LaMarcus Aldridge decided to delay thumb surgery in order to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a win over the Washington Wizards in the NBA last night.
Despite being ruled out for six to eight weeks with a thumb ligament problem, Aldridge announced that he would play through the pain and scored 26 points to lead the home side to the win.
The Charlotte Hornets ended the New York Knicks' run of three straight wins, picking up their ninth victory in 11 outings.
With Kemba Walker rested, Brian Roberts stepped up, making five of his nine shots from the field and adding six free throws in a low-scoring encounter.
The Milwaukee Bucks eased to a comfortable win over the Detroit Pistons, despite a strong fight back from the home side in the second half.
Jason Kidd led the way with a season-high 33 as the Bucks opened up a 30-point advantage, which Detroit cut in half in the third quarter, but OJ Mayo kept the points coming for the visitors to make sure of the win.
The Brooklyn Nets were crushed by the Utah Jazz, who now have three wins in their last four outings.
There were just four points between the sides at the end of the first quarter, but Trey Burke came off the bench to help open up the lead as Utah outscored the Nets 33-16 before half time, leaving Brooklyn with too much to do after the break.
The Memphis Grizzlies picked up their sixth win in seven games as they cruised to victory against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Grizzlies were up 20 points by half time as Zach Randolph and Jeff Green combined for 35, while Michael Carter-Williams was restricted to 10 as he tried to lead a Sixers comeback.
Results in full: New York Knicks 71-76 Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons 86-101 Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers 83-101 Memphis Grizzlies, Brooklyn Nets 73-108 Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards 96-103 Portland Trail Blazers
Sian Cowper
