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Thursday night in the NBA was a light night with only two games and one was a blowout, the other an overtime contest. The Los Angeles Clippers dismantled the Boston Celtics, 106-77, behind 21 points off the bench from Matt Barnes while the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled out an overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks, 111-105, behind Kevin Durant's 40 points.
On Friday, the NBA was back to a full schedule with 12 games. The Clippers played the second night of a back-to-back but were still able to pull out their 16th straight win in a come-from-behind victory over the Utah Jazz, 116-114. Chris Paul had a season-high 29 points. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 104-87, behind 27 points from Kobe Bryant. The Lakers are now the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
The Denver Nuggets knocked off the Mavericks, 106-85, behind Danilo Gallinari's 39 point explosion. The Sacramento Kings upset the New York Knicks, 106-105, and the Detroit Pistons upset the Miami Heat, 109-99, as the Heat played without Dwyane Wade. The San Antonio Spurs won a shootout with the Houston Rockets, 122-116, as Tony Parker finished with 31 points.