3 things you need to know from Saturday's NBA action

Detroit, meet D12: Howard crushes Pistons

No James Harden. No Jeremy Lin. No Omer Asik. With so much talent out of the lineup, the Houston Rockets could have been forgiven for opting to skip Saturday's game against the host Detroit Pistons and take an impromptu trip to the Michigan Science Center instead.

But Dwight Howard had other plans - and those plans apparently included vaporizing the vaunted Detroit frontcourt:

Howard crushed the Pistons into a collection of tiny cubes, erupting for a season-high 35 points and 19 rebounds as the Rockets cruised to a 114-97 victory. If that weren't enough, Howard showed off his underrated passing game, dishing out five assists - three more than Patrick Beverley, the only healthy point guard on the roster. 

This was about the only thing the Pistons did right against Howard:

That, as the science kids say, was some serious mass-times-acceleration.

Rest not best as Spurs lose to West(brook)

Gregg Popovich opted to give Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili the night off Thursday in order to keep them fresh for a pivotal Saturday night showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Show 'em how well that worked out, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka:

Westbrook tore the Spurs apart, racking up 31 points and adding eight assists as the Thunder prevailed 113-100 in a showdown between Western Conference powerhouses. Reggie Jackson chipped in 21 points off the bench while Kevin Durant took it easy, settling for 17 points despite playing 38 minutes.

Tony Parker's 23 points and eight assists paced the Spurs, while Duncan added 17 points and 10 rebounds and was probably appreciative of being given a few extra days to sleep, or bird watch, or whatever it is the greatest power forward of all time does when he isn't playing basketball.

(Oh, yeah, he does nerd stuff.)

Around the league

In other action on a busy night in the NBA ...

• Zach Randolph torched his former team, racking up 25 points and 15 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies downed the New York Knicks 95-87. Carmelo Anthony led New York with 30 points, while the rest of the Knicks starting lineup managed 17. Combined. Yeah. Not good.

• John Wall's 20 points, nine assists and six steals were the difference as the Washington Wizards defeated the Boston Celtics 106-99. Trevor Ariza had 27 points for the Wizards, while Avery Bradley replied with 26 for the Atlantic-Division-leading-but-also-12-16 Celtics.

• Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas had 23 points each as the Sacramento Kings shaded the Orlando Magic 105-100. Arron Afflalo's 26 points paced the Magic, while Tobias Harris added 21 and Victor Oladipo 12 in his return to the bench.

• Trey Burke lived up to his name (first, not last), hitting four 3-pointers in the Utah Jazz's 88-85 triumph over the Charlotte Bobcats. Derrick Favors chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz. Kemba Walker had a team-high 20 points for the Bobcats.

• Fantasy owners rejoice! Just kidding! D.J. Augustin took advantage of a rare start, erupting for 18 points and 10 assists as the Chicago Bulls breezed past visiting Cleveland 100-84. Fellow fantasy cadaver Andrew Bynum led the Cavaliers with 19 points and seven rebounds.

• The Philadelphia 76ers' point prevention is as terrible as ever, evidenced by Saturday's 116-106 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers have surrendered an average of 126.25 points over their previous four games, which is an All-Star Game level of bad defense.

• Eric Bledsoe's 25 points were the catalyst for Phoenix's 123-108 triumph over the Dallas Mavericks. We would make a joke about breaking up the surging Suns, but there's a good chance Robert Sarver will do that anyhow.

• Damian Lillard got the better of Anthony Davis in a battle of sensational sophomores, pouring in 29 points to lead Portland past New Orleans 110-107. Davis was a worthy foil, finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks.

• Jamal Crawford had a game-high 27 points as the L.A. Clippers steamrolled the Denver Nuggets 112-91. Blake Griffin added 24 points, 16 rebounds and this case for replacing Chris Paul as the primary ballhandler. Oh, Blake ... is there anything you can't do?

• Stephen Curry had 18 points and nine assists as Golden State handled the L.A. Lakers 102-83. The Lakers were done in by a 3-for-21 shooting performance in the third quarter; don't be surprised if Kobe Bryant buys a prosthetic leg in an effort to get back sooner.