• Oklahoma City Thunder 96, Miami Heat 85

This is the Thunder team we will see in the long-term and if Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook can elevate their games one more notch, there is no reason not to believe in them as legitimate title contenders. Kevin Durant played one of his best all-around games of the season, giving the Thunder enough scoring on a night where they had an eFG% of just 44.9%.

But this game was won by Oklahoma City’s defense, holding the Heat to just 94.7 points per 100 possession and limiting the Big-3 to a 4-for-24 from the floor in the second half. 

• New Orleans Hornets 100, Phoenix Suns 95

Rumors of Chris Paul’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, as he’s feeling healthy and performing to CP3 standards again. Paul had 26 points on just 16 shots, nine assists on just one turnover to go with five rebounds and three steals. It doesn’t get more vintage than that for Paul. Since the loss at New York, Paul is averaging a Game FIC of 26.7 on 24.4 points, 11.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 steals. He is also shooting 55.1% from the floor and 47.1% from distance.

• Orlando Magic 93, Milwaukee Bucks 89

The Magic needed the extra frame in a predictably slow paced game. Milwaukee was without Andrew Bogut, which should have allowed the Magic to cruise to a relatively easy victory, but turnovers again needlessly complicated things for Stan Van Gundy. Orlando made just seven of their 27 three-point attempts, but that’s the cost of doing business sometimes for a team constructed in that way.

• Detroit Pistons 107, Toronto Raptors 93

Andrea Bargnani gets ticker love with his team-high 20 points, but it was on 20 shots and that is the theme of his entire season. That and also the four rebounds in nearly 39 minutes.

For the Pistons, Greg Monroe had the 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists that made him such an intriguging prospect a season ago. The assists are particularly impressive in light of how he was used against Toronto’s zone.

Rodney Stuckey also continued his strong finish heading into an RFA offseason with 14 assists.

• Denver Nuggets 102, Atlanta Hawks 87

The Nuggets are beyond the phase of simply picking up a few fluky wins, beating a playoff team on the road in convincing fashion. The Ty Lawson/Nene combo continues to blossom and Wilson Chandler had a blue collar 14 points and 10 boards.

• Houston Rockets 94, Charlotte Bobcats 78

The Rockets held Charlotte to just 86.4 points per 100 possessions. Houston had seven different players score nine or more points, with Kevin Martin scoring a team-high 21 on 18 shots.

After beginning the month of March on fire, Kyle Lowry has shot just 4-for-15 from beyond the arc over his previous three.

• Utah Jazz 119, Minnesota Timberwolves 104

When a player scores 40 points on just 18 shots, there isn’t much of a chance for the opposing team to still pick up a win. Utah is now 5-0 when C.J. Miles scores 23 or more points and 13-2 when he goes for 20 or more. He is averaging 19.5 points per night (all double-figures) during the month of March.

• Boston Celtics 92, Indiana Pacers 80

Going on the road for the second night of a back-to-back is always difficult, especially coming off the close game they played against the Knicks on Tuesday. The Jeff Green for Rajon Rondo combo was in full effect, the biggest consolation we anticipated when the deadline deal was consummated since it would give Rondo a transition partner who could keep up with him. 

• Philadelphia 76ers 104, Los Angeles Clippers 94

Seeing Elton Brand out on the same floor with Blake Griffin, I couldn’t help but think how much better off the Clippers are with what happened in the summer of 2008.

In the game, however, the Sixers held the Clippers to just under 94 points per 100 possessions, forcing Griffin to work hard for his 14 points on 12 shots.

Offensively, all of Philadelphia’s starters (save for Andre Iguodala) had efficient scoring nights. Jodie Meeks and Jrue Holiday combined to go 7-for-11 from distance.

• Dallas Mavericks 112, Golden State Warriors 106 

A road back-to-back for Dallas against the Warriors means defense will be played at matador levels and the two teams didn’t fail to disappoint with eFG% numbers well above 55%.

Acie Law helped keep the Warriors in the game with a surprising performance off the bench that may have even triggered further discord between Stephen Curry and Keith Smart, but Dirk Nowitzki’s 34 points on 13 rebounds (six offensive) was too much. Dallas were +7 on second chance points.

• Cleveland Cavaliers 97, Sacramento Kings 93 

The Cavaliers picked up another road win despite a -20 disadvantage on second chance points. Keeping opposing teams off the offensive glass becomes inconsequential when you have a +12.2 advantage in eFG%.

Crashing the glass is one of the things Sacramento does very well, ranking second behind Minnesota in the category, but that is the best way to get scoring opportunities when you share a floor with DeMarcus Cousins and Marcus Thornton. Cousins needed 19 shots to get 11 points, boosted undoubtedly in his volume by his five offensive boards. Cousins was 2-for-10 on his jumpers, unable to get his shot going from the left mid-post.