Tag: Portland Trailblazers

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Dallas Mavericks

Around the Rim: Welcome back


1. Dirk Nowitzki does his best Willis Reed impersonation
Dirk Nowitzki knew that he team was circling the drain while he rode the pine with a leg injury, so on Wednesday night, the German sharpshooter decided to suit up and help his team climb out of the toilet. It worked. For the first time since acquiring Jason Kidd, the Mavericks defeated a team with a winning record and they did so in convincing fashion, stomping a mud hole in their bitter rivals from Golden State. Nowitzki finished with 18 points and Jason Terry posted a game-high 31 as Dallas cruised to an easy 111-86 victory. The Warriors just could not find their offense, needing 86 attempts to tally 86 points while the Mavs drained 48 percent of their field goals. Led by Kidd’s 17 dimes, Dallas finished with a whopping 35 assists compared to Golden State’s 10 and killed the normally up-tempo Warriors in fastbreak points, 44-16.

2. Brand new

After missing nearly a year of action, Elton Brand is back. The mild-mannered, double-double machine took to the court against the Sonics on Wednesday evening and posted 19 points – 13 in the fourth quarter – and five rebounds to help the Clippers pound Seattle 102-84. Brand went down with a torn left Achilles back on April 18, 2007, and wasn’t expected to return until Thursday, but he felt so good before the game that coach Mike Dunleavy decided to go ahead and give him some minutes; 26 to be exact. Kevin Durant had one of his best games, finishing with 30 points on 13-of-23 shooting, but it couldn’t overshadow the play of Brand. In addition to his points and boards, Brand dished out three assists, blocked a shot and tallied a steal.

3. Lakers get their groove back
The Lakers got a boost of their own last night as Pau Gasol returned to the lineup and posted 10 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a 104-91 victory over Portland. Gasol had been out of action due to a sprained ankle he suffered nearly three weeks ago. Kobe Bryant racked up 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 13 rebounds to help his squad pull within 1 ½ games of first place New Orleans. The Lakers lost four of nine games without Gasol after posting a 15-4 record following his acquisition. The return is huge for a relatively small lineup in L.A., but the key for any sort of Lakers postseason success lies in the return of center Andrew Bynum. As of now, Los Angeles is hoping and praying the big man is healthy enough to get some critical minutes before the second season starts.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. Portland 41 min, 36 pts (FG: 10-16, 3FG: 4-5, FT: 12-13), 13 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Houston (49-25) @ Portland (38-37)
Hey, on a night when Cleveland plays Chicago and the Clippers face the Kings, we decided to choose the lesser of three evils. Houston continues to flounder since running off 22 consecutive wins and they are now on a two-game losing streak and have lost five of its last 10 games. Portland isn’t much better, dropping three in a row and six of its last 10. Luckily, Inside the NBA comes on tonight and we’ll get to hear Charles Barkley rip both of these clubs for being as soft as his belly.

Buzzer Beater: On a night when injured players returned left and right, we would be remiss to not mention the comeback of Gilbert Arenas. Agent 0 missed 66 games with a knee injury before scoring 17 points against the Bucks on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Arenas, his return was overshadowed by Ramon Sessions and his buzzer-beater that gave Milwaukee a 110-109 victory. And the bad night didn’t stop there for Washington. Right when it appeared the Wizards were back to full capacity, new injuries to key components took their toll. Antawn Jamison left the game with a sprained right shoulder and the thickly bearded DeShawn Stevenson exited with a sprained right ankle.

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Phoenix Suns

Around the Rim: That’s Amare!


1. The Suns can still run
There was some serious doubt about whether Shaquille O’Neal could physically keep up against the Warriors. Well, he couldn’t, but the Suns didn’t need him to. Shaq spent most of the evening in foul trouble, finishing with nine points and 14 rebounds, but Amare Stoudemire more than made up for the Big Cactus’ off night by scoring 36 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking four shots in a 123-115 victory. The Suns were smoking hot shooting the ball, converting 45-of-82 for a blistering 55 percent field goal percentage. Steve Nash was key down the stretch, scoring eight consecutive points for the Suns at one point in the fourth quarter, finishing with 21 points and 13 assists. Baron Davis missed tying his career-high by two points, producing 38 in the loss as Golden State continues to hold onto the eighth spot in the West, sitting two games ahead of Denver.

