Russell Westbrook scored 58 points, but he couldn’t stop the Blazers, who beat him twice in six days. Highlights here!

In a wild contest, Russell Westbrook scored a career-high 58 points, but it wasn’t enough. Oklahoma City fell to the Portland Trail Blazers on national TV, 126-121.

Kawhi Leonard strengthened his case for MVP behind an incredible crunch time performance and his fourth-straight 30-point game.

What a game at the AT&T Center on a Monday night!

Fresh off of being named Western Conference Player of the Week for the second time in five weeks, Kawhi Leonard dropped 39 points, with 15 coming in the last five minutes of the contest. He led the Spurs to their eighth straight victory and with the win the Spurs won the season-series with their I-10 rivals, 3-1.

The Wizards squandered a 22 point lead, but still squeezed out a victory in the desert, 131-127, on Tuesday night.

In a surprising turn of events, Washington’s bench carried most of the offensive load scoring 65 points on the night, but John Wall made his usual superstar plays down the stretch to help Washington start their five game road trip with a win.

The Hornets have won four of their last eight games thanks to stellar performances from Kemba, Batum, MKG, and Zeller against the Pacers Monday night.

The Charlotte Hornets overcame a terrible third quarter to beat the Indiana Pacers 100-88 Monday night. Kemba Walker scored nine of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Hornets to their fourth win in their last eight games.

This one definitely felt different.

The Dallas Mavericks have won three games in a row, and 5 of their last 6. They will continue to face a fairly soft schedule for the remainder of the home stand. Tuesday, the Mavs rudely hosted the Lakers, resulting in a shellacking similar to the one doled out January 22nd(also in Texas).

DIRK. 30,000.

We know Kevin Durant is out for a minimum of four weeks. We also know it could have been a lot worse. Imagine if Durant was out for the season.

But this still isn’t great news for the Warriors. A Grade 2 MCL sprain is a more serious injury than it appears, and four weeks is an optimistic timeline. Even if Durant returns by the playoffs, he might take some time to shake off the rust. Or, he may return too quickly and play at less than 100 percent through June. That sounds familiar.

Jusuf Nurkic has flourished in his short time in Portland, but Nuggets fans shouldn’t be upset about it

When the Denver Nuggets traded Jusuf Nurkic and a first round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Mason Plumlee and a second round pick the deal was received with mixed feelings among the Nuggets fans.

The most prominent objection to the deal was surrendering a first round pick but also many recognized the talent and potential Nurkic had and were unsure if “giving up” on him while he was still in his early twenties was the correct path.

When the Portland Trail Blazers shipped Mason Plumlee to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first-round pick, it seemed like they were waiving the the white flag in their playoff hunt.

The Trail Blazers, then nine games below .500, were shipping their starting center to their top competitor for the No. 8 spot in exchange for a skilled, younger big man and a projected mid-first round pick in the upcoming draft. It seemed the focus had shifted to building for the future.