Competing against the real opening night of the NCAA Tournament, the NBA decided to do a TNT-influenced punt on their typically excellent Thursday docket with three games that were about as entertaining as they were expected to be on paper.

• Chicago Bulls 84, New Jersey Nets 73

Teams separated by over 25 games in the standings don’t typically produce opposite expected results and this one didn’t disappoint, even if the game was still in doubt entering the final minutes.

Derrick Rose had a relatively quiet night, missing all five of his three-pointers and most of his other jumpbers, but at least he got to the cup a little bit since that pales in comparison to the 1-for-12 posted by Deron Williams. As Williams waits for the Nets to get a ‘superstar’ to join him, his frontline remains pretty darn good, as Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez each delivered solid play for the Nets.

But Omer Asik helped give the Bulls the lift they needed with Carlos Boozer out, Joakim Noah slowed after coming back from the flu and foul trouble for Kurt Thomas. Asik had his first career double-double, which included nine offensive boards. Chicago outscored the Nets by a +24 margin on points in the paint.

• New York Knicks 120, Memphis Grizzlies 99

The Knicks killed the Grizzlies in the middle quarters, and hit 20 of their 36 three-point attempts, which goes beyond the frontier of absurdity. Toney Douglas alone went 9-for-12 from distance.

But wins like these are fool’s gold since the Grizzlies still scored nearly 109 points per 100 possessions. The Knicks didn’t give up a monster night by any one player, but everyone this side of O.J. Mayo got in on the scoring fun.

• Portland Trail Blazers 111, Cleveland Cavaliers 70

Back-to-back road wins aren’t in Cleveland’s arsenal, at least not when the second team is fighting for seeding in a crowded Western Conference.

The Cavaliers had just one assist at halftime and five in the second half despite committing 18 turnovers. The Blazers capitalized for 28 points off turnovers and a +32 advantage on points in the paint.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points on 10 assists and played in 29 minutes after appearing in at least 40 minutes every other game in March. Aldridge last appeared in fewer than 40 minutes on February 27th after giving Portland 48 and nearly 51 minutes in consecutive overtime games.

Fittingly for St. Patrick's Day, Patty Mills scored in double-figures for the first time since his two-game streak earlier this month against the Kings and Bobcats.