5 things you need to know from Wednesday's NBA action
Wizards have 43-point first quarter, hand Heat third straight loss
In what quickly turned into a bizarre night at the Verizon Center, the Washington Wizards jumped on the visiting Miami Heat with a 43-point first quarter and held off the defending champions for a 114-97 victory.
John Wall led the Wizards with 11 points in the highlight-filled first quarter, finishing with 25 points, nine assists and five rebounds on the night.
The 43 points were the most the Heat have given up in a first quarter this season and they found themselves trailing by 25 points after an opening frame that featured this off-the-backboard block by Nene on a LeBron James' layup attempt.
However, even down 30 points the Heat found a way to impress with this three-quarter court alley oop between Dwyane Wade and LeBron.
Miami managed to get within nine points in the second half, but were unable to complete the very unlikely comeback. It's the third consecutive loss for the Heat, after falling to the Knicks and Nets in their last two outings.
Greg Oden scores first points since 2009, even dunks
Greg Oden provided one of the few bright spots for the Heat on Wednesday night, as he took the court for his first regular-season action in over four years.
The former first overall pick, who hadn't played since December of 2009, came off the bench in the second quarter against the Wizards and almost instantly made an impact, hauling in an offensive rebound and throwing down a put-back dunk.
[Courtesy: SunSports]
Oden played eight minutes in the game, scoring six points and adding two rebounds. Here's hoping that he can continue to rebuild his body and his once-promising career.
Bulls use three overtimes to get past Magic
Jimmy Butler set a franchise record by playing 60 minutes on Wednesday night and the Chicago Bulls battled hard for a 128-125 win over the Orlando Magic in triple overtime.
Butler came away with 21 points in the contest, while Carlos Boozer scored 23 points and Joakim Noah posted a season-high 26 points with 19 rebounds.
The two teams are heading in very different directions. The Magic have now lost nine in a row as they sit 14th in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the Bulls have won seven of their last 10 and are 4-1 since trading Luol Deng. Dealing Deng has allowed Butler to carve out more playing time, although a full hour of game action in a single night may be a little more than he expected.
James Harden breaks Austin Rivers' ankles with game-winning shot
The Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans were tied 100-100 with less than 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, when James Harden did what a superstar is paid to do.
While Harden was rising to the occasion, another former top ten pick Austin Rivers could barely maintain his balance as he tried to defend Rockets' leading scorer.
Houston went on to win the game 103-101, but Harden wasn't the only player to hit a game-winning shot on Wednesday night.
Philadelphia 76ers power forward Thaddeus Young propelled his team to a 95-92 win over the Charlotte Bobcats with just over three seconds remaining.
Rondo back with Celtics, expected to play Friday vs. Lakers
Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was activated for Wednesday's game against the Toronto Raptors, but the team had no plans on letting him actually play.
Instead, Rondo watched from the bench as teammate Jared Sullinger had 25 points and 20 rebounds to help the Celtics end their nine-game losing streak with an 88-83 win over the Raptors.
Rondo, who is in the final stretch of his rehab from ACL surgery, suited up Wednesday in part because the team wanted him to get back in the "rhythm of pre-game activity," according to head coach Brad Stevens, but also because the club was short on players after making a trade earlier in the day.
Boston was involved in a three-team deal that sent guards Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks to the Golden State Warriors, Toney Douglas to the Heat and left the Celtics with center Joel Anthony and two draft picks.
Multiple reports have the Celtics targeting Friday for Rondo to make his season debut, when the Los Angeles Lakers visit Boston.