Damn Wednesdays and their 12-games slates. Too. Many. Games. Both to watch and to write about. My new rule for Wednesdays (and those Tuesdays that are busy), is not recaping blowouts that get ridiculous or matchups between non-playoff teams that are just ugly.
Sometimes even those ugly games reel me in though, so if I watch it, you’l l get it.
I didn’t get the Raptors game tonight, like the majority of people here in Toronto… Damn TSN2. I’ve got to admit though, part of me was relieved not to have to see another 20-point beating. Yuck. I knew Detroit would win, I was hoping it wouldn’t be another embarrassing loss.
Detroit won, 95-76. Rip came off of the bench and was okay with it. The Pistons outrebounded Toronto 40-28. That’s about all you need to know from that one.
Russ and Jake will have notes for you from the Knicks/Suns game and I’m looking forward to that dynamc duo being together once again.
Somehow, someway the Dallas Mavericks found a way to give up 133 points to the Milwaukee Buck.s 133 points! To the Bucks! Lord have mercy, I didn’t even see a glimpse of that one. Charlie Villanueva led the way with 32 points and 10 rebounds while Michael Redd added 27. Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points for the Mavs in the loss while Josh Howard had 19 points.
The Bobcats took down the Grizzlies 101-86 last night thanks to a 25-point performance from Raja Bell and a 20-point, 15-rebound night from Emeka Okafor.Rudy Gay had 26 for the Grizz while OJ Mayo added 13 in the loss as Memphis was outrebounded 44-22 on the night.
This Lakers game was a blowout for most of the second half until I flipped over with minutes remaining (hey, I was watching Portland and Clevland!), and all of a sudden it hit me, Andrew Bynum had a career night. Not just a career-night, but a 42-point career night. 42 points and 15 boards for Andrew. Nice game, even if it was against Brian Skinner and DeAndre Jordan. Speaking of which, Jordan had a night of his own as he finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots and had a ton of dunks, one of which caused Kobe to look at the ref and say, 
“Wow”. Lakers got the W, 108-97, but the game was not as close as the final score appears. Speaking of that guy, he finished with another triple-double, this time having 18 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists while Lamar Odom added 19 points off of the bench. Besides Jordan, the Clippers had 20 points from Al Thornton and 16 from Eric Gordon.
Ronny Turiaf had 8 assists last night, to go with 6 points and 6 rebounds. That surprised me.
The finish in Golden State was a wild one. Wish more people would have seen it. 72-68 as a halftime score is just nuts. Even more nuts when the team who scored 72 was OKC. They’ve had games where they’ve finished with 72. Or, close enough, anyway. Of course, it would be the Warriors who gave up 72 points in 24 minutes to the Thunder. Still, it made for a fun game and one wild finish. This OKC team is fun to watch with KD, Jeff Green and Westbrook. Unreal shot to win it from Green last night.
And with that, I’m tired, ha. This night has taken it’s toll. I’m JACKED for Orlando/Boston tomorrow, though. Now, I’ve gotta try to get some sleep so I can prepare for that one. Hope you guys will all be ready to watch that one and of course, to hear the TNT crew speak. You know they’ll talk about Obama. That makes me happy.
Boston 98 Miami 83
This was an easy win for Boston. Thanks to the 10-point quarter from Miami in the first and the 20-point quarter from Eddie House in the second, the Celtics were up big early, led 57-34 at the half and held onto their lead to cruise to their sixth straight victory. When the Heat made their final push in the fourth and got within 11, Boston responded with an 8-0 run and Miami didn’t have any answers from there. Ray Allen led the way for the Celtics with 27 points while finishing 5-6 from the three-point line as Kevin Garnett finished with 16 ponts and 13 rebounds and House added a season-high 25 off of the bench. Dwyane Wade had 25 points to lead the Heat as Daequan Cook had 20 and Michael Beasley finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds off of the bench.
