Tag: Orlando Magic

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Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: Irish eyes are smiling


1. Boston’s bounce back
Despite falling behind by as many as 22 points, the Celtics came roaring back on in San Antonio on St. Patrick’s day to defeat the Spurs 93-91. Boston was without Ray Allen for the second consecutive game, but luckily they had Sam Cassell who was more than willing to step up and hit a huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter that put the Cs up 89-87. The Spurs almost pulled off a St. Patty’s day miracle when Bruce Bowen stole an inbounds pass with time expiring, but the normally clutch Robert Horry couldn’t connect on a game-winning trey. Kevin Garnett scored 21 points in the gutsy comeback while Rajon Rondo chipped in 20 and Paul Pierce added 22. Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with a game-high 32 points, but it didn’t prevent the Spurs from losing their fourth consecutive game and the sixth in their last seven outings.

2. Orlando isn’t LeBron’s kingdom

Everything looks pretty meager in comparison to Houston’s super streak, but Orlando is stringing together a nice series of victories as well. Thanks to a 64-point second half , the Magic now own the second longest win streak in the league with five consecutive after beating Cleveland 104-90 in the Magic Kingdom. Dwight Howard finished with a solid double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds despite shooting just 6-of-14 from the field while Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu connected on three 3-pointers apiece as they combined for an additional 38 points. In all, the Magic converted 14 treys and extended their lead over the Cavaliers to 6 ½ games. Cleveland took a five-point advantage into halftime after Orlando started 1-for-9 from the floor. LeBron James finished with 30 points, but got no help from his inside defender as Ben Wallace ended his night with two points and four rebounds in 23 minutes.

3. Green doesn’t look good on everyone
For some strange reason, the Knicks and the Bulls both decided to break out green uniforms last night. Luckily, the basketball gods were as offended by the hideous jerseys as much as we were and sent both clubs home with double-digit losses. The Knicks lost to Indiana 110-98 and the Bulls got drummed 108-97 by the Hornets. Chris Paul was scary good once again as he tallied 37 points and 13 assists in the outing and after the game he got some MVP love from his buddy Tyson Chandler.

It was all Chris Paul,” said Chandler, who finished with eight points. “The little man was all over the floor. It was incredible. It’s one of the best performances I’ve seen from him yet. He, at least to me, made his bid [Monday night] to consider him the MVP.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Chris Paul vs. Chicago 42 min, 37 pts (FG: 15-21, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 5-7), 4 reb, 13 ast, 3 stl

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Boston (53-13) @ Houston (46-20)
The Rockets might be the hottest team in the last 30-some-odd years with 22 consecutive wins under their belts, but if anyone can teach a thing or two about winning to Houston it is the Celtics. Boston rushed out to a 29-3 record to start the season and they haven’t let go of the NBA’s top mark yet. While the Rockets were able to slip by the West’s best in Los Angeles, the East’s top dog could be too much to overcome, especially if Ray Allen is cleared to play. However, the Rockets have the added benefit of catching the Celtics on the tail end of a back-to-back situation while playing in front of a rabid home crowd in an arena where they are a solid 26-9.

Buzzer Beater: No disrespect to Mike Dunleavy, but he’s no Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. However, when you’re playing against the Knicks, even guys like Dunleavy get to be like Mike. The coach’s son tied his career-high by scoring 36 points in a 110-98 defeat of New York. The Pacers snapped a two-game losing streak behind Dunleavy’s fourth 36-point outburst of the season. The loss dropped New York to 19-48 on the year, meaning the Knicks best player next year will probably be hooping it up this weekend at the NCAA Tournament.

