1. The Celtics couldn't put together a double-digit rally against the Heat on Wednesday and were handed just their third loss of the season. Boston has won 18 of its first 21 games of a season for the ninth time in team history and for the first time since 2008-09. Kyrie Irving has scored at least 20 points on 50 percent shooting in five straight games, one shy of matching his career high.
2. A big question going into the season was whether Chris Paul and James Harden would be able to mesh. With CP3 in the lineup, the Rockets are 5-0 with those wins coming by an average of 18.8 points. Houston has 11 wins by 15 points or more, the most in the first 20 games since the 1969-70 Knicks, who won the NBA title.
3. Golden State has won its past two games by a combined 64 points, despite being without Kevin Durant. They've been just fine without KD in the lineup, having won 19 straight games including the playoffs when he doesn't play. Over the past two seasons, the Warriors actually have a better win percentage (.846 vs. .817) and average scoring margin (plus-12.2 vs. plus-11.7) without Durant.
4. Tony Parker plans to make his season debut against the Mavericks on Monday. Last season, Parker averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 assists per game, his fewest since his rookie season.
5. Don't look now, but the Cavs have won seven straight. And in his 15th season, LeBron James is the NBA's leader in player efficiency rating at 30.6, which is third best in his career at this point of a season (he won MVP in the only two seasons with a higher PER through 19 games). That number gets even more absurd in the fourth quarter, skyrocketing to a league-best 45.1. Still, Cleveland has questions at point guard with Derrick Rose taking a hiatus and Isaiah Thomas still out.
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