Magic 83, Celtics 78

I think it’s safe to say that one team just wanted it more on Friday in Boston.

The Magic came out on a rampage on offense and defense as they held a 29-13 lead after the first quarter. Granted, the Celtics came back and returned the favor in the second quarter (27-14 Celtics advantage). But that’s not the point here. The Magic came into a hostile environment after having some road struggles this year and made a statement. You may have thought that the Celtics would come out and try to seek revenge for last year’s Eastern Conference semis loss to the Magic, but Orlando was just not having it.

Vince Carter took every single shot for the Magic in this game, just kidding. But seriously, he took 29 of Orlando’s 70 shots. He scored 26 points, with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Dwight Howard hardly did anything on offense (2-4 field goals, 9 points), but he grabbed 15 rebounds. Rashard Lewis is starting to feel it too, with 5-11 shooting, including 2-5 from three; he had 16 points, 10 rebounds.

Stat of the Game: Celtics Field Goals
2-point range – 30-87 (34%)
3-point range – 2-19 (10%)

Hawks 105, Rockets 103

Welcome to Atlanta where the players play – basketball players that is. The Atlanta Hawks are 11-2, and they hold the best record in the NBA. This team is learning how to win games, games that up for grabs, such as this one.

Despite sitting the bench for 11 minutes and 16 seconds of the 12 minutes fourth quarter, Josh Smith overcame his foul trouble for a huge put back with only 0.7 seconds remaining to give the Hawks their 7^th win in a row. This was an incredibly tight game all the way, and the Hawks moved to 7-0 at home on the season.

The thing that impresses me the most with the Hawks is that they’re young and they know they have the attention of the NBA, and yet they continue to win. Now, I know it’s early, but that’s a pretty good formula.

Shooter of the Game: Simple choice – Marvin Williams. In the midst of a season-high 29 points, Williams shot 13-19 from the floor and 3-5 from 3-point range. When I think of Marvin Williams, I never really think of a three-point shooter – but he is proving me wrong, and I like it.

Raptors 120, Heat 113

Looks like the Miami Heat have come back down to earth. After a 6-1 start to the season, the Heat have now lost 4 of 5 and three in a row to go down to 7-5. The Heat did show some heart though, as they nearly came back from a 20 point deficit. However, Chris Bosh and the Raptors were too much for the Heat in Toronto on Friday night.

Bosh led the Raptors with 29 points and 12 rebounds and Andrea Bargnani had 24 points, 10 rebounds in the win. It’s the second straight game that both players had a double-double. Toronto shot an amazing 57% from the floor, compared to the Heat shooting at 43%. The thing that almost did the Raptors in was 20 turnovers to the Heat’s seven. In the loss, the Heat were led by Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers led the Heat with 30 points.

Shooter of the Game: Jarrett Jack. Yes, Jarrett Jack! The backup point guard for Toronto 3-4 from beyond the arc to catapult himself to 17 points. And the oddest thing was the he got 31 minutes from the bench. C-c-c-crazy.

Cavaliers 105, Pacers 95

How do you offset an embarrassing 11 point third quarter in which you squander a five point halftime lead? Easy – you score 28 in the fourth and hold your opponent to only 13. That’s what the Cavs were able to pull of on Friday night in Indianapolis, as the LeBrons win their 9^th game of the year.

Have a problem with me calling them the LeBrons? Well, Mr. James had 40 points to go with his 9 rebounds and 7 assists to lead his team to victory. BOOYAH. I’m not a big LeBron fan, but that’s showing up in a road game that could go bad.

Non-shooter of the Game: Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I’m not trying to be mean, but I had to share this because I was utterly shocked. But Big Z went 1-12 from the field on Friday, in what has to be the worst shooting performance of his career. I’ve never hated Ilgauskas, so I am really concerned that something is wrong there.

Good defense Sammy

Grizzlies 102, 76ers 97

It was the Rudy Gay show in Philadelphia, as the Grizzlies were able to pick up their first road win of the year on Friday night. Gay led the Griz with 33 points and he picked up a huge jumper with 19 seconds left to put his team up by five and put the game away.

In the category of building trade value, Zach Randolph contributed 21 points and 11 rebounds for the boy from Memphis. The team has won three straight games, which is their longest November winning streak since 2005 – not too many good starts from this club.

Shooter of the Game: In the loss, Lou Williams was able to go 12-16 overall and 4-7 from beyond the arc as part of his 31 points. That’s some big time shooting there, and this guy is really just heating up. I think he understands his role on this team – SCORING!

-Shooter