2. Shining Wizards

After missing 16 games with a hip injury, Caron Butler returned to the Wizards roster on Thursday to score a team-high 19 points. Butler was on fire early, hitting six of his first eight shots, but it wasn’t the former All-Star’s quick start that sealed the 101-99 victory; rather, it was the Cavaliers horrible finish. Cleveland could only muster up 45 points in the entire second half after taking an eight-point lead into halftime. LeBron James posted 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, but it wasn’t all pretty as he committed seven turnovers. During the game, Gilbert Arenas said in a sideline interview that he was supposed to make his comeback against Cleveland, but the doctors nixed the idea prior to tipoff.

3. The Blaze get burned
Portland looked as they were destined to defy the odds a couple months, but after losing to the Kings last night, they simply look destined for the lottery. Sacramento lost two games in a row at home prior to knocking of the Blazers 96-85, but with the win the Kings are just four games behind Portland in the standings. Ron Artest led all scorers with 22 points to go with six steals while Brad Miller and Beno Udrih scored 14 apiece. Brandon Roy scored 21 for the Blazers who were a miserable 30-of-78 (.385) from the field while committing 27 fouls and giving up 19 turnovers.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis @ Phoenix 46 min, 38 pts (FG: 15-30, 3FG: 6-11, FT: 2-4), 9 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Friday’s Games to Watch: Tonight is such a big night in the Association, we just couldn’t limit ourselves to a single game. So, we’ve got four – yes, four – must-see contests lined up for your viewing pleasure.

Utah (43-23) @ Boston (51-12)
Carlos Boozer. Kevin Garnett. Deron Williams. Ray Allen. Paul Pierce. Andrei Kirilenko. Mehmet Okur. Rajon Rondo. Should we continue?

Los Angeles Lakers (45-19) @ New Orleans (43-20)
The Hornets just knocked off the Spurs by 25 points and now they’re welcoming the best of the West into their home hive. New Orleans is 23-10 on its own court, but the Lakers don’t care what court they’re playing on, posting a 20-10 record on the road.

San Antonio (44-20) @ Detroit (46-18)
It might not be the most edge-of-your-seat basketball matchup in the league, but it is a rematch of the 2005 Finals and a possible preview of the 2008 Finals. The Spurs must overcome their recent road woes on a court where the Pistons are 24-6 if they don’t want to slip further down the stacked West standings.

Charlotte (24-40) @ Houston (44-20)
A chunk of history will be on the line as the Rockets attempt to claim sole possession of the second longest winning streak in NBA history by knocking off their 21st consecutive opponent.

Buzzer Beater: Smush Parker was released by Miami earlier in the week and on Thursday he decided to return to Los Angeles. Unfortunately for Smush, he signed with the Clippers and not the Lakers. Talk about jumping out of the pan and into the fire. Sure, things might be slightly better in that other L.A. compared to Miami, but there certainly won’t be any celebrations in the streets any time soon. This is the sixth team for Parker in his short career.

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Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: Up, up and away!


1. Rockets keep rolling
Despite winning their 20th consecutive game against Atlanta on Wednesday, the Rockets showed signs of slippage along the way. Houston managed to score just 32 points in the first half of last night’s game, but the Hawks couldn’t capitalize on their sorry opening half and lost 83-75. Tracy McGrady led the hottest team in the league with 28 points and nine rebounds as Houston shot just 33 percent from the field, including a pathetic 6-of-29 performance from behind the 3-point line. But regardless of the percentages, the Rockets are now tied for the second-longest win streak in league history. Just to put it into perspective, while Houston has won 20 straight contests, there are five teams (New York, Miami, Seattle, Memphis and Minnesota) who have yet to win 20 games during the entire season.

