Tag: San Antonio Spurs

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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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Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: From cursed to first


1. Double deuce
Los Angeles was without Pau Gasol on Sunday afternoon, but Houston didn’t feel any mercy for the undermanned Lakers, winning its 10th straight game without center Yao Ming by beating LA 104-92. The Rockets used a 35-21 advantage in the second quarter to propel them to a 22nd consecutive victory while simultaneously taking over first place in the Western Conference. Despite Houston’s poor performance in the third quarter when it scored just 12 points, the Lakers could get no closer than two points before the Rockets pulled back ahead. Rafer Alston scored a career-high 31 points by hitting eight 3-pointers to compensate for Tracy McGrady’s 4-of-16 poor shooting performance. Kobe Bryant tallied a team-high 24 points as Los Angeles lost its third game in four outings. The Rockets are now 11 games away from tying the 1971-72 Lakers for the all-time longest win streak, but they have a difficult schedule ahead with a game at home versus Boston followed by a three-game road trip that includes New Orleans, Golden State and Phoenix.

2. Purple Hayes

Detroit has never been lacking in the playmaker department and now you can add Jarvis Hayes to the modern day Bad Boys’ list of multidimensional scorers. Hayes was unconscious in the second quarter of yesterday’s 105-84 Detroit victory over New Orleans, scoring 19 of his 29 points in the period by connecting on 6-of-7 shots, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc. The Pistons have now won four of their last five games, pulling within 4 ½ games of Easter Conference leader Boston. Chris Paul delivered 14 points and 14 assists for New Orleans while Peja Stojakovic scored 21, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Hayes’ big outing. The fifth-year player out of Georgia matched his career-high in scoring, finishing the day with seven treys while Chauncey Billups posted 17 points and Tayshaun Prince added 13.

3. Denver wins BIG
If we told you before the game yesterday that we’d give you Seattle plus 51 ½ points against the Nuggets, you probably would have bet your kid’s college tuition fund on the Sonics. Well, if that was the case, you’d have one pissed off son or daughter right now because Denver defeated the lowly Sonics by 52 points on Sunday, 168-116. That’s no misprint. Led by Carmelo Anthony’s 26 points, the Nuggets scored the fourth most points ever in a regulation game and achieved the largest margin of victory in franchise history. Only the Suns in 1990 (173 pts), the Celtics in 1959 (173 pts) and the 76ers in 1962 (169 pts) can claim better offensive outings than the Nuggets. Seattle didn’t even have an opportunity to blink before Denver posted 48 points in the first quarter! By the end of the contest, four Nuggets put in 19 or more points while all 12 players getting minutes recorded a point. Denver center Marcus Camby finished with a triple-double, scoring 13 points, rebounding 15 balls and dishing out 10 assists.

I’ve never been a part of a game like this where we won by so many points and scored so many points,” Camby said. “This is definitely a game I’m going to keep in my archives.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James vs. Charlotte 42 min, 33 pts (FG: 11-24, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 10-16), 7 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Boston (52-13) @ San Antonio (44-22)
After briefly sitting atop the talented West dog pile, the Spurs are getting dangerously close to falling out of postseason picture after playing .500-ball over their last 10 games. San Antonio is riding a three-game losing streak while dropping five out of their last six overall. The one game they won was in San Antonio where the Spurs are dramatically better, posting a 27-5 record inside the AT&T Center. Boston has won 11 of its last 12 games and is playing its second game of a five-game roadie that includes the terrifying “Texas Triangle” and New Orleans. Ray Allen missed the road trip opener against Milwaukee on Saturday night with a bruised heel, but he is expected to be ready for tonight’s showdown.

Buzzer Beater: Believe it or not, but the Hawks are on the verge of breaking into the playoff picture. We know that it’s a difficult concept to wrap your head around, but with their 109-98 win in New York, Atlanta tied New Jersey for the eighth and final postseason seed. The Nets still own the tiebreaker over the Hawks, however Joe Johnson is dead set on guiding his squad to the second season. Johnson scored 28 points and assisted on 11 more baskets, bringing his five-game average to 30.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game. It won’t take long for these two teams to settle their playoff-positioning dispute on the court because on Wednesday they’ll go head to head in Jersey.

