I wouldn’t
want to be either Tony Parker or Ty Lawson. Why, you ask? Simple – either one
will have to face Steph Curry in the first round of the Playoffs, and, the way
things look, Curry is out to spice up the postseason (see what happened there?)
with his insane handles and killer jumper.
Today’s Best:
- Curry’s torrid shooting carried the Warriors to a huge win over the Spurs. This means that, for now, the Warriors reclaim sixth spot in the West ladder and put Houston back down to seventh. Curry rattled in 35 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in a superb performance. Oh, and did you catch that sick move he put on Gary Neal? Damn.
- Don’t knock Ty Lawson down, however. The former Tar Heel knocked down a game-winning pull-up over Monta Ellis that deflated the Bucks and, more importantly, secured home court advantage for Denver in the first round.
- Now how about Kevin Durant? KD unloaded an all-around 29-7-8-1-2 line while shooting 10-of-16 from the field to lead the Thunder all the way to the Western Conference’s top overall seed. Don’t be mean, KD. Don’t be mean.
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| Steph Curry put on some sweet moves against the Spurs. (image by Jose Sanchez/AP) |
Today’s Worst:
- It’s kind of a good thing the Mavs won’t make the Playoffs because if they did make it, then we’d see more of OJ Mayo’s mediocrity. Against the Grizzlies, Mayo had 4 turnovers and shot 1-of-6 from the floor in 26 minutes. That’s money… wasted.
- The Bucks had a scintillating run in the fourth quarter against Denver, but they wouldn’t have had to do that if not for Brandon Jennings bricking on all but one of his 11 shot attempts.
- Ummm… this is not the way to go into the final game of the season against the Lakers, James Harden. I’m a huge fan of the Beard, but today its seems his shot was more of a mess than his grill. He shot just 5-of-18 from the field and 6-of-11 from the line. Kablooey.
Final Score: Charlotte 106, New York 95
Charlotte,
NC (Sports Network) - Kemba Walker registered a double-double with 23 points
and a career-high 13 assists and led the Charlotte Bobcats to a 106-95 win over
the New York Knicks on Monday. Gerald Henderson had a team- high 27 points,
while Bismack Biyombo and Josh McRoberts scored 10 points apiece, with Biyombo
also grabbing 11 boards, for the Bobcats, who have won two straight. Chris
Copeland had a career-high 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Knicks,
who have lost only twice over the last 17 games. Steve Novak tallied 17 points
and James White recorded 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists in defeat.
Final Score: Miami 96, Cleveland 95
Cleveland,
OH (Sports Network) - Norris Cole stripped Kyrie Irving on the final play of
the contest to help the Miami Heat secure a 96-95 victory over the Cleveland
Cavaliers in a hard-fought Eastern Conference bout at Quicken Loans Arena.
Cole, who played his collegiate basketball at Cleveland State, posted 16
points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in the win for Miami, which was without
Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem.
Rashard Lewis scored 19 points and James Jones added 14. Irving, Dion Waiters
and Tristan Thompson netted 16 points apiece for the Cavs, who finished 14-27
at home and dropped their fifth game in a row. Thompson also pulled down 13
boards. Irving finished 7-of-19 from the floor and Alonzo Gee chimed in with 13
points.
Final Score: Chicago 102, Orlando 84
Orlando, FL
(Sports Network) - Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng netted 22 and 18 points,
respectively, on a combined 19-of-26 from the floor to lead the Bulls to a
102-84 rout of the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Marco Belinelli had 16 points
while Kirk Hinrich added 14 and four assists for Chicago, which had lost four
of five entering Monday's action. Nate Robinson dished out seven assists off
the bench. Nikola Vucevic provided a spark for Orlando, tallying 17 points and
14 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end. Tobias Harris led the Magic
with 20 points and Maurice Harkless chipped in 16.
Final Score: Brooklyn 106, Washington 101
Brooklyn, NY
(Sports Network) - With three other Brooklyn Nets starters joining Deron
Williams in street clothes on Monday, it allowed some of the youngsters to take
center stage. And no one benefited more than Tornike Shengelia. The 21-year-old
Shengelia tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds in the Nets' 106-101 win over the
Washington Wizards. Shengelia, who had played just four minutes in 18 games all
season, got 25 minutes of playing time on Monday and his hustle provided the
spark needed for Brooklyn to overcome a 17-point, first-quarter deficit. Andray
Blatche tallied 20 points and 12 boards, while the only regular starter in the
lineup, Kris Humphries, recorded 20 points and nine rebounds for Brooklyn,
which is locked into the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. John Wall
registered 18 points, 12 assists and six rebounds for the Wizards, who have
dropped five consecutive contests.
Final Score: Detroit 109, Philadelphia 101
Auburn
Hills, MI (Sports Network) - Greg Monroe scored 27 points to go along with 16
rebounds and four assists and Will Bynum added 22 points and dished out six
helpers as the Detroit Pistons downed the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-101, Monday
at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Kyle Singler chipped in 16 points and five
rebounds, while Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton scored 12 and 10 points,
respectively, for the Pistons, who tied a season-high with their fourth
straight win. Dorell Wright had 22 points and Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes
each netted 13 points for the Sixers, who had a two-game winning streak come to
an end. Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young scored 14 and 11 points, respectively
in defeat.