2. Hornets deliver against the champs

The Spurs fell out of the Southwest Division’s driver seat last night thanks to a 100-75 pounding from the Hornets. Chris Paul was unstoppable with 26 points and 17 assists in the game, pulling his team within ½ of a game of Houston and SA for the division title – the Rockets are now in first via a tiebreaker with the Spurs. San Antonio got 24 points from both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, but the Spurs only scored eight points as a team in the final quarter as Nawlins pulled away. Hornets All-Star forward David West missed three games prior to the victory, but he didn’t miss a beat against Duncan. West finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds.

3. Sixers shocker
Despite going scoreless during the final 2:27 of the game, Philadelphia somehow managed to steal a victory in Detroit. Chauncey Billups had an opportunity to win the game, but his buzzer-beater bounced off the rim, giving the Sixers an improbable 83-82 victory. Andre Iguodala finished with a game-high 22 points as Philly won its seventh game in nine tries, bringing their record to 31-34 which is seventh best in the East.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ New Jersey 46 min, 42 pts (FG: 12-23, 3FG: 2-7, FT: 16-23), 11 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Golden State (40-23) @ Phoenix (42-22)
While this game pits the league’s two top-scoring clubs against each other, there’s more on the line than offensive supremacy. The Warriors are fighting to catch the Suns in the standings and a win tonight would bring them within ½ game of their division rivals while also putting a little bit of breathing room between themselves and the Nuggets who are trying to grab the last playoff spot currently occupied by Golden State. For Phoenix, a win would mean gaining ground on the Lakers in the division. This could be a game where Shaquille O’Neal proves to be a detriment to the team as the Warriors will try to beat the big fella down the court every single possession.

Buzzer Beater: Greg Oden finally practiced with his teammates on Wednesday, putting in 45 minutes of work after missing the entire season with a knee injury. While he wasn’t going full speed, he tested the knee as he ran a few offensive sets. All in all, it’s a great sign for the Portland faithful.

It was fun,” Oden said afterwards, according to The Oregonian. “It felt good to get out there … and I wasn’t hurting at all.

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San Antonio Spurs

Around the Rim: Better late than never


1. Spurs sharpening
The Spurs slipped a bit to start 2008, losing eight of their first 15 games following the calendar change. However, with an 81-70 defeat of New Jersey on Tuesday night, San Antonio won its tenth consecutive game, reclaimed the top spot in the Western Conference race and reminded a whole lotta contenders who the real team to beat is. The Spurs are currently on a 14-1 streak with quality wins over Phoenix, Cleveland, New Orleans and Dallas while compiling the best scoring defense in the conference (90.4 ppg). The Nets never had a chance after the opening quarter as the Spurs “Holy Trinity” of Tim Duncan (29 pts, 12 reb), Manu Ginobili (12 pts) and Tony Parker (11 pts) controlled the contest. With the recent additions of Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire, this is possibly the most talented team the Spurs have ever suited up…and that is saying a lot. If Brent Barry decides to return to S.A. then back-to-back championships could be within the Spurs grasp.

2. Crunch time is Kobe time

Kobe Bryant shines brightest in down-the-stretch situations. Tuesday was no different. Bryant ripped off a 17-point fourth quarter performance in Sacramento last night, leading the Lakers to a 117-105 victory. In all, Bryant finished with 34 points as Los Angeles won its 12th game in 13 tries to keep pace with San Antonio in the West standings. The former solo flyer who has recently become the ultimate team captain reached a personal milestone in the win as well, becoming the second youngest player (29 years, 194 days) in league history to reach the 21,000-point plateau. Wilt Chamberlain remains the gold standard for the accomplishment, knocking out the feat in 10 fewer days than Bryant. While Pau Gasol is waaaay behind on the all-time scoring list, he certainly kept pace with Bryant on Tuesday, scoring 31 points to go with 10 rebounds.

