Celtics 98, Blazers 95 (OT)

Shooters keep shooting. Take it from a ‘Shooter’.

Ray Allen started the game off missing 11 of 13 shots, but he hit a crucial three pointer to put Duts’ Celtics on top in overtime. So here are a few tips to remember when you recognize a player as a shooter:

1) A shooter will NEVER stop shooting.
2) A shooter is due to hit a big shot if he goes 40 minutes without hitting a flow.
3) If the shooter is Ray Allen, GUARD HIM CLOSELY (no matter how slow he starts).

I was following this game on the play-by-play logs and there was one moment from the end of the game where it felt like every exchange was from Ray Allen to Tony Allen*:

“Allen shoots the ball and hits a three. Allen with the rebound, passes to Allen, back to Allen. Allen fakes, throws to Allen, who passes to Allen for the layin. Assist to Allen!”

*True but exaggerated

Also, Kevin Garnett returned from injury simply to prove that he really deserved being the Eastern Conference starting forward at the All-Star Game in 3 weeks. Ok, maybe not for that reason, but he did return from a 10-game absence. He had 13 points and 4 rebounds in the win.

Lakers 115, Knicks 105

Kobe + The Garden = Anything can happen

If you remember, Kobe scored 61 points in his last visit to MSG. So what’d he do this time? Well, he only had five points at halftime, but he did finish the game with 27.

The Knicks entered the fourth quarter with a one point lead, but they could not stop the Lakers, and specifically Pau Gasol in the final period. He scored 10 points in the fourth as part of his 20, and 8 boards.

Despite the loss, I know one person who is definitely excited to see a certain Knick reserve in the lineup for seemingly the first time this year. Jordan Hill played 10 minutes, but had a huge hustle impact on the game, making JB truly proud. I know how pumped he is to see Hill come off the bench (finally!), even if that means Jonathan Bender has to sit.

Also, Bill Clinton was at the game to help raise money for those in Haiti. Leave it to Bubba to raise some dough for charity!

Magic 100, Kings 84

I’d like to apologize in advance for anyone who likes to get excited over the Kings. They scored 35 points in the fourth quarter, but they still lost the game by 16. How did they do this, you ask? They scored only 10 points in the second quarter and 17 in the third. OUCH!

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 19 points and 15 boards, but his most impressive stat of the night was shooting 11-12 from the free throw line! I guess that’s how the Magic could maintain a big lead. I mean, if Vince Carter is only going to take 7 shots and Howard hits over 90% of his free throws, the opposition really doesn’t stand a chance.

Crazy stat for Orlando: 12 guys got into the game. That’s insane! I don’t remember seeing a box score with all 12 guys getting in a game in a while.

Hawks 103, Bobcats 89

Man, the Bobcats just can’t win on the road. Imagine if they were just half decent. And by half decent, I don’t even mean win half their games. They are 3-16 on the road. If they were just 7-12 on the road (which is still very bad), they would be 5^th in the East! Can you ever in your wildest dreams imagine the Bobcats 5^th in the East?!???

Sixers 92, Mavericks 81

Honestly, I don’t have much to say about this game other than the fact that the Sixers should be congratulated for beating the Mavs (even if it’s at home). Yes, I’m congratulating an NBA team for beating another NBA team, mostly because Philly is that bad. Sorry G.

Of course, it certainly helps when Dirk the Jirk shoots 4-13. I guess he wasn’t much of a ‘Jirk’ tonight, was he G?

Raptors 101, Bucks 96

Three weeks into the season, I would have said the Bucks were a better team than the Raptors. Well, the Dinosaurs are back at .500. The scary thing about this game (especially for Milwaukee) is that Chris Bosh only scored 17 points and picked up 7 rebounds. Think about it, that’s the production that a role player would provide. As it turns out, an entire team of role players ended up contributing for the in.

Jarrett Jack had 27 points?!? WOW!

Heat 112, Wizards 88

Give the Wizkids some credit, they’ve had a whole lot more fight than anyone would expect from them, but the Heat burned all dreams of another win on Friday night.

D-Wade was a total stud. He dropped 32 points with 10 assists in the win. Shout out to Rafer Alston, who had 11pts, 9 asts. Maybe there’s a little impact there, haha.

When it comes to the Heat though, I came to a realization the other day. When a team is involved in a lot of blowouts (both wins and losses), they are NOT a good team. That is the case with the Heat, who are coming off a 30-point win and a 39-point loss. Then followed by a 24 point win on Friday.

-Shooter