Pistons 99, Wizards 90

The Detroit Pistons finally snapped their 13-game losing streak by beating the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.  Charlie Villanueva led the Pistons with 23 points (5-6 from three point range) and 9 rebounds off the bench in a game where the Pistons played without Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince.  Rip Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey both added 19 points in the winning effort.  Antawn Jamison led the Wizards once again with 31 points and 10 rebounds.  Randy Foye, who received the starting nod over Earl Boykins, had a solid game finishing with 20 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds.  The Pistons won for the first time in exactly a month, where they beat the Golden State Warriors on December 12, 104-95.

Bobcats 102, Rockets 94

Down 60-50 at halftime, Stephen Jackson saved his best basketball for the second half.  With Gerald Wallace struggling (9 points 8 rebounds), Stephen Jackson stepped it up by scoring a career high 43 points on 15 of 22 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free throw line.  Jackson scored 16 of his 43 in the fourth and the Bobcats outscored the Rockets 28 to 17 in the final frame, completing the comeback.  Boris Diaw also did his part in the win, finishing with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Trevor Ariza led the Rockets with 18 points and Luis Scola finished with a double-double (18 points and 11 rebounds).  This was a game of two halves where the Rockets scored 60 points in the first half, but only managed 34 points in the second.

Grizzlies 104, Clippers 102

Baron Davis’ tenth career triple-double was not enough as the Clippers fell to the Grizzlies 104 to 102.  Davis finished with 27 points, 12 assists, and 12 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan, starting in place of injured Chris Kaman, also had a solid night scoring 23 points and grabbing 7 rebounds in 37 minutes.  The Grizzlies continue to impress me with all five starters scoring in double figures.  The Grizz were paced by Marc Gasol’s (he also had 15 rebounds) and Rudy Gay’s 24 points a piece.  Zach Randolph, who has been playing like an All-Star all season, had 18 points and 8 rebounds in the win.  A strange moment in the game came in at the end of the third quarter when the FedEx Forum needed to be evacuated due to a water main break.  At the time the Clippers were up 12 points.  When play resumed, the Clippers could not find their rhythm and were outscored 27 to 13 the rest of the way.

-JB