The Saturday night slate of games was highlighted by "Iverson day" in Philadelphia as the 76ers retired the legendary player's No. 3 jersey during halftime. The Washington Wizards dominated the Sixers on a special night, riding Trevor Ariza's career-high 40 points. Washington notched a 122-103 victory and sent Philadelphia to their 13th straight loss.
NBA scores 2014: Allen Iverson’s jersey retirement, Clippers dominate Pelicans
Allen Iverson’s No. 3 jersey was raised into the rafters in Philadelphia, the Clippers ripped the Pelicans apart, and more from a busy Saturday night of NBA action.
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The story of the night in Philadelphia wasn’t on the court, though. There were Iverson-themed decals on the court (that caused Michael Carter-Williams to slip), the entire Sixers team wore “Iverson” warm-up player shirts and the halftime ceremony was a great reminder as to why “The Answer” was being honored by joining the other franchise-greats.
The team opened up with a video package of highlights throughout his career and the crowd showered the former Most Valuable Player with “MVP” chants once he took the court. You can see the banner raising here.
A phenomenal ceremony of one of the great competitors over the last two decades, and a city that had a chance to cheer and celebrate despite a lost season. Happy trails, Allen Iverson.
Miami Heat 112, Orlando Magic 98
LeBron James was forced to ditch the black face mask, but that's no matter. The defending champions rolled over their in-state "rivals" the Orlando Magic. No colorful facial accessory necessary.
Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 24 points on an efficient 10-of-14 shooting, leading the Heat to victory. James finished with 20 points, seven assists, nine rebounds and four steals.
Portland Trail Blazers 102, Denver Nuggets 96
The Denver Nuggets are struggling. Portland shot just 18 percent from three-point range (5-for-27), had 14 turnovers and were led by Robin Lopez’s 18 points and still were able to defeat the Nuggets in Denver. The Blazers nearly let this one slip away in the fourth quarter, getting outscored 23-18, but were able to hang on to secure the road victory.
Portland has won five straight games and holds onto the no. 3 seed in the Western Conference. They host the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks before opening up a five-game road trip in Dallas. The Blazers visit the Mavericks, Rockets, Grizzlies, Spurs and Pelicans during the trip, making this a crucial stretch for their playoff seeding as they finish out the season.
Memphis Grizzlies 110, Cleveland Cavaliers 96
The Cavaliers came out firing but were flat-tiring by the end of this one. Cleveland put up 65 points in the first half and a total of 31 points in the second, getting stifled by the Grizzlies’ defense.
To further illustrate how bad things went, we used happy faces and shot charts to express the tale of two halves.
Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph both scored 22 points while Mike Conley put in a team-high 23 for the night.
Houston Rockets 118, Detroit Pistons 110
Dwight Howard and the Rockets bounced back from their road loss to the Clippers with a solid victory over the Detroit Pistons in their homecoming. The team had been on the road for their previous six games and next host the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
Terrence Jones led the team with 22 points, including this alley-oop dunk setup by Dwight Howard:
Jordan Hamilton started in place of Chandler Parsons and scored 13 points. Howard finished with 17 points. Josh Smith struggled from the field, going just 8-of-24 for 21 points.
The Clippers crushed the Pelicans. New Orleans shot just 33 percent from the field while Eric Gordon went a dismal 1-of-13 on the night for two points. Anthony Davis played limited minutes but also struggled, shooting just one-for-six.
Los Angeles cleared out the bench, playing 11 players. Danny Granger did not make his debut for the Clippers. Both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin put in at least 20 points while DeAndre Jordan pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Brooklyn Nets 107, Milwaukee Bucks 98
Welcome to the Nets, Marcus Thornton. The team's draft deadline acquisition went off, dropping 25 points in 24 minutes off the bench to lead all scorers. Kevin Garnett did not play because of back spasms, but Andray Blatche filled in with 19 points and 13 rebounds with extended minutes off the bench.
The Nets currently hold the No. 6 seed out East and hold a two-game lead over the no. 8 Hawks.
Minnesota has an uphill battle to reach the no. 8 seed out West but going 5-1 over the last six games is a great push when they need it. Kevin Love scored 22 points but struggled from the field, going just 4-of-12. He did his damage at the free-throw line, sinking 12 of his 14 attempts from the charity stripe.
Kevin Martin scored a game-high 26 points and Nikola Pekovic chipped in 20 points as well.
Indiana Pacers 102, Boston Celtics 97
Boston had six players in double-digits and Jeff Green scored a game-high 27 points, but they still couldn't overcome the NBA leading Indiana Pacers. Paul George scored 25 points and Evan Turner added in 17 points off the bench in his third game since being traded from the Sixers. Another game, another Pacers victory.
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