Horns in the NBA: 3/3 -3/9

This week put scoring on a pedestal, as LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, Myles Turner, Avery Bradley, and Jarrett Allen each boasted at least one 20-point game.

LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs

• Mon, 3/4 - Home win over the Denver Nuggets: 22 points (9-17), 9 rebounds, 2 assists
• Wed, 3/6 - Road win over the Atlanta Hawks: 32 points (11-19), 9 rebounds, 0 assists

Part of the legend of LeBron James is his nonhuman durability. The fact is, the 34-year-old has contemporaries that are still nipping at his heels from a statistical sentiment. At 33 years old, LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 21.1 points per game (6 less than James), 8.9 rebounds per game (.3 more than James), while shooting 51.3 percent from the field (tied with James). The media has shown themselves to have a slight LeBron bent, but we should really be talking about Aldridge’s production this late into his career.

Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors

• Tue, 3/5 - Home loss to the Boston Celtics: 18 points (5-16), 2 rebounds, 2 assists
• Fri, 3/8 - Home win over the Denver Nuggets: 26 points (10-15), 4 rebounds 6 assists

Durant came into this week scoring at an unbelievable pace. This week he cooled down quite a bit, only scoring 22 points a night.

Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers

• Tue, 3/5 - Home win over the Chicago Bulls: 10 points (3-11), 11 rebounds, 2 assists
• Thu, 3/7 - Road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks: 22 points, (8-19), 17 points, 3 assists

After a plodding week last week due to injury, Turner let loose with 22 points and 17 boards against a rock-solid defensive squad in Milwaukee. Look for the center to build off a successful bounce-back week.

Cory Joseph, Indiana Pacers

• Tue, 3/5 - Home win over the Chicago Bulls: 6 points (3-8), 2 rebounds, 1 assist
• Thu, 3/7 - Road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks: 5 points (2-9), 0 rebounds, 4 assists

Shooting woes writ large over this week, as Joseph converted at a 29-percent clip from the field. Not to be too obvious, but that affected his scoring, too.

Avery Bradley, Memphis Grizzlies

• Sun, 3/3 - Road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder: 27 points (11-19), 5 rebounds, 7 assists
• Tue, 3/5 - Home win over the Portland Trail Blazers: 14 points (5-14), 3 rebounds, 3 assists
• Fri, 3/8 - Home win over the Utah Jazz: 7 points (2-7), 1 rebound, 6 assists

Bradley willed Memphis in their game versus the Thunder, though they would ultimately brick their way through the final minutes and lose to a Paul George-less Thunder team. That said, Bradley isn’t taking his foot off the gas scoring-wise, and he’s slowly establishing himself on a dismantled Memphis roster.

Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers

Much remains in flux with the playoff ladder, but the Cavs are a no-go, so there’s not a ton of stock in Thompson’s return. Cleveland is a few years away from a lukewarm playoff push, and that’s assuming their draft endeavors pan out. They’d be a wagering meaningless wins with more injury if they decide to play him.

Jarrett Allen, Brooklyn Nets

• Mon, 3/4 - Home win over the Dallas Mavericks: 8 points (4-5), 4 rebounds, 0 assists
• Wed, 3/6 - Home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers: 15 points (6-7), 11 rebounds, 3 assists
• Sat, 3/9 - Road win over the Atlanta Hawks: 20 points (5-6), 12 rebounds, 2 assists

We’ve reached the point where his nightly stat line is a double-double or it’s not not. It’s an awkward statistical trend that hopefully means he’s teetering on that brink of consistent 10-and-10 games.

Mohamed Bamba, Orlando Magic

No status change here; Bamba is still out indefinitely.

D.J. Augustin, Orlando Magic

• Sun, 3/3 - Road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers: 19 points (6-12), 5 rebounds, 5 assists
• Tue, 3/5 - Road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers: 11 points (5-8), 2 rebounds, 5 assists
• Fri, 3/8 - Home win over the Dallas Mavericks: 12 points (5-9), 1 rebound, 2 assists

The Magic suffered a frustrating loss to the Cavs on Sunday, then to the 76ers on Tuesday. That put them on the outside looking in for the Eastern Conference standings. Augustin has made ample contributions scoring and passing the ball, but the Magic can’t continue losing winnable games.

P.J. Tucker, Houston Rockets

• Sun, 3/3 - Road win over the Boston Celtics: 9 points (3-6), 8 rebounds, 1 assist
• Tue, 3/5 - Road win over the Toronto Raptors: 8 points (3-9), 5 rebounds, 3 assists
• Fri, 3/8 - Home win over the Philadelphia 76ers: 3 points (1-3), 3 rebounds, 1 assist

For P.J. Tucker, this season has been a struggle offensively, but his prowess as a defender is warranting consideration for the All-NBA defensive team. Tucker is ninth in the NBA in steals per game at 1.6, and he’s been picking up the other teams best scorer all year.