Hornets 97, Thunder 92

The New Orleans Hornets continued to play well as they faced the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Chris Paul hit a driving lay-up with 11 seconds left to put the Hornets up 95 to 92.  The Thunder tried to answer back but Russell Westbrook’s three-pointer fell short.  Despite not having his best game shooting, Chris Paul finished with 14 points and 13 assists and David West played a solid game scoring 19 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.  Kevin Durant’s led all scorers with 27 points on seven of fifteen shooting and Jeff Green pitched in with 20 points on his own.  This win brought the struggling Hornets over the .5o0 mark for the first time all season.  They are starting to get hot and I would not want to play them right now.

Cavs 121, Wizards 98

In the midst of Gilbert Arenas getting suspended indefinitely on his 28th birthday due to his infamous gun “prank,” the Wizards were not able to keep up with LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers.  LeBron finished with 23 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds and Shaquille O’Neal scored 17 points in 17 minutes.  The real question after this game is, “What do the Wizards do now?”  They started Earl Boykins and Nick Young while Randy Foye played 29 minutes off the bench.  Boykins and Foye shot the ball well scoring 10 points and 18 points on a combined 13 of 19 shooting.  Nick Young struggled scoring 14 points on 5 of 18 shots.  All signs point to the Wizards blowing up this team by trading Antawn Jamison and/or Caron Butler before the trade dealine, but with young talent like Foye , Young, and Andray Blatche, they may have a chance to be successful down the road.

Raptors 108, Magic 103

After losing to the Pacers on NBAtv, the Magic dropped another game, this time to the surging Toronto Raptors.  The Raptors were able to reach the .500 mark (18-18) behind Chris Bosh’s and Andrea Bargani’s 18 points apiece.  Jarret Jack also played solid scoring 15 points and dishing out 7 assists.  The Magic were led by JJ Redick’s 22 points.  I still do not understand the Magic.  Dwight Howard scored 20 points on seven of ten shooting, but why in the world is JJ Redick taking more shot attempts (14) then he is?  If the Magic want to return to the finals the Howard has to touch the ball every time down the floor.  Vince Carter struggled again tonight (2-7) and if the Magic want to live and die by the three point shot (9-31 tonight for 29%), they are getting ready to face an uphill battle

Hawks 119, Nets 89

The Nets put up another stinker as they drop their thirty-second game of the year, losing to the Atlanta Hawks by thirty points.  Jamal Crawford scorched the Nets for 29 points off the bench and hit four of his seven three point attempts.  Joe Johnson also knocked down four three pointers and finished with 20 points of his own.  The Nets really played awful allowing the Hawks to shoot 57% from the field compared to their 42%.  Yi Jianlian led the Nets with 19 points and 11 rebounds, although a lot of his points came late in the game.  Brook Lopez had a quiet night scoring 12 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.  A note for the Nets: please do not let Jarvis Hayes take eleven shots in a game.  No matter how many he makes (he made only three tonight), that is not a formula for success.

Warriors 107, Timberwolves 101

Corey Maggette continued his monster play by scoring 28 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in a 107 to 101 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Monta Ellis did not  play so bad either scoring 20 points and recording 5 steals.  The Warriors were up 61 to 44 at halftime and were able to hold of the Timberwolves comeback in the second half.  Al Jefferson and Kevin Love both had monster nights for Minnesota.  Jefferson scored 26 points (10-14 shooting) and grabbed 14 rebounds.  Kevin Love, who has continued to impress me on a day in and day out basis, scored 23 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and had 6 assists.  One day the Timberwolves will have a chance to be an excellent team.

-JB