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Utah Jazz

Around the Rim: Utah’s Most Wanted


1. Naughty, naughty Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki’s frustrations were evident just five minutes into the game. And they were equally obvious by the time the final buzzer sounded in Utah’s 116-110 home victory over the Mavericks. With Big D down 19-6 in the opening minutes of the game, Dirk’s dark side came out as he took an obvious cheap shot at Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko, knocking him out of the game with a hip injury. However, Utah rallied without AK-47 in the lineup, producing a late-game 16-0 run to secure the victory. Deron Williams finished with 17 points and an eye-popping 20 assists to compliment Carlos Boozer’s game-high 28 points and Mehmet Okur’s 20-point, 12-rebound double-double. Dallas was led by Josh Howard’s 25 points and Jason Kidd’s nine assists, but Nowitzki managed to produce 23 points while being hissed at for the entire evening. After the game, he pretended he had no idea why the crowd wanted his blood.

I kind of tried to grab him, and unfortunately grabbed him around the neck,” Nowitzki said. “Things went so fast, I didn’t mean to grab the neck, but I just tried to hold him so he doesn’t score. I happened to grab his neck and it was a bad fall.

2. Welcome to Club 40

With a 100-88 smackdown of New York on Monday night, the Hornets became the third Western Conference contender and fifth team overall to reach the 40-win plateau. More importantly, New Orleans pulled within 1 ½ games of San Antonio in the race for the Southwest Division crown. Chris Paul had another big performance with 27 points, eight assists and three steals while teammate Tyson Chandler scored 15 to go with 18 rebounds. The Knicks were without Zach Randolph for the contest which might help fans excuse the loss, but it certainly can’t explain the seven years of futility in the Garden. The home shellacking gave New York an 18-42 record, securing their seventh consecutive season under .500.

3. Cheer up China
Not that it matters a whole heck of a lot at the moment to Rockets fans, but Yao Ming underwent successful surgery on his left foot on Monday meaning that if all goes according to plan, he’ll be ready to suit up for the Chinese team at the Olympics is Beijing. yeah. Despite the injury, Houstonians can’t be too disappointed with their squad…at least, not yet. The Rockets will be riding a 15-game winning streak when they meet up with the Pacers on Wednesday. After being expected to sink into the deep, dark Western Conference waters, Houston has continued to stay float, winning three consecutive games since losing their Mr. International. The question is how much longer they can keep their emotional life preserver inflated? After Indiana, the Rockets take on West powerhouses in Dallas and New Orleans.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Dallas 45 min, 17 pts (FG: 7-17, 3FG: 1-5, FT: 2-2), 5 reb, 20 ast, 2 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Toronto (32-26) @ Orlando (38-23)
It doesn’t get much better than Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh. Unfortunately, Bosh won’t be in uniform for this round as he continues to nurse a bum knee. However, just because the Raps are without their alpha male, it doesn’t take any importance away from the budding rivalry. Orlando has won five of their last six games in an effort to rundown the Pistons and Celtics before season’s end. Currently, the third-place Magic are six games behind Detroit in the Eastern Conference race. Meanwhile, Toronto is just a game behind Cleveland for fourth place and the first round home court advantage that comes along with it.

Buzzer Beater: Sam Cassell is set to officially become a member of the Boston Celtics today, reuniting with Kevin Garnett as they prepare to take their second swipe at the elusive golden apple. The Celtics critics have been taking shots at Rajon Rondo all season, crying that his inexperience would cost Boston when the playoffs roll around. Well, that argument is now squashed. Cassell might be 38 years old and injury prone, but when he is healthy, he is undoubtedly a winner. It’s been a long time since he had a championship reign and you know he is just dying to get his bony little fingers on his ‘precious’ once again.

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Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: Kevin Garnett is almost ready for his close up


1. Welcome back?
Kevin Garnett cares about one thing and one thing only – winning. The Big Ticket missed the Celtics last nine games in addition to sitting out the All-Star game with an abdominal strain, but he appears to be almost back to his normal self which makes Boston far above average once again.

I’m trying to play Tuesday,” Garnett said from NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, according to The Boston Globe. “It’s been miserable. To be honest, miserable. But I’m in a good place mentally. I’m dealing with it.

The Celtics are in Denver tonight and Garnett said how he felt after Monday’s practice would play a big role in whether he takes the court or not. While the entire franchise is dying for Garnett to get back on the floor, they’re not stupid enough to rush it at this point. After all, they’ve won five consecutive games and own a 7-2 record since losing the big fella.

