Trail Blazers 107, Lakers 98

The Ref was right in two different situations regarding this game. First, the Trail Blazers have the potential to be a great team, and secondly, it will be very interesting to see how the Lakers play in road games, considering their favorable home scheduling to start the season. Portland got off to a solid start, and held of all of the Lakers charges to win this one. I’ve noticed lately that the Lakers either blow teams out, or amass large comebacks (featuring a Kobe buzzer beater) to knock teams off. Finally, a team had enough will power to hold the Lakers off. Kobe had 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, and the rest of the starters put up solid numbers. However, my biggest knock (if I could even have one) on the Lakers all year has been the play of thier bench. Tonight they had 10 total points. Now, I will note that Pau Gasol didn’t play, but at the same time, injury excuses don’t work against the Blazers. Brandon Roy had 32 points, while Jerryd Bayless had 21 off the pine.

Stat of the Night: The Lakers had 2 fast break points. Ha!

Heat 109, Suns 105

Jermaine O’Neal may not be the same player he once was, but in this game, he hit the go ahead basket, and suck 2 crucial free throws, to seal the deal for the Heat. Dwyane Wade had 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, while O’Neal had 13 points and 7 rebounds. Rafer Alston started this game, which was his first game for the Heat, since being waived by the Nets. The Suns had balanced scoring on the offensive end from their team, but they didn’t have enough to win it. Their chances at making the game close were also ruined by a silly Amare Stoudemire loose-ball foul, where the ball would have been recovered by one of his teammates. Alas, the Heat won a well deserved victory.

Stat of the Night: Grant Hill had 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Nuggets 99, Cavaliers 97

In one of the other podcast games, the Nuggets, without Carmelo Anthony, beat the Cavaliers. I’m very suprised by this outcome, but watching the game, I have to say that the Cavs looked scared down the stretch, while the Nuggets were fearless. Kenyon Martin’s bankshot two, and JR Smith’s super long three point basket, put the game out of reach. LeBron played a great game with 35 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists, in addition to the countless complaints he made about calls throughout the fourth quarter. This game also made me realize that Coach Mike Brown, just isn’t that good of a coach. He started Jawad Williams (who?) over Mo Williams, and Mo could never get into a rythym. When Mo scores, the Cavs win. He only had 11 points. Sigh. I know it sounds like the Cavs lost this game, but honestly, Denver outplayed them, and was the better team tonight.

Stat of the Night: 20 points for Nene including one of the most thunderous dunks I’ve seen this season.

Warriors 108, Kings 101

In a game rivaling the Pacers-Timberwolves game for “game I care about least,” the Warriors led by Monta Ellis’ 39 points and Corey Maggette’s 24 points took down the Timberwolves. The only other player who scored in the double digits for the Warriors was Stephen Curry with 12. Tryeke Evans led the Kings with 25 points and 6 assists, as he continues to have a stellar rookie campaign. The Kings did have control of this game, but they couldn’t find ways to score in the fourth quarter, scoring a mere 15 points.

Stat of the Night: 12 of Corey Maggette’s 24 points came from the free throw stripe.

-G