Tag: raptors

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Atlanta Hawks

Around the Rim: Hawks fly high at home


1. Joe Johnson ignites late
It might sound impossible, but Atlanta has Boston’s number in the playoffs. After taking a 97-92 victory over the top-seeded Celtics, drawing the series to a 2-2 tie, the Hawks have now won five out of their previous six games against the Cs in the postseason. Joe Johnson posted 20 points in the fourth quarter for a game-high 35 points while Josh Smith played out of his mind with 28 points, six rebounds and seven blocks. Everyone and their momma figured this of all the series would end in a sweep, but after taking a 2-0 lead in Boston, the Celtics are winless on the road in the postseason. The Big Three combined for 59 points, but Boston could only muster 17 points in the final period when Johnson and the Hawks exploded for 32. Game 5 will be back in the friendly confines of Beantown on Wednesday.

2. Bust out the brooms

After busting their asses to make the postseason, the Nuggets’ hard work was for not following a four-game sweep at the hands of the Lakers. Denver didn’t roll over and die, but they died none the less, falling 107-101 in their own arena thanks to Kobe Bryant’s 31 points, including 14 in the final six minutes. Bryant’s playoff average this season is now up to 33.5 points per game after he was good for 28.3 during the regular season. LA is now waiting on the winner between Utah and Houston who play Game 5 tonight. Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony both fouled out of the game in the final minutes, allowing Bryant to do his thing without Denver’s superstars on the court. J.R. Smith was the Nuggets high-scorer with 26 points while Allen Iverson and Anthony combined for 43 points. The Lakers look primed to make their first Western Conference finals since Shaq Daddy was in town behind the big efforts of Bryant, Lamar Odom (14 pts, 12 reb) and Pau Gasol (21 pts).

3. Orlando moves on
The kid did it again. For the third time in the series, Dwight Howard recorded at least 20 points and 20 rebounds by tallying 21 of each in Orlando’s 102-92 win at home over Toronto, advancing to the second round for the first time since in 12 years. The Magic dominated 4-1 behind Superman’s super play. Following postseason career-highs of 39 points and 15 rebounds in Game 4 Saturday, Chris Bosh finished with just 16 points and nine rebounds in the Raptors’ playoff finale. Orlando is now waiting on the winner between Philadelphia and Detroit, currently tied at 2-2 following a pair of disappointing performances from the Pistons. All five starters for Orlando and sixth man Keith Bogans finished in double-digit scoring, led by Howard’s game-highs and Jameer Nelson’s 19. Rashard Lewis was impressive as well, going off for a double-double of his own with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Josh Smith vs. Boston 37 min, 28 pts (FG: 8-16, 3FG: 0-6, FT: 12-13), 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 7 blk

Buzzer Beater: After 24 seasons, 2,186 games, 1,381 victories and five championships, Pat Riley’s coaching career appears to finally be ka-put. The Hall of Famer is coming off the worst year of his career, winning just 15 games with the heatless Heat who has replaced Riley with the now-youngest coach in the league Erik Spoelstra. It was obvious Riles was on edge all year, so it’s not surprising he wants to end the suffering. However, he will maintain his position as president, overseeing Miami’s immediate future which could include the drafting of Michael Beasley if the ping-pong balls bounce right.

Ironically enough, on the same day Riley retires, a key contributor from his Laker days was named NBA coach of the year. Byron Scott led the Hornets to the West’s second best record (56-26) and their first postseason appearance in four years.

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Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: T-Mac bounces back


1. No rocky road for the Rockets
Everyone figured the Jazz would trot into the second round once they made it back home after building a 2-0 series advantage in Houston. Everyone, that is, except the Rockets. Since the final buzzer of the second game sounded, Tracy McGrady has gone through the ringer, being called every synonym of soft in the thesaurus. But after totaling just one point between the first two fourth quarters, T-Mac came through in the clutch, scoring seven of his 27 points in the final 3:29 of the game to give Houston a 94-92 win. For Utah, it was just the fifth home floor lose this year and spoiled some great individual performances. Carlos Boozer (15 pts, 13 reb), Mehmet Okur (12 pts, 11 reb) and Deron Williams (28 pts, 12 ast) all recorded double-doubles. The talk going in was that McGrady simply had no gas left in the tank in crunch time, but Rafer Alston allowed him to coast more in Game 3, scoring 20 points, including four treys, to go with five assists.

