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| Marquis Teague celebrates as the Wildcats reach the 2012 NCAA Final Four. (image by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) |
*Unless otherwise specified, all images are from the Associated Press.
"I think one game — Kentucky couldn't play in the NBA or anything like that — but one game at Rupp Arena, I wouldn't be surprised to see Kentucky win one game. Because you're gonna have five players off that team playing in the NBA, and probably playing significant roles in the NBA. And that's why I say that, for one game." – Kentucky Wildcats coach Gary Williams on whether the Cats can beat an NBA team.
Coach Williams must be dreaming.
Yes, the Wizards are bad. They have the second-worst record in the league. They’re bottom ten in terms of ppg, drpg, FT%, 3pt%, and FG%.
But for all their inherent inadequacies, they still are an NBA team, which means they still have some of the best basketball talents AROUND THE WORLD. And certainly, they SHOULD be able to handle the Kentucky Wildcats.
That’s not to say the Cats are bad. They’re plenty good. They’ve beaten four tough teams on their way to entering the Final Four as, arguably, the most favored five to win it all. After disposing of sixteenth-seeded West Kentucky in the first round, the Wildcats pummeled 8th seed Iowa St., 4th Indiana, and 3rd seed Baylor. All by double digits.
It has been an impressive run, but that neither makes them invincible, nor capable of beating even those lowly Wizards.
Anthony Davis is great, but I doubt he can handle an in-form Nene for 40 minutes.
Doron Lamb is dead-eye from three, but he’ll probably have his tongue wagging chasing after John Wall.
And though he’s a little too trigger-happy, I still think Jordan Crawford has the advantage over, say, Darius Miller or Marquis Teague.
Seeing the Wildcats tangle with Washington will be good TV. Good entertainment. Maybe on an absolutely improbable off-night for the Wiz, the Cats might steal one, but when it all comes together, this is still something the Wizards can take easily.
Now if Kentucky takes on the Charlotte Bobcats, then THAT might be a different story.
After the JUMP, March 28-29, 2012 stat-stuffers:
March 28, 2012 Game Recaps:
DET over CLE, 87-75
Tayshaun Prince had 29 points and 8 rebounds to help the Detroit Pistons take an 87-75 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brandon Knight posted 16 points and 5 assists while Jason Maxiell had 12 points and 9 rebounds for the Pistons, who have won their past two after dropping five straight.
MIN over CHA, 88-83
Kevin Love scored 40 points and pulled down 19 rebounds, as the Minnesota Timberwolves bested the lowly Charlotte Bobcats. Luke Ridnour posted a double-double of 15 points and 14 assists for the Timberwolves, who won for just the second time in their last eight road games. Corey Maggette had 22 points and rookie Kemba Walker scored 20 off the bench for Charlotte, which has dropped five in a row.
NYK over ORL, 108-86
Carmelo Anthony may have soreness in his groin, but he also had a spring in his step on Wednesday. With fellow stars Jeremy Lin and Amar'e Stoudemire out deep into the NBA playoff race, Anthony continued to step up, scoring 25 points, dishing out six assists and grabbing five rebounds as the Knicks routed the Magic. Iman Shumpert supplied 25 points while Steve Novak and J.R. Smith netted 16 and 12, respectively, off the bench for the Knicks, who swept a three-game homestand and have won eight of nine overall.
TOR over DEN, 105-96
Andrea Bargnani poured in 26 points to lead the Toronto Raptors over the Denver Nuggets. DeMar DeRozan tallied 17 points, Linas Kleiza chipped in 15 and Jose Calderon recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 assists to snap a two-game losing streak for the Raptors. Ty Lawson scored 26 points and handed out nine assists, Aaron Afflalo netted 15 points and Wilson Chandler added 13 points and eight rebounds as the Nuggets dropped to 1-3 on their seven-game road trek.