2. Agent 0 to the rescue

The Wizards got some terrific news on Monday, learning star guard Gilbert Arenas was cleared to participate in light, non-contact drills after having knee surgery last season. Arenas proved to be one of the most explosive scorers in the league, racking up 50 and 60 point games like clockwork. There’s no timetable for his return, but just hearing of his comeback has to energize Caron Butler and Antwan Jamison who have been carrying the load since Gilbo went down. Another piece of good news for the Wizards came in the form of Etan Thomas getting the nod to practice for the first time since undergoing open-heart surgery. Again, no definite timetable, but definitely good news.

3. Dare we say it? Jason Kidd is on his way to Big D
After a little tweaking, it appears that the Jason Kidd to Dallas trade will go through. However, before we go off analyzing the nuances of this trade, we’re going to wait for the official word to get dropped from NBA headquarters. Until then, we’ll stick with the major player – Kidd. Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard are going to love having this guy around and Mark Cuban isn’t even going to know who to cry over anymore. Not only will he have the sweetest shooting big man in the game on his roster, but he’ll also own the only player in the league who can completely change a game without scoring a single point. The only immediate drawback we can think of for Dallas is that the city is going to get sick of seeing Kidd’s big-headed kid on the tube every five minutes.

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Orlando (33-21) @ Detroit (39-13)
Now that the All-Star festivities are over and behind us, it’s time to forget all about Dwight Howard’s spectacular collage of throw-downs and start focusing on what’s important which is the race to the playoffs. Before the break, Stan Van Gundy `motivated’ Howard back to peak performance and with the wave of momentum currently underneath him, the Pistons might end up facing a snarling beast tonight. Of course, the Pistons have several proud All-Stars on its squad who will look to end Superman’s high flying act. And if you’re lucky, Rasheed Wallace might just jack up another lefty trey.

Buzzer Beater: Cedric Ceballos finally did something more embarrassing than his ridiculous blindfold slam dunk from a bunch of years back. The former Sun and current Suns on-court announcer was arrested on Sunday for driving with a suspended license. Turns out California had a warrant out for Ceballos and he got caught at a Cali gas station after an attendant called the cops because he tried to pay for gas with a bunk credit card. It was a quick in-and-out of the pokey for Cedric whose hearing is scheduled for March 18.

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New Jersey Nets

Around the Rim: Jason’s still a Net, no Kidding!


1. Devean George is not a Jersey kinda guy
The Dallas Mavericks were just about to give away half their roster for Jason Kidd, but then Devean George decided to go `Kobe’ on the league and nix the trade. As it turns out, George has a loop hole in his contract giving him ultimate approval of any trade. This doesn’t mean the deal that would send Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager and George (plus $3 million and two future first-round picks) going to New Jersey for Kidd and Malik Allen is completely done, but it will need to be tweaked. According to reports, the Mavs might replace George with Eddie Jones and Nick Fazekas or Jones and Juwan Howard. The Nets were so sure this deal was done they sat Kidd against Toronto on Wednesday. And as fate would have, they lost big.

2. Never doubt Dwight Howard

Stan Van Gundy called out his star player for wanting to score more than play defense. Against the Nuggets, Dwight Howard proved he can do both. Howard exploded for 23 points, 24 rebounds and a pair of blocks in a 109-98 Magic victory in the Magic Kingdom. Rashard Lewis threw in 25 for Orlando while Hedo Turkoglu and Brian Cook added 18 points apiece. The Nuggets were in the game for about a half; unfortunately, it was the first half. Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points before fouling out in the fourth and Allen Iverson put in 21 points on a horrible 5-of-16 shooting performance.

