Scoreboard
- Hornets 120, Timberwolves 114
- Knicks 109, Wizards 91
- Spurs 125, Hawks 114
- Mavericks 143, Pelicans 130
- Clippers 125, Bulls 106
- Pistons 108, Celtics 102
- Nuggets 97, Thunder 95
- Jazz 129, Bucks 115
- Lakers 115, Grizzlies 105
- Trailblazers 129, Cavaliers 110
- Magic 123, Kings 112
What went down
The game between the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans had big this-is-the-future energy. Numbers-wise, it had everything a basketball fan wants to see: a career-high 46 points for Luka Doncic and a career-high 36 points on 14-of-15 shooting for Zion Williamson.
Luka, who also had 12 assists and eight rebounds, played in one of those games where scoring simply turned into an art he has mastered. He put everything in the mix, from deep—deep—threes to smooth mid-range buckets. At one point in the fourth quarter, Luka pulled the one-legged Dirk fadeaway out of his bag. Kristaps Porzingis also came in hot, hitting four 3s in the first quarter. KP finished with 34 points on a career-high eight 3-pointers—perfect timing to put out the growing flame that is “New York won the trade.”
Zion, meanwhile, got pretty much everything he wanted and didn’t miss a shot until the second half. He was a perfect 14-of-14 inside, only missing when he attempted a 3. Brandon Ingram chipped in with a 30-5-5 line.
It’s these kinds of games where Luka, Zion, KP, and Ingram enthusiastically submit their respective cases for Future of the League. All are definitely valid.
Big-time baller
It should’ve been the Anthony Edwards-LaMelo Ball showdown, the fight for the right to be called top rookie, the game that would make GMs of both teams nod in approval, but Terry Rozier had other ideas.
While both Edwards (21 points on five 3s) and Ball (20 points and 11 rebounds) rose to the occasion, it was the Charlotte Hornets’ Rozier who stole the show. He dropped 41 points—one-point shy of his career-high—on the Minnesota Timberwolves, in a very efficient and scary manner. With a minute and a half left in the game, Hornets up one, Rozier launched into an explosive move to the basket, but mid-explosion, pulled back in an equally explosive manner and buried a big-time 3. It was a play that can best be described as audacious.
Honorable mention: Detroit Pistons rookie Saddiq Bey played the game of his young career vs the Boston Celtics, hitting a fantasy-friendly 7 of 7 from 3 for a career-best 30 points.
What he said
LeBron James, at Year 18, is still dominating games. After taking over against the Memphis Grizzlies to give the Los Angeles Lakers their seventh straight win, Draymond Green couldn’t help but lobby a simple request to the King. LeBron stopping? Good luck with that.
Stop it Bron! @KingJames
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) February 13, 2021
Did you see that?
RUDY GOBERT. He just punched it on him! (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/4DJPnqiUwr
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 13, 2021
It doesn’t appear pleasant at all, when two players with wingspans the length of a six-engine plane collide in the air. It looks violent and painful, but it does make for an awesome highlight clip that you just can’t stop watching.
