What you missed while seeing The King’s Speech…
The Cavaliers stunning win over the Lakers was our Game of the Night…
Heat 103, Raptors 95: Chris Bosh blew kisses to the crowd and got a mixed reaction of boos and cheers. What that tells us is Toronto is not Cleveland.
The Heat worked hard to get Bosh the ball where he could score (he finished with 25 points) but that made them look disjointed at times. So did the Raptors zone defense. But the Heat still scored at a rate the Raptors could not match. Andrea Bargnani was the pick-and-pop king on his way to 38 points on 26 shots, and DeMar DeRozan slashed his to 24 more points. The rest of the Raptors combined to shoot 29.3 percent and that did not get it done.
Magic 101, Wizards 76: The Magic turned John Wall into a scorer — he had 27 points on 17 shots. But he had just one assist. He was not facilitating and the Wizards shot 34.9 percent on the night. Meanwhile Dwight Howard had 32 points on just 15 shots and he was hitting his free throws. Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee were overmatched.
Celtics 94, Nets 80: Paul Pierce was making up for his one-point game against the Heat — he had 10 in the first quarter. The Nets were not going to roll over though, this game was tied at the half and after three. Then midway through the fourth quarter Boston went on a 16-0 run that coincided with Pierce’s return to the game and he has seven points during it (he was just attacking the rim). The other key in this one: The Nets got 15 free throws to the Celtics 39. That wasn’t the refs, that was Boston attacking on offense and playing good defense.
There are some nights you really see the potential of what Brook Lopez could be.
Knicks 102, Hawks 90: This was a pretty big beat down — New York had a double-digit lead the entire fourth quarter. The Hawks did not stop the Knicks in transition well and gave them open looks in the half court which the Knicks knocked down
Pistons 115, Pacers 109 (OT): For the second night in a row the Pacers got off to a slow start — this time down 11 after one quarter — and fought back only to lose. The Pistons led the entire second half until a Darren Collison layup with 15 seconds left tied it up. In the overtime the Pistons got points from Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon were the leaders, while Danny Granger was the only Pacer to score.
Clippers 98, Timberwolves 90: The Clippers really miss the steady play Eric Gordon gives them at the two. So when his replacement Randy Foye hit 6-of-14 shots for 21 points the Clippers are back in business. The Clippers dominated the second half and Blake Griffin had 15 points during that time.
Mavericks 116, Kings 100: Dallas’ depth was on display Wednesday — five guys off the Dallas bench scored in double figures. The most interesting of those was Roddy Beaubois, who had 13 in his season debut.
Sixers 114, Rocket 105: The Sixers were spreading it around — four guys with more than 16 points, seven in double digits. Andre Iguodala was big part of that, finishing with 10 assists and a triple double. The Rockets had their guys — Kyle Lowry torched Jrue Holliday for 36 points on 18 shots, Luis Scola added 26. But the Sixers were the better team in this one.
Nuggets 94, Bucks 87: Nets/Knicks fans, this was a very Carmelo Anthony night this is what you’re getting — he had 38 points but it took 30 shots to get there. He got 12 boards as well. It was good if not an efficient or pretty win for a Nuggets team that may look very different the next time they suit up for a game.
Warriors 107, Jazz 100: Golden State had 26 wins last season, they got to 26 with this victory. That is progress.
With both teams on the second night of a back-to-back it was going to be about energy levels late. Monta Ellis is a closer and had 11 of his 35 in the fourth quarter. He helped spark a 10-2 fourth quarter run that pretty much decided this one.
The Jazz are 2-6 in February and need the All-Star break maybe more than any other team.
Trail Blazers 103, Hornets 96: As LaMarcus Aldridge goes, so go the Blazers. He had 13 first quarter points, they were up nine. He had 12 in the fourth quarter and behind a 17-5 run the Trail Blazers win it. Andre Miller had 10 in the final quarter also. Chris Paul with just 8 points and 5 assists.