3. GINOBILI!!!!
About a month ago the Cavaliers got a measure of revenge against the Spurs, winning a close one in San Antonio after being swept out of last year’s Finals. On Wednesday, the Spurs returned the favor, beating Cleveland 112-105 on their home floor. And they didn’t even miss Tony Parker thanks to an outta-his-mind performance by Manu Ginobili. The Argentinean drilled a career-high eight 3-pointers en route to a season-high 46 points with eight assists, five rebounds and three steals. Ginobili was money in the final period, connecting on all four 3-point attempts for 18 points in the period. For the game, San Antonio shot 12-for-20 from behind the arc. Oh, and according to the box score, there were a couple of All-Stars on the court as well. Tim Duncan did his usual double-double thing, scoring 23 and grabbing 13 while LeBron James had himself a humdinger of a contest with 39 points, six rebounds and nine assists.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Manu Ginobili @ Cleveland 40 min, 46 pts (FG: 15-20, 3FG: 8-11, FT: 8-9), 5 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (35-17) @ Phoenix (36-16)
We know Jason Kidd won’t be in the lineup for the Mavericks and it’s doubtful that Shaquille O’Neal makes his Suns debut against Dallas, but there are still plenty of reasons to watch. It’s always a track meet when these two hook up and it usually goes down to the wire. Dirk Nowitzki should love not having to deal with the pesky Shawn Marion in this rivalry anymore, but Steve Nash is still around and so is some young stud named Amare Stoudemire. It should be interesting to see how the Mavs react with a roster full of players they tried to cut ties with less than a day before.

Buzzer Beater: Gilbert Arenas is thinking about changing his last name to East after realizing the fashionable perks it would bring.

That’s going to be the coolest jersey ever though … that David West jersey for being a Western Conference All-Star … West on the front, West on the back. That’s going to be the bomb jersey.

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Orlando Magic

Dwight Howard is going to suck the oxygen outta the building on Saturday

Everybody and their mother knows Dwight Howard was robbed at last year’s slam dunk competition. Luckily, he’s getting another shot at the crown this year and according to his practice sessions, he’s gotta be the favorite.

If you think those are some sick dunks, can you imagine what the kid could do if he actually got to raise the rim to 12 feet? Unfortunately, we might never know because for the second straight year the NBA has denied his request to raise the rim an additional two feet.

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Miami Heat

Around the Rim:The more things change, the more they stay the same


1. Marion can’t spark the Heat
The Heat were one unhealthy, unhappy superstar lighter on Sunday with Shaquille O’Neal departed for the desert, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the scoreboard. Shawn Marion made a dazzling debut for Miami, scoring 15 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and getting a trio of steals and blocks, but the result was the same: a loss. Kobe Bryant racked up 33 points to lead the Lakers past the Heat by 10 points, 104-94. Lamar Odom continues to improve his play with Andrew Bynum out, finishing with 15 points, 18 rebounds and six assists while Pau Gasol scored 12. In addition to Marion, all of the other Heat starters finished with double-digit points, led by Mark Blount’s 22 and Dwyane Wade’s 19.

2. Carmelo gets the best of his buddy

It got really ugly really quick in Cleveland for the home team last night. Right out of the gate, the Nuggets ran all over the Cavs and when the brutality finally ended, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson combined for 52 points in a 113-83 stomping. It got so bad for Cleveland, LeBron James reverted to a five-year-old, throwing a mad fit between the third and fourth quarters when the Cavaliers were staring up from a 26-point hole.

I know he hates losing to me,” Anthony said with a laugh.

But even if James can’t stand losing to Melo, he’s still got love for his bro and he’s happy to be lining up across from Anthony in this year’s All-Star game.

People realize he’s one of the best players in our league, definitely one of the best scorers,” James said. “It took five years to finally get the opportunity.

