NBA wrap: Warriors, Cavaliers, Spurs all lose on night of upsets

The Warriors are gassed, the Spurs miss Kawhi Leonard and the Cavaliers simply aren't elite right now.

Published : Feb 04, 2018 14:49 IST

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant reacts during an NBA game against the Denver Nuggets.
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant reacts during an NBA game against the Denver Nuggets.
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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant reacts during an NBA game against the Denver Nuggets.

Saturday was a virtual blood-bath as several of the proverbial top teams in both conferences were saddled with losses. The Warriors, who has not played well at all this week, fell to the Nuggets 115-108, the Spurs lost to the Jazz 120-111, and the Cavaliers were outclassed by the Rockets in a 120-88 thumping.

Despite Saturday's results, one thing is still likely: the Warriors, Cavaliers and Spurs will factor into the NBA Finals this season and there is a good chance they will all be in their prospective conference finals at the end of the season. However, the Rockets are clearly good enough to crash the party and the Nuggets are a formidable opponent who can hand even the best teams big losses.

Read: Russell Westbrook, Paul George show All-Star form in win over 76ers

The Rockets are the one team whose win truly means something. They are better than the Cavs, there is no way around it. With 19 made 3-pointers and 28 assists on 44 field goals made, Houston is a well-oiled machine that is looking more and more like a team that could challenge the Warriors for the Western Conference title, especially with Chris Paul at his best. The former Clippers guard finished the night with 22 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds with a plus-47 differential when he was on the court.

Denver is always tough to beat on their home court. The Nuggets showed that this week with wins over both the Warriors and Thunder. No one dominated against Golden State on Saturday, but the complete team effort was more than enough to win. Will Barton had 25 points and five rebounds.

As for the Jazz, Ricky Rubio was a perfect 9 for 9 from the floor through three quarters and finished the night 11 for 14 with a season-high 34 points. Utah has a way to go before they fully recover from losing Gordon Hayward, but they have shown some good things this season especially with the addition of Rookie of the Year candidate Donovan Mitchell.

STUDS OF THE NIGHT

It was a night of duels on Saturday as Pistons center Andre Drummond won the matchup with Heat guard Goran Dragic in a 111-107 win. Dragic was great with 33 points and six assists, but Drummond was historic with 23 points, 20 rebounds, four steals and four blocks. This was the first 20-20-4-4 performance since 1989 when Hakeem Olajuwon did it for the Rockets.

Anthony Davis won the scoring battle, but Jimmy Butler won the war as the Timberwolves took down the Pelicans 118-107. Davis scored a game-high 38 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Butler had 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

DUD OF THE NIGHT

JJ Redick scored just six points on 1-for-8 shooting and was minus-13 when he was on the court in the 76ers' 100-92 loss to the Pacers.

HIGHLIGHT

Clippers center Montrezl Harrell is known for his defense and a wicked block on Bulls forward Bobby Portis shows why.

WHAT'S NEXT

Trail Blazers (29-23) at Celtics (38-15) — The Celtics have been surprisingly good with Kyrie Irving out with an injury. Terry Rozier is averaging 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists in Irving's absence. However, the young guard will have his hands full with one of the best backcourts in the NBA with CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard.

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