At least in Miami.
by Holly MacKenzie / @stackmack
Kobe. Dwyane. Kobe. Dwyane. Kobe. Q. Rich. Yeah.
Did you all see the early game on TNT last night? After the slow, slow start it ended up being one of the best of the season. With Miami winning 114-111 in overtime. After the Lakers had won in LA thanks to a buzzer beating heave that Kobe Bryant called the luckiest shot of his career, Dwyane got some help from Quentin Richardson and was able to get the best of Kobe and the Lakers in his house.
18.7 seconds left in the game and Kobe drives the lane to be called for an offensive foul as Jermaine O’Neal steps in the take the charge. To be honest, I was shocked the refs would make that call at that juncture of the game, but they felt JO was there and Kobe turned it over. From there, the Heat were in the driver’s seat and were finally able to shut the Lakers out down the stretch after four minutes of non-stop scoring from both teams in OT. While Dwyane and Q got them there and JO had the charge that turned the tide for Miami, it was Carlos Arroyo who clinched the game with free throws down the stretch.
The game was a battle with 31 lead changes and 19 ties. The 31 lead changes is a league-high for this season.
Q finished with seven 3-pointers.
The game was just damn fun for any NBA fan to watch. TNT gets the good ones. Always.
The late game saw the Suns at home against the Jazz and you kinda knew that the Suns were going to find a way to lose again on TNT Thursday right? Even when they led throughout, you could feel the Jazz comeback. Down 13 late, Utah came all the way back and picked apart the Suns, coming away with the 116-108 road win. Carlos Boozer had 15 and 15 and Deron Williams scored 27 points and dished nine assists. Mehmet Okur added 24 points as the Suns wasted a 30-point performance from Amare Stoudemire. Steve Nash had 14 points and 15 assists (but seven turnovers) and Jason Richardson scored 22 in the loss.
In Chicago, the Bulls fell to the Grizzlies, 105-96 thanks to another monster night from Zach Randolph who had 31 points and 18 rebounds as all five Memphis starters finished in double figures. The Grizz outrebounded Chicago 46-31 and shot 52 percent from the floor for the game. Memphis won despite trailing by 17 points in the second quarter. Derrick Rose scored 20 points, two of them on an insane dunk over Randolph. I wanted him to win the game just for that dunk alone. After the game, Randolph admitted that Rose, “got him good.”
Saying it again: Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose for Dunk Contest 2011. Please. Please. Please.
By the way, it’s Friday Another one in the books. The race to the postseason is here. Can you feel it? I most certainly can. One more thing: Jarrett Jack has been waiting to make the playoffs his entire life. He’s 23 games away. I really, really want to see him in the postseason. The guy loves this game as much as anyone who is in this league. It’s time he plays in the postseason as opposed to attending games to support his friends in the league. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!
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