Four blowout wins and a tightly-contested finish between two of the top three teams in the West highlighted a five-game NBA Friday action to end the first month of 2025.
ANTHONY EDWARDS, DARIUS GARLAND, JAREN JACKSON JR. CELEBRATE ALL-STAR SELECTIONS WITH A BANG
- Minnesota Timberwolves (27-21) def. Atlanta Hawks (22-26), 138-113: Anthony Edwards continued his fiery form, dropping a second-straight 30-point game to power the Timberwolves’ fifth straight win.
- All-Star Ant: Edwards, who was named as an All-Star for the third straight time, unloaded a 36-point, 11-assists double-double for the surging Timberwolves. The blowout powered Minnesota to come within striking distance of the LA Clippers (27-20) for the sixth spot in the West.
- Cleveland Cavaliers (39-9) def. Atlanta Hawks (22-26), 137-115: The NBA-best Cavaliers celebrated with three All-Star players for the first time since 2017 by sending the Hawks reeling to a seventh straight loss.
[ALSO READ: News Cavaliers' All-Star trio handle business over Hawks, hand Atlanta its seventh straight loss]
- LA Lakers (27-19) def. Washington Wizards (6-41), 134-96: LeBron James and the Lakers hardly missed Anthony Davis behind a resounding 38-point beatdown of the lowly Wizards.
- Move Over, Moses: James finished with a 24-point, 11-assist double-double on the night he passed Moses Malone for the second spot in the all-time free-throws made list with 8,532.
Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers for moving into 2nd all-time in FREE THROWS MADE!
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2025
- Memphis Grizzlies (32-16) def. Houston Rockets (32-15), 120-119: Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Grizzlies ended the game on a clutch 13-run to record a fifth straight home victory at the Rocket’s expense.
[ALSO READ: Clutch Jaren Jackson Jr. helps Grizzlies end run of futility vs Rockets]
- Portland Trail Blazers (19-29) def. Houston Rockets (24-25), 119-90: Scoot Henderson led three Portland 20-point scorers in a 29-point crushing of the Magic for a sixth win in their last seven games.
