Blazers 122, Bulls 98

Welcome to the NBA, Greg Oden.

After missing his first year due to injury, it appears Oden is finally finding his stride on the court. The big man contributed to the offense by scoring 24 points on 7-8 shooting. The Bulls did not have an answer for Oden nor LaMarcus Aldridge, who also scored 24. Both also combined for 25 rebounds, who basically had their way against Joakim Noah in the paint.

While the Bulls held it close in the 3rd, there was a single play that fired up the Blazers. Joakim Noah got hold of a pass and dunked on Oden. The Blazers didn’t seem to like that too much. After Noah got ejected with 5 minutes to go in the 4th, the Blazers took a 9-2 run to end any chance of a Chicago comeback.

Brandon Roy continued his dominance with 18 points, 7 assists and no turnovers. Andre Miller also had a decent game off the bench.

Personally, I’m happy to see Oden getting more involved in the potent offense of the Blazers. If he breaks out, this team will solidify itself as a contender in the powerful Western Conference. I just hope his confidence isn’t broken after Noah dunked on him. I’d be pretty down if I were him.

Lou Deng led all scorers for the Bulls with 25 points.

Stat of the Night – 50 points in the paint for the Blazers… that’s pretty impressive.

Elsewhere around the league…

Grizzlies 116, Kings 105

The Sacramento Kings lost their 3rd straight as the Memphis Grizzlies are starting to look like…well a pack of Grizzlies.

Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo combined for 44 points as Memphis shot an impressive 53 percent from the floor. It looks like this Memphis team is finally starting to have their young talent fuse into potentially a pretty decent team.

Despite Tyreke Evans holding his own for the Kings with 28 points, Sacramento was unable to capitalize on their late 4th quarter run.

Spurs 112, Bucks 98

Is this Brian Scalabrine version 2.0?

Matt Bonner certainly is making his case for the best red-head in the league. His 23 points off the bench, not to mention his 6-8 shooting from 3-point range helped lift the Spurs cool down the Bucks in San Antonio. Tim Duncan also chipped in 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs in the win.

It was an off night for one my new found favorite players in the league. Brandon Jennings was held to 12 points on 6-21 shooting. While the Bucks kept it close at half, the Spurs overpowered them at home on Bonner’s shooting to close the third quarter.

Clippers 91, T’Wolves 87

Thank you, Baron Davis. The Nets sure do need some company at the bottom.

Davis’ score with seconds left in the game helped preserve a win for the Los Angeles Clippers. After missing his first 9 shots, Davis managed to hit it when it counted the most. Al Thornton led all scorers with 31 points while chipping in 10 rebounds.

While Jonny Flynn looked great with 17 points and 5 assists, Minnesota needs to realize they can’t win games by scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter. Until they do, they can be happy they beat the Nets earlier this year. This team is young, however – if they keep all the talent around them, they will be a solid team in a few years.

Until next time,

-Duts