Nuggets 106, Spurs 99

The Nuggets want to go to the next level. The Spurs are already in that ‘next level’. With a win in San Antonio, the Nuggets are proving to be a team to be reckoned with every night.

This game had a playoff atmosphere that has nearly been unmatched so far in this young season. It’s great to see game of this intensity in early December!

The Nuggets trailed virtually the entire game, and heading into the fourth quarter down one point, the Nuggets picked up the big stops they needed and just kept scoring. Carmelo Anthony led the team in scoring with 34 points (on 14 of 27 shooting), along with 7 rebounds. Chauncey Billups had 18 points and five assists. The Nuggets have so many weapons and they showed up on Saturday night.

What I couldn’t understand was why the Spurs weren’t running more plays for Tim Duncan. He scored 26 points on 10-12 shooting, but he wasn’t getting the ball anywhere close to enough. Duncan was incredible; every time he had the ball within 7 feet of the basket, he was unstoppable. Keep giving the ball to Timmy!

Bobcats 106, 76ers 105

A week ago, the Bobcats looked like a team that would make a run towards making the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s history. After an embarrassing loss on Friday in NJ, Charlotte was able to prevent what could have been another embarrassing loss and instead came out with a one-point victory at home.

The Sixers were up by 10 with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game, but Raymond Felton led the charge back by scoring 9 of his 18 points in the final period. Felton is also responsible for scoring the game-winning basket with a layup with only 4.7 seconds left. How do you get a layup with about five seconds left? Terrible defense – which is what the Sixers provided on that play.

Looking at the stat line, I wonder how the Sixers could have lost this game. Willie Green scored 26, Andre Iguodala scored 22 with 11 rebounds and 7 assists, and Thaddeus Young dropped 17 with 11 rebounds. This is the final game before re-entering the Allen Iverson era in Philly, but stacking a stat sheet like this and losing their 9^th game in a row is not very promising.

Shooter of the Game: Boris Diaw. He hit a big three with 1:22 left to cut a four point lead to one. For the game he was 10-12 from the floor, including an incrbl 5-6 from three!

Raptors 110, Bulls 78

In Chicago, the Raptors completely took advantage of an uninspired Bulls team from the get-go. Toronto outscored Chicago 37-17 in route to a 32-point win on the road.

WOW. What a bad game by the Bulls. I own Nets season tickets, and I haven’t asked for a refund. But I wouldn’t blame Bulls fans to stop by the customer service window asking for their money back. After a discouraging loss last night in Cleveland, the Bulls looked completely lifeless in this game. Meanwhile, the Raptors, coming off a late-second OT win in DC, were a team on a mission from tipoff.

Shooter of the Game: Chris Bosh. It’s not normal for me to pick a big guy as the top shooter, but Bosh was 9-12 from the floor with a team-high 25 points. He was also 7-7 from the foul line.

Suns 115, Kings 107

It looked like the Kings would be able to pick up their 5^th straight win in impressive fashion on Phoenix, but that was before the Suns decided to show up and defend their home floor.

Steve Nash scored 32 points and had six assists – he had to sacrifice those assists to ensure his team won through his scoring. Amare Stoudemire stepped up for the Suns with 18 points and 21 rebounds. Phoenix has to be happy to be back home after consecutive road losses in New York and Cleveland.

Shooter of the Game: Channing Frye. The big guy shot 4-8 from three-point range for nearly all of his 15 points. Three of those three-pointers came in the fourth quarter to help the Suns come back and win. Clutch when it counts.

Timberwolves 108, Jazz 101

Not only will the T’Wolves not have many literal wins this season, but they won’t have many team wins either. That was not the case on Saturday in Minneapolis, as the Wolves came out and fought hard with one of the best teams in the West.

Seven total T’Wolves scored in double-figures for Minnesota, to help them pick up their third win of the season. Jonny Flynn shot well from the floor (7-12) with 16 points and four assists. Ryan Gomes added 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Al Jefferson put up 15 points, 11 boards as well.

Shooter of the Game: Kevin Love, who has leapt out of the gate in return from injury, has been a spark plug for the T’Wolves. He put up 18 points and 10 rebounds on 6-9 shooting, including 2-3 from three-point range – all off the bench!

-Shooter