3. Suns squeeze past Portland
The Suns were sitting on a two-game losing streak when they traveled to Portland and after letting a 23-point lead slip away, it appeared they were headed for consecutive loss number three. That didn’t happen. Phoenix survived the rally to take a 97-92 victory over the Blaze who got 25 points out of Brandon Roy. Unfortunately, Portland needed even more out of its All-Star because the rest of the team’s starters produced a mere 26 points. On the other side of the court, Phoenix basically played a seven man rotation led by Amare Stoudemire’s 22-point performance and Shaquille O’Neal’s 13 rebounds. Shaq still struggled on offense, going 1-of-5 from the field and 4-for-9 from the line for six points, but the big fella had three blocks on the defensive end. Things are about to get interesting for the Suns as they head to Denver tonight before hosting Utah and San Antonio in their following pair of games.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Pau Gasol @ Sacramento 42 min, 31 pts (FG: 10-15, FT: 11-13), 10 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (44-16) @ Boston (46-12)
After the Celtics rushed out to a 29-3 record, nobody expected they could be run down before season’s end. Wrong. Detroit can cut Boston’s Eastern Conference lead to just two games with a win tonight. But they will have to do it in an arena where the Celtics have lost only four games all year and they’ll have to do it against a healthy Kevin Garnett who is averaging 15.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game over his last five contests. Someone the Pistons won’t have to worry about is Sam Cassell; at least, not yet. Cassell won’t be in the lineup tonight as he attends a family funeral, instead he will be making his debut on Friday against the Bulls.

Buzzer Beater: Everything appeared to be pointing toward an Atlanta victory. Of course, appearances can be deceiving. The Hawks hosted Golden State last night and they played a terrific game in front of the home town crowd. Atlanta shot over 50 percent from the field, connected on 44 percent of its 3-pointers (7-16 3FG) and got 40 free chances from the charity stripe. Too bad they still lost by 17 points as the Warriors ran them out of their own gym, 135-118, hitting 55-of-101 shots, including 17-of-32 for three. Oh, and G.S. only took 10 free throws the entire game!

Getting outshot 40-10 from the free-throw line and winning by 18, that’s an amazing stat, really,” Golden State coach Don Nelson said. “We tried to play a very aggressive game, Not having any big guys we had to play a small lineup and it worked out pretty well.

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Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: Houston: we have a serious problem…or maybe not


1. Rockets win game, but lose in the long run
Yao Ming was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot yesterday, rendering him useless for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. This is just about the worst news possible for Tracy McGrady as he will most likely go another season without tasting the second round. The Rockets were the hottest team in the league before Yao went down, winning 12 consecutive games. Guess what; they are still the hottest team in the league. Houston crushed the Wizards on Tuesday, winning by 25 points, 94-69, against the Wizards. Washington scored a pathetic 23 points during the opening half with old man Dikembe Mutombo patrolling the paint. Mutombo finished with just four point and six rebounds, but he had four finger-wagging blocks in the contest. A bummed out McGrady shot just 4-of-15 from the field, missed half his free throws and finished with a mere 11 points. Luckily, Luis Scola was on fire, connecting on all seven of his attempts for 14 points.

2. Phoenix finally plays like Phoenix again

Shaquille O’Neal finally got himself a double-double in a Phoenix uniform, going for 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 127-113 win in Memphis. The big fella got plenty of help from his friends in this game as Steve Nash (13 ast) and Amare Stoudemire put up 25 points apiece while Grant Hill tallied 23. In all, six of the seven Suns players to get significant minutes got double-digits in scoring. Memphis had a pretty impressive outing in the loss with all five starters going for 15 points or more, led by Rudy Gay’s game-high 36. The Suns 127 points were a welcome sight after putting up 85 and 86 in their previous two contests.

3. Lakers roll, still best in the West
Kobe Bryant is playing out of his mind right now. The Lakers superstar scored 30 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out seven assists and poked free two steals to led the his club past an undermanned Portland crew. Bryant got 11 of his 30 points in the final period, lifting Los Angeles to a 96-83 win while maintaining the buffer zone between first place L.A. and the rest of the surging Western Conference. Pau Gasol added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan Farmar came off the bench to put in 21 points, helping the Lakers grab their ninth consecutive victory. Without Brandon Roy in the lineup, it was an uphill battle for the Blazers, but sophomore LaMarcus Aldridge filled in nicely, producing 24 points. Portland can look for revenge this Friday when the Lakers head to the Rose Garden for a rematch.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Steve Nash @ Memphis 40 min, 25 pts (FG: 8-11, 3FG: 3-5, FT: 6-6), 2 reb, 13 ast

