Golden State stops the Hornets, Raptors rout Wizards and Iverson leads Denver.
By: Holly MacKenzie
Okay, first item of business. That LeBron dunk…. Of the year?! Holy Hell. Nevermind Amare and his Black Jesus, LeBron is the one playing otherworldly. To break it down: Bron is where its at. He’s GOT to get rid of that dirty mouth guard habit though. Even greatness can be gross.
But seriously, can we talk about him for just another minute? We are watching something special. The game is just too easy for him when he wants it to be. That final possession for Cleveland? So smooth, so effortless, so easy. What a game, performance, year, talent. LeBron James is it. I will stop gushing now but, damn!
You know it killed Pat Riley, racking up another loss to Stan Van Gundy. Rough. Funny how things work out like that. The Magic almost let an easy victory slip out of their hands.
Is it just me, or is Baron looking ridiculously ripped lately? More so than usual, I mean.
Chris Paul and Davis were fun tonight. Monta was playing out of his mind again. That Baron three with 3:20 left in the game was just ridic. How many feet behind the arc was he?
Raptors crushed the Wizards last night. It was ugly. Get well, Caron.
Darko with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks… I’m just saying…What?!
This crazy flu season appears to have hit the NBA hard this year. It looks like every team has had it’s share of dealing with it and last night there were men down all over the place with “flu-like symptoms” and the Knicks lost two of the guys during the game. Gross stuff.
Looks like the league thought Renaldo Balkman’s elbow to Vujacic’s face was a little much as well because Balkman was handed a one game suspension for the move. He served the suspension in the Knicks loss to Utah last night.
What a horrible game between Milwaukee and Philadelphia last night. It was even worse than the Raptors/Wizards blowout.
I still can’t believe that LeBron alley oop. Excuse me while I kiss the sky. The guy can jump. Eyes peeking over the rim, ridiciulous! Yes, I love Kobe but, day by day I am finding it harder and harder to find fault in Bron’s game.
Big 20-20 performance from Brad Miller last night. Throw in 5 assists and 3 blocks and it was a good night for the Kings.
Toronto 122 Washington 83
One night after dropping a disappointing overtime loss in Washington to the Butler-less Wizards, the Raptors had a complete turnaround on their home floor and annihilated Washington 122-83. Thanks to connecting on 13-18 three-pointers and having a second quarter where they outscored the Wizards 33-18, the game was a blowout by halftime with the Raptors leading 61-41. Their lead would only grow in the second half as Toronto had six players reach double-figures and they were able to play their bench for extended minutes while their starters enjoyed the view from the sidelines. Andrea Bargnani led with 19 points, Chris Bosh had 16 points, Anthony Parker scored 15 and Juan Dixon added 12. Jose Calderon had 11 points and 11 assists with only one turnover. DeShawn Stevenson led Washington with 16 points, Andray Blatche had 12 points and 7 rebounds and Roger Mason scored 14. Antawn Jamison was held to only 11 points in the loss.
Philadelphia 112 Milwaukee 69
From beginning to end, the Philadelphia 76er’s throttled Milwaukee last night, winning the game by a 43-point margin. After going up by nine points at the end of the first quarter, the 76er’s outscored Milwaukee by at least 10 in each of the remaining three quarters of the game as they went up by a score of 51-32 at the half. Things went further downhill for the Bucks after the break as they managed only 37 points in the entire second half while Philadelphia had 35 points in the fourth quarter alone. While Philly shot 54% from the floor the Bucks came in at only 38%. Andre Iguodala had 18 points to lead the 76er’s while Andre Miller and Thaddeus Young added 14 points apiece. Reggie Evans scored 13 points to go with 9 rebounds as Sam Dalembert and Rodney Carney each had 12. Royal Ivey had 17 points for the Bucks who were sorely missing the shooting touch of Michael Redd, missing in action again with that knee strain. Mo Williams scored 14 points and Charlie Villanueva added 10 in the loss.
