A wild night in the NBA
Last night, perfect example of why I love this game.
So many games, so many great finishes. Only problem is, I didn’t get to see them.
[Insert sad face here.]
I liveblogged the Lakers/Rockets game over at The Score so for three hours I was locked in to that one and didn’t really have any time to even peep other box scores or games.
I did see the fourth quarter of the Kings and Magic. A blowout it was, but it was funny hearing the Kings announcers gush on and on and on about Dwight’s physique. I’ll be the first to admit that when I saw him in the locker room, the sheer size of his shoulders floored me, but it’s funny to 
hear these grown men gushing about him stopping traffic.
About that Lakers game. Hell of an impressive performance by a Rockets team that didn’t have McGrady or Artest.
Von-effing-Wafer. Goodness. 10-14 from the floor and he looked fantastic. Must have felt good for him to stick it to the Lakers, who drafted him back in ‘05.
I was pumpppped to see Darius Miles score 13 in the Memphis loss to Cleveland. I’m rooting for this guy a whole lot, now.
Can someone please tell me how much LeBron actually weighs? I feel like he gains 15 pounds of muscle every other month. 270-something now? Seriously? Ryan Jones, step up and tell me the answer, if anyone knows this info, it’s you.
Because I didn’t see any of the games (other than Lakers/Rockets), I’ll give some short rundowns and as a special treat you’ll get recaps in 30(ish) words or less from the one and only Russ Bengtson. Facebook status updates it is not, but it’s the next best thing.
Charlotte 80 Detroit 78
The Bobcats managed to shock the Pistons and take them down 80-78 last night thanks to a shot at the buzzer from Raymond Felton. While the Pistons managed only 10 points in the forth, the Bobcats took advantage and had just enough in the tank to get the W. Felton finished with 23 points and 9 assists while Gerald Wallace had 18 and Emeka Okafor had 13 point and 9 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey had 22 points to lead the Pistons as Sheed scored 16 and Iverson added 13.
Bengtson on the Pistons/BETCats game:
“The Pistons holding the Bobcats to 80 and winning would have been bad. The Pistons holding the Bobcats to 80 and losing was worse. Larry Brown and Michael Jordan, vengeance is thine. Thouse. Whatever.”
Cleveland 102 Memphis 87
The Cavs ran away with this one early and LeBron posted another triple-double along the way. James had 30/11/10 with 3 steals and a block thrown in for good measure. Ridiculous! Delonte West scored 19 points and Mo Williams added 16. Kyle Lowry paced the Grizzlies with 25 points as Hakim Warrick continued his strong play off of the bench with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
Bengtson on Cavs/Grizz:
“LeBron’s 19th career triple-double most certainly overshadowed Darius Miles’s 13-point performance—but it should be incredibly obvious to anyone with eyes that Miles’s career is far from ended. Sorry, Portland.”
Denver 99 Dallas 97
Another game that went down to the final seconds as Dirk’s 44 and 14 were not enough for the Mavs when Chauncey Billips drew a foul with 2 seconds remaining and then drained two free throws to get his boys the W. Billups finished with 23 for the Nuggets while Nene scored 20 and Dahntay Jones added 16. Jason Terry had 16 off of the bench for the Mavs and Brandon Bass added 10.
Bengtston on Mavs/Nuggs:
“Dirk Nowitzki would rather not choose between 44/14 and a win. That said, if he could choose, he’d pick the one that didn’t happen.”
Phoenix 107 Atlanta 102
Without Al Horford the Hawks were unable to defeat the Suns in Phoenix last night. Still, they put up a great fight, giving the Suns trouble until the final minutes where Nash and Amare Stoudemire knocked down jumpers to keep the Suns ahead. Shaq finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds while Nash had 23 points and Leandro Barbosa added 22 off of the bench. Josh Smith had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks as Mike Bibby had 17 and Marvin Williams scored 16 points to go with 12 rebounds.
Bengtson on Suns/Hawks:
“The biggest argument against plus/minus? In the Suns win over the Hawks, Atlanta reserve Flip Murray had the best plus/minus of anyone. By far.”
Lakers 105 Houston 100
This one was a wild one throughout. Missing two of their stars, the Rockets elected to go small and as a result the pace of this game was ridiculous. Couple that with the fact that the Rockets didn’t attempt a free throw in the first half, and it flew by. While Houston went up early thanks to the hot shooting from Von Wafer, the game was tied at the half and Houston went into the fourth up, 82-78. In the fourth, the Lakers cut the lead and the final few minutes went back and forth as Shane Battier hit a huge corner three (also his first shot of the game), with 47 seconds remaining to put the Rockets up 100-99. Kobe responded on the other end by drilling a three of his own to give the Lakers a two point lead with 27 seconds remaining and then the Rockets fell apart as Rafer Alston missed two free throws and Yao Ming inexplicably attempted a two point shot on the Rockets final possession of the game. Kobe had 33 while Trevor Ariza scored 14 off of the bench as the Lakers had seven players in double figures. Von Wafer led the Rockets with 23 points on 10-14 shooting while Yao finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds and Carl Landry scored 21 off of the bench.
And finally, Bengtson on the Rockets/Lakers:
“With the game quite literally on the line and all eyes on him, Rafer Alston choked in much the way Charles Barkley’s date-to-be presumably wouldn’t have.”
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