2. Wiz kids win

The Wizards weren’t the only ones to gets shots in on LeBron James and the Cavaliers last night; so did the fans. In the third quarter, the Washington crowd began chanting “over-rated!” while LBJ stood at the charity stripe. And the torture didn’t end there as Washington ran off to a 108-72 win, pulling within one game of tying the bad-blood rivalry. James scored 22 points in the blowout, but got virtually no help from the rest of his squad that combined to go 19-of-54 from the floor. DeShawn Stevenson and his beard got a small measure of revenge after getting punked in Cleveland by scoring a team-high 19 points to lead four other Wizards in double-digit scoring. Washington is still trailing 2-1 in the series, but if it continues to force 23 turnovers in a game and shoot over 50 percent, like on Thursday, then we could be see everything get all tied up after Sunday’s Game 4.

3. Raptors roar back from near extinction
Dwight Howard is human after all. Following a pair of 20-point, 20-rebound contests to open the playoffs, Howard fell back to earth on Thursday and the Magic followed. The Raptors were victorious in their playoff home opener, winning 108-94 behind T.J. Ford’s 21 points and Jose Calderon’s 18-point, 13-assist double-double, cutting the Magic’s lead to 2-1 in the series. Howard totaled 19 points and 12 rebounds to compliment Hedo Turkoglu’s 26 and Rashard Lewis’ 19 points, but there was no stopping the hot-handed Raps. Toronto set franchise playoff records for points in a game and a half (61) by connecting on 12-of-34 3-pointers after opening the game with seven consecutive misses from downtown.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Houston 43 min, 28 pts (FG: 9-17, 3FG: 3-5, FT: 7-8), 3 reb, 12 ast

Buzzer Beater: After becoming the laughing stock of college basketball for getting fired from two different jobs for the same violations, Kelvin Sampson is taking his game to the pros. Rumor has it that the former Oklahoma/Indiana coach is heading to Milwaukee where he will attempt to pull the Bucks out of the gutter as an assistant to the newly hired Scott Skiles. There is still a ton of red tape for the leagues to sort through before the hire can be made, but after his multiple embarrassments in the NCAA, the pros are about the only people who will hire the joke of a coach.

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San Antonio Spurs

Around the Rim: Spurs take a pounding and a 2-0 lead


1. Suns set in second half
No lead is safe for Phoenix. For the second consecutive game, the Spurs erased an early double-digit deficit and went on to upset the Suns. On Tuesday, Tony Parker tallied 32 points and Manu Ginobili added 29, chipping away a 14-point Phoenix lead before grabbing a 2-0 series lead by winning 102-96. The Suns owned a nine-point advantage after the first quarter and a seven-point lead at halftime, but they could only produce 35 points (11 in the third quarter) over the final 24 minutes. The Spurs didn’t need another 40-point outing out of their MVP with Parker and Ginobili firing on all cylinders, but Tim Duncan still produced, scoring 18 points to go with 17 rebounds and three blocks. The Suns are probably feeling pretty low after losing the pair of heartbreakers, but the reality is the Spurs simply did what they were supposed to which is win at home. Sure, Phoenix would like to have stolen homecourt advantage early on, but as long as they win in the desert then they’ll still have a shot at the series. However, the Suns can not allow San Antonio to grab Game 3 and put a strangle hold on the series. You can expect Phoenix to improve on its home floor which is bad news for SA. Amare Stoudemire was superb again in Game 2, scoring from everywhere on the floor to the tune of 33 points while Shaquille O’Neal chipped in 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Steve Nash also had a double-double with 23 points and 10 assists.

2. Chris Paul ball

For the Mavericks, it was another playoff game and another tough pill to swallow. The disappointments continue to mount for Dallas after they fell into a two-game hole when Chris Paul and his Hornets set a new tem single-game record for total points in a playoff contest, whooping the Mavs 127-103 on Tuesday. Paul might stand just six feet tall, but he is overshadowing everyone else in this series. After posting 35 points and 10 assists in Game 1, Paul somehow upped his effort and dropped 32 and a franchise playoff-record 17 assists in the second game, becoming the first player to ever record 30 points, 10 assists and three steals in consecutive postseason games, which just happen to be the first two playoff games of his career. New Orleans as a team set playoff records with 39 points in the first quarter, 67 points in the first half and most treys made by a team with 10. The series now shifts to Big D where the Mavericks need some serious home cooking to get back into things. In Game 2, all five Hornets scored at least 10 points with Paul, David West (27 pts) and Peja Stojakovic (22 pts) all scoring at least 20 points.