Denver 106 Memphis 102
In a battle of depleted teams the nine-man roster of the Grizzlies fell just short to the ten-man crew for Denver last night, dropping a 106-102 decision at home despite being up by seven with just three minutes remaining in the game. Denver was without Carmelo Anthony who recovered from an ankle sprain while Memphis was missing Pau Gasol and Mike Conley Jr. due to injuries and Stromile Swift because of a team-suspension. The first half of the game was a close one with Denver leading 54-52 at the break. In the third, the teams traded leads and tied things up more than once before Memphis would go up by five heading into the fourth and extending that lead to seven in the final minutes. When it came down to the wire Denver was solid, holding Memphis scoreless as they went on a 12-0 run to take control of the game. During the stretch, Denver had three-pointers from Anthony Carter and Linas Kleiza while Iverson knocked down all six of his free throws in the final 23 seconds of the game to clinch the win despite Rudy Gay’s 30-point, 10-rebound effort for Memphis. Iverson finished with 32 points, 12 assists and 4 steals while Carter had 18 points and Marcus Camby added 13 points, 19 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Kleiza added 15. Besides Gay’s 30 points, Mike Miller had 22 points and 9 rebounds, Darko Milicic had 14 points, 16 boards and 5 blocks, and Kyle Lowry added 19.
Utah 100 New York 89
A quick start was all the Jazz needed to go on to their sixth straight victory last night. That they were facing a Knicks team who had played the night before didn’t hurt either. Leading 26-18 after the first period, the Jazz led the entire way through going up by as many as 17 before letting the Knicks trim their deficit down to seven points in the final minutes. Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams would respond for Utah and the Jazz would stave off the New York run to take the victory. New York was shorthanded as they lost Eddy Curry and Quentin Richardson in the first quarter with flu-like symptoms. Boozer finished with 17 points and rebounds while Deron Williams had 22 points and 12 assists and Paul Millsap scored 15. Mehmet Okur had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko added 11 points. Jamal Crawford had 26 points and 9 assists to lead New York while Zach Randolph had 23 points and 8 rebounds. David Lee had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Jared Jeffries added 10 in the loss.
Orlando 107 Miami 91
Facing a Miami team that was without Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal and Udonis Haslem proved harder than the Magic might have thought. While Orlando led for most of the game the Heat put together a push early in the fourth to cut the Magic lead down to 83-80 after rookie Daequan Cook hit a jumper with 11 minutes remaining. After getting within three the Heat would not get any closer as Orlando surveyed the situation and reeled off an 18-1 run to regain control and come away with the win. The Magic had 52 rebounds as compared to only 29 from the undersized Heat in the contest and they outscored them 24-15 in the final quarter on their way to the victory. Hedo Turkoglu finished with a game high 27 points to go with 12 rebounds and 5 assists as Dwight Howard had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Rashard Lewis scored 19 points and Maurice Evans added 13. Miami was led by Ricky Davis and his 21 points as Luke Jackson and Chris Quinn added 14 points apiece. Jason Williams had 11 points and 8 assists and Dorell Wright added 12 points.
Sacramento 105 Charlotte 91
With a close first half in the books and a 55-52 halftime lead, the Sacramento Kings used a strong third quarter to take control in their 105-91 victory against the Bobcats last night. outscoring the Bobcats 29-16 in the period, the Kings took an 84-68 advantage into the fourth. While Charlotte would cut the lead down to seven points early in the fourth, the Kings responded and stretched the lead back into double-digits, where it would stay until the buzzer sounded. Brad Miller had 22 points and a career-high 21 points to go along with 5 assists and 3 blocked shots to lead Sacramento. Kevin Martin also scored 22 points as Ron Artest added 21 and Mikki Moore had 10 points to go with 8 rebounds. Gerald Wallace had 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and a block in the loss for the Bobcats while Raymond Felton had 16 points and 7 assists, Jason Richardson scored 11 and Emeka Okafor had a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double.
