Last night, 20 teams hit the hardwood to give us NBA fans a variety of great games. There were blowouts, nail-biters, and everything in between with some surprises along the way. The best thing to come from last night was that we got a bevy of great individual performances from some of the league’s most notable stars (and Andrew Wiggins).
Here at the NBA Daily Awards, we’ll go over the performances of players who submitted nominations, hand out noteworthy awards, and decide who had the best performance of the night. Let’s do it!
And the nominees are…
Bradley Beal: 36-6-9
Jimmy Butler: 38-10
Steph Curry: 42-9-7, 9 THREES!
Kevin Durant: 25-10-9
Paul George: 47-15, GAME WINNER
Blake Griffin: 31-7-4
LeBron James: 42-6-5
Kawhi Leonard: 36-9
Karl-Anthony Towns: 35-12-3
Russell Westbrook: 21-15-17
Andrew Wiggins: 26-6-5
Best Unexpected Performance: Andrew Wiggins
Until Wiggins consistently plays at (or around) the same level he played last night, whenever he puts up numbers like this, he automatically gets the award. After spending his last 10 games averaging 14-3-2 on a terrible shooting clip of 34-31-69, Wiggins would finish with 26 points on 58 FG% and 60 3PT%. Keep in mind that Wiggins is averaging career lows in points (15.6) and FG% (38.9%). I don’t expect him to play like this next game, but if he ever gets to a point where he plays like this on a regular basis, the Timberwolves will be a difficult first-round match-up.
Best Duo Performance: Steph Curry and Kevin Durant
Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Steph Curry and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors put up some great lines while their teams blew out their opponents. So, the edge goes to duo who went crazier. Curry had a vintage performance where he rained NINE THREES, some of them from deep, and Durant was one assist shy of a triple-double. The Warriors struggled while Steph was out, but now they can start working towards that first seed again.
Best Clutch Performance of the Night: Paul George
You could make an argument for LeBron James, who kept the Lakers in the game against the Spurs, who’re much better than the Nets, but no one carried a team to victory the way George did last night. The Thunder’s last lead before the final score of 114-112 was 20-19 in the first quarter. The Nets were up by 21 at one point, and George, who finished with 47 points to go along 15 rebounds, would drag the Thunder past a fourth-quarter 18-point deficit with 25 points in the final frame. He would also hit his FIRST game-winner, which finally brought the fantasy of his Gatorade commercial to reality.
Best Performance of the Night: Paul George
If I didn’t convince you with what I said above, watch his highlights and tell me he didn’t have the best performance of the night. I dare you.