The Wrap Up: Portland trumps OKC to move top of West

Keith Firmin brings you The Wrap-Up on all of last night’s NBA games including Atlanta getting big performances in a win and Dirk defying his years.

Denver @ Cleveland

The Nuggets’ seven-game win streak came to an end with a 98-88 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving had 23 points, Tristan Thompson scored 17 points, had 21 rebounds and three blocked shots and Varejao posted 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks off the bench in the win. For the Nuggets, Ty Lawson had a woeful night, shooting one-for-13 from the field. He had 11 assists in defeat.

Kyrie goin’ to work:

Los Angeles Clippers @ Atlanta

The Clippers are now 3-4 against Eastern conference opposition this season thanks to a 107-97 loss to the Hawks. Millsap, Horford and Korver combined for 69 points in the win. Chris Paul had yet another double double – 19 points, 11 dimes – along with three steals.

Korver ties Dana Barros’ record of consecutive games with a made three-pointer with his 89th straight:

Phoenix @ Houston

The Suns are blowing hot and cold this season. After a deflating loss to the cellar dwelling Utah Jazz, the Suns flipped their fortunes with a solid 97-88 win over the short-handed Houston Rockets. Eric Bledsoe led all scorers with 20 points to go along with his game-high seven assists. Dwight Howard had 15 points and 18 rebounds.

6’0 Brooks shows cojones in blocking Gerald Green:

Detroit @ Milwaukee

The Pistons are in the midst of their largest win streak of the season after a 105-98 win over the Bucks gave them their third straight win. Andre Drummond had 24 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks while front court partner, Greg Monroe, had 18 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks. Ilyasova had 22 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Bucks as both teams shot less than 40% from the field.

Dallas @ New Orleans

Dirk Nowitzki’s team-high 21 points, seven rebounds and four blocks led the Mavericks to a 100-97 win over the 9-9 Pelicans. Al-Farouq Aminu shone for the home side as he picked up 16 points and 20 rebounds in defeat.

Indiana @ Utah

After Monday’s loss to the Blazers, the Pacers got back to winning with a 95-86 win over the Jazz in Utah. The Pacers held the Jazz to 41.2% shooting from the field in the victory although both Favors and Kanter still finished with big games – Favors had 22 points and 13 rebounds while Kanter recorded 20 points and 10 boards. Paul George scored 19 for the Pacers.

OKC @ Portland

The Portland Trailblazers are showing the league that they’re the real deal as they added the Thunder’s scalp to their collection with a 111-104 victory on Wednesday night. LaMarcus Aldridge had a monster night with 38 points and 13 boards. Robin Lopez had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Kevin Durant went for 33 points in defeat. Joel Freeland had two points and two blocks in 15 minutes of play.

Minnesota @ San Antonio

Postponed due to smoky conditions inside the arena.