help them out of the cellar.
The Knicks are still behind the Nets in the Eastern Conference standings even after the Brooklyn beat down, though. Here's the moment Iman Shumpert realized it:
Things were going well for Memphis. They had a two-point lead going into halftime and were holding off the Clippers. Then they scored 11 points through the entire third quarter and eventually were down 21 points during the fourth quarter.
Game, Clippers.
Los Angeles’ bench put in a combined 50 points and were locked on from beyond the arc. Here’s a shot chart filtered down to just the Clippers’ reserves:
The Grizzlies defense couldn’t hold up and by the fourth had been completely ground down by Los Angeles. The Clippers outscored Memphis 37-28 in the fourth and were able to get their starters off the court for some extra rest as they trudge along in the middle of a seven-game road trip.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention DeAndre Jordan’s 10 points, 14 rebounds and astonishing 32-point positive differential on the night. The Clippers didn’t miss many shots, and even when they did...:
Yeah, that about sums up the Grizzlies’ second half collapse.
Chicago Bulls 107, Miami Heat 87
What if I told you the Chicago Bulls soared to new heights without Derrick Rose? What if I told you the Miami Heat looked terrible without Dwyane Wade and are kinda-sorta old dudes?
Well, you’d probably tell me, “Whats the big deal?” if you watched the Bulls-Heat game. Chicago thrashed the Heat, who were without Flash-WoW-Wade-Three for the second straight game because of his “sore knees.” Sore knees usually stay sore, and Wade even underwent treatment to try and alleviate pain in those high-mileage legs over the summer. It’s the first week of December.
Joakim Noah was all over the place doing Joakim Noah-things. He finished with 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. If you dominated the Heat's inside presence and you know it, do jazz hands:
Chicago fans were feeling so good they decided to use an inflatable Benny the Bull as a prop-disguise for a marriage proposal:
Good for you, Chicago. Good for you.
More from SB Nation NBA:
See More:
