What you missed while thinking you don’t hate your job as much as this guy…
Lakers 104, Warriors 101: What’s a Laker win without more drama?
During the game the drama was the Lakers not pulling away against an undersized Golden State side, then the Warriors fighting back from a double digits deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead 97-95 on a David Lee bucket. That’s when Kobe Bryant did what he does — he drained to tough, contested jumpers in a row to give the Lakers the lead back for good.
But that’s only half the drama — Andrew Bynum attempted a three pointer from the top of the key two minutes into third quarter and was promptly benched by coach Mike Brown. He played only a short stint (2:49) at the start of the fourth quarter and while on the bench refused to join team huddles. Bynum acted like a pouty child. After the game he sounded even more immature and said the only problem with him taking a three was that he didn’t make it. Trust me, this is going to be a thing for the next couple of days.
Spurs 107, Suns 100: Our own Brett Pollakoff was at this one and files this recap:
The Suns had been playing their best basketball of the season heading into Tuesday’s home game against the Spurs. But Phoenix’s best still wasn’t good enough to take down San Antonio.
The Spurs executed masterfully offensively, while the Suns only did so at times. The result was another win for a deep and talented Spurs team that played with all three of its superstars for the first time in the last four games — all of which were wins.
It was odd seeing Boris Diaw contribute off the bench for the Spurs against his former team from a couple of years ago, but the damage he did was minimal. It was Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combining for 50 points that made the difference.
Shannon Brown did his best to keep the Suns close, filling in for the injured Grant Hill in the starting lineup with a career-high 32 points on 11-for-18 shooting. But the execution from the Spurs offensively never ceased, and when the Suns slowed down, a 13-2 run midway through the fourth quarter provided enough separation for the Spurs to seal it.
Sixers 103, Cavaliers 85: With the win the Sixers reclaim sole possession of the Atlantic Division (half a game over Boston). Philly played like a team with something on the line and the Cavaliers played like a young team playing out the string. Cleveland shot just 32 percent in the second quarter, fell behind by double digits and that was about it. Jodie Meeks had a big night, scoring 31 for Philly on just 16 shots.
Bucks 108, Hawks 101: That is what Monta Ellis can do — 17 points on 9 shots plus four assists in the fourth quarter to key the Bucks win. Ellis and Brandon Jennings still do not blend as a back court, but there are nights they can light up the scoreboard playing next to each other if not with each other. With this win, the Bucks move within two games of the Knicks for the final playoff spot in the East.
Grizzlies 93, Timberwolves 86: No Marc Gasol and Memphis still picks up a nice win. Memphis was the team that attacked the rim, they were rewarded with 28 free throw attempts (they hit 25). Dante Cunningham had an impressive 11 points and 14 boards on the night for Memphis to pick up the slack with Gasol out. Kevin Love with 28 points and 11 boards in a losing effort.
Mavericks 90, Rockets 81: Dallas won this game in the third quarter — they went on a 16-2 run while holding the Rockets to 12 points on 26 percent shooting. Dallas also got 21 points from Dirk Nowitzki and 48 from its bench. The loss dropped Houston half a game back of Denver for the final playoff spot in the West.
Thunder 109, Trail Blazers 95: This was pretty much the blowout you expected — Russell Westbrook owned the Blazers and had 32 points, Kevin Durant had 25 and this game really wasn’t in doubt from the second quarter on. We had a J.J. Hickson sighting, he had 21 off the bench for Portland.
