Nov

25

Roy Leads Late Trail Blazers Rally, Edge Kings 91-90

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Friday’s game between the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers, at least in my opinion, was arguably the most exciting game on the Monday NBA docket; Brandon Roy showed the sold-out crowd at the Rose Garden glimpses of what one might expect to see from him in the future as he led Portland on a late 4th quarter rally, enabling the Trail Blazers to edge the Kings 91-90.

Neither team shot especially well as Portland took a 27-21 lead going into the second quarter; the Trail Blazers would lead by as many as 11 in the first half, but Sacramento would come back as a pair of Bobby Jackson jumpers would cap an 11-2 run to pull the Kings to within 44-42; the Trail Blazers would go into halftime leading 48-44.  The Kings would continue to make hay as they went on a 17-5 run to take an 8-point lead.

But Portland would put on a scoring streak of their own as they manufactured an 18-4 explosion to give the Trail Blazers a 71-66 lead with 2:31 left in the third period.  Sacramento would begin the fourth quarter by outscoring Portland 10-2 to; Roy would take over as he scored 7 consecutive points to put the Trail Blazers in front 95-84 with 3:35 remaining in the game.  Steve Blake would hit a pair of free throws with 40 ticks left on the clock, giving Portland a 91-88 lead; the Kings had one final chance to win the game, but John Salmons’ drive to the basket came up a bit short.

Portland’s high scorer was Roy with 28 points (including 3 treys), 4 rebounds and 3 assists while LaMarcus Aldridge and Joel Przybilla each recorded double-doubles - with Aldridge scoring 10 with 10 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot while Przybilla added 10 with 12 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.  

Sacramento was led by Salmons with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while Brad Miller added 18 with 6 rebounds and 2 assists; Beno Udrih chipped in, scoring 17 with 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals while Spencer Hawes added 15 (including three 3’s) with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.  Portland (9-6) remains at home to host the Miami Heat on Wednesday while Sacramento (5-11) returns home to host the New Jersey Nets - also on Wednesday night.

Nov

25

Ming, Rockets Dominate Undersized Heat 107-98

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The Miami Heat have had this inherent problem that has dogged them for quite some time - they haven’t had a true center (with apologies to Alonzo Mourning) to bang around with the Eastern Conference big boys since Shaquille O’Neal.  In Monday night’s game against the Houston Rockets, that deficiency was exploited as Yao Ming pretty much had his way with the Heat frontcourt - whose center by default was Udonis Haslem, all 6′8″ of him.  Ming - with a big size advantage - scored 28 points, leading Houston to the 107-98 victory over Miami at American Airlines Center.

Miami had a deficit early on as they were down 30-21 after one quarter, yet they stayed relatively close as they trailed by only 8 at halftime; when the Heat’s Dwyane Wade hit a pair of baskets right after intermission, Miami was only down 56-52.  They would narrow the gap to two on a layup by Michael Beasley; however, Houston would go on an 11-0 run - 9 of those points by Ming - and the Heat would never pose a serious threat for the remainder of the game.

Houston was led by Ming with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists while Ron Artest added 20 (including three 3-pointers) with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals; Luis Scola nabbed a double-double, scoring 11 with 13 rebounds and 3 assists.  Miami was led by Wade and Mario Chalmers with 23 points each - with Wade grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and 2 steals while Chalmers drained 5 threes, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 6 assists along with 4 steals.  Houston (10-5) plays again on Wednesday when they host the Indiana Pacers while Miami (7-7) travels to the Pacific Northwest to face the Portland Trail Blazers - also on Wednesday night.

Nov

24

Eight Lakers Score In Double-Digits, Beat Kings 118-108

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The Los Angeles Lakers, in their game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night, came very close to giving the game away, due to their sloppy ballhandling and questionable transition defense; but as usually the case with the Lakers, they overcame those deficiencies with some decent shooting - 51.7% from the floor - which helped Los Angeles defeat Sacramento 118-108 at Staples Center.