3. Mr. 20-20
Dwight Howard loves the numbers two and zero. The youngster posted his second 20-point, 20-rebound game in as many playoff games, becoming the first player since Kevin Garnett in 2004 to pull off the feat. Of course, the most important reason he likes the digits is because with a slim 104-103 win over Toronto last night Orlando took a 2-0 lead in the series. The Raptors would not die on Tuesday, led by Chris Bosh they had an opportunity to steal one on the road, but Bosh missed a last-second jumper that could have won the game. Bosh dominated the game for his team, leading Toronto in all major statistics with 29 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block. But this series has belonged to Howard who will now take his show on the road where the Raptors are a much more impressive team, owning a 25-16 record in Toronto.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Chris Paul vs. Dallas 39 min, 32 pts (FG: 10-16, 3FG: 0-2, FT: 12-14), 5 reb, 17 ast, 3 stl

Buzzer Beater: Kevin Garnett ran away defensive player of the year honors, a feat he hopes to repeat when it comes time to hand out the MVP hardware. Garnett finished with 90 of 124 first-place votes and finished with a total of 493 points, beating out Denver’s Marcus Camby by a full 315 points. The Rockets Shane Battier finished with the bronze, totaling 11 first-place votes and 175 points overall. The Celtics were the second best defensive team in the league, holding opponents to just 90.3 points per game and a NBA-best 41.9 percent shooting from the field. And there’s no doubt Garnett is the driving force behind the dedication to D. Along with 18.8 points, Garnett averaged 9.2 rebounds (7.3 defensive), 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.

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LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Gasol-ine Pau-ered


1. Pau, right in the kisser!
With so much talk about the “Big Three” from the Eastern Conference’s top seed, it would be easy to forget about the trio of superstars on the West’s No. 1 team, but they won’t let you. Even without their big man Andrew Bynum, the Lakers took a 1-0 lead in their series against the Nuggets on the slender shoulders of Paul Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom. Gasol was stellar in his playoff debut with Los Angeles, scoring 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting to go with 16 rebounds and eight assists, leading his squad to a 128-114 victory. Bryant finished with 32 points, including a span down the stretch when he scored 13 consecutive for his team, while Odom posted a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds. The Nuggets day started with a bus breakdown on their way to the arena and ended with an Allen Iverson meltdown that got him ejected with 2:10 remaining in the game. Before being tossed, A.I. scored 30 points to match Carmelo Anthony for team-high honors. Unfortunately, Denver was spelled with no `D’ on Sunday, especially in the third quarter when the Lakers posted 39 points. Guess the pregame slam dance didn’t do the trick for George Karl. As far as Bynum goes, his return continues to be delayed with the only certainty being that he will not play in this series.

2. Detroit’s detour

The road to the Eastern Conference finals got a bit bumpy for the Bad Boys in Game 1 as Philadelphia managed to pull off a shocker, winning 90-86 in Detroit. Philadelphia trailed 62-47 in the third, but then ripped off 10 unanswered points and limited the Pistons to only 35 points in the second half, allowing for the upset. Andre Miller put up a team-high 20 points while Willie Green set a personal playoff-high with 17. Rasheed Wallace led Detroit with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, but even his eavesdropping on the 76ers huddle late in the game couldn’t help his team’s cause. Everyone expected the Pistons and the Celtics to basically cruise to a showdown in the conference finals, but it is now obvious that Detroit has a ways to go before they are on Boston’s level. The Celtics took no mercy on their lower seeded foes, destroying the Hawks 104-81 in a contest where Atlanta never held a lead greater than two points.

3. Raptors forgot to pack their kryptonite
Dwight Howard dressed up like Superman during the All-Star break then he went out and played a Man of Steel against the Raptors, leading Orlando to its first playoff victory since 2003. Howard was heroic with 25 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks in a 114-100 victory in front of a blue and white clad home crowd. It was just the 12th time in postseason history someone posted at least 25 points, 20 board and five swats. Orlando harpooned the Raptors early, scoring 43 points in the first quarter, including a playoff record-tying nine 3-pointers, to take a 20-point lead after 12 minutes. All five Orlando starters scored in double-digits with Jameer Nelson’s 24 and Hedo Turkoglu’s 21 taking a backseat to Howard’s quarter. Anthony Parker tallied a team-high 24 points in a losing effort while Chris Bosh struggled to connect on 4-of-11 attempts en route to 21 points.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Pau Gasol vs. Denver 45 min, 36 pts (FG: 14-20, FT: 8-8), 16 reb, 8 ast, 3 blk

