Welcome to PBT’s roundup of the day in NBA action. Or, what you missed while thinking there are some really screwed up people in Germany….
Nets 96, Knicks 89 (OT): It certainly wasn’t the best-played, prettiest game of the young season, but it was the most intense. The one with the most playoff feel, both in the stands and on the court. The Knicks had their chances but had key lapses on offense and defense, and I broke those down in our game of the night post.
Thunder 114, Bobcats 69: The game wasn’t really as close as the score indicates. No, seriously it wasn’t. This was a 40-point game at halftime – 64-24 OKC — and Scott Brooks called off the dogs and benched his starters five minutes into the second half. The Bobcats have the only bench that made the struggling Thunder bench look good. If you want to see the number on this ugliness, we broke it down right here.
Jazz 105, Nuggets 103: The only thing hotter than the Nuggets and their four-game winning streak was the Jazz at home, where they have yet to lose this season. The Nuggets were running and gunning through the first 20 minutes of this game and were up 16, shooting 73 percent and getting 48 points in the paint in the first half.
But in the second half the Jazz were able to use their physicality to slow the game down to a pace they were more comfortable at, which led to a 14-0 third quarter run that made it a game. Denver got frustrated. Andre Iguodala got ejected. Utah also closed the game out with key bench players — Derrick Favors had 7 of his 19 in the fourth quarter. Al Jefferson had 28 to lead Utah.
Bucks 93, Bulls 92: If the Bucks can stretch out their lead early in the season and hold on to win the Central division once Chicago and Indiana get healthy, this will be the game they look back on. The Bulls had a 27-point third quarter lead but a 31-4 Bucks run by their bench keyed he comeback win. Milwaukee bench players had 56 points, Bulls reserves 10. Ersan Ilyasova — just moved to the bench so rookie John Henson could get more run, had a game-high 18. Rip Hamilton did have 30 for the Bulls.
Pistons 108, Trail Blazers 91: It was a tale of two young point guard. The Pistons raced out to an early 9 point lead as the shots fell, then in the second quarter Brandon Knight took over with 11 points on his way to 26 for the night. On the other end, the Pistons did good job cutting off Portland’s Rookie of the Year candidate Damian Lillard, plus he was just off, and he started 0-11 from the floor. Greg Monroe had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit. LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 32 points for the Trail Blazers. Detroit has won three in a row on their hone court.
Spurs 118, Wizards 91: Seriously, how did you expect this to end? Nene and Trevor Booker were out for Washington and the Spurs are now a ridiculous 8-1 on the road. To the Wizards credit they came out with some desperate play early and kept it close for a quarter. Martell Webster had 13 first half points and played well. But the Spurs were the machine that is the Spurs. They wear you down with execution until they get open shots or have or Parker drawing fouls on drives. They went on a 17-6 run to take the lead in the second quarter, then a 10-0 run a few minutes later to stretch out that lead. And then it was over — seven Spurs scored in double figures, led by Boris Diaw with 16.
Grizzlies 84, Cavaliers 78: No Mike Conley for Grizzlies and if you look at the season-long numbers their offense takes a nose dive without him (it drops 10 points per 100 possessions when he sits). That proved true here. Meanwhile the Cavaliers got a fantastic effort from Anderson Varejao, who had 15 points and 22 rebounds, and Dion Waiters added 15 as well. Cleveland led most of the way but in the fourth quarter the Grizzlies defense woke up — Cleveland shot only 20 percent (4 of 20) and had one bucked in the final 5:30 of the game. That will do a team in pretty much every time.
Hornets 105, Clippers 98: It was bombs away — the to teams combined to take 33 three pointers, second most in NBA history (for a regulation game). Caron Butler had 9 threes (on 15 tries) and as a team the Clippers were 18-of-37 (48.6 percent). Impressive. But the Hornets were even better from deep —15-for-25 (60 percent), with Greivis Vasquez (5-for-8) and Ryan Anderson (5-for-9) leading the way.
The key moment was late in the third quarter, when the Clippers made and 8-0 run to tie things up and you expected the home team to pull away, instead they seemed to relax and the Hornets went on a 13-2 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. For the Clippers, the key things they need to do right this season went horribly wrong for a night. DeAndre Jordan was terrible (and played just 15 minutes). Their defense allowed the Hornets to score 117.8 points per 100 possessions and was terrible. I’d say chalk it up to an off night, but the Clippers are now 1-4 in their last five.
