The Round Up - February 2nd, 2013.

Stats Rundown

Tony Dejak/AP Photo

One Man Team: In his first game without the mask, Kyrie Irving dragged his lottery bound team to a hard fought victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Dynamic Duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 60 points, but it was no match for Kyrie's 35 points (12 of 23). In the fourth quarter, with less than 3 minutes left in the game clock, the unmasked sophomore scored 13 points to take the win over the second best team in the West.

Hot Hand: Coming back from another ankle injury, Stephen Curry showed no signs of rust, dropping 29 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the three, while dishing out 8 dimes. Harrison Barnes tied his career high with 21 points (9 of 11), and 8 rebounds in the Warriors' fourth straight win.

Horns: Without Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Kirk Hinrich, the Chicago Bulls still somehow managed to defeat the Atlanta Hawks by 17 points. Luol Deng led the team with 25 points (10 of 21), 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Taj Gibson added 19 points and a career high 19 rebounds. Of course both of them would play for more than 40 minutes, because you will never expect anything less from Coach Thibs.

Domination: The New York Knicks crushed the Sacramento Kings 120 - 81 at the Madison Square Garden. There is not much to say. Carmelo Anthony scored his 17,000th point, but snapped his 31 game streak with 20+ points when he finished with only 9 points on the night. Tyson Chandler grabbed 20 rebounds to become the second Knick to do it in two consecutive games since 1985-86'. Amare Stoudemire came off the bench for a perfect 10 of 10 from the field for 21 points and 6 rebounds. J.R. Smith went 7 of 14 from the three for 25 points to add to the total 19 threes that the Knicks made.

In summary:

This is the Knicks (Via: @TheKnicksWall):

And this is the Kings (Via: @TheKnicksWall):

The never ending loop of struggle faces.  

Rookie Watch: At this point, the ROY award already belongs to Damian Lillard right? The rookie from the Portland Trail Blazers had a game-high 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting, and 8 assists in victory over the Utah Jazz.

First Beard: James Harden recorded his first career triple double last night against the Charlotte Bobcats. He went for 21 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the W. Patrick Patterson dropped in 24 points, as did Chandler Parsons, who also grabbed 10 boards. Some bad news for the Bobcats, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist took a hard during this game, he had to be carried out on a stretcher, it is reported that he has suffered a concussion.

Sneaky: This is what happens when you don't box out, folks.

The Houston commentators just compared Chandler Parsons to Michael Jordan, showing thier extensive knowledge about the NBA. 

Highlights

Ricky Rubio everything.

Always Fancy: Ricky Rubio still can not make a normal pass, and we love him for that.

Skyscraper: Everyone benefits from Ricky, even Dante Cunningham, who went for a franchise high, 9 for 9 from the field (most FGM without a miss) in the win against the New Orleans Hornets.