NBA Round Up: James’ Cavs beaten by Hawks bench as Westbrook misses record in Thunder loss
The Cleveland Cavaliers and their topsy-turvy season continued after going down to the Atlanta Hawks, while Russell Westbrook’s record bid was put on hold for another game.
Reigning NBA champions the Cavaliers suffered a 114-100 defeat to the Hawks in Cleveland on Friday.
Westbrook failed to break Oscar Robertson’s single-season record for most triple-doubles after the Oklahoma City Thunder lost 120-99 to the Phoenix Suns.
The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102-89, while the Houston Rockets were beaten by the Detroit Pistons.
CAVS STUMBLING INTO PLAYOFFS
The Cavaliers had the chance to move closer to securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference but they blew it.
After topping the Boston Celtics on Thursday, the Cavs came crashing back down to earth as Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.
LeBron James posted 27 points for the Cavs, who came unstuck against a Hawks team missing Dwight Howard, Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroder.
WESTBROOK HAS TO WAIT FOR RECORD
The Thunder guard finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, but eight assists as his teammates missed several shots after getting a dish from their MVP candidate.
While Westbrook failed to break a tie with Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson for most triple-doubles in a season, he did join him as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season.
Westbrook entered Friday’s game needing six assists to ensure he would have at least a 10-assist average.
SPURS RESERVES STAR
Tony Parker did not come off the bench as Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard stayed home in San Antonio.
Bryn Forbes starred with a career-high 27 points for the Spurs, who have consecutive 60-win seasons for the first time in franchise history.
AVERAGING A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR THE SEASON? TICK!
There it is!
With this assist, Russell Westbrook will average a TRIPLE-DOUBLE for the season. #ThisIsWhyWePlay pic.twitter.com/AVeQQlHiOM
— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2017
#NBARooks throwdown. pic.twitter.com/mXOEQFYfTt
— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2017
ROCKETS FALL TO PISTONS, DEROZAN SCORES 38
Stanley Johnson broke a deadlock with 32.4 seconds remaining as the Pistons overcame the Rockets 114-109, while DeMar DeRozan’s big night guided the Toronto Raptors past the Miami Heat 96-94.
The Denver Nuggets prevailed 122-106 over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Minnesota Timberwolves lost 120-113 to the Utah Jazz, the Memphis Grizzlies were too good for the New York Knicks 101-88 and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 98-94.
WARRIORS WELCOME PELICANS
The red-hot Golden State Warriors are at home to the Pelicans on Saturday. The Spurs entertain the Los Angeles Clippers.