Buzzer Beater: Sunday’s action was great, but we all know the Spurs and Suns stole show during the postseason’s opening weekend. It took ten extra minutes for San Antonio to fight its way out of an early deficit, trailing for nearly all of regulation, but after an amazing series of shots from both squads, round one went to the home team by the slimmest of margins. Tim Duncan scored a game-high 40, including a double-overtime-forcing trey, and Manu Ginobili bounced around like a pinball for 24 points with the last two coming on the 117-115 game-winner. Many are calling this the greatest first round series ever and you won’t get any argument from us after watching Game 1. The blood isn’t flowing yet like it was from the nose of Steve Nash during the opening game of last year’s battle, but it’s defiantly boiling as both sides nearly went hoarse from complaining to the refs in a physical matchup tallying 57 total fouls. Expect another bruiser in Game 2 on Tuesday.

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Toronto Raptors

Chris Bosh is just like the rest of us, he hates Stephen A. Smith


Not a whole lot gets under the skin of Toronto’s twinkling star Chris Bosh. He’s usually a fun-loving, joke-cracking kind of guy who doesn’t seem to have a problem chuckling at himself or his good friend Bubba, but even the nearly seven-footer has his breaking points; like being compared to Manute Bol.

Chris Bosh has lashed out at a “classless” American broadcaster he feels crossed the line in a personal attack.

Stephen A. Smith, a prominent ESPN analyst known for his loud delivery and over-the-top commentary, compared Bosh to former NBAer Manute Bol on Friday, chastising the Raptor all-star for playing soft and being unable to lead his team to any significant level of success. The comments about the team and the game aren’t what irked Bosh, it was dragging in the name of Bol, a 7-foot-6 beanpole, who was more an oddity than a factor in his career.

“If you have respect for someone, you expect that same respect back,” Bosh said yesterday. “If you’re a classless person like that, I mean, I guess that shows how you are, what kind of person you really are.

“If you criticize basketball, criticize the game, criticize the team but don’t do anything personal.”

But Bosh said he doesn’t need to use Smith’s comments to get him more motivated for the series against the Orlando Magic.

“I don’t have to prove anything to that guy, plain and simple,” said Bosh. “If that’s what he wants to do, that’s what he’s going to do. If that’s what makes him happy, to try to bring other people down, good for him.

“If LeBron (James) wasn’t doing so well, he’d probably dog him, too. If Dwight (Howard) wasn’t averaging 20 and 10, he’d talk bad about him.”

It’s true, S.A.S. probably would be bashing Howard if he wasn’t posting double-doubles like a man possessed. But we wouldn’t recommend it. Heck, even good friend and 6-foot-10, 230-pound freak of nature Bosh wouldn’t recommend getting into a scuffle with the gigantic Howard.

Howard said the two would “wrestle” every now and then but Bosh wants no part of recalling any physical confrontation.

“I wouldn’t say that,” said Bosh. “I might grab him and mess with him, but as soon as he gets for real, I back off. He’s too strong.”

Links:

[TheStar.com]: Bosh takes a shot at ESPN’s Smith

Categories
LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Lakers show off their vertical leap


1. Leaping up the standings
If the Lakers end up with the top seed in the West, nobody can say they don’t deserve it. With just days left in the most highly contested conference race in history, Los Angeles took care of business in a big way by knocking off the Hornets and the Spurs in back-to-back games over the weekend. Kobe Bryant’s boys defeated New Orleans by three points, 107-104, on Friday and then throttled the defending champs 106-85 on Sunday. The Lakers jumped from third to first in the conference with the wins, giving them a half-game lead over New Orleans with their season finale coming on Tuesday against the Kings. Bryant finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in just three quarters of work against the Spurs while Lamar Odom (17 pts, 14 reb) and Pau Gasol (14 pts, 11 reb) each recorded a double-double. San Antonio could have used some of Manu Ginobili’s point production late in the game, but for the second consecutive game, a strained groin kept him on the sideline watching as the Spurs scored just 32 points in the second half.

2. Nuggets get closer

The Nuggets took one step closer to making the playoffs on Sunday when they romped the Rockets 111-94 behind 33 points from Allen Iverson. Denver also got a stellar performance out of sixth man J.R. Smith who scored 23 points. The Rockets dream of grabbing the conference’s top record is still attainable, but it’s defiantly fading fast. In order to grab the top record in the West, Houston must win both of its remaining games and have Los Angeles and New Orleans to lose on Tuesday.