CHI over ATL, 98-77
Luol Deng scored 22 points, Carlos Boozer added 20 and nine rebounds, and Chicago continued its standard of excellence without Derrick Rose, besting the Hawks. Taj Gibson added a season-best 19 points to go along with six rebounds, while John Lucas and Joakim Noah added 10 points apiece for the Bulls, who won for the fifth time in six games despite missing Rose again with a right groin injury. Josh Smith led the Hawks with 19 points and seven boards, while Jeff Teague added 13 points and eight assists. Joe Johnson was a quiet 5-of-11 for 12 points in the loss, Atlanta's second straight.
BOS over UTA, 94-82
Kevin Garnett scored a game-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds as the Celtics downed the Jazz. Paul Pierce finished with 20 points, Brandon Bass tallied 19 and Rajon Rondo dished out 14 assists for Boston, which won its third straight and fifth of six overall. Gordon Hayward continued his strong rookie campaign with 19 points and seven boards while Al Jefferson went for 18 and 12 for Utah, which has dropped two of three after a six-game winning streak.
NJN over IND, 100-84
For the first time in over three years, the New Jersey Nets have beaten the Indiana Pacers. Deron Williams scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in a dominant fourth quarter, leading New Jersey. MarShon Brooks supplied 17 points, Gerald Green posted 14 points and Kris Humphries had 12 points with eight rebounds for the Nets, who snapped a 10- game losing streak to the Pacers. Paul George netted 22 points to pace Indiana, which was coming off Monday's 105-90 win against visiting Miami. Tyler Hansbrough contributed 13 points in defeat.
SAS over SAC, 117-112
Manu Ginobili led a balanced attack with 20 points off the bench, as San Antonio held off Sacramento. Kawhi Leonard added 19 points and nine rebounds, Tim Duncan chipped in with 18 points and eight rebounds and Stephen Jackson donated 13 points for the Spurs, who have won six straight games. Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with 28 points to go along with 10 assists and DeMarcus Cousins poured in 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Kings, who have dropped four straight.
NOH over GSW, 102-87
Marco Belinelli was one of three Hornets to tally 20-plus points, finishing with 22 to lead the Hornets victory over the Warriors. Carl Landry and Jarrett Jack poured in 20 points apiece for New Orleans, which had lost three of four coming into the game. David Lee led all scorers with 28 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists, while Klay Thompson netted 13 points and Dorell Wright tallied 12. Golden State has now dropped its last three contests.
LAC over PHX, 103-86
Blake Griffin had 27 points, 14 rebounds and five assists on Wednesday and the Clippers cruised past the Suns. Chris Paul added 15 points and 15 assists, Caron Butler scored 14 and DeAndre Jordan finished with 13 points. The Clippers have won five in a row at home and three straight overall. Marcin Gortat paced Phoenix with 23 points. Channing Frye added 16 and Steve Nash handed out 15 assists for the Suns, who have dropped four of their last six games.
March 29, 2012 Game Recaps:
IND over WAS, 93-89
Danny Granger scored 25 points as the Pacers grinded out a win over the Wizards. David West and George Hill contributed 14 points apiece for Indiana, which has won three of four and added another 1/2 game to its lead over idle Atlanta in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. The teams are tied in wins but the Hawks (30-22) have two more losses. It was a bounce-back game of sorts for the Pacers, currently seeded fifth in the East, after a flat performance in a loss to lowly New Jersey on Tuesday.
MIA over DAL, 106-85
LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Heat blew past the in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals. Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem contributed 16 points apiece while James, playing despite dislocating a finger on Monday against Indiana, handed out five assists and recorded two steals. Miami snapped a two-game skid in its return home from a three-game road swing. Dirk Nowitzki paced all scorers with 25 points, Lamar Odom finished with 12 and Vince Carter and Brandan Wright supplied 11 apiece for Dallas, which saw a two-game winning streak end.
