NBA scores 2014: Fear the Southwest Division and 3 other things we learned Monday night

The Texas trio have been tough for much of the past decade, but Memphis continues to show its defensive prowess and now New Orleans is an emerging power. Plus, three other things we learned Saturday night.

by Tim Cato

Nov 4, 2014, 1:00 PM UTC

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

The best division in basketball is the Southwest, and Monday night in the NBA made that even more clear.

Early in the season, the trio of Texas teams, New Orleans and Memphis have combined to go 13-4 with just one of those losses coming outside of the division. To put it another way: the division is made up of two of the four remaining undefeated teams in the NBA, the reigning champions, the best offense in the NBA and Anthony Davis.

On Monday, Memphis edged out the Pelicans 93-81 for a franchise record of 16 consecutive wins at home. It wasn't a particularly pretty game, but Memphis is the king of winning ugly (like its 71-69 win against Charlotte on Saturday). With a healthy Marc Gasol back leading the defense, the Grizzlies suffocated New Orleans for much of the game.

They even did well against Anthony Davis -- who hit half of his shots but was limited to just 12 attempts. Still, they couldn’t prevent everything because how can you stop this?

While the Pelicans are probably the least talented team in the division, Davis’ ability to go off -- like his ridiculous 26, 17 and nine line on opening night -- has to scare any team. New Orleans is a young team that is still maturing, but on nights the Pelicans put it all together, they can beat any team in the league.

Traveling a few hundred miles west to Houston, the Rockets let Philadelphia hang in the game into the second half before hitting a barrage of three-pointers (finishing 16-of-34 on the game) that put the Sixers away for good, 104-93. With six more hits from deep this game, Trevor Ariza has now started the season 16-of-27 from downtown, part of a ridiculous offensive start for the new Houston starting forward.

Rounding out the night was Dallas, which exploded for a 40-point first quarter and looked to have the game wrapped up with a 67-41 halftime lead. In typical Mavericks fashion, the team gave up 72 second-half points to allow the Celtics back into it but still closed it out late in the fourth quarter. Despite the blown lead, the ease at which Dallas scored on offense in the first half should give any defense pause. How do you stop Chandler Parsons and Dirk Nowitzki combining for 56 points on 19-of-29 shooting?

And of course, the Southwest team that didn’t play Monday was the reigning champions. The San Antonio Spurs won’t suit up for the third game of their season until Wednesday, but last year’s playoff run still does the talking for them.

The entire West is dangerous, but any game in the Southwest Division will be particularly brutal this season.

3 other things we learned

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The surprise team in the West is not who we thought: Coming into the season, Denver was a popular sleeper pick in the Western Conference -- and the Nuggets still may have a solid season. But this week, it's Sacramento who moved to 3-1 by beating the Nuggets in an entertaining 110-105 win. Between the All-Star push by DeMarcus Cousins and strong play from Rudy Gay, the Kings are the surprise team of the first week.

The Thunder can only do so much: Oklahoma City did well to get a short-handed win against Denver on Saturday, but the magic wore off quickly, falling in a 116-85 blowout at the hands of the Nets. While Perry Jones did continue his strong start with 16 points on 12 shots and Reggie Jackson scored 23 in his return to the lineup, the Thunder just didn't have the firepower to keep up with Brooklyn's 52 percent shooting.

Mikhail Prokhorov should talk to the media way more often: He offered up absolute gems Monday night, starting with some harsh words for departed Nets coach Jason Kidd: "There is an old English proverb. Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you." And, again about Kidd, "We shouldn't get mad, we should get even." And again, on reportedly losing $144 million last year, "It's no big deal." And if you thought all that was good, now remember it's in a thick Russian accent. Never leave us, Mikhail.

Play of the Night

If it wasn't official before, this confirms it: Nerlens Noel is a ton of fun. Here, he meets James Harden at the apex of his jump and knocks the ball right on out. Nicely done, young fellow. Just know that next time, Harden's probably coming in limbs flailing, gunning for a foul.