3. The P.P. show
Paul Pierce did what Paul Pierce wanted to do against the Spurs on Sunday and it turns out Paul Pierce wanted to win. With Kevin Garnett sidelined again due to an abdominal strain, the O.C. (Original Celtic) reminded everyone that Beantown is his town. Pierce finished with a game-high 35 points, including 14 of the team’s 20 first quarter points, leading Boston to a 98-90 victory over San Antonio. Manu Ginobili started equally hot for the Spurs, scoring 11 in the first period before ending with 21. Boston improved to 5-2 without Garnett and after the game, Celtics coach Doc Rivers broke the news that K.G. won’t be back into the lineup until after the All-Star game. But the biggest bummer of all is that Rivers hinted he might even miss the All-Star game itself. So, maybe Chris Bosh’s campaign will pay off with a starting spot after all.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Amare Stoudemire vs. Washington 43 min, 31 pts (FG: 10-17, 3FG: 1-1, FT: 10-10), 13 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Cleveland (28-22) @ Orlando (32-20)
When you talk about the future of the NBA, two of the first names to roll off your lips have to be LeBron James and Dwight Howard. At the ripe, young age of 23, James leads the league in scoring, averaging 30.1 points per game while Howard is the NBA’s best rebounder, pulling down 14.5 boards and he’s only 22. But it’s not just James and Howard who are getting better and better, the teams surrounding the young studs are constantly improving as well. Along with Boston and Detroit, Cleveland and Orlando are really the only other Eastern Conference teams getting any love as potential representatives in the Finals.

Buzzer Beater: The Phoenix Suns have Shaq on the roster, but they still haven’t needed the big fella. As Shaq Daddy continues to sit, the Suns continue to shine, but it’s getting harder. Phoenix eked out a one-point victory, 108-107, over the Wizards at home on Sunday night. All five Suns starters finished in double-digits with Amare Stoudemire (31 pts, 13 reb) and Steve Nash (10 pts, 12 ast) recording double-doubles. Even in victory, the Suns could have used the defensive skills of Shawn Marion. The entire Wiz roster went off, including some guys name Andray Blatche (10 pts, 11 reb), Roger Mason (18 pts) and Nick Young (10 pts).

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Golden State Warriors

Around the Rim: Disappointing debut


1. Chicago shocker
Chris Webber made his return to Golden State on Thursday evening, but the beleaguered Bulls somehow managed to ruin his second debut. It was Chris Duhon, not Webber, who stole the show, scoring a career-high 34 points, lifting the Bulls to 114-108 road victory. Duhon’s previous season-high was just 13 points. Joe Smith was smoking hot as well, finishing with 27 points on 7-of-11 field goals while making it to the charity stripe a whopping 14 times (13-14 FT). Webber started the game for the Warriors, but found himself on the bench for most of the contest. In 13 minutes of action, C-Webb was rustier than Madonna’s nether regions, totaling four points and two assists. Luckily, Golden State has plenty of offense. Stephen Jackson (19 pts), Al Harrington (20 pts), Baron Davis (22 pts, 8 ast) and Monta Ellis (25 pts) all scored at least 19 to keep the game close until the final minutes. Andris Biedrins was all over the glass for Golden State, collecting 18 rebounds to go with 12 points in the loss.

2. Rockets are immune to the Cavs

Tracy McGrady was sick all day long on Thursday, spending time in the hospital before showing up the Rockets/Cavaliers game just in time to change and hit the court. But it didn’t long for McGrady to transfer his nausea over to LeBron James. Houston took the game over in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs 32-20, and never looked back as they cruised to an easy 92-77 win. McGrady was awful in the game, scoring eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, but Yao Ming had his back, finishing with 22 points and 12 boards. James had yet another MVPesque game with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but it didn’t matter as the Cavs slipped in the standings. Toronto is now just half a game behind Cleveland in the East.

