Warriors & Pacers Brawl Spills Into The Stands; LeBron Goes Absolutely Crazy

It wasn’t exactly reaching Malice at the Palace levels, but the brawl that spilled into the stands last night during Indiana’s 108-97 win over the Warriors will certainly result in some special spankings from the league office. And you’re never gonna believe this, but David West was right in the middle of it. One of the last remaining real tough guys went all Deebo on about half the Warriors roster, and considering the other names in the carnage (people like Stephen Curry, David Lee and Roy Hibbert), he could’ve put a few of them in body bags had coaches not stepped in to break it up. The fight spilled into the stands, and Hibbert was ultimately ejected while Lee, West, Curry and Klay Thompson all picked up techs … As for the game, it was a tale of runs. Golden State exploded in the second quarter, turning a slow start into a six-point lead. Indiana came right back with 10 straight. Then later in the second quarter, Golden State rode an ice skating Stephen Curry (38 points) to another eight straight to retake the lead. Curry was lighting Indiana up. He was working it off the dribble, from deep, on the fast break, really anywhere he wanted to. By the half, he had 23 points on just 11 shots, and Quinn Buckner was screaming “Can I have some fries with that shake!?” Meanwhile, West had 12 points in the second quarter against David Lee, going right through him with jump hooks and runners. He’d finish with 28. Paul George had 21 and 11, and George Hill added 23 points … During a halftime segment, all of the Indiana players were asked which actor would play them in a movie. Tyler Hansbrough went with Denzel Washington … Was Wes Johnson the best player on the floor in Phoenix’s one-point OT win over Minnesota? Not even close. Yet he was the difference with an unexpected 14 points and nine boards against his old team. Alexey Shved missed a potential game-winning wide open layup, spoiling another big night from Derrick Williams (21 points, 12 rebounds). You probably didn’t realize it, but he’s finally starting to figure this NBA thing out (not having Kevin Love in the lineup helps as well) … Nikola Vucevic worked Philly over for 19 rebounds and a dozen points as the Magic put a hurting on the Sixers, 98-84. Orlando pushed it open in the third quarter, turning a close game into a 17-point lead, and Doug Collins looked like he wanted to go medieval on his team. It didn’t get any better from there – Philly’s starters combined for just 36 points … After a strong first half, Malik Rose tried to give Damien Wilkins a nickname, saying “It’s not the Human Highlight Film. It’s the Human… Instant Replay Film!” We doubt that one sticks, dude … An interesting number: Orlando and Philadelphia average the two fewest free throw attempts per game in the NBA, and if they keep up their current paces, they’d BOTH break the all time record. Not a record you typically want to aim for … And in college ball, No. 1 Indiana fell at Minnesota, 77-73. Trevor Mbakwe dropped 21 points and 12 boards, while a perfect fast break between Austin Hollins and Joe Coleman iced it in the final moments … By the way, the last two and a half minutes of this game? They must’ve taken 30 minutes real time … Keep reading to hear about Aquille Carr’s crazy plan for where he’ll play next…

DeMarcus Cousins ate his fair share, finishing with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Tyreke Evans looked like a rookie again, dropping 26. And Marcus Thornton went wild, scoring 36 off the pine. None of it mattered though. LeBron James was too good – putting up 40 points, eight rebounds and 16 assists as the Heat rang up 141 points in a double-overtime win over the Kings. It was Miami’s 12th win in a row, and James finished off the month shooting over 64 percent from the field. It must’ve sucked being John Salmons. He started off on LeBron, and then after a few minutes, switched onto Dwyane Wade (39 points). Wade proceeded to take him into the torture chamber, hitting Sacramento with wild left-handed finishes, triples, leaners. By the 7:20 mark of the second quarter, Wade already had 17 points, and would finish with his best game of the season as well … A year ago, Aquille Carr was a top-60 junior coming off a cover with us. Now, he’s a senior who’s not even rated in the top 100 and has attended so many different schools they might as well start calling him The High School Matt Barnes. Carr’s reputation hasn’t really fallen off because his talent has. It has more to do with his standing off the court: maturity, ability to fit into a team setting, his background. As The Baltimore Sun wrote recently, Carr is actually thinking of following in Brandon Jennings‘ footsteps: skipping college to play somewhere overseas and make some money. The 5-6 guard has basically admitted to it, and says we’ll all find out his intentions after the high school season is over. While we’re normally all for chasing that cheddar, Carr really could use the structure of a college team. He has the star qualities, but needs a tutor on the other parts of the game. Judging from his comments, it feels like he’s leaning towards going overseas … Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweeted this last night: “Once heard Bryon Russell (MJ crossover game-winner) and Michael Cooper (dunked on by Dr. J) debate about who’s moment was more embarrassing.” That’s a tough one. It’s one thing to get dunked on – or windmilled on – but it’s another to get dropped on your ass during perhaps the most famous basketball play of all time … In other scores from last night, without Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters dropped 25 on Chicago in Cleveland’s surprising three-point win; Deron Williams (33 points, eight assists) had one of his best games of the year as Brooklyn survived the Hornets, 101-97; Monta Ellis (22 points, nine assists, six steals) and Milwaukee significantly damaged Dallas’ playoff hopes in a five-point win. To his credit, Dirk was an animal: 21 points and 20 boards; and the Clippers skinned the Bobcats, beating them by 22 behind like a dozen dunks from Blake Griffin (24 points) and DeAndre Jordan … We’re out like Coach K.