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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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LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Hollywood is jumping for joy


1. Little lead, big advantage
After winning 18 of their last 22 games, including Tuesday night’s 117-108 victory over Toronto, all the Lakers have to show for their effort is a ½ game lead over the defending champs. But ½ a game in this wild Western Conference race could make all the difference in the world when the second season comes along. Kobe Bryant finished with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the best team in the West. However, as we’ve seen so many times already this season, being at the top and staying at the top are two totally different matters. If the Lakers are to maintain their positioning they’ll have to do it on the road because their next four games are at New Orleans, Houston, Dallas and Utah.

2. Suns rise to the occasion, twice

On Tuesday, Shaquille O’Neal and the Suns did something for the first time since joining forces 11 games ago – they claimed consecutive victories. It wasn’t even close as Phoenix held leads of 32 points in the opening half and 39 down the back stretch as they pounded Memphis 132-111. Amare Stoudemire delivered a double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead a Suns squad that shot a sizzling 60 percent from the floor. Shaq only managed two points and eight rebounds in the game, but he dished out six assists and the led the team in hustle stats, grabbing a steal and blocking three shots. Phoenix is now 5-6 with the Diesel in the lineup which is showing improvement, but it still only has a sixth seed in the playoff race to show.

3. Bulls are charging
It isn’t the end of the world, but losing to the Bulls certainly didn’t help Utah legitimize themselves in a stacked Western Conference. Chicago took advantage of a 30-19 scoring run in the second quarter to run away with a 108-96 victory on its home court. Drew Gooden scored 24 points and Ben Gordon finished with 19 points, including a barrage of long bombs in the second half. The win brought the Bulls within ½ of Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference – a race as highly contested as the top of the West. Utah is currently clinging to the fourth and final conference playoff spot. The good news for the Jazz is they welcomed back Andrei Kirilenko (12 pts) after he missed three games following a hard foul from Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. Toronto 46 min, 34 pts (FG: 12-20, 3FG: 4-8, FT: 6-6), 7 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (44-19) @ New Orleans (42-20)
At the beginning of the season, everyone knew the Hornets would be pesky, but nobody could have expected this. Though New Orleans has slipped a bit since the All-Star break, they are still in the battle with Dallas, Houston and San Antonio for Southwest Division supremacy. In fact, the Hornets are currently just 1 ½ games behind the Spurs for the division lead and now is a perfect time to go in for the big sting. San Antonio owns a mediocre 17-14 road record, including back-to-back losses in its last two away from home. However, the Spurs might as well get used to living out of a suitcase because they’ll be traveling to Detroit, Dallas and Orlando during its next seven contests.

Buzzer Beater: Golden State offered coach Don Nelson an extension on Tuesday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Nellie will be back on the sideline next season.

It’s very nice of the organization,” Nelson told Bay Area reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s always nice to be wanted, especially when you’re 67. It’s a very nice gesture on their part.

“[But] I’m going to have to think about that. I’m going to have time to reflect [after this season]. My wife and I will have to talk about it, we’ll talk to the team about it, see how they’re feeling. There is another part of life,” Nelson added, “that I’d like to explore.

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Phoenix Suns

Around the Rim: Shaq’s Suns win West showdown


1. Making a statement
Phoenix finally got what it wanted out of the Shaquille O’Neal trade…defense. The normally run-first, think-second Suns relied of their defense in crunch time on Sunday afternoon and knocked off the defending champs as a result. O’Neal had his best all-around game as a Sun with 14 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks in a 94-87 victory. Phoenix still needs more time to fully gel with their new centerpiece, but this was defiantly the confidence boost it needed after starting the Shaq era 3-6. Despite Steve Nash’s team-high 19 points and game-high 14 assists, the rivalry game belonged to the Diesel. O’Neal came roaring out of the gate and collected a double-double by halftime, showing a little extra spring in his step all game long. The Daddy also joined Kareem-Abdul Jabaar and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to accumulate 26,000 points, 11,500 rebounds and 2,500 blocks in their career.

2. Lakers letdown

The Lakers let a perfect opportunity slip right through their hands. In a contest against the lowly Kings, Los Angeles watched in the final seconds as Beno Udrih converted a pair of free throws to give Sacramento a 114-113 victory over the best in the West. So, instead of putting a small buffer between themselves and the Spurs, the Lakers still sit just ½ game ahead of San Antonio. LA had a good showing, shooting 48 percent from the field and hitting eight 3-pointers, but Udrih’s double-double (25 pts, 10 ast) helped Sactown bounce back from an embarrassing loss to Minnesota. Kobe Bryant had a shot to win the game, but his jumper wasn’t true and he finished with a game-high 26 points.