3. Steve Francis done for the year
In today’s “not a surprise to anyone” news, Steve Francis will undergo season-ending surgery to fix his bum knee. And, of course, he says he’ll be back next year. We say, why? The last time this guy was any good he was on the Orlando Magic’s roster. That’s a long time ago! Since rejoining the Rockets, Francis has played in only 10 games, the last being on Dec. 15. We’d like to see Francis get back to his glory days with the Rockets because he used to be something special, but the odds are he’ll never even be a glimmer of his old self ever again. Then again, we could have told you that two years ago, which is exactly our point.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ Houston 41 min, 32 pts (FG: 12-23, 3FG: 2-5, FT: 6-11), 7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (31-17) @ Orlando (32-19)
The Lakers are starting to scare some teams out west now that Pau Gasol is on the roster and Andrew Bynum is rounding out into legit starting center shape. Steve Kerr can say all he wants about the landscape of the conference, but we feel certain the Suns acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal was at least partially a tit-for-tat with the Lakers. But we all know Shaq isn’t the most dominant center in the league anymore and tonight Los Angeles will get an up close look with the man-child filling his shoes. Dwight Howard is averaging 21.8 points and 14.6 boards on the season, but his team is rather mundane in the Magic Kingdom (13-9). Luckily, Orlando has Hedo Turkoglu who is known for bailing them out in a bind.

Buzzer Beater: Shaq is one of the funniest guys in the league. Normally, he slays people with his humor and yesterday at his press conference was no exception. That is, until he laid out his clever idea for a marketing campaign. Apparently, it’s not just his play that is in decline.

Start selling the t-shirts now. All the marketing people, I’m giving you this one for free. The sun will rise in Phoenix. Start selling them now. $9.99.

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Denver Nuggets

Around the Rim: Fight to the finish


1. No Answer for Iverson
The race for the Northwest Division crown reached a fever pitch with the recent reemergence of the Utah Jazz. But right behind Utah in the standings sits the Nuggets and the Blazers who just happened to be in action against one another on Monday night. It took overtime and 53 points between Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, but the Nuggets snuck out of the Rose Garden with a two-point victory, increasing their lead over Portland to two games. The Answer’s 14-footer sealed the deal for Denver and broke the heart of Brandon Roy who spearheaded the Portland attack, scoring 26 points to go with seven rebounds and eight assists. Utah’s one game lead over Denver could evaporate into thin air on Wednesday when the team’s get together for the second of four meetings this season. On Jan. 17, Linas Kleiza dropped 41 points on Utah while Marcus Camby grabbed 24 rebounds and blocked 11 shots in a Denver victory.

2. Turkog-loser

Hedo Turkoglu is doing an awfully good job at make Eastern Conference coaches look like fools. Since being left off the list of All-Star reserves last Thursday, Turkoglu shot a combined 19-of-31 from the field, including 4-of-7 behind the arc, going into Monday night’s game against the Mavericks. Dallas kept Hedo in check offensively, but he recorded his first triple-double with 13 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. Too bad it was in defeat. Josh Howard scored 28 points, helping the Mavericks to a 107-98 victor after letting a 19-point lead shrink to three in the fourth quarter. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists as Dallas snapped a two-game losing skid.

3. Canadian celebration
The Raptors rocked the Heat last night by 32 points, but blowouts are as common as bikinis in South Beach these days. As usual, there were no highlights for Heat fans, but Toronto fans on the other hand were like fat kids in a candy store. Chris Bosh scored 24 points, Andrea Bargnani had 22, Anthony Parker finished with 18 and Jose Calderon went off for a double-double. But the cherry on top of the sundae came in the beginning of the second quarter when T.J. Ford stepped on the court for the first time since taking a nasty fall on Dec. 11. The little guy had a decent return with four points and four assists in 18 minutes of action.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Al Jefferson vs. Houston 38 min, 33 pts (FG: 14-26, FT: 5-5), 16 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Boston (36-8) @ Cleveland (26-20)
If the Cavs plan on making it back to the NBA Finals, they better get prepared to run into Boston along the way. So far, the home team has dominated the series this year with Cleveland grabbing a five point victory on their home court and the Celtics winning by 10 in Beantown. Tonight the Cavaliers will have more than home court advantage to benefit from because Boston will likely be without Kevin Garnett agains. Sounds like a lot for Boston to overcome considering the Cavs are 8-2 in their last ten games, but, so far, the Cs are doing all right being Ticket free. Boston is on a two-game roll, coming off a big win against Dallas last Thursday with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen scoring 26 points apiece.

