The Wrap-Up: Pistons break Pacers home record and Joe Johnson catches fire

Keith Firmin brings you The Wrap-Up on all of last night’s NBA games including Joe Johnson’s hot hand and New York’s imploding ending.

Detroit @ Indiana

The Pacers lost their unbeaten record at home after going down to the unpredictable Pistons, 101-96. Josh Smith came up big for the visiting Pistons, as he scored 30 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two blocked shots including a huge swat on Lance Stephenson late in the game. Stephenson finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Drummond’s huge putback:

Los Angeles Lakers @ Atlanta

Kobe Bryant was the focus of Atlanta’s defensive efforts on Monday night and it paid off as the Laker legend finished with just eight points on 4-of-14 shooting in the Lakers’ 114-100 loss. Nick Young did his best to carry the offensive load, scoring 23 points (5-of-7 from deep) but against a balanced offensive display from the hometown Hawks, it wasn’t enough. Both Horford and Teague finished with double-doubles.

Minnesota @ Boston

Jared Sullinger held his own against superstar forward, Kevin Love, as he recorded 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in a 101-96 Celtics win. Love’s 27 points and 14 rebounds were a TWolves highlight in an otherwise dire game for the visitors, who shot 57.7% from the free throw line in the loss. Despite their near identical records (Boston is 12-14 and Minnesota is 12-13), Boston is an Eastern Conference 4th seed while the Timberwolves are 11th in the West.

Celtic fan dances during break in game:

Philadelphia @ Brooklyn

Joe Johnson’s 10-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc helped give the Nets sharp shooter a game-high high 37 points (29 in the third) as the Nets crushed the Sixers, 130-94. Johnson made more 3’s than the Sixers combined, who were led by James Anderson’s 17 points. Brooklyn has now won four of it’s last five games.

Johnson’s 29 points in the third quarter:

Utah @ Miami

The Heat big 3 combined for 77 points in a 117-94 win over the Jazz, led by LeBron’s team-high 30 points. Alec Burks had a big night for the road team, notching 31 points along with seven dimes and four steals.

Washington @ New York

It was a typically ‘New York’ ending in the 102-101 defeat to the Wizards, as first Bradley Beal hit a shot to put the Wiz in front before the Knicks failed to take a time-out and left Melo to heave an impossible three which was off target. Melo finished with 32 points in defeat. Beal, Wall and Webster combined for 71 points in the win.

Beal’s game-winner:

Orlando @ Chicago

In the battle of Who Could Care Less, the Magic were the victors, 83-82, behind 23 points from Arron Afflalo. Deng led all scorers with 26 points but it wasn’t enough as Orlando held the Bulls to just 34.6% shooting.

San Antonio @ Los Angeles Clippers

A big fourth quarter helped the Clippers pull away from the Spurs and get the win, 115-92. Chris Paul had a 23-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist, four-steal line as the Clippers got the upper hand in the Western Conference clash. Tim Duncan played the most minutes out of the big three, recording 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assist in just over 32 minutes of action.