 |
| Kevin Durant makes the biggest play of the day by beating the buzzer to put the Thunder at 4-0. |
*All images are from the Associated Press.
For a while there, it seemed like Vince Carter had given Rick Carlisle and the defending champion Mavericks their first win of the young season. He hit a three over Kevin Durant with 1.4 ticks left after all. But if anyone can do one better, it’s Durant, who did just that by beating the buzzer, and the Mavs, with an awesome fade away jumper from beyond the arc. Talk about amazing. Durant was big time as early as two or three years ago, but this might be the year he enters the realm of legend. If he does, he’ll probably join Dwight Howard, who hauled 24 effin’ rebounds in Orlando’s win over the Nets. Pretty interesting match-up that one, since Big D might just be switching those two jerseys soon. One guy who switched jerseys last season was Raymond Felton, who led his Portland five to a win over his former team, the Nuggets. Meanwhile, the Lakers won one for the West coast, as they soundly trounced the Knicks despite Melo’s great offense. Speaking of offense, Houston and Chicago showcased their own potent offensive games in beating the Spurs and Kings respectively.
After the JUMP, key stat-stuffers for today’s games:
ORL over NJN, 94-78 – Howard’s monster of a game makes the Nets salivate even more, especially since they saw it firsthand.
OKC over DAL, 104-102 – Dirk’s double-double isn’t enough to give the Mavs win #1.
HOU over SAS, 105-85 – Kyle Lowry continues to impress as the Rockets get the better of their state rivals.
CHI over SAC, 108-98 – Boozer breaks out with a huge double-double! Don’t count on it happening often.
POR over DEN, 111-102 – Raymond Felton gets one over former teammate Ty Lawson.
LAL over NYK, 99-82 – West coast beats East coast in what turned out to be a rout!
Super Scorers (Top scorers of the night!)
Kevin Durant (OKC) – 30
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) – 29
Kobe Bryant (LAL) – 28
Carmelo Anthony (NYK) - 27
Ragin’ Rebounders (Top rebounders of the night!)
Dwight Howard (ORL) – 24
Carlos Boozer (CHI) – 15
DaJuan Blair (SAS), DeMarcus Cousins (SAC) & Marcus Camby (POR) - 12
 |
| Dwight Howard hauls down one of his 24 rebounds as the Magic disposed of the Nets. |
Dynamic Dishers (Top playmakers of the night!)
Jason Terry (DAL) & CJ Watson (CHI) – 9
Kyle Lowry (HOU), Derrick Rose (CHI) & Andre Miller (POR) - 8
Terrific Thieves (Top thieves of the night!)
Ty Lawson (DEN) – 8
Jason Kidd (DAL) - 5
 |
| Raymund Felton (L) and Ty Lawson (R) had a great match-up as the Blazers beat the Nuggets. |
Boomin’ Blockers (Top blockers of the night!)
Samuel Dalembert (HOU) & Nicolas Batum (POR) – 4
Dwight Howard (ORL), Serge Ibaka (OKC) & Marcus Camby (POR) - 3
 |
| Samuel Dalembert made an immediate impact for the Rockets with 4 blocked shots. |
Sharpshooters (Top 3-point shooters of the night!)
Wesley Matthews (POR) – 5
Kevin Martin (HOU), Jason Terry (DAL) & Marcus Thornton (SAC) - 4
 |
| Wesley Matthews has developed into one of the league's best shooters. |
Dec. 28, 2011 First Five
C – Dwight Howard (ORL) – 16pts, 24rebs, 3asts, 3stls & 3blks
F – Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) – 29pts, 10rebs, 4asts
F – Kevin Durant (OKC) – 30pts, 11rebs, 6asts, 3 triples, 2blks & 1stl
G – Kobe Bryant (LAL) – 28pts, 6asts, 4rebs, 1stl & 1blk
G – Ty Lawson (DEN) – 25pts, 8stls, 4rebs & 3asts
Honorable Mention:
Carmelo Anthony (NYK) – 27pts, 7rebs, 5asts & 1blk
Kyle Lowry (HOU) – 16pts, 9rebs, 8asts & 3stls
Raymond Felton (POR) – 23pts, 6asts & 5rebs
For a full summary of the day, here’s today’s NBA Daily Zap:
0 Comment