The Lakers used nine players in the first quarter - all of who scored - including Sasha Vujacic who hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, which put the Lakers up 32-27 going into the second period.  A highlight of the second period was what can be described as a controversial non-call when the Kings’ Brad Miller managed to escape a flagrant foul call at the 3:24 mark when Los Angeles’ Trevor Ariza drove to the basket past Miller, who wrapped his arm around Ariza’s throat while he was in the air - sending Ariza crashing to the floor; Ariza made just one of the 2 free throws after the incident.  The Lakers went into halftime with a 61-52 lead.

The third quarter was pretty much a shootout as Los Angeles outscored Sacramento 35-28, taking a substantial 96-80 advantage into the final period.  Trailing by as many as 19 points courtesy of a 3-point play by the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum, the Kings went on a 21-4 barrage that narrowed the gap to 105-101 with 6:17 left to go; after a Lakers timeout, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher re-entered the game.  Los Angeles would score the next 9 points, sealing the deal.

Bryant led all Lakers scorers with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot while Gasol added 16 with 7 rebounds; Bynum chipped in, scoring 15 with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a blocked shot while Ariza notched a double, pouring in 11 with 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.  Sacramento was led by John Salmons with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists while Bobby Brown added 21 with 7 assists and 2 steals.  Jason Thompson and reserve Bobby Jackson chipped in, scoring 15 each - with Thompson grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists with 3 steals and 2 blocked shots while Jackson grabbed 4 boards and dished out 3 assists.  Los Angeles (11-1) plays again on Tuesday as they host the New Jersey Nets while Sacramento (5-10) flies north to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on Monday night.

Nov

23

Brand Leads 76ers Past Warriors 89-81

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Although Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand has gotten out of the gate rather slowly, perhaps he is slowly getting his offensive touch back; in Sunday’s game against the Golden State Warriors at Wachovia Center, Brand had what could have been arguably his best game of the season as he scored 23 points, leading Philadelphia to the 89-81 win over Golden State.

With the 76ers holding a 27-17 lead entering the second quarter they would manufacture a 14-2 run - including four consecutive three-pointers by Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala - which would allow Philadelphia to build a 55-35 lead with 2:19 left in the first half; they would go into halftime with a 57-39 lead.  The 76ers would hold an 84-81 edge in the fourth quarter when Andre Miller would hit a trey with 2:15 remaining in the game to up their lead to 6; he would add a pair of free throws to give Philadelphia an 89-81 cushion, which they would hang on to.

Brand led all 76ers scorers with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot while Iguodala added 15 with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot; Samuel Dalembert, while scoring only 8 points, grabbed 16 rebounds with a steal and 2 blocked shots.  Golden State was led by Kelenna Azubuike with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a blocked shot while Stephen Jackson added 12 with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot.  Philadelphia (7-6) plays again on Monday when they travel to North Carolina to take on the Charlotte Bobcats while Golden State (5-8) make the short commute to Washington, D.C. to take on the Wizards on Tuesday.

Nov

23

Okur Takes Up Slack, Leads Undermanned Jazz Past 103-94

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Despite being undermanned due to injuries to guard Deron Williams and forwards Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver, the Utah Jazz had to resort to another device in order to have a chance to defeat their opponent in Friday night’s game, the Memphis Grizzlies.  The device in question was defense; apparently it worked as they forced the Grizzlies to turn the ball over 20 times and hold them to 47% shooting - the end result being Utah walking out of the FedEx Forum with a 103-94 win over Memphis.

Early in the game, the Grizzlies managed to have their way in the paint as ten of their first 17 points came from within the paint; but the Jazz’ defense clamped down, causing the Grizzlies to miss 11 of its first 13 shot attempts in the second quarter as Utah built their lead to 36-29.  The Jazz would eventually build their lead to 10 before halftime.  Utah would extend their lead midway in the third quarter to 13 as their defense stifled Memphis throughout the period.

The Grizzlies were able to cut the Jazz’ lead under double-digits with a small spurt late in the third period yet Utah held a 77-69 cushion going into the fourth quarter.  But the Jazz would make the final result academic at the beginning of the period, trading baskets during the final 12 minutes.  Utah’s leading scorer was Mehmet Okur with 23 points (including 4 three-pointers), 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal while Ronnie Brewer added 21 with a rebound, 4 assists and 4 steals.