Final Score: Memphis 103, Dallas 97
Dallas, TX
(Sports Network) - Jerryd Bayless tallied 19 points, four assists and four
steals off the bench in the Memphis Grizzlies' 103-97 win over the Dallas
Mavericks. Ed Davis added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who are
one game behind the Denver Nuggets for the third seed in the Western
Conference. Dirk Nowitzki netted 26 points to lead Dallas, which had won four
of its last five tilts coming in.
Final Score: Denver 112, Milwaukee 111
Milwaukee,
WI (Sports Network) - Ty Lawson's runner with 9.3 seconds remaining lifted the
Denver Nuggets to a 112-111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center
to clinch home-court advantage in the upcoming NBA playoffs. Monta Ellis, who
dropped a game-high 38 points on 14-of-25 from the field, put the Bucks up by
one with a four-point play with 14.2 left on the clock before Lawson came back
down and won it for Denver. J.J. Redick's 3-point try at the buzzer was off the
mark. Lawson paced Denver with 26 points and seven assists. Wilson Chandler
netted 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, Andre Iguodala stuffed the
stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds and seven helpers while JaVale McGee
corralled 17 rebounds off the bench. Redick hit four triples en route to 20
points off the bench for Milwaukee, which has already secured the eighth seed
in the Eastern Conference. John Henson went for 14 points, 15 rebounds and four
blocked shots while Ersan Ilyasova also contributed a double-double with 14
points and 10 boards.
Final Score: Utah 96, Minnesota 80
Minneapolis,
MN (Sports Network) - Al Jefferson had 22 points and eight rebounds and led the
Utah Jazz to a 96-80 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. Mo Williams
had 15 points and seven assists while Randy Foye tallied 14 points for the
Jazz, who have won four of their last five games. With the win, the Jazz are
one game behind the Lakers for the eighth and final spot in the Western
Conference playoffs. They need to win Wednesday's game at Memphis and hope that
the Lakers lose to Houston on Wednesday in order to get in. Utah holds the
tiebreaker over Los Angeles by virtue of winning the season series. Derrick
Williams scored 18 points for the Timberwolves, who were looking to finish over
.500 at the Target Center for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Dante
Cunningham and J.J. Barea scored 12 and 11 points off the bench, respectively.
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| Al Jefferson and the Jazz are still in the thick of the fight for a Playoff spot. (image by Jom Mone/AP) |
Final Score: Oklahoma City 104, Sacramento 95
Oklahoma
City, OK (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant finished with 29 points, eight assists
and seven rebounds to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-95 win over the
Sacramento Kings at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The victory gives Oklahoma City
home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. Russell
Westbrook provided 21 points and eight assists for the Thunder. Serge Ibaka had
14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the win. Isaiah Thomas paced the
Kings with 16 points, but he was the only starter to reach double figures.
Travis Outlaw tallied 15 points while Cole Aldrich posted a double-double with
12 points and 13 rebounds.
Final Score: Phoenix 119, Houston 112
Phoenix, AZ
(Sports Network) - The recently struggling Phoenix Suns certainly gave their
home crowd something to cheer about during fan appreciation night Monday as the
team stunned playoff bound Houston, 119-112 on Monday. Luis Scola scored 26
points and grabbed 15 rebounds against his former team, while Markieff Morris
padded the stat sheet with 20 points, seven rebounds, five steals and six
blocks for the Suns, who had found victory just once in their last 12 games and
had dropped 15 of 17 overall coming in. P.J. Tucker had 21 points and Wesley
Johnson scored 12 to go along with seven boards in the victory. Phoenix, which
currently sits at the bottom of the Western Conference and is already
guaranteed its second-worst record in franchise history, finishing ahead of
only the 16-66 mark in the team's expansion season of 1968-69, came out firing
from the start. Chandler Parsons scored 24 points, Jeremy Lin added 20 and
Carlos Delfino chipped in 23 for the Rockets, who have already clinched their
first postseason berth since 2009, but have lost two of their last three.
Houston can finish as high as sixth - the place they currently occupy. However,
Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers can still finish ahead of them in the
final playoff seedings.
Final Score: Golden State 116, San Antonio 106
Oakland, CA
(Sports Network) - Stephen Curry was unstoppable as he led the Golden State
Warriors to a 116-106 triumph over the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena. Curry
finished with 35 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Golden State,
which took over sole control of sixth place in the Western Conference
standings. The Warriors hold a one-game lead over Houston as they get set to
conclude their regular season at Portland on Wednesday. The Rockets own the
tiebreaker. Curry went 7-of-13 from beyond the arc in the contest. The Davidson
product needs just two more makes from 3-point range to break Ray Allen's NBA
record of 269 made 3-pointers set in the 2005-06 season. Klay Thompson added 23
points for Golden State, which received a double-double of 12 points and 11
rebounds from David Lee. Festus Ezeli pulled down a career-best 13 boards to go
along with three blocks. Gary Neal paced San Antonio with 25 points. Patty
Mills chipped in a season-high 23 points and Matt Bonner had 13. The Spurs, who
are locked into the second seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs,
were without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard for the contest.
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