by Peter Walsh / @goinginsquad
Just ‘Cause:
Mobb Deep – Up North Trip
Knicks 121 (9-3), Pistons 100 (3-11)
A home game against Detroit was just what the Knicks needed after returning home from a disappointing trip to Texas. New York led pretty much the whole way and put together a season best 64-point first half effort. Detroit made it interesting early in the third after going on a 13-3 run that cut the deficit to 10 but Steve Novak got hot and hit a few three’s to make the lead 14 heading into the fourth. The Knicks were excellent on both ends of the floor, hitting 17 of 33 three’s and scoring 33 points off of 20 forced turnovers. Melo led the way with 29 points while Novak went 5-7 from three for a season-high 18 points.
Quick Hitters:
— The next time these two teams face each other, it will be in London on January 17.
— Ten different Knicks attempted at least one three-pointer.
— J.R. Smith was ballin and put together a 15-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist effort. Sheed came off the bench for 15 and Ray Felton came through with a 14 and 10 dime double-double
— Brandon Knight led Detroit with 21 points, Charlie Villaneuva chipped in with 17 and Kyle Singler scored 16.
Spurs 111 (11-3), Raptors 106 (3-11) F/2OT
The Raptors continue to play hard against top teams but the Spurs proved to be too much and put T-Dot away in a double overtime marathon. Let’s fast forward to the fourth quarter: after Jonas Valanciunas (patting myself on the back for spelling that right the first time) hit two free throws to tie the game at 88, Tony Parker had a chance to win or tie but bricked a three to give fans some free basketball north of the border.
In the first OT, the Spurs took a two-point lead after a Tim Duncan dunk with under 30 seconds to go. Tony Parker then stole the rock on the inbounds and hit a layup to push the lead to four. Kyle Lowry answered with a clutch three but Ginobili hit two free ones on the other end to make the score 96-93. DeMar DeRozan’s dunk with 14 seconds left cut the deficit to one and Gary Neal only hit one of two free throws on the other end to give Toronto a chance. DeRozan missed on his first attempt but grabbed his own rebound and hit a layup with under a second left to tie the game at 97, sending this one to a second OT. The Spurs were finally able to pull away from an exhausted home team and after Danny Green hit a three early in the extra session, the Spurs never relinquished the lead. Parker hit all three of the shots he took in the second overtime session and topped 30 for the second straight game.
Quick Hitters:
— Parker had a big game with 32 points, 6 boards and 5 dimes. Duncan added 26 on 11-15 shooting, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 6 assists.
— Toronto won the rebounding battle 61-52.
— Andrea Bargnani had an abysmal afternoon. The former number one pick shot 2-19 for 4 points.
— The young core of the Raptors played well. Rookie Jonas Valanciunas scored 22 points (9-13) and grabbed 7 boards. Kyle Lowry scored 20, grabbed 8 boards, dished out 4 dimes and only had 1 turnover in 45 minutes of play. DeMar DeRozan scored 29 and swiped 3 steals.
Nets 98 (8-4), Blazers 85 (6-7)
After playing to a stalemate after three quarters, Brooklyn used a big fourth quarter to pull away from the visiting Trailblazers to make their record 6-1 at the Barclays Center. With the Knicks scheduled to come into BK tonight, the Nets may have got caught looking ahead a little bit through the first three quarters. But in the fourth, the Nets found their rhythm and blew the game open with a 9-0 run highlighted by a C.J. Watson three and a Joe Johnson jumper that made it a nine point game with just over six minutes to go. The Nets were then able to keep the Blazers at bay and after a DWill three pointer and a Kris Humphries layup, BK was up 14 and that was all she wrote.
Quick Hitters:
— Joe Johnson socred 21 points, Kris Humphries scored 14 and grabbed 10 boards, Reggie Evans snagged 14 rebounds and DWill had a 15 and 12 double-double.
— LaMarcus Aldridge sat this one out with a back injury.
— The Blazers bench did not score a single point until the third quarter. Their bench unit has been awful this season.
Sixers 104 (8-6), Suns 101 (6-8)
Led by Jrue Holiday’s career-high 33-point, 13-assist performance, the Sixers took care of the Suns at home last night. Holiday came up big down the stretch and hit a few clutch shots to ensure his team would go home winners. After Phoenix cut the deficit to four with about four minutes to play, Holiday grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in while drawing a foul to push the lead to seven. Philly went cold after Holiday’s big play and missed their next four shots, allowing PHX to go on a 6-0 run to pull them back within one.
The Sixers finally hit a shot when Jason Richardson made a tough 15-footer that pushed the lead back to three. Mike Beasley responded with two free throws but Holiday came right back and hit a jumper to make it a 102-99 game. The Suns were able to cut it to two and had a chance to tie but Super Cool Beas missed a wide-open layup with 2.8 seconds remaining that ended their chance at a win.
Quick Hitters:
— In 66 games last year, Jrue Holiday had one double-double. In 14 games this year, he already has 5.
— Ev Turner scored 16 points and grabbed 9 boards, Lavoy Allen scored 11 and Thad Young chipped in with 10.
— Beasley led the Suns with 21 points but only tallied 1 rebound and 1 assist. Marcin Gortat scored 18 and grabbed 7 boards.
Celtics 116 (7-6), Magic 110 (5-7) F/OT
Another game, another tough loss for the Magic. Orlando led by seven in the fourth but, as they have all season, killed themselves with turnovers. The Magic turned the ball over 19 times and have now turned the ball over at least 15 times in seven straight games. After Arron Afflalo gave the Magic a seven point lead with a three pointer at the eight minute mark, the C’s stormed back with a 10-2 run to give themselves a one-point lead. JJ Redick eventually tied it at 100 with a three but an errant pass gave the ball back to Boston. The Celtics gave it right back to Orlando which led to a Big Baby layup for the tie. The Celtics had two chances to win the game in regulation but couldn’t convert and the game went to overtime.
The two teams went back and forth but Boston eventually gave themselves a cushion after a three from The Truth and a layup from Rondo which made the score 113-108 with under two minutes to play. Jameer Nelson scored on a layup to make the deficit three and after Rondo airballed a shot, the Magic had a chance to tie the game. Unfortunately, Nelson missed on an off-balance three-pointer and the Celtics escaped with the win.
Quick Hitters:
— Jameer Nelson scored 17 points over the final two quarters and overtime to finish with 20 points.
— Rondo finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. He scored 15 points and dished out 16 assists. His double-digit assist streak is now at 37 games. Wow.
Nuggets 102 (8-6), Hornets 84 (3-9)
The Nuggets blew out the visiting Hornets, handing New Orleans their seventh straight loss as they continue to struggle without Anthony Davis. Ty Lawson led the charge in the deciding third quarter. Lawson scored 11 points in the third, hitting three straight shots and in turn, helped push the Nuggets lead to 28. The game was over after that as Denver rested its starters in the fourth.
Quick Hitters:
— Lawson finished with 17 points and 6 assists. Andre Iguodala led all scorers with 23 and Kenny Faried chipped in with a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double.
— Brian Roberts led the Hornets with 17 off the bench.
— Denver shot over 50 percent for the game while holding New Orleans to under 40 percent.
