L&E Cosmetic : NBA schedule and results: LeBron James returns to Miami

Monday, March 16, 2015

NBA schedule and results: LeBron James returns to Miami

The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to face the Heat in Miami on Monday night.

It's no secret that the Houston Rockets want James Harden to win NBA MVP, and on Sunday the guard lived up to that billing in a 100-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The superstar shooting guard scored 34 points on just 16 shots in the game, helping to spoil Blake Griffin's return on an exciting afternoon at the Staples Center.

The Rockets haven't been shy about lobbying for Harden to win the league's top honor this season, something that's ruffled feathers despite the guard's stellar play. Folks certainly have their various opinions on Houston's aggressive efforts to support its star, but it's undeniable that he's been among the best players in the league this season.

Harden's scoring prowess is special, and he showed that again Sunday to prop up an otherwise poor offensive performance from Houston. The team shot just 37 percent from the field and 23 percent from three, and without Dwight Howard, the Clippers were largely having their way in the paint.

None of that could stop Harden, who still managed to get his own despite being the obvious focal point of the attack. It's been established at this point that Harden's game is dependent on drawing fouls, but when the formula works, it can be the sustenance for an otherwise starving offense.

This was one of those games when things just weren't coming together, and Harden buoyed the effort by going 17-of-18 from the free throw line. While his overall shooting performance of 7-of-16 doesn't pop out, his efficiency in getting points at the charity stripe was primarily why Houston won Sunday.

In March, Harden has attempted 18-plus free throws on three separate occasions -- unsurprisingly, they're all Rockets wins. On the flip side, in the team's four losses this month, he's averaged just five free throws per game, including back-to-back games where he totaled just two attempts. This is a trend that's pretty much defined Houston's season:

Harden	PPG	FT/G
Wins (44)	29.3	11.2
Losses (21)	22.0	7.3

It's no surprise that a team's performance hinges on its best player, but this just underscores how important drawing free throws is to Harden's game. While the guard is clearly the game's best at drawing fouls -- even his numbers in the losses are impressive -- that dependence on an outside force (referees) is going to lead to risks.

It didn't cost the Rockets on this night, however, and displayed how Harden's talents can thrive when his teammates aren't. Even if there are questions about how his style will ultimately translate going into the postseason, Sunday was the latest example of how important he's been to Houston's success in the regular season. For all that campaigning, Harden's best chance at winning MVP comes from games like this one.

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Anthony Davis also deserves MVP attention. There's one key reason why Harden shouldn't run away with the MVP award this season, and that's the quality of the competition. Not only are there guys like Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook putting up career years, but the New Orleans Pelicans' star big man has been absolutely unreal this season. Davis offered up the full buffet in a 118-111 double overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, putting up 36 points, 14 rebounds, nine blocks and seven assists in 50 minutes. The triple-double (and a victory) would've taken the performance to another level, but even so, there are few guys who could've come close to what the 22-year-old did against Denver. Sooner or later, this guy is going to win a lot of hardware.

The San Antonio Spurs scored 123 points without having anyone top 15. Everyone knows that San Antonio's offense is built on balance, spacing and ball movement, but rarely does it come together in a perfect storm of excellence like we saw Sunday against Minnesota. The Spurs finished with a 123-98 win even though nobody on the team played more than 25 minutes or scored more than 15 points. It wasn't the result of an early blowout leading to backups playing most of the second half -- San Antonio's big run didn't come until the third quarter. This was a true offensive clinic, with the Spurs shooting 58 percent from the field and 55 percent from three. All 13 players on the team scored, including eight in double figures, and 10 different players had at least two assists. Of the team's 49 made field goals, 38 were assisted. Gregg Popovich had to enjoy this one, even if it came against a 14-51 team.

The Toronto Raptors' stumbles continue. Nearly a month ago, Toronto rattled off a four-game winning streak over four good teams, capped with a 105-80 beatdown of the first-place Atlanta Hawks. At the time, it was easy to wonder whether the Raptors were finally getting back on the track after some midseason troubles. So how has the team fared since then? Not well. Toronto lost its 10th game in 12 tries Sunday with a 113-97 blowout against the Portland Trail Blazers, and is increasingly looking like a pretender in a top-heavy Eastern Conference. The Raptors just had no answers defensively for LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and Nicolas Batum, and with the end of the season nearing, it's clear Toronto is trending in the wrong direction.

Play of the Night

It's an Anthony Davis alley oop, so we kinda know what we're getting into ... but man, then he just launches into the air and it's right back to the shock and awe. I don't know when these ridiculous dunks will stop being impressive -- it's not today, though.