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Cleveland (32-25) @ Boston (43-12)
The new-look Cavaliers are going to get the biggest challenge since acquiring Ben Wallace tonight when they head to Beantown for a game against the league’s top dogs. Cleveland is just 15-15 on the road this season, but with LeBron James in the lineup, a win in Boston isn’t all that farfetched. James is unstoppable at the moment, averaging 30.0 points, 10.6 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game over his last five contests with two triple-doubles in the same span. Of course, he hasn’t been lining up across from the best triple-threat in the game either. With a healthy Kevin Garnett back, Boston is back to being the scary squad from earlier in the season, even if their record doesn’t indicate it. The Cs are 2-3 since KG’s return.

Buzzer Beater: Pat Riley has been a cantankerous old fart all season long. Frankly, we can’t blame him. But on Tuesday, he finally had reason to smile as the Heat snapped an 11-game losing streak by spanking the Kings 107-86. Heck, Riley even joked around after the game:

I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony,” Riley added. “I know what to do. I just don’t know where to start.

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Washington Wizards

Around the Rim: DeShawn Stevenson stings the Hornets in their hive


1. One and done
The curse of being No. 1 came to life again on Monday. After sitting atop the Western Conference at the All-Star break, the Hornets are riding a three-game losing streak, sliding all the way to fifth in the playoff chase. The latest team to get their shots in on the Bugs was the Wizards. The score was tied at 92-92 when the buzzer sounded and DeShawn Stevenson’s 3-point fadeaway J ripped the twine, giving Washington a 95-92 victory in Nawlins. The trey gave Stevenson 33 on the night to offset a 22-point, 8-assists performance from Chris Paul. New Orleans led nearly the whole game until a Stevenson free throw with less than 15 seconds remaining put the Wiz up 92-91 and the rest is history. Stevenson was responsible for seven of Washington’s final nine points in the comeback.

2. Gimme five!

It certainly wasn’t pretty for the Spurs early on as they scored just five points in the first quarter against the Hawks, but the champs rallied back from their franchise-low to win by 15 points, 89-74. San Antonio shot a pathetic 1-for-17 from the field in the opening period, but finished with a respectable 42 percent shooting effort. Tim Duncan put up 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while Tony Parker had 15 and nine assists. Kurt Thomas grabbed nine rebounds in his Spurs debut. The Hawks didn’t capitalize on the Spurs early woes, scoring just 16 points in the first before going flat once again after halftime when they were outscored by 16 points, 27-11 in the third.

3. Detroit is b-b-b-ballin!
The Pistons continue to roll on their west coast road trip and their latest win came at the expensive of one of the league’s top home teams. All five Detroit starters finished with double-digit points, led by the trio of Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups scoring 20 apiece, as they slipped past the Nuggets 98-93 in Denver. It was just the seventh home loss for Denver who played without head coach George Karl who was ill. However, the lack of normal leadership didn’t seem to affect Allen Iverson (28 pts) or Carmelo Anthony (23 pts, 11 reb). The Nuggets had a chance to tie the game with 6.5 seconds left, but J.R. Smith could only make one of three free throws following a foul beyond the arc by Billups.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Chicago 38 min, 29 pts (FG: 10-19, 3FG: 3-3, FT: 6-6), 10 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Portland (29-27) @ Los Angeles Lakers (39-17)
Sure, Brandon Roy will most likely miss the game with a bum ankle, but this is still a must-see game. After all, we’re talking about a pissed off Kobe Bryant leading a Lakers squad riding an eight-game winning streak while holding the top record in the West. Bryant got tossed from a blow-out in Seattle and there is no doubt he’ll be taking his frustrations out on the Blazers – with or without Roy. Don’t forget, Kobe dropped 65 points on the Blaze last season.

Buzzer Beater: Jason Kidd returned to Dallas on Monday night, playing in front of his new/old home crowd for the first time since 1996. It was like he never left…except the Mavericks won. Kidd almost put together a patented triple-double in his debut, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 102-94 victory over the Bulls. So, J-Kidd, how’d it feel to be back?

