Cavaliers 100, Thunder 99

In Cleveland, the anticipated battle of Kevin Durant and LeBron James did NOT disappoint on Saturday night. Of course though, the biggest shot of the game came from the supporting cast.

The Cavs held a 10-point halftime lead, but the Thunder battled back to take a lead in the fourth quarter. The game was back-and-forth throughout the last quarter with the big boys dueling.

After failing to extend the lead on one end in the final seconds, the entire Thunder roster paid too much attention to LeBron as he flew up the court, leaving Daniel ‘Boobie’ Gibson (replacing the injured Mo Williams) open for three. The Cavs took a two-point lead with that shot, and then LeBron saved the game with a swooping block on a strong drive to the basket by Durant. Ballgame.

So let’s review the matchup of the game – Durant vs. LeBron:

<———–      Kevin Durant

 34 Points, 10 Rebounds, 3 Assists

25 points or more in his last 18 games

 

LeBron James        ———–>

 37 Points, 9 Rebounds, 12 Assists

13 points in the fourth quarter

 

Magic 106, Bobcats 95 (OT)

It was NASCAR night in Charlotte, but it turns out the Magic were able to hit the brakes on the Bobcats’ nine-game winning streak.

After Stephen Jackson made a tear-drop two footer to tie the game with 1.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Orlando completely owned in the overtime period. They looked like the team that was full of potential after winning the East last season as they outscored Charlotte 14-3 on the road. Jameer Nelson led the way with six of his 21 points in the OT.

I think it’s funny how I view this as a really big win for the Magic, the reigning East champs, even though it was in Charlotte, but that’s how good the Bobcats have been at home.

Dwight Howard scored 10 points to go with his 20 rebounds and seven blocked shots. He had some competition with Bulls C Joakim Noah earlier in the season for Defensive Player of the Year, but now, Howard will win this award easily (and not just because of this one game).

Blazers 97, Pistons 93

This game was very boring, with the exception of a couple moments – which actually made the game pretty interesting.

In the third quarter, Rudy Fernandez drove to the basket and Charlie Villanueva decided to grab Fernandez to avoid him from making a shot attempt and swung him to the floor. Juwan Howard came flying in afterwards after taking exception to the hard foul and pushed Villanueva. No punches were thrown, no one left either bench, and there were no ejections. The result ended up being a flagrant 1 foul on Villanueva and nothing else, despite the subsequent melee.

The other interesting thing was the comeback by the Pistons in this game, but their lack of offense prevented them from taking the lead, or even tying it. Rodney Stuckey nearly hit a three-pointer to tie the game in the final seconds, but the shot rolled around the rim and out.

76ers 107, Pacers 97

Seriously, every Pacers and Sixers game is boring to me. And I don’t mean each time these two teams play each other, I literally mean every single game the Pacers or the Sixers play are BORING. Therefore, I don’t really want to say much about this game, so I will just continue my rant on Sixers G Allen Iverson making the All-Star team as a starter:

Iverson had what may have been his most complete game of the year. He only had 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, which isn’t really saying much for an All-Star starter. But that’s the way it’s going to be….

Heat 115, Kings 84

The Heat came into this game 1-6 in the second of back-to-backs – good thing they got to play the anti-road warrior Kings.

Dwyane Wade had 27pts, 8 asts, 4 rebs despite not even playing in the fourth quarter. Michael Beasley had a beast of a game with 21 points and 13 rebounds. This combo has been playing very well lately and it looks like the two of them will be completely responsible for the Heat making the playoffs. Of course, the rest of the team will be responsible for them going any further than that.

Believe it or not, the Heat have only played one game that was decided by under 10 points in their last nine games. Mama mia, that’s a lot of blowouts!

-Shooter