Hawks 102, Rockets 95

Boy, those Hawks looked impressive. Not only did they snap a 10-game losing streak in Houston (it was Y2K mania last time they won), but also in dominating style. Atlanta kept a double-digit lead in the game until late in the fourth quarter, helped by a nice 21-3 run in the second quarter.

Most starting lineups in the NBA have 5 players. But honestly, Atlanta plays like they have 6 night in and night out. Another solid performance for my pick for 6th man of the year – Jamal Crawford. 17 points off the bench in 28 minutes is a better stat-line than most starters in the league this year.  Only if bench players could be named to the All-Star team…yet they almost let Tracy McGrady start…(sigh)

Josh Smith led with 22 points for the Hawks and Joe Johnson added 20 in the win. Both Smith and Horford were beasts above the rim, grabbing 10 rebounds apiece. Carl Landry let Houston with 16 points, and Aaron Brooks chipped in with 15. Not a great shooting night for the Rockets, who were 5-21 from three and only 39% from the field.

What kept Houston in the game was the foul shooting – they converted 24 of 30 attempts. I can at least appreciate the fact they shot 80 percent as a team from the charity stripe.

TRBL Moment – Al Horford had to leave the game, requiring stitches after heavy contact in the first quarter by Chuckie Hayes. Oddly enough, no foul was called. Apparently a laceration requiring stitches is a solid no-call in the NBA…maybe one of the ref’s bet the under on Houston fouls in the first quarter (they had zero). C’MON!

Hornets 98, Trail Blazers 97

Ah, heartbreak at the Rose Garden.

Especially between two teams wondering if they will make the playoffs this year.  Chris Paul put the dagger in this game with 4.2 seconds left to lift the Hornets past the Trailblazers. Jerryd Bayless almost answered to save Portland, but his shot rimmed out as time expired.

While the Hornets led most of the first half, the Blazers actually had an 8 point lead going down to the wire. New Orleans, led by Chris Paul, led the late 9 point surge to ultimately put the game away.

Paul finished with 24 points and 12 assists. Marcus Thornton complemented Paul by adding 19 points on 8-12 shooting. David West had 18 points despite a not-so-great shooting performance (4-13).

Portland saw more production out of their bench than their starters tonight – Juwan Howard led with 16 points and 7 rebounds, followed by strong performances by  Rudy Fernandez (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Bayless (12 points, 5 assists).

Nuggets 104, Bobcats 93

No Carmelo? Kenyon Martin ejected? Chris Andersen injured?  No problem, says Billups.

Chauncey Billups led the Nuggets to their 7th straight win over the Bobcats, who have been a hot team as of late. Billups led all scorers with 27 points and added 11 assists. But it was the players around him that played phenomenal tonight. Aaron Affalo scored 24 points, tying a career high for him. Joey Graham added 13 points filling in for ‘Melo. JR Smith also added 12 points off the bench.

Gerald Wallace (2o points in 46 minutes) and Stephen Jackson (22 points) led the way for the Bobcats.

Aside: You would think, JB, that with all these injuries Renaldo Balkman would have got some solid minutes…but he was a DNP.

Jazz 124, Suns 115

After being down 17 and giving up 45 points in the second quarter, the Jazz finally had the right beat going in the second half.

Utah went on a 12-0 run to end the third and completely shut down the Phoenix attack in the 4th quarter, suppressing them to 19 points for the period. Carlos Boozer led the charge tonight with 21 points and 20 rebounds in the win over Phoenix, who is slipping down the playoff standings at a rather violent pace.

We had two career high scoring performances from each team – Goran Dragic, who set his career high the previous night, broke it tonight with 32 points in the loss. For the Jazz, Wesley Matthews set a career high with 21 points, including 10 in the final period of play.

Congrats to Steve Nash, whose 15 assists surpassed the 8,000 assist mark. He also finished with 15 points.

INCRBL Stat – The Suns shot 17-30 (56%) from the three point line. Most contestants don’t even shoot that well in the NBA 3-Point shootout.

Until next time,
-Duts