Two powerhouses are starting to work things out after slow starts to the season.
Plus a gun posted an epic line that hasn’t been recorded since 1978.
Catch up on all the day‘s action in our NBA Wrap!
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NETS MOVE TOWARDS .500 WITH ANOTHER WIN
After an indifferent start to the season, the Brooklyn Nets are starting to roll.
The Nets comfortably defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday 111-97, marking their fourth win from their last six games.
Kevin Durant continued his brilliant form, scoring a game-high 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting with five rebounds and five assists, while Seth Curry dropped a season-high 29 points off the bench with seven three-pointers.
Curry went 7-of-10 from three-point range and scored the Nets first eight points of the final period and his three-pointer with 6:45 remaining pushed the Nets lead to nine points.
Brooklyn held the Blazers to 17 points in the fourth quarter and forced 13 turnovers.
Kyrie Irving added 22 points and Ben Simmons posted a bizarre line of two points on just three field attempts to go with 12 rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
The improved play from Curry and Simmons are arguably the most positive signs for Brooklyn as things start to click for Jacque Vaughn’s side, who improved to 10-11 to edge closer to .500.
“We kept using the word ‘aggressive,’” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “In any sort of timeout or gathering together, we were using the world ‘aggressive.’ We want to be the aggressors on every possession.”
Jerami Grant led the Blazers with 29 points, stepping up again as Damian Lillard remained sidelined with a calf strain, as they fell to 11-9 amid a logjam of teams in the Western Conference.
WARRIORS SMASH WOLVES TO CONTINUE SURGE
Speaking of teams finding form, the Golden State Warriors smashed the Minnesota Timberwolves 137-113 for their third-straight win and fifth from their last seven.
This one was decided in the first quarter, where the scorching-hot Warriors put up 47 points behind an explosion from Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins.
Curry finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds ad eight assists, while Klay Thompson had 21 points and five threes and Jordan Poole posted 24 points off the bench.
Golden State is now 11-10 overall and sitting ninth in the West, having bounced back from a 6-9 record.
Anthony Edwards scored 26 points for the Wolves in the loss as they dropped their second-straight game.
The Warriors will try to build more momentum on the road when they travel to Dallas for a Western Conference finals rematch on Wednesday.
“These are a good couple of games for us against good teams, playoff teams,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of the challenge.
ZUBAC RACKS UP 31 POINTS, 29 BOARDS TO JOIN NBA GREATS
The LA Clippers defeated the Indiana Pacers 114-110 behind a massive 31-point, 29-round, three-block performance from Ivica Zubac.
With it, Zubac became the third player since 1973-74 (when blocked shots were first record) to have at least 31 points, 29 boards and three swats in a single game, with NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the last player to achieve the feat in 1978.
Zubac fouled out with 3:40 left in the game to just fall short of grabbing a 30th rebound, but his epic line still left the NBA world in awe.
The Clippers coasted to the win despite playing without Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and Paul George (hamstring), improving to 12-9 on the season.
Jalen Smith posted a team-best 23 points for the Pacers and Tyrese Haliburton tallied 15 points and 11 assists.
Rick Carlisle’s team is now 11-8 on the season, currently sitting fifth in the East.
MAVS FALL TO BUCKS
The Mavs will be looking to rebound at home after falling 124-115 to the Bucks in Milwaukee on Sunday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points with 11 rebounds for the Bucks and Grayson Allen, who was a perfect seven-for-seven from three-point range in the first half, added 25.
Luka Doncic scored 27 points to lead Dallas, who suffered a fourth straight defeat.
CELTICS BREEZE PAST WIZARDS… EVEN WITH BIG OMISSION
It was no surprise to see the league-leading Boston Celtics cruise to a 130-121 home victory over the Washington Wizards.
Even with MVP candidate Jayson Tatum sidelined with a sore ankle, the Celtics offense was explosive. Boston connected on 16 of 34 three-point attempts and shot 55 percent from the field overall in a game that was more lopsided than the final score indicated.
Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 36 points to lead seven Celtics players in double figures in the team’s 16th win of the season.
JA PUTS ON A SHOW AT THE GARDEN
At Madison Square Garden, Memphis star Ja Morant thrived in the spotlight, with a triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists powering the Grizzlies to a 127-123 victory over the New York Knicks.
Morant rebounded his own miss and made the put-back basket to put Memphis up 124-123 with 13.9 seconds remaining, and the Grizzlies — who had led by 12 early in the fourth quarter — sealed it with a string of free-throws.
ALL RESULTS
TRAIL BLAZERS 97 NETS 111
WARRIORS 137 TIMBERWOLVES 114
PACERS 100 CLIPPERS 114
HEAT 106 HAWKS 98
WIZARDS 121 CELTICS 130
CAVALIERS 102 PISTONS 94
GRIZZLIES 127 KNICKS 123
SIXERS 133 MAGIC 103
MAVERICKS 115 BUCKS 124