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Warriors claim best record: NBA Daily Review for March 18

With all eyes on Oakland, the Warriors didn’t disappoint. Golden State was versatile in its big win over the East-leading Hawks thanks to big numbers from different players. That was the case around the league as players were hitting from deep all night.

Let’s get to the games:

Detroit Pistons 83 (24-44)
Philadelphia 76ers 94 (16-52)
Final

As the Pistons recovered from a losing streak on Tuesday, the 76ers got their bounce-back on Wednesday. Philadelphia used a 26-point fourth quarter to hold off Detroit, which has now lost 11 of its last 12 games. Both of the struggling teams failed to take care of the ball, combining for 45 turnovers. For the 76ers, Ish Smith scored 15 points and Jason Richardson added 14. Nerlens Noel added 11 points and had three blocks. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led all scorers with 20 for Detroit. The Pistons held a 51-42 rebounding advantage and Andre Drummond led with 14 boards.

 

Brooklyn Nets 92 (27-39)
Cleveland Cavaliers 117 (44-26)
Final

Kevin Love and the rest of the Cavaliers shook off some early dust for an eventual easy victory. Love was back in the Cleveland lineup after missing two games and scored 10 points as all five starters reached double figures. J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov — both midseason acquisitions — led with 17 points and LeBron James added 16. Love also pulled down 11 of the team’s 43 rebounds. Kyrie Irving chipped in with 12 points and 10 assists. Smith knocked down five 3-pointers to help the Cavs improve to 25-9 at home this season. Deron Williams scored 20 points to lead the Nets.

 

Minnesota Timberwolves 100 (14-53)
Toronto Raptors 105 (41-27)
Final

Kevin Martin’s game-high 37 points wasn’t enough to lift the Timberwolves past the Raptors. Toronto overcame the breakout performance thanks to a solid shooting night by DeMar Rozen, who finished with 21 points. Rozen also sunk all 12 of his free throws. Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas each added 15 points Valanciunas grabbed 15 rebounds. Martin also added seven rebounds as Minnesota had a 45-39 advantage on the glass.

 

Portland Trail Blazers 104 (44-22)
Miami Heat 108 (31-36)
Final

Dwayne Wade and LaMarcus Aldridge exchanged blows before Wade’s Miami team prevailed in the end. Wade dropped 32 points as Aldridge led all scorers with 34 points in a fourth quarter battle. Wade scored 15 points in the final frame and broke a tie with less than four seconds remaining in regulation. Luol Deng added 24 points for the Heat, Goran Dragic had 20 and Hassan Whitside scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Miami committed just nine turnovers while scoring 18 points on Portland miscues. Aldridge grabbed 12 of the Trail Blazers 45 rebounds — 10 more than Miami.

 

Indiana Pacers 86 (30-37)
Chicago Bulls 103 (41-28)
Final

The Bulls limited the Pacers to less than 20 points in the second and fourth quarters, while racing to 27 in each of those frames for a nice Eastern Conference victory. Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to lead Chicago with 25 points. Mike Dunleavy added 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and Pau Gasol scored 19 points with 12 of the team’s 52 rebounds. The Pacers grabbed just 38 rebounds. Solomon Hill led Indiana with 13 points.

 

San Antonio Spurs 114 (42-25)
Milwaukee Bucks 103 (34-34)
Final

The Spurs earned their eighth win in the last 10 games by holding off Milwaukee. Danny Green scored 20 points to lead the Spurs and Tim Duncan added 19. Every player appeared in the game for San Antonio and Boris Diaw came off the bench to record 18 points and the Spurs shot 50-percent from the field. The Bucks made half of their 3-point attempts and Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 19 points to lead Milwaukee. The four other starters reached double figures as Ersan Ilysova added 17, Khris Middleton scored 15, Michael Carter-Williams had 11 and Zaza Pachulla chipped in with 10.

 

Orlando Magic 102 (21-49)
Dallas Mavericks 107 (44-25)
Final

A 32-point fourth quarter output wasn’t enough for the Magic to catch up with the Mavericks. Dallas raced to a 65-48 halftime lead and held on in the end. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 25 points and Monta Ellis added 21. In Orlando’s comeback effort, it forced 20 turnovers and created 29 points off those miscues. Victor Oladipo led the team with 19 points, despite shooting 0 of 6 from behind-the-arc. All Magic starters scored in double figures.

 

Boston Celtics 118 (30-37)
Oklahoma City Thunder 122 (38-30)
Final

Russell Westbrook and the Thunder halted the Celtics five-game winning streak. Westbook tallied a game-high 36 points and dished out 10 assists. Enes Kanter added 22 points, with 10 rebounds, while Steven Adams scored 14 points with 13 rebounds. The Celtics were hot from the field, shooting over 50-percent, and Marcus Smart was on fire with seven 3-pointers. Smart finished with 25 points for Boston and Brandon Bass added 20.

 

Los Angeles Clippers 116 (44-25)
Sacramento Kings 105 (22-45)
Final

Despite knocking down seven triples, J.J. Redick did not lead the Clippers in scoring in their win over state-rival Sacramento. Redick finished with 27 points, but Chris Paul led the way with 30, hitting four 3-pointers of his own. Hedo Turkoglu was also solid from long range, drilling five 3-pointers to finish with 19 points. The Kings were just 3 of 17 from behind the arc. Rudy Gay led Sacramento with 23 points. The Kings held a 44-36 advantage on the glass despite DeAndre Jordan grabbing 15 rebounds. Blake Griffin had the game’s only double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

 

Washington Wizards 88 (40-28)
Utah Jazz 84 (30-37)
Final

Washington has now won five games in a row. John Wall couldn’t be contained, scoring 19 of his 24 points in the second half as the Wizards overcame a 16-point output in the second quarter. Paul Pierce added 8 points and Washington overcame 22 turnovers. The Jazz turned it over just eight times. Gordon Hayward scored 26 points for Utah and Derrick Favors added 16.

 

Atlanta Hawks 95 (53-15)
Golden State Warriors 114 (54-13)
Final

In a battle of the league’s best, the West dominated again. The Warriors are dominant at home, winners of 10-straight, and improved to 31-2 at ORACLE Arena. The Golden State offense was clicking even as Steph Curry was limited to 16 points. Harrison Barnes led the team with 25 points, Andre Iguodola added 21 and Draymond Green hit five 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. The Hawks did earn 23 points of 18 Warriors turnovers, but the leaders in the East shot just 37-percent from the field. Paul Milsap and DeMarre Carrol each scored 16 for Atlanta.

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