LeBron James wasn't lying when he said he's solely focused on basketball and helping the Cavaliers go as far as they can this postseason. At Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, James and the Cavaliers defeated good buddy Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks, 107-93.
James made sure headlines containing his name focused on his on-court performance — instead of his recent comment about potentially teaming up with Anthony — as he recorded his third triple-double of the season (and second this week) with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. A disrespectful slam on New York's Lou Amundson was his poster moment of the night, even if he was slapped with a technical foul for taunting after the bucket.
As for Anthony, the Knicks star started the night making just one of his first 11 shots. He finished with 28 points on 9-of-24 shooting, but just two of those buckets came when he was guarded by James.
Kevin Love also had a premiere performance for Cleveland with Kyrie Irving getting the night off. Love scored a team-high 28 points and pulled down 12 boards. With the victory, the Cavs maintained their two and a half game lead over the Raptors for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Tweet of the night:
Gregg Popovich sat Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard in a 111-92 loss to the Thunder, but he had jokes before tipoff in “support” of reserve center Boban Marjanovic, who made his first NBA start.
Gregg Popovich on Boban Marjanovic: "He may have 40 tonight"
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 26, 2016
Say what you will about the San Antonio second team, they can still turn some heads. Just look at this slick pass from Boris Diaw.
West to the cutting Mills for 2 on NBATV! #NBARapidReplay #SASatOKC https://t.co/I32EVlHbRd
— NBA (@NBA) March 27, 2016
Studs of the night:
Hornets guard Nic Batum was molten lava hot from the start in a 115-91 road win over the Bucks. He tallied 23 points in the first half, including 15 from deep, before finishing the night with 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
The Raptors had seven players score in double figures in a 115-91 win over the Pelicans, but it was DeMar DeRozan who paced Toronto with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He also added five rebounds and five assists.
Dud of the night:
Things just keep getting worse for Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls, who fell to the Magic 111-89. Rose scored just nine points on 4-of-14 shooting and had more turnovers (four) than assists (two) or rebounds (three).
Highlights:
Utah’s Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood knew better than to stand in Andrew Wiggins way as he soared for the slam in a 93-84 Minnesota loss.
This guy approves.
This dude's reaction to Andrew Wiggins' slam pic.twitter.com/44KNDP1WtR
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) March 27, 2016
Looking ahead:
76ers (9-64) at Warriors (65-7), 9:30 p.m. ET: This is one of those rare games where, no matter the outcome, there’s a story coming from it. If Philly, the league’s worst team, finds a way to win at Oracle Arena, it keeps the Warriors a step away from breaking the single-season record for wins and brings to an end their 51-game home win streak. If the Warriors take care of business and easily discard the woeful Sixers, the Bulls’ 72-win mark from 1995-96 becomes even more of a potential reality.