I was happy to be back home. This is where it all started for me,” Kidd said. “I didn’t get an opportunity with that franchise [the Mavericks of the mid-1990s] like this one. This is different and I’m going to take advantage of that.

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Dallas Mavericks

Around the Rim: Jason Kidd is getting in the groove


1. Second verse, better than the first
The second round of the Jason Kidd experiment in Dallas got off to a rough start as their new acquisition managed five assists and six turnovers in his debut. In two games since then, Kidd has been well worth the wait, producing 32 dimes in a pair of victories. On Sunday, Kidd kicked out a season-high tying 17 assists to go with 12 points and seven rebounds in a 99-83 Mavericks win in Minnesota. Dirk Nowitzki was on the receiving end of several passes from his new best friend as he racked up 29 points and eight rebounds. The T-Wolves played a fairly decent game, shooting 49.4 percent, but they got absolutely blasted at the charity stripe. Minnesota shot just 5-of-9 from the free throw line while Dallas took 27 trips to the line, connecting on 22 attempts. Al Jefferson scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the defeat.

2. Blazers postseason chances take a huge hit

Portland gave Boston a good run for its money on Sunday night, but Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were too much for the Blazers to handle, nailing four 3-pointers apiece in a 112-102 victory. Last game out, the Celtics fell to Shaquille O’Neal and the Suns with Pierce producing a paltry eight points. In Portland, Pierce was on fire, connecting on 12-of-14 shots for 30 points while Allen went 7-for-8 en route to 19 points. The duo was so pinpoint they didn’t even need the third third of the Big Three; Kevin Garnett finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. The loss was bad for Portland who is trying to claw its way back into the playoff picture, but it wasn’t even close to being the worst part of the night. Brandon Roy suffered a right ankle sprain in the third quarter and although he had yet to undergo an MRI, he speculated that he could be out of action for up to two weeks.

3. The Big Disappointment
Just one day after knocking off the best team in the entire NBA, the Suns were absolutely obliterated by the Pistons, losing by 30 points in their own gym. Detroit jumped all over Phoenix early and never let up as they rolled to a 116-86 victory with Rasheed Wallace’s 22 points pacing six Pistons in double-digits. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns in scoring, finishing with 31 points, but Phoenix is now 1-2 during the Shaquille O’Neal era. The Big Cactus crashed the boards, grabbing 11, but only put up seven points on offense while reminding the world he still can’t hit free throws (1-8 FT). The big question now is does this loss say more about Phoenix’s new look or does it help signify Detroit as truly the best team in the East?

Sunday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James vs. Memphis 39 min, 25 pts (FG: 10-17, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 4-5), 7 reb, 11 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Sunday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (41-15) @ Denver (33-22)
Detroit has to be feeling pretty good after humiliating the Suns in Phoenix and snapping its 11-game win streak versus Eastern Conference teams, but winning in Denver is no easy task. The Nuggets are 22-6 on their home floor and unlike Detroit, if they extend their current two-game losing streak then they could easily fall out of the playoff race in the West which should provide ample motivation for not only Denver, but every team in the conference. It’s going to be like the All-Star game all over again tonight with five participants from that contest playing in this contest – Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton.

Buzzer Beater: There was no real reason why Kobe Bryant needed to stick around, so with about four minutes left in the third quarter and the Lakers enjoying a 31-point lead over Seattle, he decided to take the rest of the evening off. Actually, referee Brian Forte made the decision for him, slapping Bryant with a pair of technicals after the league’s second-leading scorer started popping off at the mouth. Bryant had 21 points and 10 assists when he was tossed, but it didn’t matter in the end as the Lakers cruised to a 111-91 win.

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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.

Categories
Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: Blaze extinguished


1. Beantown bounces back
The Blazers were scorching hot coming into their contest against the Celtics in Beantown, but they weren’t hot enough to knock off the league’s top dogs. Ray Allen was on fire, hitting 12-of-20 shots for a game-high 35 points while Kevin Garnett scored 26, helping Boston grab a 100-90 win. After dropping three of their previous four games, this could be the beginning of another big run for the Leprechauns with Philadelphia, New York, Minnesota and Miami coming up on the schedule. Despite their winning ways of late, Portland has struggled away from home this season, losing 12 of their 18 road games. Against the Celtics, the Blaze committed 17 turnovers, including four apiece from Brandon Roy (22 pts) and LaMarcus Aldridge (16 pts).