3. Putting in work
Somehow Philadelphia managed to resurrect its season from the dead and now they are sitting in the seventh spot in the East. After losing to the Hawks on Feb. 4, Philly was a miserable 18-30, but since then the franchise has been straight ballin’, winning 12 of 15 games. On Sunday they extended their current win streak to four games by whooping the Bucks by 22 points, 119-97 in Milwaukee, bringing their record to a respectable 30-33. But the 76ers impressive streak could be coming to screeching halt. Tonight Philadelphia kicks off an 11-game stretch in its schedule that includes two games against Boston as well as contests against Detroit, San Antonio, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix and Cleveland.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Pau Gasol vs. Sacramento 42 min, 25 pts (FG: 9-18, FT: 7-8), 7 reb, 9 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Denver (37-25) @ San Antonio (43-19)
Just a day after playing in a hard fought, highly competitive game against Phoenix, the Spurs have to turn around and line up across from a team desperate for a win. That’s just how it goes in the `must-win’ Western Conference. The Nuggets have some big wins under their belts recently, but they also have some painful losses; in all, it adds up to a non-playoff team at the moment. Denver knocked off San Antonio just a few days ago and they will need to repeat that performance if they plan to close the two-game gap between themselves and eighth place Golden State. Meanwhile, the Spurs aren’t sitting pretty by any means as they are dangerously close to being overtaken in the Southwest Division by either the Hornets or the red-hot Rockets.

Buzzer Beater: Hopefully Dwyane Wade fans aren’t sick of his commercials with Charles Barkley yet because that is the only place they’ll be seeing their favorite player. Wade is scheduled to undergo a procedure on his left knee this Tuesday, ending his season of gloom. At this point it really doesn’t matter anymore, but the question of throwing the season still has to come into play. The Heat are a horrible 11-51 which is just slightly worse than Minnesota (14-48) and Memphis (15-47). They’d probably finish with the league’s worst record with or without Wade, but we can’t blame Miami for doing an obvious tank job; after all, the freshman phenom Michael Beasley will most likely be the top player available in the draft.

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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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Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: Scoring royalty


1. The King hits 10,000
You might as well etch LeBron James’ name in stone right now. James scored 26 points against the Celtics on Wednesday to become the youngest player (23 years, 59 days) in league history to accumulate 10,000 points. It’s a record that should last forever considering kids don’t have the luxury of jumping from high school straight to the pros anymore. Unfortunately, the darn game ruined LBJ’s night. First he tweaked his ankle in the second quarter, but luckily the X-rays came back negative, allowing James to return and set the new gold standard. Second and more importantly, Boston basically owned the game from start to finish, winning 92-87 behind Ray Allen’s 22 points and Kevin Garnett’s 18 and 11 boards.

2. Bibby soars like a eagle Hawk in home debut

Mike Bibby finally played his first game as a Hawk in front of the home crowd and he didn’t disappoint. Bibby finished with 24 points and 12 assists, helping Atlanta knock off his old Sacramento squad 123-117. Joe Johnson scored 26 to compliment his new point guard’s production and Josh Childress’ 25 points. Additionally, Al Horford (16 pts, 14 reb) and Josh Smith (14 pts, 10 reb) recorded double-doubles in the victory. Bibby’s replacement in Sactown, Beno Udrih, scored 25 points to go with eight assists, tying Brad Miller (13 reb) for team-high scoring honors.

3. Phoenix’s ups and downs continue
The yo-yoing continues for the Suns and last night they took a big dip, falling to the Hornets by 17 points, 120-103, in New Orleans. Of course, the storyline these days has little to do with the outcome and everything to do with Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq missed out on his second consecutive double-double by scoring 15 and grabbing seven rebounds as Phoenix lost its third game in five tries. The Big Cactus’ understudy looked like Shaq in his prime, minus a whole lotta pounds. Amare Stoudemire scored 32 points while grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking four shots; he even hit a trey in the process. And then we have the winners. Nawlins was led by Chris Paul’s 25-point, 15-assist effort while his fellow teammate/All-Star, David West, tallied a team-high 27 points.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Amare Stoudemire @ New Orleans 36 min, 32 pts (FG: 11-19, 3FG: 1-1, FT: 9-10), 14 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (38-19) @ San Antonio (38-17)
This has easily been the best rivalry in the NBA over the past five years or so and this upcoming round should be another knock-down, drag-out brawl as the teams prepare for an almost inevitable postseason collision. Of course, this time around, the Mavericks have a new secret weapon in Jason Kidd. The Spurs could have acquired Kidd a few years back, but decided that Tony Parker was too valuable to get rid of. So far, it’s been the right decision as the Spurs keep adding jewelry to their fingers and Parker has a Finals MVP trophy with his name on it. However, now that the pair of PGs reside in the same division, it’s time for a true personal rivalry to be born. And if it’s anything like the teams’ competitions with each other then it could blow the roof off the AT&T Center.