Buzzer Beater: If chicks really do dig the long ball then Kyle Korver is getting some mad love from the Salt Lake City groupies right about now. Korver knocked down six 3-pointers, leading the Jazz to a team record for treys in a game, converting 14-of-22 in a 110-88 defeat of New Orleans. Mehmet Okur hit four while Deron Williams nailed three 3-pointers in the record-setter. The Hornets weren’t bad from downtown either, making 10-of-18.

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Orlando Magic

Around the Rim: Poof!! The Magic make Boston disappear


1. Hedo to the rescue
Kevin Garnett strained an abdominal muscle during his reunion with the Timberwolves on Friday night and on Sunday the Orlando Magic took advantage of the injury. The Big Ticket missed his first contest as a Celtic, giving the Magic a perfect opportunity to beat Boston for the second time this season; which they did thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Hedo Turkoglu. Orlando survived a fourth quarter Celtic rally to escape with a 96-93 victory on their home court. Turkoglu led all scorers with 27 points while Dwight Howard finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks. With K.G. sidelined, Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 24 points and nine rebounds. Ray Allen scored 17 as Boston suffered its second loss in three games, bringing their once insurmountable lead over the rest of the league down to just 3 ½ games.

2. When All-Stars collide

When it comes to scoring, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are the absolute best the NBA has to offer and the duo didn’t disappoint under the Staples Center lights on Sunday afternoon. LeBron James, the league’s top scorer, finished with 41 points, including 14 in the fourth, to lead Cleveland past the Lakers 98-95. Kobe Bryant, No. 2 in points per game, scored 33 points to go with 12 rebounds and six assists, but the Lakers fumbled away an opportunity to tie the game as they failed to get up a shot following a timeout. After briefly grabbing the top record in the Western Conference, the Lakers fell into a tailspin, losing their third consecutive game and four of their last five games. The Cavs, on the other hand, are rolling, winning 10 out of 12 games.

3. Unfamiliar positions
Before the season, somebody would have slapped you silly if you said Utah and Houston would be on the outside of the playoff race looking in when the end of January rolled around. Nonetheless, that’s where the two clubs are currently sitting. When they hooked up on Sunday, Utah took advantage of Yao Ming’s absence (upper respiratory infection), beating the Rockets 97-89 to win their eighth game in nine tries and taking one more step toward entering into the postseason picture. Carlos Boozer (13 pts, 10 reb) and Deron Williams (17 pts, 12 ast) both finished with a double-double while Andrei Kirilenko finished with 17 points. Tracy McGrady looked like an All-Star even though the fans left him off the Western Conference’s starting five, scoring 21 points to go with nine assists and six rebounds.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Al Jefferson vs. New Jersey 42 min, 40 pts (FG: 13-21, FT: 14-17), 19 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Denver (26-17) @ New Orleans (26-17)
Nobody is playing better right now than the Hornets and point guard Chris Paul is starting to get some serious MVP love because of it. The Bugs’ biggest win of the season came on Saturday night when they destroyed the Spurs by 24 points, 102-78, in San Antonio. The victory further solidified the Hornets as the best in the West, giving Nawlins its eighth consecutive. Since Dec. 19, they are on a 16-2 roll with Chris Paul averaging 20.6 points, 10.5 assists and 2.59 steals for the season. The Nuggets are still without Carmelo Anthony (sprained left ankle), but have played extremely well without their superstar. Before losing to the Mavericks by five points on Sunday, Denver won two straight without Anthony. Losing Melo is huge, but the Nuggets are stacked with talent and if Allen Iverson starts rolling, they can hang with anyone in the league.

Buzzer Beater: The Timberwolves were one of the laughingstocks of the NBA just a few weeks ago. How quickly things can change. On the ever growing shoulders of Al Jefferson, the T-Wolves took another step toward respectability with a 98-95 win over New Jersey. Jefferson recorded a career-high 40 points to go with 19 rebounds and suddenly Minnesota is on a mini hot streak, winning three of their last four. Minny might technically hold the worst record in the league (8-35), but there is no way anyone can argue they are currently worse than doormats like the Heat (losers of 14 out of 15) and the Sonics (lost 14 straight).