2. Welcome back, here’s a trouncing

Sacramento and Miami were thrilled before tipoff of their respective games on Wednesday thanks to the return of Shaquille O’Neal and Mike Bibby to the active roster. But that was before the game; afterwards was a whole different story. The Diesel had a great game in his return, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against the Bulls, but as Charles Barkley would say “The operation was a success, but the patient died” because Miami lost by 30 points at home, 126-96. Up in Canada, it wasn’t much better for the Kings who had Mike Bibby (19 pts, 6 reb) in uniform for the first time this season but lost by 25, 116-91.

3. Heart attack Cats
Well, we’ll be darned if they ain’t done done it again. The Bobcats went into halftime against the Magic down by 15 points and fell down by 19 early in third quarter before making another furious rally to victory. Gerald Wallace netted 36 and grabbed 14 points while teammate Jason Richardson scored 26 points, including a bevy of clutch shots in the final moments, giving the Cats a 99-93 win. Charlotte (15-23) has now won four of their last six games against some pretty decent competition, knocking off the Nets, Celtics, Nuggets and, now, the Magic. Dwight Howard was ginormous in defeat, going for 24 points and 21 rebounds.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Dwight Howard @ Charlotte 42 min, 24 pts (FG: 8-15, FT: 8-13), 21 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (26-12) @ Los Angeles Lakers (26-11)
The race for the postseason in the West is tighter than it has been in years and when a team slips-up, they can go sliding all the way down the ladder. Phoenix just learned this lesson the hard way by losing to the Clippers and dropping like a stone from first to fifth in the conference standings. And thanks to the Hornets defeating the Sonics on Wednesday, Phoenix now has the sixth seed behind New Orleans. The lucky beneficiaries of the Suns setting was the Lakers who jumped all the way to the top of the West, a place they hadn’t been since the Diesel was rolling in L.A. This should be a brawl between a pair Pacific Division rivals that hate each other with a passion.

Buzzer Beater: Oddball Joakim Noah and Ben Wallace had a bit of tiff during the Bulls loss to Orlando on Tuesday, just don’t tell Joakim that.

You know what makes me mad, that somebody actually said and told you guys that there was a situation,” Noah told WSCR radio station in Chicago. “That’s what makes me mad. That’s the only reason why I’m doing this right now. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.

“For people to say we’ve had a clash … this is the kind of stuff that divides a team. You guys write these stories and hype things up. It’s crazy.

Categories
Seattle Supersonics

Kevin Durant almost made people forget Greg Oden wasn’t there


The top two picks from this year’s NBA Draft were supposed to hook up in the first of a career filled with battles on Sunday night when the Seattle Sonics played the Portland Trail Blazers in a summer league game. However, with Greg Oden out of commission thanks to the removal of his tonsils on Saturday, the stage was set for the kid who has been playing second fiddle to take center stage. And Kevin Durant didn’t disappoint in his solo performance.

Durant impressed the crowd with several monster dunks en route to putting up 28 points in the 84-78 loss that kept the Sonics winless in the summer league competition. But despite the team’s woes, Durant was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 23.7 points in his first four contests.

He’s a very special player that has a lot of skills,” Seattle summer coach Ralph Lewis. “Playing games is on the job training and he is growing as a player and we are growing as a team.

While Durant is undoubtedly the face of the franchise for the next decade, Seattle is still pretty excited about their other big catch on draft night. Jeff Green was Seattle’s high-scorer with 32 points. So, even with a 0-5 record, a 60 point outburst from the two kids expected to carry the Sonics out of the slums can brighten the outlook of any coach, GM or fan; even if it did little to impress Durant himself.

I wouldn’t say that this was my best game, but I got better,” Durant said.

Links:

[Chron.com]: Durant scores 28 against Oden-less Blazers