Buzzer Beater: Sucks to be Seattle about now. The Sonics scored 96 points on Wednesday night against the Nuggets and lost…by 42 points!!! It was an ugly, ugly showing in Key Arena as the home town zeros shot a paltry 37-of-102 (.363) from the field while Denver hit 59-of-88 (.670). The loss was the fourth biggest in franchise history, falling five points shy of matching the record from back in 1968. Kevin Durant had another horrible night shooting which is becoming an all too common occurrence for the rookie. Durant was 4-of-17 from the floor, earning 16 points in the contest, eight of which came from the charity stripe.

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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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Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: Cleveland rocks the trade deadline


1. Wheeling and dealing
LeBron James has been begging for some help for quite a while now and on Thursday, he finally got it; just not on offense. The Cavs were part of a three-team, 11-player trade right before the deadline, acquiring Ben Wallace, Joe Smith and a 2nd-round draft pick from the Bulls, along with Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from the Sonics. The move definitely helps Cleveland in the front court where Zydrunas Illgauskas and Wallace now roam on defense. Szczerbiak isn’t exactly the point guard LBJ was wanting, but his perimeter shooting will come in handy in the playoffs. Of course, the Cavs had to give up some players as well, sending Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown to the Bulls and dealing Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall to the Sonics. Seattle also received Adrian Griffin from the Chicago. The bad news for Cleveland fans is they won’t get to see their complete new-look team anytime soon because Daniel Gibson is out for four to six weeks with an ankle injury.

2. Manu Ginobili pours in the points

San Antonio and Minnesota put on a show last night, going down to the wire before Manu Ginobili stole the show. Ginobili finished with 44 points, including the game winner to knock off the ever-improving T-Wolves 100-99. Manu was on fire in the contest, connecting on 13-of-18 shots, including 7-of-9 from behind the arc. But that wasn’t the best news of the night for the defending champs because Tony Parker finally returned to the lineup after missing a nice chunk of time with a foot/heel injury. Mr. Longoria had a decent showing in 18 minutes off the bench, scoring eight points while Tim Duncan was a stat sheet stuffer, recording 24 points, 14 boards, seven assists, three steals and four blocks. Al Jefferson continues to impress, even in defeat, scoring 28 points in his matchup versus one of the league’s best defenders.

3. Red hot Rockets
Shawn Marion is still looking for his first win in a Miami uniform after Houston denied the Matrix for the fourth time since the trade. However, the Heat had a shot late, but couldn’t pull it out, losing 112-110 in Houston. Yao Ming (21 pts) and Tracy McGrady (23 pts) lifted the Rockets to their 10th consecutive victory while dropping the Heat to their 10th consecutive loss. Looking at the bigger picture, Houston has won 14 of their last 15 games which is good enough for seventh in a loaded Western Conference. But the two-point victory wasn’t the only noise Houston made on Thursday. The Rockets were involved in a trade that sent Mike James and Bonzi Wells to New Orleans for Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska while simultaneously receiving Gerald Green from Minnesota for Kirk Snyder.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Manu Ginobili @ Minnesota 38 min, 44 pts (FG: 13-18, 3FG: 7-9, FT: 11-12), 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Boston (41-11) @ Phoenix (37-17)
Nobody could have predicted at this time last year that Kevin Garnett would be sporting Celtic green or that Shaquille O’Neal would be calling himself the “Big Cactus.” But here we are and both are a reality. Better yet, this could be a preview of the NBA Finals. Boston has been rolling all year long, especially against the West where they just received their first two losses against the conference this year in back-to-back games. Three in a row is a defiantly possibility as the new look Suns try to get Shaq his first win in the desert. Of course, the real matchup we want to see is Garnett versus Amare Stoudemire. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see each of them score 30 and grab 15 boards. Star power is not an issue at all in this game as it will look last weekend in New Orleans when they tip tonight. The only difference is Shaq and Garnett will be on the court.

Buzzer Beater: Greg Oden must be getting really, really bored sitting on the sidelines this season. In fact, he’s resorted to self mutilation to kill the free time. Last night when Seattle and Portland hooked up in the Rose Garden, Oden was spotted on the bench sporting a brand new Mohawk haircut

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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.