3. Sonics sendoff
If the Sonics played their final game in Seattle last night, then they went out with a bang. With just 12 home victories to their name this season, the Sonics added a 13th on Sunday when they knocked off the Mavericks 99-95, overcoming a six-point deficit in the final three minutes. Led by Earl Watson’s 21 points and Kevin Durant’s 19, four of Seattle’s starters finished in double-figures to outpace the Mavericks who got 32 points and seven rebounds out of Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Terry chipped in 25 for Dallas. The Sonics appear to be heading for Oklahoma after heading out to Golden State for the franchise’s final game.

I almost cried, to be honest with you. People kept saying it might be the last game in Seattle,” Durant said. “It was phenomenal.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Allen Iverson vs. Houston 41 min, 33 pts (FG: 13-20, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 6-11), 7 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Golden State (48-32) @ Phoenix (53-27)
After falling to the Nuggets on Thursday, the Warriors basically sealed their fate. However, nothing is over until it’s officially over in the wild, wild West. But Golden State is in a must-win situation against the Suns tonight, needing a victory to even think about grabbing the conference’s last spot and go on to shock the world once again. Phoenix lost a heartbreaker to Houston on Friday to drop its record to 6-4 over the last games. Their will be no homecourt advantage for the Suns in the opening round of the postseason, so they will be looking to improve their 28-11 record in Phoenix before being forced to hit the road in the second season.

Buzzer Beater: Sitting comfortably in the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Pistons have absolutely nothing to play for as the regular season draws to a close. But that isn’t keeping them from winning. No starter played more than 25 minutes against the Raptors on Sunday and the Pistons till took a 91-84 victory, shoving Toronto into sixth place in the East – a horrible place for a team with a 16-24 road record. As it stands, the Raptors would be looking at a first round matchup against these Pistons. Well, not exactly these exact Pistons; they’d be a much, much better Pistons squad.

We’ve been struggling for a while now — that’s no secret — and tonight we had to go up against one of the best teams in the league,” Rasho Nesterovic said after Toronto dropped to 8-16 in its last 24 games. “Whoever we play in the first round, we’re going to have to change our mentality if we want to have a chance.

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Denver Nuggets

Around the Rim: Back to where it all began


1. A.I. got his sundae, but no cherry on top
Allen Iverson was welcomed back to Philadelphia with open arms on Wednesday night. The Answer returned for the first time since being traded to Denver back in December of 2006 and it was almost like he never left. Iverson scored a game-high 32 points, dished out eight assists and had the ball in his hands for the game’s most dramatic shot. But that’s where the warm and fuzzy feelings ended. Iverson’s jumper didn’t connect and neither did Marcus Camby’s put-back, giving the 76ers a 115-113 victory. Still, A.I. had the time of his life coming back to where he used to practice. Yup, we’re still talking about practice.

I dreamed it up a certain way, and it was better than that,” Iverson said. “Everything was perfect but one thing, and that was not winning the game.”

“I almost had a perfect trip at my home away from home,” Iverson said.

2. Ice cold Heat

In the same week the Denver Nuggets dropped 168 points on the sorry Sonics, the Heat and the Raptors combined for a pathetic 150 points last night. Luckily for Toronto, they posted 96 of them, pounding Miami by a franchise best 42 points, 96-54. At this point, nothing is shocking with the Heat anymore, but this is a startling occurrence nevertheless. Miami’s 54 points fell just five points shy of tying the worst performance of the shot clock era set by Chicago in 1998-99 versus the Heat. It was the franchise’s worst performance for points in a game and a half (26) while also setting a new low by connecting on 20-of-78 shots (.256). Just keep thinking Michael Beasley fellas.

3. Failure to launch
After winning 22 consecutive games, there is nowhere to go but down and the Rockets are currently plummeting back to earth. After getting creamed by Boston on Tuesday, Houston traveled to New Orleans and got flattened once again as the Hornets cruised to a 90-69 victory. Tracy McGrady is no longer playing like a superstar and his team is suffering because of it. T-Mac followed up his embarrassing eight-point outing against the Celtics by netting just 15 on Nawlins while his Rockets struggled to post 10 points for the entire fourth quarter. Chris Paul continues to light up opponents, finishing with 21 points, 10 assists while taking another leap towards a possible MVP trophy.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Vince Carter vs. Atlanta 43 min, 39 pts (FG: 17-26, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 3-4), 10 reb, 8 ast, 1 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Boston (54-13) @ Dallas (44-24)
The Celtics have already rallied from 22 points down to win in San Antonio and snapped the second-longest win streak in league history in Houston. Now, they’ll look to do something very few teams have accomplished over the past few years: successfully navigate their way through the Texas triangle. Boston could be without Ray Allen once again when they head into Dallas, but that hasn’t slowed them down yet. The Mavericks would love for a little bit of that Irish luck to rub off on them considering they are 0-6 against teams with records above .500 since Jason Kidd’s arrival.

