Another week, another Wednesday. Twelve games on the schedule tonight and most of my attention was given to the Golden State/Dallas game. With Monta back, I’m anxious to see how the guys look.
Obviously, I wrote that sentence earlier tonight as I started my recaps. The Warriors looked awful and Monta wasn’t much better shooting 2-11 from the floor. I know, it’s early and he’s got to find his rhythm. He’s got an excuse. The rest of the Warriors (excluding Jax and Maggette), do not. Ugly, ugly game.
I lost the audio on half of my games tonight, but of course got it back for the Chicago/Clippers game where the Clippers announcers drive me crazy. Clippers are dying in the third which seems to be routine by now. They’ve got Baron and Marcus Camby back again though. My fantasy team would like to kindly request that Zach Randolph get back sooner rather than later.
I felt bad for Charlotte seeing them huff and puff in their game against the Blazers. Tired legs from that win over my team.
I also need to comment on Gerald Wallace. I thought Andrew’s foul was excessive, and I knew Gerald Wallace was injured, but my goodness. Collapsed lung and fractured ribs? My heart goes out to him, he’s had such a rough go trying to stay healthy and on the floor these past few years. I’m hoping and praying all of the best for Mr. Wallace.
Besides the Clippers sucking, Syracuse lost last night as well. My guy Jonny Flynn had a career-high 35 and we didn’t take advantage. Gah. Hope you all caught the highlight of the Wake Forest/Duke game. Wild finish. I love upsets. Except when they are against my team.
You know who is quickly moving up in my books? Brandon Roy. I know this is no real surprise, but just watching him, he’s so special. Phenomenal. Watching him drain jumpers with Raja Bell in his face, I can’t wipe the smile off of my face. Sorry, Raja, but those shots are beautiful. I love his demeanor, the effortless grace with which he plays. The humbleness when he’s off court. 10 steals. How when he speaks of wanting to win and making his team better, of choosing W’s rather than individual accolades, I fully believe him. How rare of a player he is in the game today. How I actually yearn for him to be more selfish sometimes, take more shots when he’s hot. How he clutched the game-ball when he dropped the 52. That was still the best performance of the season in my opinion. So exciting. He’s exciting. Anyone else experiencing this Brandon Roy love-affair or is it just me, because his game is making me swoon.
It’s Thursday…. You all know what that means. NBA on TNT! Whoooo. I’m liveblogging Spurs@Suns over at The Score and while I’m excited for that, I’m especially jacked to see Cleveland @ Orlando. After the Mo-show on Tuesday night I can’t wait to see what he follows up with.
As for the rest of the games, lets run down what we know and you guys (as always), can help me fill in the blanks on your teams.
Indiana managed to hold off Milwaukee 107-99, despite being without Danny Granger who rested a sore knee. TJ Ford continued his strong play of late, finishing with 34 points for the Pacers to outduel Charlie Villanueva of the Bucks who scored 28 points. While the Bucks were without Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd going into the game, they lost Luke Ridnour in the fourth when he took a shot to the face and suffered a concussion. While the Bucks cut the deficit to three in the final stretch of the game they were unable to get any closer. Troy Murphy had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacers
The Celtics continued to dominate their opponent last night, winning their ninth straight as they kicked the Kings while they were down, thanks to Eddie House knocking down a career-high eight three-pointers (8-9 from beyond the arc), on his way to a 28 point night. While the Kings came out blazing and led 30-28 at the end of one, they quickly stalled on offense and were outscored 40-19 in the second quarter where the Celtics ran away with it from there. Rajon Rondo put in a 24-point, 9 assist night while Glen Davis and Kevin Garnett each added 14. The Kings were led by Jason Thompson’s 21 points and 11 rebounds while Kevin Martin had 18 and John Salmons added 22.
The Heat blew out those damn Wizards, 93-71. Washington managed to top 20 points in only the first quarter and that’s pretty much the story of the game right there. Dwyane Wade finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists as Michael Beasley and James Jones each had 16 off of the bench. Antawn Jamison had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards as Caron Butler added 18.
The Raptors continue to tease their fans, now owning their first three-game winning streak since the start of the season with a 107-106 victory against the Nets. They don’t make anything easy. This one came down to the final possession with Devin Harris missing what would have been a game-winner for the Nets. Toronto outscored Jersey 34-23 in the third quarter. Calderon 
finished with 17 points and 11 assists while Anthony Parker had 21 points and Chris Bosh added 18. Vince Carter had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists for the Nets while Harris had 25 points and 10 assists and Keyon Dooling scored 17 off of the bench.
The Oklahoma City Thunder got the game to overtime against the Grizzlies. Once in the extra session they dominated, outscoring Memphis 14-2 in the final five minutes of their game, taking the 114-102 victory behind a 35-point 10-rebound, 6 assists and 4 blocked shots from Kevin Durant. Jeff Green had 23 points Russell Westbrook added 16. Rudy Gay had 25 for the Grizz while Mike Conley and Marc Gasol each added 15 and OJ Mayo scored 17.
Philly managed to outlast the Rockets last night as they took down Houston 95-93. While the Rockets led by as many as 14 points late, the 76ers battled back and it was Andre Igoudala who hit a baseline J to give the Sixers the victory. After he missed a jumper on Philly’s final possession, the ball went back to Houston with 5.8 seconds left but Tracy McGrady missed what would have been a game-winning three pointer. Igoudala finished with 20 points for the Sixers while Andre Miller had 16 and Elton Brand added 14. McGrady scored 24 for the Rockets as Luis Scola scored 18 and Yao Ming was held to 13 points to go with 9 rebounds.
Dallas murdered Golden State 117-93. While the Warriors jumped out to a quick start, Dirk Nowitzki quickly gave the Mavs the lead and Dallas rolled from there, shooting 57% for the game as they led 69-47 at the half. Dirk finished with 20 points, Brandon Bass had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Josh Howard scored 19 points and Jason Terry had 22 points off of the bench. Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with 25 points while Corey Maggette had 21 off of the bench and Kelenna Azubuike added 12. Monta Ellis was only 2-11 from the floor as he tried to find his rhythm since his return.
While the Bobcats had high hopes for their matchup against the Blazers after their double-overtime victory in Los Angeles the night before, they were unable to maintain their energy and Portland jumped on them early, leading 32-18 at the end of the first quarter. With the tired legs of the Bobcats causing them to clank shots, Portland was able to maintain their lead from their hot start and hold off the Bobcats, 88-74 with ease. Brandon Roy finished with 17 points for the Blazers as LaMarcus Aldridge added 25 points and 9 rebounds. Emeka Okafor had 18 for Charlotte while Raja Bell added 16.
