Our game recaps from Tuesday, or what you missed while getting addicted to snowboard-cross from Vancouver.
Oklahoma City 99, Dallas 86 It’s going to take a while to integrate all the new players in Mavericks’ uniforms with each other. A tough way to start that process is against a very hot Oklahoma City squad.
For one quarter, the Mavericks’ play on the court looked fantastic, then the whole thing fell apart. Blame Dallas on not adjusting to their new roles, or credit the Thunder defense — I’m not sure it was either, just ice cold shooting — but after that fast start Dallas could not find the basket. Caron Butler was 4 of 16 in his debut. Jason Terry was 4 of 15 off the bench. Dirk Nowitzki was 9 of 22. Jason Kidd 4 of 15. After an 11-point third quarter by Dallas, this one was over.
There was excitement at the end of the game, and thankfully it wasn’t about pizzas or tacos — Durant’s shot at the rim with 20 seconds left gave him 25 points for the 26th straight game. That guy is special.
New Jersey 103, Charlotte 94 Once again it was another Nets fast start, as they put up 31 points in the first quarter against one of the best defensive teams in the league. Courtney Lee led the way with 10 that first stanza. But we all know the drill, that’s not going to last, right?
Not this time. Lee stayed hot, and Brook Lopez and Devin Harris joined him. Josh Boone even made good contributions off the bench. The Nets shot 51.9 percent from the field, while Charlotte started to feel a little desperate on offense in the fourth quarter and at one point jacked up three pointers on five straight trips down the court. Charlotte was not nearly so hot from the floor as for that to be a good strategy.
The Nets are now 2-1 against the Bobcats this season.
Boston 95 Sacramento 92 The Kings are an athletic team, and that gave the Celtics trouble. For example, with 30 seconds to go Kevin Garnett was going for a game sealing dunk, when Jason Thompson raced over and blocked the shot. Then Thompson ran the floor and got the ball on the block and made his move to tie the game, but was fouled in the act, two shots.
The Kings are an inexperienced team, and that is why the Celtics won this game. Thompson missed both his free throws — Sacramento was 2-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Next trip down the Kings had to foul and Rasheed Wallace (he of a team-high 17 points), an experienced veteran who hit both his free throws. Next rookie Tyreke Evans missed a layup then Ray Allen hit both of his key late free throws. See the pattern. It won’t be like that for these teams in a year or two, but for now Boston gets these games, even when they are not pretty.
Miami 105 Philadelphia 78 The Sixers use a lot of isolation offense — you can try to blame that on the return of Allen Iverson if you want, but it is a team wide epidemic– and that can be very inconsistent. Tonight was one of the off nights, as they started 11 of 35 from the floor and were down from the start. All night the Sixers settled for jumpers and did not attack the rim with any consistent ferocity. Only one Sixer starter scored double digits (Andre Iguodala with 11).
Credit the Heat for taking advantage of this off Philadelphia team, Miami has won three straight and have looked good (Dwyane Wade dropped 24 in the win).
Chicago 118, New York 85 Basketball is a game about shooting. The Bulls shot 60.5 percent, the Knicks shot 34.6 percent. Maybe the Bulls play with trade rumors hanging over their head better than the Knicks. (Jordan Hill did not make any other GMs covet him with his 0-4 performance). Chris Duhon was back as the starter, and he was back to being his old self, with an unimpressive showing. But really, this game was all about the shooting.
Phoenix 108 Memphis 95 This was a fast-paced game — 99 possessions each. It made for an entertaining game, but one that was played on the Suns terms. They made a big run in the second quarter and essentially that was the ballgame. Amare Stoudemire tempted his suitors with possibilities, finishing with 21 and 10. Robin Lopez finished with 18 and 10 but tempted no one.
Utah 104, Houston 95 This is not that insightful, but I think it true: Utah has more talented players. Both teams play well as units, and when both play at about the same level as team units, the squad with the better players wins.
Portland 109, Los Angeles Clippers 87 When interim coach Kim Hughes loosened the reins on the Clipper offense, I’m sure he did not mean “play only isolation and stop all the ball movement.” But Tuesday night that was pretty much the effect. Even without Brandon Roy for a half — the Trail Blazers must have done something horrible to offend the basketball gods this year — they are a much better team than the collection of Clipper individuals.
Los Angeles Lakers 104, Golden State 94 This one was tied at 89 with 4:30 left in the contest, but the Lakers got serious about their defense and went on a 15-5 run to close the game out. The first 43 minutes of this game were just sloppy, by both teams. Actually, we shouldn’t blame all the Lakers — Andrew Bynum did what he needed to do punishing Golden State inside. Then there was Shannon Brown, who started in place of Kobe and once he stepped inside the arc (1 of 6 from three) was 10 of 13 for a career high 27 points. No Kobe for the Lakers, and their bench returned to its poor play for a night, but Golden State is not good enough to really take advantage of these things/
Detroit 105, Minnesota 85. I care about recapping this game about as much as the Timberwolves cared about defending. Which is to say not at all.
