It may only have been a five-game slate on the NBA schedule on Friday night, but we had a big one to cap off the night.
Early on, the Boston Celtics visited the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. This was interesting because of the subplot of Kyrie Irving potentially leaving Boston for New York as a free agent this summer. It also just so happened to be the Knicks' first game since shockingly trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, and the roster was severely depleted. The Celtics, expectedly, came away win the win.
Meanwhile the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Miami Heat for their seventh straight win, thanks to tremendous individual performances from Paul George and Russell Westbrook.
As for that big matchup mentioned earlier, the Nuggets were clicking on all cylinders as they dismantled the Rockets for a huge home win.
Here's everything you need to know about Friday's action, along with Saturday's schedule.
NBA scores for Friday, Feb. 1
- Charlotte Hornets 100, Memphis Grizzlies 92 (Box Score)
- Boston Celtics 113, New York Knicks 99 (Box Score)
- Oklahoma City Thunder 118, Miami Heat 102 (Box Score)
- Utah Jazz 128, Atlanta Hawks 112 (Box Score)
- Denver Nuggets 136, Houston Rockets 122 (Box Score)
NBA schedule for Saturday, Feb. 2
*All times Eastern
- Los Angeles Clippers at Detroit Pistons, 5 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Brooklyn Nets at Orlando Magic, 7 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Milwaukee bucks at Washington Wizards, 7 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Dallas Mavericks at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors, 8:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- ABC
- New Orleans Pelicans at San Antonio Spurs, 8:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves, 9 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz, 9 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Atlanta Hawks at Phoenix Suns, 9 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
- Philadelphia 76ers at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension
Nuggets steamroll Rockets behind Jokic, Beasley
Malik Beasley scored a career-high 35 points, while All-Star Nikola Jokic narrowly missed a triple-double with 31 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists as the Nuggets ran the Rockets off the court on Friday night.
NO-LOOK JOKER!
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2019
He's tallied 29 PTS, 13 REB and 9 AST on @ESPNNBA. #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/OHIS7IeJUs
George, Westbrook make history
Paul George continued his phenomenal All-Star season on Friday, making a franchise-record 10 3-pointers en route to 43 points in a win over the Heat.
#PaulGeorge tonight:
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2019
43 PTS
Career-high 10 3PM (@okcthunder record)
7 REB
5 AST#ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/kmvQOkOPnl
Not to be outdone, teammate Russell Westbrook notched yet another triple-double with 14 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, making some history in the process. He became the first NBA player to ever have four separate streaks of five straight triple-doubles.
Russell Westbrook notched his 5th consecutive triple-double.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 2, 2019
It's his 4th career streak with at least 5 straight triple-doubles, breaking a tie with Oscar Robertson for the most in NBA history 👏 (via @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/Gnq9jaPyip
Beasley finishes with authority
There were plenty of highlights in the first half of the Nuggets-Rockets game, but perhaps none was more impressive than this sequence, which started with a Paul Millsap block and ended with a Malik Beasley slam.
This @nuggets sequence. 👀🔥#Rockets 53#MileHighBasketball 52
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2019
📺: @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/rJU74yFtFF
Schroder scores 24 points in second quarter
Dennis Schroder had himself a pretty good quarter against the Heat on Friday. He scored all 24 of his first-half points in the second quarter to help the Thunder open up a big lead on the road.
Dennis Schroder scores 24 PTS in the 2nd, a career-high for any quarter!#ThunderUp 72#HeatCulture 53
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2019
Paul George: 26 PTS (5/6 3FG)
Russell Westbrook: 5 PTS, 9 REB, 12 AST pic.twitter.com/HYKXhoQm10
Hayward throws it down
NBA fans have been waiting to see Gordon Hayward get his explosion back, and we got a glimpse on Friday night. Hayward skied to throw down a two-handed lob from Terry Rozier in transition.
👆 HAYWARD! 👆#CUsRise 25#NewYorkForever 20
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2019
📺: @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/i3E9tH1crg
Fizdale addresses Porzingis trade
And of course, the biggest news of the day has been none other than the surprising and sudden trade of All-Star big man Porzingis. Just hours after it was leaked that Porzingis had voiced his displeasure over the direction of the franchise, the Knicks almost instantly traded him to the Dallas Mavericks.
As the Knicks prepared for their first game in the post-Porzingis era, head coach David Fizdale addressed exactly why New York pulled the trigger on a trade involving the 7-foot-3 big so suddenly.
David Fizdale said he also felt Kristaps Porzingis started to disengage from the franchise recently, something that Steve Mills and Scott Perry mentioned on Thursday. He said he appreciated Kristaps Porzingis being up front with his desire to be with another team.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 1, 2019