LA Clippers 95 Atlanta 88
The Clippers owe this victory to rookie Al Thorton. In addition to scoring a career-high 33 points, Thorton blocked a layup attempt by Acie Law to protect the Clipper lead after they watched helplessly as the Hawks went on a 19-2 run in the fourth to come back from 20 down. After a three-point play by Josh Smith the score sat at 91-88 with 46 seconds to go. While the Clippers would miss on their next possession, Thorton blocked the layup by Law, Joe Johnson’s jumper fell short and the Clippers made their free throws in the final seconds to protect their victory. It was a big moral victory for the Clippers who had only nine players available for the game and missed both, leading scorer Corey Maggette and leading rebounder Chris Kaman with the flu. Thorton’s 33 points off of the bench led all scorers in the game as LA had 14 points apiece from Tim Thomas and Sam Cassell as well as 12-point performances from Cuttino Mobley and Quinton Ross. Josh Smith led Atlanta with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals while Johnson finished with 17. Al Horford had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Childress added 14 as well.
Golden State 116 New Orleans 103
After knocking down five three-pointers and lifting his team to a victory, Baron Davis was smiling as the boos rained down upon him and his Warriors in New Orleans. Stopping the Hornets’ nine-game winning streak, the Warriors bounced back from a loss in Houston the night before. After leading by four early into the fourth, Golden State went on one of their typical runs to extend their advantage to 13 points midway through the quarter. While the Hornets would stick around continuing to threaten, after Davis hit a long three with 3:21 remaining the game was all but sealed for the Warriors who connected on 13-27 three-pointers in the game. Stephen Jackson led the way offensively with 26 points as Davis added 23 points to go with his 9 assists, Matt Barnes had 17 points and Monta Ellis added 16 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Chris Paul had 28 points, 12 assists and 2 steals for New Orleans while David West had 24 points 13 rebounds and 5 blocked shots and Peja Stojakovic scored 20 points to go with his 10 rebounds. Tyson Chandler added 11 points and 14 rebounds in the loss.
Cleveland 84 Portland 83
Another front row fan heckling LeBron James meant another fourth quarter takeover and the Trailblazers losing in an 84-83 contest where James was the likely hero. While Portland led by 14 points early in the second half of their contest, the Cavaliers cut the lead in the fourth behind LeBron’s 17 points in the final period as they held Portland to only 15 as a team. It was after he had two shots blocked by Portland’s Joel Przybilla that James would begin his tear, knocking down three consecutive three-pointers to tie the game at 81 with two and a half left to play. After Travis Outlaw hit a shot to keep Portland ahead the Blazers would not score again and a made free throw by Drew Gooden coupled with two Portland misses set the scene for James to cap off his night in dramatic fashion with some game-winning heroics. With 5.9 seconds remaining on the clock James got the ball, drove to the basket and easily got the layup to go with .9 seconds remaining. It put the Cavs up one and gave them the victory. James finished with 37 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots as he was the only Cleveland player to reach double-figures. While Zydrunas Igauskas hauled down 13 rebounds, he scored only 7 points in the contest. Drew Gooden added 9 points and 7 rebounds. Brandon Roy finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists for Portland who also got a 16-point performance from LaMarcus Aldridge to go along with 9 rebounds. Steve Blake added 10 points and Outlaw finished with 13.
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Also, if I may beat Ben Osborne to the punch and railroad this post further into NCAA territory, props to Kansas State. Beasley was dope as expected, but how about Bill Walker putting up essentially the same line in 13 fewer minutes? Someday soon, if you haven’t already figured it out, you’ll understand why Slam’s been so high on Mr. Walker for so long.
*walks off whistling*
WEST
1. Phoenix
2. New Orleans
3. Utah
4. Dallas
5. Lakers
6. San Antonio
7. Denver
8. Golden State On the outside looking in would be Portland, at 26-19.
1. Boston
2. Detroit
3. Orlando
4. Cleveland
5. Toronto
6. Washington
7. Atlanta
8. New Jersey
1. Boston
2. Phoenix
3. Detroit (tied w/ NO, win by point diff.)
4. New Orleans
5. Utah
6. Orlando
7. Dallas
8. Los Angeles
9. San Antonio
10. Denver
11. Golden State
12. Portland
13. Cleveland
14. Toronto (tied w/ HOU, win by point diff.)
15. Houston
16. Washington
B) Shia, no doubt.
And Holly, it’s not THAT many. Um, I don’t think.
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