There are
really just two teams everyone is watching right now – the Utah Jazz and the LA
Lakers. A lot of people want to see Kobe’s super team drop the ball and miss
the dance, while a lot of people feel it would be a great addition to Kobe’s
legacy if the Lakers do make the Playoffs. With 7 games left between the two
clubs, things will, quite literally, go down to the last day. Oh, and Melo
remained superb today. Just saying.
Today’s Best:
- Carmelo Anthony continues to make good string music, scoring 36 points on 13-of-21 FG shooting while adding 8 rebounds and 6 assists to lead the Knicks to their 13th W in a row.
- How about Kobe scoring 23 of his 30 points in the fourth to stave off the upset challenge of the visiting Hornets. In the process, the Lakers snatched #8 from Utah, who lost to the Thunder.
- In a preview of the East’s 1-8 Playoff match-up, LeBron James had another day in the office – 28 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals in only 30 minutes of play. Oh can Stern just give him the MVP already?
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| Kobe Bryant reacts after swishing a shot in the pivotal fourth quarter against the Hornets. (image by Noah Graham/Getty Images) |
Today’s Worst:
- OKC won over the Jazz today, but they won’t be thanking Kevin Martin much for it. Martin 2-of-9 from the floor tonight, producing a measly 5 points and 1 rebound in 28 minutes of play. Why, yes, this is the guy for whom they traded James Harden.
- Speaking of Harden, the Beard led Houston over Phoenix today with 33 markers, but he did show one glaring weakness – taking care of the ball. Harden coughed the rock up 9 times in 44 minutes, certainly NOT a good sign as the Rockets will probably go up against the Thunder in the first round.
- With the absence of D-Rose, Nate Robinson has taken it upon himself to be the top scoring option from the outside. That, however, hasn’t worked out too well for the Bulls lately. In this game against the lowly Raptors, Robinson missed 15 of his 22 field goals. This was Chicago’s second straight defeat.
Final Score: Indiana 99, Cleveland 94
Indianapolis,
IN (Sports Network) - The Indiana Pacers were on the cusp of their third
straight blowout defeat and a nearly insurmountable climb to earn the Eastern
Conference's second seed. But then they woke up. And in a hurry. Paul George's
go-ahead 3-pointer with 29 seconds left lifted the Pacers to a 99-94 win over
the Cleveland Cavaliers. Indiana trailed by 20 points early in the fourth, but
a 17-0 run in the frame got the Pacers back in it. A bit later, George Hill's
three-point play in transition following a Lance Stephenson steal gave them
their first lead of the second half, 93-92, with 46.5 seconds left. Kyrie
Irving hit two free throws to put Cleveland back on top, but Hill drove and
found a George wide open in the left corner at the other end and he buried the
3-pointer to make it 96-94. Irving was called for a charge on the Cavs' next
touch and Jeff Pendergraph split a pair of free throws to keep it a
one-possession game. But Wayne Ellington missed a right wing triple and George
calmly sunk two free throws with six ticks remaining to seal the victory.
Final Score: Brooklyn 104, Philadelphia 83
Brooklyn, NY
(Sports Network) - Reggie Evans and Brook Lopez overpowered the Philadelphia
76ers in leading the Brooklyn Nets to a 104-83 victory Tuesday at the Barclay
Center. Evans tallied 17 points and 24 rebounds for Brooklyn, which also
received a monster double-double of 29 points and 11 boards from Lopez. Neither
of the Nets' big men played in the fourth quarter. Evans has now pulled down 20
rebounds or more in back-to-back games and an NBA leading nine times on the
season. Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and MarShon Brooks contributed 11 points
apiece in the win. The Nets now hold a three-game lead over Chicago for fourth
place in the Eastern Conference standings after the Bulls' lost to Toronto. The
victory was the third in four games for P.J. Carlesimo's squad. Nick Young and
Jrue Holiday scored 18 and 15 points, respectively, for Philadelphia. The
Sixers concluded their four-game road trip with only one win.
Final Score: Miami 94, Milwaukee 83
Miami, FL
(Sports Network) - LeBron James had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists
and led the Miami Heat to a 94-83 win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
Despite not having Dwyane Wade (ankle) and Chris Bosh (knee), James, who made
his second straight start after missing three games due to a tight hamstring,
still powered his team to victory. Norris Cole and Ray Allen scored 11 points
apiece off the bench and Udonis Haslem recorded a double-double with 10 points
and 15 rebounds. The win gives the Heat their 61st of the season, tying the
single-season franchise record set by the 1996-97 team. Miami has already
clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference standings and is four wins
ahead of the Spurs for the best record in the league with five games left on
the schedule. Brandon Jennings scored a game-high 30 points, but was the only
Milwaukee player to score double-digits. The Bucks have lost three of their
last four games. The Bucks have already clinched a playoff berth, but the loss
now puts them three games behind the Celtics for the seventh spot in the
Eastern Conference with five games left.
Final Score: New York 120, Washington 99
New York, NY
(Sports Network) - Carmelo Anthony continued his scorching play of late with 36
points, eight rebounds and six assists, as the New York Knicks won their 13th
straight contest with a 120-99 rout of the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night
at Madison Square Garden. Anthony, who entered the action 0.09 points per game
ahead of Kevin Durant for the lead in the NBA scoring race, shot 13-of-21 from
the floor and 3-of-4 from behind the arc as the Knicks clinched their first
Atlantic Division title since the 1993-94 season. Iman Shumpert added 18 points
on 7-of-10 from the field, while J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland each netted 17
off the bench. The Knicks matched a franchise record with 20 makes from 3-point
range
Final Score: Toronto 101, Chicago 98
Chicago, IL
(Sports Network) - DeMar DeRozan netted 20 points and Rudy Gay added 19 points
and six rebounds in the Toronto Raptors' 101-98 win over the short-handed
Chicago Bulls. Kyle Lowry finished with 13 points and 10 assists for the
Raptors, who have won three of their last four games. Jimmy Butler registered 28
points and seven boards for Chicago, which played without Joakim Noah, Luol
Deng and Taj Gibson. The Bulls fell three games behind the Brooklyn Nets for
the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and saw its lead for the No. 5 seed
trimmed to a half-game of the Atlanta Hawks.