POR over NOH, 99-93
LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Trail Blazers used a late run to down the Hornets. Luke Babbitt hit four three-pointers en route to a career- high 16 points, Wesley Matthews scored 18 and Nicolas Batum netted 14 for Portland, which has won two of three. Marco Belinelli tied his career-best with a 27-point performance and Carl Landry poured in 24 but it was not enough for New Orleans, which has dropped three of four.
OKC over LAL, 102-93
Russell Westbrook scored 36 points as the Thunder dominated the Lakers in the second half en route to a win at Staples Center. Westbrook had just one turnover and Kevin Durant added 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Western Conference-leading Thunder, who won their fifth straight game. Andrew Bynum, who was benched by coach Mike Brown for attempting an ill-advised three in Tuesday's win over Golden State, responded with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Kobe Bryant had 23 points on 7-of-25 shooting.
Super Scorers (Top scorers of the night!)
March 28: Kevin Love (MIN) – 40
March 29: Russell Westbrook (OKC) – 36
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| Russell Westbrook was on rapid-fire mode as the Thunder beat the Lakers. (image by Harry How/Getty Images) |
Ragin’ Rebounders (Top rebounders of the night!)
March 28: Kevin Love (MIN) – 19
March 29: Nene (WAS) & Andrew Bynum (LAL) – 13
Dynamic Dishers (Top playmakers of the night!)
March 28: Chris Paul (LAC) & Steve Nash (PHX) – 15
March 29: Raymond Felton (POR) – 10
Terrific Thieves (Top thieves of the night!)
March 28: A LOT with 3!!!
March 29: Mario Chalmers (MIA) & Paul Georgre (IND) – 4
Boomin’ Blockers (Top blockers of the night!)
March 28: Greg Stiemsma (BOS) & Ben Wallace (DET) – 4
March 29: Nazr Mohammed (OKC) & Andrew Bynum (LAL) – 4
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| Greg Stiemsma (L) goes up for one of his 4 blocked shots. |
Sharpshooters (Top 3-point shooters of the night!)
March 28: Luol Deng (CHI) – 5
March 29: Marco Belinelli (NOH) – 7
March 28, 2012 First Five
C – Kevin Garnett (BOS) – 23pts, 10rebs, 4asts, 2stls, 1blk
F – Blake Griffin (LAC) – 27pts, 14rebs, 5asts, 1stl, 1blk
F – Kevin Love (MIN) – 40pts, 19rebs, 4 treys, 4asts
G – Isaiah Thomas (SAC) – 28pts, 10asts, 4rebs, 3 treys, 1stl
G – Deron Williams (NJN) – 30pts, 9asts, 4 treys, 3rebs, 2stls
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| Blake Griffin "Mozgovs" Channing Frye! |
Honorable Mention:
David Lee (GSW) – 28pts, 7rebs, 5asts, 2blks, 1stl
Ty Lawson (DEN) – 26pts, 9asts, 4rebs, 2stls
Tayshaun Prince (DET) – 29pts, 8rebs, 4 treys, 3asts
Daily Zap:
March 29, 2012 First Five
C – Andrew Bynum (LAL) – 25pts, 13rebs, 4blks
F – LaMarcus Aldridge (POR) – 25pts, 12rebs, 5asts, 1stl
F – Kevin Durant (OKC) – 21pts, 11rebs, 5asts, 2blks
G – Danny Granger (IND) – 25pts, 7rebs, 3 treys, 2blks, 1ast
G – Russell Westbrook (OKC) – 36pts, 6asts, 2stls, 1reb
Honorable Mention:
Marco Belinelli (NOH) – 27pts, 7 treys, 3rebs, 3asts, 1blk
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) – 25pts, 6rebs, 3asts, 1stl, 1blk
LeBron James (MIA) – 19pts, 9rebs, 5asts, 2stls
Daily Zap:
Source: HoopNut.blogspot.com
*Game recaps were compiled and compressed from the Sports Network.
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