NBA Scores: Mavericks edge Bulls in double overtime thriller

Both the Bulls and Mavericks do so many things so well. Dallas (14-5) has a prolific offense, which was on full display. The Mavs can play big and small, score out on the break and in the half court. They have guys who can hit threes, guys who can create off the dribble and, of course, Dirk Nowitzki, who can hit any shot from any spot. Dirk scored 22 points against the Bulls and their stifling front line. More telling were the 10 assists he added, which helped account for Dallas' 15 three-pointers and 50 percent shooting from long range.

Then there was Monta Ellis, who's turned out to be one of the more important free agent signings of the past two years. Ellis finished with 38 points -- he also had just one assist and took 35 shots, lest you forget that he's still Monta Ellis -- six of which came in clutch situations. That included the three free throws he hit to tie the game with 1.2 seconds left in regulation. They after a foul from Kirk Hinrich that Nowitzki later called "one of the dumber fouls I've ever seen."

This is what that Mavericks have morphed into: an offensive machine (No. 1 in the league in offensive rating) with so many weapons that even a Tom Thibodeau defense can't contain them. That's about as nice a compliment as you can give a NBA team. It's also why the Mavs will be fighting for the Western Conference in May even if their defense barely eclipses the top 10 mark (right now Dallas is No. 13 in defensive rating).

The same can be said for the Bulls (11-7) and their prospects in the East. The difference between the Bulls this year and in previous seasons is the amount of offensive talent Chicago has. Jimmy Butler, who scored 23 points against the Mavericks, is playing out of his mind. Pau Gasol has been superb, and might be the best scorer that Derrick Rose has ever played with. He lit up Dallas for 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting, and was a beast in the second overtime period, where he scored six points. Then there's Rose, the man who makes it all go, and who the Bulls look to for shots like this one, which sent the game into a second overtime period.

Kevin Durant is back, but the Thunder still need some time. After missing Oklahoma City's first 17 games of the season with a foot injury, KD made his return to the court. He promptly scored a team-high 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting in just 30 minutes. Durant, though, was unable to lead Oklahoma City to a win, as the Thunder fell in New Orleans to the Pelicans, 112-104. The Thunder are now 5-13, and with the Suns beating the Pacers, currently find themselves 5.5 games behind Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the West. Of course, given the injuries that the Thunder have suffered (Russell Westbrook, who got hurt in Oklahoma City's second game of the season, just returned to the lineup on Friday), a poor early-season record was to be expected. The thing that bears watching, though, is how quickly the Thunder are able to transform into the dominant team they should eventually be. Given the depth in the Western Conference, they might not have much time to figure things out and still make the playoffs. Every loss is going to matter, and ones to Western Conference teams, like the Pelicans, are going to hurt even more. Despite the work to do, Westbrook isn't worried:

Russell Westbrook: "How many games we got left? Sixty-something? How many games we out of eighth place? Five, six? Not worried."

— Royce Young (@royceyoung) December 3, 2014

The Cavs still haven't figured out how to play D. Yeah, they won their fourth straight game, a 111-108 home victory against the Bucks, but the Cavs also allowed a Milwaukee team that is shooting 44.8 percent on the season to connect on nearly half its shots and generally get all the looks it wanted. In their previous three games, the Cavs held opponents to 93.2 points per 100 possessions (according to NBA.com), a major improvement from their 104.7 defensive rating for the season. It would not have been crazy to assume some progress on defense was being made. That, though, would be a tough argument to make after watching their performance against the anemic Bucks, a team with an offensive rating of 100.3, the seventh-worst number in the league. If you can't keep Brandon Knight from scoring 27 points, what are you going to do against guys like Derrick Rose and John Wall?

Terry Stotts is one of the best coaches in the league. Just check out this play he designed to get Robin Lopez a layup with 1.3 seconds left. Lopez hit the shot, which gave the Blazers a 105-103 win against the Nuggets. Portland is now 14-4 on the year and Stotts is now 67-32 in his last 99 games, dating back to the beginning of last season. He's helped turn LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 39 points Tuesday, into one of the best offensive players in the game. He's also built an elite, ball-moving offense around Aldridge (the Blazers are sixth in the NBA in assists per game and assist percentage). But, perhaps most impressive is that Stotts has turned the once leaky Portland D into an upper-echelon one; the Blazers are holding opponents to 100.3 points per 100 possessions, the sixth-best mark in the league. Teams with top 10 offenses and defense generally compete for titles. It's no accident Portland now finds itself in the championship-contender conversation.

We could give this honor to the Rose or Ellis shots featured above, but instead we'll show some love to this Steph Curry jumper, which came with 2.2 seconds left in the game and gave the Warriors a 98-97 win against the Magic. Sometimes Curry's jump shot just seems unfair, like the sort of thing that would be a cheat code to unlock in a video game. Also, poor Tobias Harris.

The MSG halftime entertainment is more entertaining than the Knicks. These dogs would probably run the triangle better, too.

Jabari Parker had one of his best games of the season Tuesday night. He dropped 22 points on the Cavs, on 11-of-15 shooting and played some nice D on LeBron. There was also this sweet reverse dunk, which came courtesy of Kevin Love's affinity for non-defense.

Cavaliers 111, Bucks 108 (Fear the Sword recap | Brew Hoop recap)

Hawks 109, Celtics 105 (PeachTree Hoops recap | CelticsBlog recap)

Lakers 106, Pistons 96 (Silver Screen and Roll recap)

Nets 98, Knicks 93 (Nets Daily recap | Posting and Toasting recap)

Pelicans 112, Thunder 104 (The Bird Writes recap | Welcome to Loud City recap)

Mavericks 132, Bulls 129 (2OT) (Mavs Moneyball recap | Blog a Bull recap)

Trail Blazers 105, Nuggets 103 (Blazer's Edge recap | Denver Stiffs recap)

Suns 116, Pacers 99 (Bright Side of the Sun recap | Indy Cornrows recap)

Raptors 117, Kings 109 (Raptors HQ recap | Sactown Royalty recap)

Warriors 98, Magic 97 (Golden State of Mind recap | Orlando Pinstriped Post recap)