JR and Birdman keep Nuggets second in the West.
by Holly MacKenzie / @stackmack
After the busy schedule on Wednesday nights, I always feel like Friday mornings are so quiet. I guess it’s all good because it’s Friday and the weekend is here! It was also ridiculously warm outside here in Toronto yesterday evening/last night. I spent a good chunk of my day staring at a computer screen and it was heaven to spend the evening walking the streets and feeling Spring all around me.
LeBron’s Cavs lost to the Wizards last night. Uh oh. That could lead to some interesting conversation around here. I kid, but really, the Wiz/Cavs matchups are always entertaining, to say the least. Particularly when we’ve got Gilbert Arenas back out there, in the middle of things.
20:1
That’s the assist:turnover ratio for Gil since his return. I forgot how good he looked out there. It just feels right having him back on the floor. Notice he changed his shoes at halftime of that game? I’d still really, really, really like a Gil sole from the SLAM shoes, if anyone is listening to me.
I wrote a piece on Derrick Rose for my blog over at The Score yesterday. Check me out, I was the first person to ask Rose for a reaction of Chris Paul’s compliments about his game. That was a fun moment, seeing him almost burst with pride when I read him the quote.
Taking this off-topic for a moment, I know I don’t talk about music a lot around here, but I need to say, if you’re looking for something fun, check out Drake’s So Far Gone. I had a friend give me his stuff awhile ago and I said I’d listen but didn’t really listen, then it seemed like I couldn’t ignore it any longer after Baron Davis mentioned him last week, then I got into a friend’s car the other night and he was listening to the album (and asking me why I wasn’t yet on the bandwagon), and then on my walk last night I stumbled over the album I’d added to my ipod a few weeks ago.
Two hours later, I was swept away by Drake.
Okay, back to basketball.
Thoughts are being sent to Maurice Lucas, assistant coach of the Blazers who has just undergone surgery for bladder cancer. Stay strong, Coach Lucas.
Tell me this, how are the Nuggets suddenly in second place in the Western Conference? Okay, I guess it’s not “suddenly”, but wow I didn’t see that happening. O’Leary is convinced that the Nuggets will be facing the Lakers in the WCF. Tell him what you think about that prediction.
Gil wore black shoes in the second half of the game last night. As the friend who told me, texted, “hello, fine.” Love him. Have I mentioned how good it is to see him back on the floor?
The Wizards pulled off the shocker against Cleveland, taking them down, 109-101 as the last-place team in the Eastern Conference took down the top team in the league. With Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood in the starting lineup once again, it was smooth sailing for the Wizards as they led throughout the first half and went into the fourth up 10, 80-70. The Cavs would narrow the gap to six in the final minutes on a three from James, but Washington wasn’t giving this one up. Caron Butler had 25 points to lead Washington as Antawn Jamison scored 19, Brendan Haywood added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Arenas finished with 11 points and 10 assists. Bron had 31 points 9 rebounds and 6 assists and Mo Williams added 19.
The Sixers took down the Bucks, 105-95 thanks to a strong second half at home. The victory put them in fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race, as they bumped the Heat down to sixth. While the Sixers found themselves behind by nine at the half and then tied with the Bucks midway through the fourth, they pieced together a 10-0 run that was keyed by four quick points from Marreese Speights to go ahead and didn’t look back. Andre Miller led the way for Philadelphia with 18 points and 11 assists. Andre Igoudala added 20 points and Speights had 21 off of the bench. Ramon Sessions continued to ball for Milwaukee, scoring 18 points to go with 10 assists while Richard Jefferson scored 17 and Charlie Bell added 14.
Carlos Boozer hyped it as an important game, Kenyon Martin left midway through with a rib injury and the Nuggets took down the Jazz, 114-104 thanks to 8 blocks from Chris Andersen and 8 three-pointers from JR Smith. While they trailed by as many as 11 early, the Nuggets got a boost from Smith’s six first-half three-pointers and a layup at the halftime buzzer from Anthony Carter that put them up, 54-43. It was smooth sailing for the Nuggets from there as they nabbed win #50 on the season and a half-game lead over San Antonio for the second spot in the West. Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points and Smith’s eight three’s came on 8-14 shooting from the floor as he finished with 28 points. Andersen added 7 points and 10 rebounds to go with his 8 blocked shots. The Jazz were led by Deron Williams and his 18-point, 10-assist night. Carlos Boozer scored 15 points to go with 11 rebounds, Mehmet okur added 14 points and 15 boards and CJ Miles scored 19 in the loss.
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