Mavs 110, Warriors 101

Despite this being a 9 point game in the end the Mavs didn’t really struggle.  They shot 53% for the game, made 19-21 free throws and had 32 team assists on 43 made shots (including 16 assists from JASON KIDD).  The Warriors are now on a 7 game losing streak and I strongly believe even if Monta Ellis drops 90 they will still lose.

This was almost the case tonight, Ellis dropped 46.  He missed 5 free throws which would have put him over the 50 point mark which The Ref predicted would happen in this past Sunday’s podcast.  Overall the Warriors were just outmatched; Maggette and Ellis combined for 66 points while the Mavs had Gooden, Marion, Howard, Dirk and Terry all drop at least 16 points as they improved to 31-18.

Clown of the game:  Stephen Curry.  He was just 1-6 with 0 rebounds, just 3 assists and 3 turnovers.

Jazz 118, Blazers 105

The Blazers are falling, and fast.  They are 4-6 in their last 10 and fell to 12-13 on the road.  The Blazers still remain 7 games over .500 but are now the 8th seed.  To me, it was only a matter of time before they fell out of the playoff race.  Does this loss mean they are done?  Absolutely not but unlike my counterparts who think the Suns won’t make the playoffs I believe the Blazers will not make and the Suns will.

Aldridge had a great game with 27-12 and Martel Webster added 20 of his own but it just wasn’t enough to hold off the Jazz who are playing awesome right now.  Okur had a season high 28 points as well as 8 rebounds and Deron Williams had 13 points, 13 assists and just 3 turnovers.  Kirilenko returned to old form with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists.  All this and they didn’t even have Boozer in the lineup!

Clown of the game:  Andre Miller.  The recent 52 point scorer went 3-13 with just 9 points.  That’s unacceptable especially when you best play, Roy, is out of the lineup.

Spurs 115, Kings 113

With an overabundance of PFs on the Kings someone tell me how Tyreke Evans was still the leading rebounder on the team with 7.  The only reason the Kings were in this game was because Evans was holding it down.  He dropped 32 points, had 8 dimes and 7 boards.

The Spurs on the other hand had a very balanced scoring attack.  Blair and Ginobili both came off the bench to drop 20 points as piece and starters Duncan and Hill had 22 and 23 points respectively.  If the Spurs can score like this without Parker maybe my NBA Championship prediction will come true.

Clown of the game: Kevin Martin.  He might be my clown of the year.  K-Mart is such a mush; he comes back and the Kings suck and he was 6-17 shooting on the night.

Suns 109, Nuggets 97

The Melo-less Nuggets didn’t really stand a chance even at home against the Suns tonight.  The Suns are now winners of 4 in a row and looking good out West.  The Nuggets dug themselves much deeper than a 12 point deficit and this game was a no-contest by the 3rd quarter.  Amare is trying to raise is stock value by snagging 17 boards and dropping 20 points.  Dare I say it, but there was a Robin Lopez sighting in Denver and he had 11-7 in just 17 minutes and is looking very impressive in that new starting role.

The new look Suns, with Dudley and Frye now coming off the bench are playing very well.  I really like this new lineup and they are going to surprise a lot of people out West including the Ref and Shooter who are Suns haters.  We will see where the last 30 games or so takes them, but I say at least the 6th seed in the Western Conference.

Lakers 99, Bobcats 97

As much as I like to root for the Lakers because of Pau, I really wanted the Bobcats to pull this one off.  I’m not sure that people are convinced yet that this is a good team and winning in LA would have been a nice statement game for the critics and other teams in the East. 

Despite Gerald Wallace sitting out with a tweaked hammy the Bobcats had a shot to tie the game with 9 seconds left.  Jackson was inbounding the ball and he tried to get it to Felton who was guarded by Farmar and for some stupid reason Jackson pump-faked it to Felton when he was open and when he finally did pass it to him Farmar poked the ball away!  It led to a break away layup for Farmar and the game was all but over.  A pointless 3-pointer was made at the end of the game to bring the final score within 2 points.

Clown of the game:  Kobe Bryant.  Yes KOBE!  He was 2-12 shooting with 5 points and his team almost lost to the Bobcats, but they didn’t which goes to show you how good they really are and why they are the favorites to win the NBA Championship, yet again.

Congratulations is in order to Phil Jackson who is now the all-time winningest coach in Lakers history passing Pat Riley.

-The Basher