NBA Scores: Spurs are the best in the West and Kobe Bryant sets a record

On Monday night, the then-below .500 San Antonio Spurs traveled to Los Angeles and knocked off one of the best teams in Western Conference in the Los Angeles. That game was followed up by a Tuesday night matchup in Golden State.

At first glance, this appeared to be one of those early season scheduling quirks that Gregg Popovich punts. A team like the Spurs, which always goes out of its way to rest its players, rarely takes both games seriously. Before the contest there were questions about whether Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili would even suit up.

Tony Parker looked fantastic and shredded the Warriors' defense in an efficient 28-point performance. Duncan played 35 minutes for the second consecutive night -- are we sure Popovich hasn't been inhabited by an alien or something? -- and controlled the paint with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Manu Ginobili did Manu Ginobili things, the ball swung side to side and Kawhi Leonard, who appears to be getting his eyesight back, scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting and helped slow down Golden State's prolific backcourt.

The Kings still have some Kings in them: That's not to say that they're the same Kings we've grown accustomed to seeing over the years, But blowing a 24-4 lead to the Mavericks on Tuesday night and losing 106-98 was not a good look. At 5-3, the Kings are still doing better than even the most optimistic of fans could have hoped. The defense has been excellent (the 100 points per 100 possessions that Sacramento was surrendering coming into Tuesday was the eighth-best mark in the league), and if not for Anthony Davis, we'd spend more time talking about DeMarcus Cousins. But this team still has tons of holes, and while 40 wins is a possibility, the road ahead is a long one.

The Blazers don't need Nicolas Batum to play D: Yeah, they gave up 100 points to the Hornets and let them shoot 47 percent, but they also held Charlotte to 15 fourth quarter points. Ultimately, it was the defense, that propelled Portland to a 102-100 comeback win. Last year Portland gave up 104.7 points per 100 possessions, a number that was about league average. This year the Blazers are holding teams to 99 points per 100 possessions, the sixth-best mark in the NBA. Historically you need to be in the top 10 to have a shot at winning the title.

Portland's offense, with LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard will always be there. The question coming into the season was how would the defense hold up. So far, it's been excellent. If it continues to be, Portland might be able to make some noise.

With this jumper, Dirk Nowitzki passed Hakeem Olajuwon and moved into ninth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Nowitzki has 26,953 career points, leaving him just 360 behind Elvis Hayes' 27,313 and 456 behind Moses Malone's 27,409, meaning he'll move past both of them this season. Shaquille O'Neal is No. 6 on the list with 28,596, while Wilt Chamberlain is No. 5 with 31,419. It's likely that Dirk will retire sandwiched somewhere between those two, though he could work his way up even higher. Nowitzki retiring as one of the top-five scorers in NBA history is not something many predicted 10 years ago.

Again, Tobias Harris was recently asked what sort of effect Tyler Hansbrough has on a game. "None," he said. #magic

— David Baumann (@DavidBaumannCBS) November 12, 2014

Everyone knows Monta Ellis is fast. But who knew he could take off like this?

Maybe the NBA can add an outlet pass contest to All Star Weekend and we can see Marc Gasol and Kevin Love go head-to-head.

This six second video perfectly sums up the Lakers' season and how Kobe is dealing with all this. And it's only November!

Raptors 104, Magic 100 (Raptors HQ recap | Orlando Pinstriped Post recap)

Grizzlies 107, Lakers 102 (Grizzly Bear Blues recap | Silver Screen and Roll recap)

Bucks 85, Thunder 78 (Brew Hoop recap | Welcome to Loud City)

Blazers 102, Hornets 100 (Blazer's Edge recap | At the Hive recap)