New Orleans 102 New Jersey 92
Chris Paul continued his strong play last night, almost notching another triple-double as he led the Hornets past the struggling Nets who have dropped their fourth straight. The Hornets were without Tyson Chandler and David West and they needed CP3 to be their superstar. While the Nets started the game off on the wrong foot, they were in the game until the third quarter when the Hornets used a 16-2 run to outscore the Nets 28-16 in the quarter and go ahead by as many as 16 points. In the final quarter the Nets would trim the deficit to five in the final minutes, but were unable to get any closer. Paul finished with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists as Peja Stojakovic added 20 points and 10 boards and Julian Wright had 11 off of the bench. The Nets were led by Vince Carter’s 20 points while Bobby Simmons scored 16.
Houston 108 Utah 99
The Houston Rockets are impressing night in and night out as they find ways to will themselves to victory without Tracy McGraady and Ron Artest. Every night it’s a different guy (or handful of guys), to step up and fill the void as they give Yao Ming a helping hand. Last night, it was a group effort as Rafer Alston had 23 points, Von Wafer scored 21 points and Luis Scola added 19 points to compliment Yao’s 19-point, 12-rebound performance to help the Rockets get the 108-99 victory over the Jazz. The Jazz fell despite a brilliant 32-point, 11-assist night from Deron Williams and a 20/12 night from Paul Millsap. A 31-19 point first quarter from the Rockets helped them jump ahead early and led by as many as 16 in the game as the Jazz never led. While Utah would cut into the lead in the fourth, the hole they had dug in the first half was too deep to get out of.
Cleveland 104 Portland 98
The match up between the Cavs and the Blazers was a close one throughout, withe Cleveland leading early and the Blazers coming back late, setting up a fourth quarter where every play mattered. With Greg Oden fouling out in the final minute of the fourth, the Blazers trailed by five when Mo Wiliiams knocked down a three-pointer with 49 seconds remaining in the game to put the Cavs up by eight and snuff out Portland’s chances of getting a W. Williams had 33 points for the Cavaliers as LeBron James had 34 points and 14 assistss for a Cleveland team that finished the game shooting 52% from the floor as compared to only 40% for Portland. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points for Portland while Oden finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds before he fouled out and Brandon Roy added 23.
Washington 107 Sacramento 103
While Washington had control of this game throughout, their defense died in the fourth quarter as they gave up a 37-point quarter to the Kings and in the process almost gave up the victory. While the Wizards had back-to-back 30-point quarters in the second and third to take a 21-point lead over the Kings, they were outscored 37-21 in the final 12 minutes of the game as they struggled to escape their own meltdown. While the Kings got to within one with less than a minute remaining on a three from Francisco Garcia, Antawn Jamison (who finished with 33 points and 9 rebounds), was sent to the free throw line where he made ft’s to save the Wizards. Caron Butler finished with 32 points and Andray Blatche added 20 for Washington. The Kings were led by John Slamons and Beno Udrih who each scored 24 points as Kevin Martin added 22 in the loss.
Oklahoma City 122 Golden State 121
This was a wild one and while I’m probably the only one here who watched it, I think it was the game of the night. With both teams putting aside defense for the first half, the Thunder led 72-68 at the break. The two teams would continue to trade baskets and leads throughout the second half with the game coming down to the final play. While the Warriors got themselves into foul trouble in the final quarter, OKC was solid at the line and were up one, with the ball when Stephen Jackson forced Kevin Durant into an airball that Jamal Crawford rebounded, then took the length of the court and scored to put Golden State up one with 1.6 seconds remaining. On the final play of the game, Jeff Green banked a long jumper in and stole the vicotry for the Thunder, stunning the Warriors crowd. Green finished with 26 points for the Thunder as Durant had 27 and 12 and Russell Westbrook added 30 points to go with 7 assists. Jackson had 29 points for the Warriors as Kelenna Azubuike finished with 21 and Corey Maggette added 26 off of the bench in the absence of Andris Biedrins