Memphis’ high scorer was O.J. Mayo with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal while Rudy Gay added 21 with 4 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and a blocked shot; Darrell Arthur pitched in, scoring 16 with 9 rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.  Utah (9-5) begins a 4-game homestand as they host the Chicago Bulls on Monday while Memphis (4-9) hosts the San Antonio Spurs - also on Monday.

Nov

22

Ill D-Wade Scores 38, Heat Scorches Pacers 109-100

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Truth be told, if Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade scores 38, that’s to be expected as he is capable of doing that at any given time.  But to score 38 and have the flu, that’s nearly unreal; if you’ve had the flu, then you know what I mean.  Saturday night’s game between the Heat and the Indiana Pacers at American Airlines Arena happened to be the place where Wade would score 38 points in helping Miami come back from 15 points down to defeat Indiana 109-100.

Marquis Daniels scored 10 points in the first quarter - the last 5 capping a 9-2 Indiana run over the final 2:54 of the period, after which the Pacers led 31-20; Indiana would lead by as many as 15 in the second quarter before going into halftime leading 60-48.  The third quarter would be markedly different as the Heat would erase their deficit; Michael Beasley would score 10 points in the period and Miami would clamp down their defense.  When the Heat would get to within one or 2 points, Daniels would pad the Pacers’ lead.

But Chris Quinn would hit a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the quarter to tie things up at 79 going into the final period.  At the 2:41 mark of the game, Danny Granger hit a 3 to get the Pacers to within 99-98, but the Heat would come up with a pair of steals that set up baskets on its next two possessions.  Both Wade and Udonis Haslem would score, putting Miami up by 5 with 1:45 and the Pacers would never get closer.

Miami was led by Wade with 38 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, a steal and 2 blocked shots while Shawn Marion added 18 with 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals; Beasley pitched in, scoring 17 with 6 rebounds and 2 assists while Haslem added 16 with 8 rebounds, an assist and a steal.  Indiana’s high scorer was Daniels with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal while Granger added 23 (with 4 three-pointers) with 2 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal but 6 turnovers; Troy Murphy grabbed 11 boards in a losing effort.  Miami (7-6) plays again on Monday when they host the Houston Rockets while Indiana (5-7) travels to Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Nov

22

Rose’s 11 Fourth Quarter Points Leads Bulls Past Warriors 115-110

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Both the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors hooked up at Oracle Arena Friday night in a matchup of teams for all intents and purposes are in rebuild mode.  Fortunately for Chicago, they have Derrick Rose; Rose scored 23 second-half points, leading the Bulls to a hard-fought 115-110 victory over the Warriors.  Both teams shot well throughout the game - Chicago at 51.1% while Golden State shot 49.4% while most of the other key stats were very identical.

The first half was a half of attrition with neither team holding a big lead, with Golden State holding a razor-thin 59-57 at halftime; the third quarter was close as well as both teams scored 28 each.  With the Warriors holding an 87-85 lead entering the fourth quarter, Rose would take over for the Bulls; after Golden State’s Andris Biedrins put back a missed shot to reduce Chicago’s lead to 107-104 with 2:26 remaining, Rose hit a jumper, silencing the home crowd. 

Rose would hit a jumper moments later but would leave the game with an apparent injury, colliding with the Warriors’ Corey Maggette with 1:13 left to go in the game; the Bulls would hang on for the win.  Chicago was led by Larry Hughes with 26 points (including five 3-pointers), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a blocked shot while Rose added 25 with 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals; Drew Gooden chipped in, scoring 18 with 16 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot.

Golden State’s leading scorer was Stephen Jackson with an impressive 32 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists but 8 turnovers while Maggette added 24 with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; Biedrins was solid, pouring in 23 with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a blocked shot.  Chicago (6-7) continues their 7-game road trip (thanks to the circus….literally - no joke) when they travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets Sunday while Golden State (5-7) embark on a 5-game road trip as they jet to Philadelphia to face the 76ers - also on Sunday.

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