Post Up: Melo Reaches 20k

Kings (2-1) 98, Clippers (2-1) 92

This game went back and forth the whole way and deep into the fourth quarter, but Sacramento protected a small lead for the final six minutes to hang onto a surprising win.

DeMarcus Cousins was simply dominant, posting 34 and 17 with 5 dimes and a trio of blocks. Rudy Gay, fresh off of dropping 40 against Portland in Friday’s win, added 20 on 7/14 shooting.

The Clippers weren’t very sharp outside of a 32-point second quarter. Blake Griffin scored a team-high 17 points on 20 attempts from the floor, and the team as a whole shot below 38 percent. CP3 did manage 11 assists and zero turnovers.

Heat (3-0) 107, Raptors (2-1) 102

Miami opened up a 16-point lead late in the third quarter last night, but Toronto battled back late. A triple by DeMar DeRozan had the Raptors within five points with five minutes to play, but Shawne Williams answered with a trey of his own a minute later and the Heat hung on from there.

Chris Bosh (21 & 11) and Dwyane Wade (19, 11 boards and 7 assists) led the way for Miami. Williams knocked down 3 threes on his way to 16 points following a 15-point outing on Saturday night.

DeRozan scored a game-high 30 on 11/22 shooting from the field, and Kyle Lowry added 22. The duo was tremendous, but Toronto connected on just 24/39 free throw attempts, and the 15 points they left on the board proved deadly.

Knicks (2-1) 96, Hornets (1-2) 93

This was a high-scoring affair before both teams stalled in the final period. The Hornets grabbed a three-point lead with two minutes left, but Iman Shumpert wiped it away with a triple, and Carmelo Anthony put New York ahead on the next possession. Amazingly, there was only one more point scored in the final 1:23 following that bucket.

Melo finished with 28 on 12/22 shooting. In the middle of the first quarter, he became the 40th player ever to reach 20,000 career points.

Shumpert was strong with 15 points and 4 dimes, and Amar’e Stoudemire posted a huge 17 and 10 off the bench. He’s now played two good games out of three, and we can only hope STAT can keep it up.

Lance Stephenson nearly triple-doubled with 14, 9 and 8 for Charlotte. He had a costly turnover late, but the scoring will go down as a season-high. Kemba Walker added 16, but couldn’t connect on a game-tying jumper in the waning seconds. Al Jefferson dropped a team-high 21. Charlotte is yet to play a game decided by more than three points.

Warriors (3-0) 95, Blazers (1-2) 90

Two of the West’s finest young teams went toe-to-toe in Portland last night. The Blazers grabbed a 90-88 edge with two minutes left, but went cold after that. A clutch bucket by Klay Thompson put Golden State up with 8 seconds left, and Portland couldn’t answer in the final seconds. Stephen Curry iced the game at the line.

Curry finished with 21 (8/8 free throws), and Thompson dropped a game-high 29 to keep the Dubs undefeated. Andrew Bogut double-doubled with 11 and 12.

Portland got a typical 26 and 13 from LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored the team’s final 10 points down the stretch. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard struggled badly with his shot, and finished with 11 points on 4/18 shooting. He’s shooting just 30 percent on the young season. (Something tells me that won’t stick.)