Final Score: Houston 101, Phoenix 98
Houston, TX
(Sports Network) - James Harden shot a 3-pointer at the buzzer and it was
goaltended by Jermaine O'Neal, giving the Houston Rockets a 101-98 victory over
the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Harden scored 33 points, and while he was just
9-of-21 from the field, including 1-of-7 from behind the arc, he was 13-of-14
from the foul line while adding six rebounds and six assists Francisco Garcia
had 15 points while Jeremy Lin and Greg Smith scored 13 and 12 points,
respectively, in the victory, their fifth in the last six games. The Rockets
also officially clinched a playoff berth after the Utah Jazz lost to Oklahoma
City on Tuesday. They currently sit in seventh place in the Western Conference
standings, one game behind the Warriors with four games left on the schedule.
Luis Scola had a team-high 28 points and eight rebounds for the Suns, who have
lost 10 straight and 14 of their last 15 games. Goran Dragic registered a
double-double with 15 points and 10 assists while Markieff Morris had 11 points
and nine rebounds in the setback.
Final Score: Memphis 94, Charlotte 75
Memphis, TN
(Sports Network) - Mike Conley led the way with 20 points and seven assists as
the Memphis Grizzlies coasted to a 94-75 win over the Charlotte Bobcats at the
FedExForum. Conley went 8-of-13 from the floor for Memphis, which extended its
home winning streak to 13 games. The Grizzlies have not lost at FedExForum
since Feb. 5 and are 31-8 in their own arena on the season. Zach Randolph added
a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Jon Leuer chipped in 11
points off the bench in the victory. Kemba Walker paced the Bobcats with 19
points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field. The other four starters for
Charlotte combined to make only 13-of-41 of their field goal tries. Bismack
Biyombo led the visitors with 12 rebounds to mark his second-straight game with
10 boards or more. Mike Dunlap's team has now lost 13 road games in a row.
Final Score: Oklahoma City 90, Utah 80
Salt Lake
City, UT (Sports Network) - Kevin Durant just missed a triple-double with 21
points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, as the Oklahoma City Thunder dispatched
the Utah Jazz, 90-80, on Tuesday at EnergySolutions Arena. Russell Westbrook
contributed 25 points and Serge Ibaka had 16 with eight rebounds and five
blocks as the Thunder pulled within a half-game of idle San Antonio for the top
seed in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City, which was coming off a home loss
to the surging New York Knicks on Sunday, was able to move its Northwest
Division lead to 3 1/2 games ahead of Denver by recording a third straight road
win. The Lakers defeated New Orleans on Tuesday, which puts the Jazz a
half-game behind Los Angeles for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
Utah has just three games left on its schedule. Mo Williams scored 19 points,
Gordon Hayward had 17 and Al Jefferson finished with a 15-point, 11-rebound
double-double for the Jazz, who had won seven of eight coming in.
Final Score: Golden State 105, Minnesota 89
Oakland, CA
(Sports Network) - Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry both came up huge as the
Golden State Warriors secured their spot in the 2013 NBA Playoffs with a 105-89
victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Oracle Arena. Thompson poured in 30
points and Curry registered a double-double with 24 points and 10 assists in
the contest. David Lee posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 boards
while Harrison Barnes notched one of his own with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Golden State has not been to the postseason since the 2006-07 season. The
Warriors improved to 27-12 at home in front of Oracle Arena's 30th consecutive
sell out crowd. Chase Budinger paced the Timberwolves with 17 points off the
bench. Andre Kirilenko had 15 points, but Minnesota had trouble keeping up as
Ricky Rubio finished 0-of-10 from the field. Nikola Pekovic, who had averaged
25 points and 8.5 rebounds per game over his previous four outings, was limited
to five points and seven rebounds in the setback.
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| Klay Thompson came up big for the Warriors, who cemented a Playoff spot out West. (image by Kelly L. Cox/USA Today)) |
Final Score: LA Lakers 104, New Orleans 96
Los Angeles,
CA (Sports Network) - With his team's playoff hopes hanging in the balance,
Kobe Bryant launched late game heroics with 23 points in the fourth quarter,
lifting the Los Angeles Lakers to a 104-96 victory over the New Orleans Hornets
at Staples Center Bryant was just 2-for-7 before the start of the final frame,
but willed his club to a win that puts them back in eighth seed of the Western
Conference playoffs. The Lakers hold a one-half game lead over Utah, which lost
to Oklahoma City earlier Tuesday. Bryant finished with 30 points, six rebounds,
six assists and five steals, while Paul Gasol totaled 22 points and 11 rebounds
for Los Angeles, which was coming off a loss to the Clippers. The Lakers have
four games left on their schedule. Dwight Howard had 19 points and the Lakers
saw the return of Metta World Peace, who miraculously was ready to play just 13
days after surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. He
scored four points. New Orleans was led by 22 points from Eric Gordon. Rookie
Anthony Davis contributed 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets, losers in
nine of their last 10 road games.
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