Buzzer Beater: Tiger Woods and LeBron James had never met prior to this week. Word??

Earlier this week in Orlando, James and fellow megastar Tiger Woods met for the first time. They share more than a Dec. 30 birthday. “Every time he goes out he expects to win,” James said when asked what he admires about Woods, “He’s an unbelievable talent. I’ve always looked at Michael Jordan as being one of the greatest athletes of my lifetime, and Tiger is right there now.

Categories
Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: Houston’s Super Sweet 19


1. Movin’ on up
The Rockets took another jab at their critics on Monday night by extending their win streak to 19 games with a 91-73 thumping of New Jersey. Tracy McGrady scored 19 points as he continues to pilot his team toward the playoffs despite flying without a co-captain on the floor. Houston is now just one victory away from tying the 1970-71 Bucks for the second-longest all-time win streak and they tied an NBA record with their 10th consecutive win by at least 10 points. You have to figure that at some point the loss of Yao Ming is going to kick in and send Houston tumbling down the West standings, but as of now, they are just a mere game behind Los Angeles and San Antonio for best conference record. And frankly, after winning 28-of-31 games, they deserve to momentarily sit atop the fiercest postseason-positioning battle we’ve ever seen.

2. Fity

They’ve been beating teams to the punch all year long and Monday night was no different for Boston. With a 100-86 victory over the streaking 76ers, the Celtics became the first team in the league to reach 50 wins for the season. Philadelphia immediately fell into 15-point deficit, going scoreless for almost the entire first five minutes of the game. After that, it was an uphill battle for the Sixers who were on a four-game winning streak overall with an eight-game home winning streak. The nagging abdominal injury responsible for keeping Kevin Garnett sidelined during All-Star weekend appears to be fully recovered. The Big Ticket scored a game-high 26 points to go with 12 rebounds while Ray Allen added 21 points. Sam Cassell made his debut in the contest, but all did not go according plan for the new backup point guard who picked up four fouls in five minutes of work.

3. Torching the Blaze
The Cavaliers got off to a bumpy start against Portland on Monday, but by the time the final buzzer sounded, LeBron James had his 17th career triple-double and his team was 10 games over .500 for the first time this year. The Blazers were up 25-14 after the first quarter before James rallied his team to an 88-80 victory by scoring 24 points, grabbing 10 boards and dishing out 11 assists. The triple-dip is the seventh on the season for James who recorded his 100th double-double in the win while also extending his streak of 20-plus point outings to 41 consecutive games. It was a big win for Cleveland (37-27) as they try to chase down Orlando for the third seed in the East; however, for Portland the defeat was crushing. The team that showed so much promise earlier in the year is now seven games outside the playoff picture with only 19 opponents left on the schedule.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Hedo Turkoglu vs. Atlanta 38 min, 23 pts (FG: 9-17, 3FG: 3-6, FT: 2-2), 10 reb, 13 ast

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Toronto (34-28) @ Los Angeles Lakers (44-19)
It’s Kobe Bryant versus the Raptors and we really shouldn’t have to say much more than that. Over his career, Bryant lights-up Toronto to the tune of 28.0 points per game, including his 81-point explosion back in 2006. Earlier this season, the Lakers MVP candidate converted 19 of his 28 attempts, clocking in 46 points during the 20-point pounding. Making things worse for Toronto is that All-Star Chris Bosh’s status is still uncertain as he tends to an injured knee.

Buzzer Beater: Hedo Turkoglu wasn’t the only player lighting it up for the Magic as they reeled off 74 points in the first half en route to a 123-112 win over Atlanta. Dwight Howard finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds, giving him 20 25-point, 15-rebound games in three years. Nobody else in the league can claim to match that stat. Next in line is Kevin Garnett with 17 followed by the injured Yao Ming (15) and Utah forward Carlos Boozer (14).

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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.

Categories
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.