By Holly MacKenzie
It was a night of blowouts in the NBA which makes for some pretty boring recaps. Sorry guys, thats just the way it is sometimes. Anyway, it’s October 17th, which means it’s Kanye day for me. Anyone catch the interviews with Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson yesterday? One word to describe them both? Tense. If we don’t get another post about a possible Kobe trade/trade scenarios, how about you all tell me what you think is going to go down, down below in the comments. For a lifelong KB8/KB24 fan who has been there since the High School announcement from the cocky boy who committed his first fashion DON’T with those awful sunglasses perched atop his head, I feel conflicted as to how I feel about the possibility of his leaving LA. Of course I will always stay loyal to the Lakeshow. Since Magic, and after Kobe I will be a fan. But, I know I will follow Kobe wherever he goes and will root for him there as well. Who here has had their favorite player leave their favorite team and where did your loyalties lie? Why do I feel like I am copping out on my boys if I follow KB to his new destination? IF there is a new destination.
Oh yeah, did anyone catch the story floating around about Gil’s granny fan and her little present? I just love that he can somehow manage to get away with this stuff on the bench. Gil is Classic.
Atlanta Hawks 103 Minnesota Timberwolves 77
Fans at the Atlanta Hawks game Tuesday night were treated to an absolute thrashing of Minnesota by a score of 103-77. Zaza Pachulia led the way with 16 points. Marvin Williams netted 15 points and rookie Al Horford contributed 9 points of his own to go along with 8 rebounds. For the Timberwolves, Gerald Green had 15 points while Rashad McCants added 12. Second year forward Craig Smith finished with 14 on 6-10 field goals. Al Jefferson continued his strong play, getting up for 15 rebounds to go along with 20 points. While the Hawks led for most of the game, at the end of the 3rd quarter the lead had been cut to 10 with Atlanta leading 80-70. To start the 4th the Hawks came out on a 20-0 run that sucked the wind out of the Timberwolves, leaving them scoreless for the first 9:35 seconds of the 4th quarter. In the end, the Hawks outscored the Timberwolves 23-7 in that final quarter and Atlanta didn’t look back. Rookie point guard Acie Law underwent an MRI for his sprained wrist, which has caused him to miss the past 2 games.
Chicago Bulls 97 Washington Wizards 76
The Bulls beat the Wizards by 97-76 with star guard Ben Gordon, Thabo Sefolosha and Adrian Griffin all sidelined by injuries. Andres Nocioni had 10 points while Luol Deng nabbed 11 points and 8 rebounds. Joe Smith played his first game in a Bulls uniform and had 7 points in his 13 minutes of playing time. Rookie Joakim Noah pulled down 8 boards to tie Deng for the team high. On Washington’s side, rookie Nick Young led all scorers with a game high 16 while fellow rookie Oleksiy Pecherov followed with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Andre Blatche added 14 points on 5-8 field goals. Gilbert Arenas is slowly working his way back from off season knee surgery and had 8 points in his 22 minutes. On injury watch, Antawn Jamison went down with an ankle sprain in the first quarter and did not return. The Wizards were without Caron Butler and Deshawn Stevenson after they were given the night off.
Denver Nuggets 104 Milwaukee Bucks 78
Denver showed up in fine form for a preseason rout of Milwaukee defeating them 104-78. Allen Iverson led all scorers with a game high 22 points. Carmelo Anthony added 16 while Anthony Roberson contributed 12. Denver outscored Milwaukee 33-15 in the third quarter where they had a 15-0 run. They never trailed in the contest. For Milwaukee, Mo Williams finished with 16 points and Charlie Bell had 17, but all were in the first quarter. Fans were excited to see rookie Yi Jianlian score 9 points and pull down 7 boards in 20 minutes of action. Charlie Villanueva contributed 7 points and 8 rebounds to the team. Denver was without the service of Marcus Camby, Nene and Linas Kleiza but it did not matter. For the Bucks, Andrew Bogut did not play as a result of flu like symptoms and Michael Redd sat out as well.
Dallas Mavericks 101 Sacramento Kings 99
In the sole close contest of the night, Avery Johnson’s Mavs managed to edge new coach Reggie Theus and the Kings 101-99. MVP Dirk Nowitzki led the way with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, a block and a steal but it was Jason Terry who finished with the play of the night. Down 99-98 after John Salmons hit two clutch free throws for the Kings, Terry rose up and knocked down a big three with 4 seconds on the clock to help the Mavs pull out the win. Terry finished with 15 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 17.While things were close at halftime with Dallas leading 44-42 the score was evened in the 4th as there were 6 ties and 3 lead changes in the quarter. Mike Bibby led the Kings with 21 points and Ron Artest chipped in with 19. Kevin Martin added 17 points and Brad Miller 16 points on 6-7 field goals to go along with 7 rebounds. The Mavs pounded the Kings on the boards, outrebounding them 44-29.