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Drum roll please!



The All-Star men in the middle

1. And your starters for the 2008 All-Star extravaganza are…
Without even knowing the lineups, the All-Star game is always one of the best nights of the year. Luckily, the fans did a bang-up job of selecting the conferences’ starting fives. For the East, it’s going to be Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade as the guards, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, the top overall vote getter, receive the nod at the three and four spot while Dwight Howard will start at center. On the other side of the floor, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson will serve as the starting backcourt with Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Yao Ming holding things down in the frontcourt. We gotta give the fans some credit for this one because a late surge in voting for the Answer kept Tracy McGrady – missed 12 of previous 17 games – from grabbing a starting guard spot. However, the votes for A.I. also relegate Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Deron Williams to the bench for the opening minutes of the game.

2. Spurs narrowly avoid embarrassment

The Spurs grabbed another much-needed victory on Thursday, but we don’t think there was any celebrating in the locker room after the game. San Antonio barely eked out a 90-89 victory over the ultra pathetic Heat, resorting to a last second defensive stand against Dwyane Wade to preserve the W. But any way you cut it, Miami now has 15 consecutive losses in the record book. Tim Duncan continues to play outta his gourd, scoring 30 points, grabbing 11 boards and dishing out a nickel’s worth of dimes. Even with Duncan going crazy, Manu Ginobili continues to steal the show for S.A. Ginobili stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, but more importantly hit the go-ahead bucket with 36.5 seconds left. D-Wade went off for 27 points with nine assists as Shaquille O’Neal was looking dapper from the bench in a custom tailored suit.

3. Missed it by that much
In a game that featured two teams riding losing streaks, somebody had to win. The lucky recipients were the Warriors who bounced back from a horrible loss to Minnesota to beat New Jersey 121-119. Okay, so technically it wasn’t a losing “streak” for Golden State, but one loss to the Timberwolves should count for around three losses to average teams. Either way, the Warriors are back on track after Monta Ellis put up a career-high 39 points and Baron Davis recorded the eighth triple-double of his career with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Richard Jefferson scored 34 in the loss, Vince Carter finished with 29 and Josh Boone had a man-sized double-double of 21 points and 17 boards. But in the end it was the Nets seventh consecutive loss and their eighth in nine games.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis vs. New Jersey 46 min, 25 pts (FG: 10-22, 3FG: 3-8, FT: 2-2), 12 reb, 10 ast, 5 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Orlando (27-17) @ Detroit (30-13)
Boston clearly has the title of top team in the Eastern Conference locked up for the time being, but Detroit and Orlando are slugging it out for the right to be No. 2. The Magic can’t make up 3 ½ games with a single win over the Bad Boys tonight, but they can boost their confidence through the roof by beating Detroit two times in just one week. On Monday, the Magic ended a five-game regular season losing streak to the Pistons with a 102-100 win in the Magic Kingdom. Detroit ended its three-game slide on Wednesday, beating the 76ers, but still hasn’t broken out of the funk that cost the team six losses in the last 10 games.

Buzzer Beater: Sorry Miami Heat fans, but Shaquille O’Neal isn’t going to be doing you guys any favors for at least another couple of years. While most people think Shaq should probably be considering hanging up his size 23s, Wilt Chamberneezy insisted that he plans on riding out his contract with the Heat, even if it mean’s enduring a 220-game losing streak.

I’m the son of an army drill sergeant and when we enlist, we go out full-term. So I got two years left on my term and then, after that, I’ll be looking to do other things,” O’Neal said on the show.

“I’m not the type to say every game, ‘my leg is hurt, my leg is hurt.’ I just tried to do it the old-school way for so long, just play on … rather than try to get healthy,” he added. “I’m not even playing at 50 percent right now. I just got to focus on getting that leg back strong.”

When asked if he could get back into form this season, O’Neal said: “We’re going to be trying to do it. I just have to get through it.