With Howard out indefinitely, Stan gets T’d up and Magic lose

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This had been a perfect season for Stan Van Gundy.

Well, check that.

In a lot of ways, it has been a nightmare season for the head coach of the Orlando Magic, who has been feuding with his trade-me, don’t-trade-me franchise center, living and dying by the 3-pointer and enduring a soap opera of a year that just keeps coming up with new twists and turns.

But through it all, Van Gundy had maintained enough cool to not be called for a single technical foul.

That was the part of Stan’s season that was perfect, but no more.

Van Gundy was T’d up for arguing a questionable offensive foul on Von Wafer as the Magic played another game without Howard, whose back spasms are now being called a herniated disk in the lower back that will sideline that NBA’s best center indefinitely. The diagnosis was made by Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles, where Howard flew earlier Friday for a second opinion. Howard is scheduled to fly back to Orlando today. Van Gundy says Howard was in pain following the team’s practice Thursday and the coach wasn’t optimistic he’ll be ready to play at Cleveland on Sunday or against Philadelphia on Monday even before his latest diagnosis.

The Magic entered Friday tied for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Atlanta, though the Hawks hold the head-to-head tiebreaker and took over sole possession of fifth with their 109-81 win.

From Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: ”Are you kidding me?” the Magic’s Glen Davis responded when he was told the news. ”It’s going to be tough without him next couple weeks. A herniated disk? That’s crazy. Dwight isn’t playing, everybody has to step up. Everybody.” The injury to Howard, the reigning three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the sport’s most dominant center, leaves a gaping void for the Magic. The Magic have lost four of the five games they have played without him this season, including Friday night’s 109-81 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks. Nowhere is Howard’s absence felt more than at the defensive end of the court. Opponents have shot over 50 percent from the field in four of the five games Howard has missed this season. Without Howard, the Magic struggle to defend the paint, and that deficiency produces a domino effect on other areas of the defense. If players overcompensate to defend drives to the hoop, then it leaves opportunities for opponents’ perimeter players to shoot 3-pointers. … Howard has said he started feeling back pain on March 30. In recent days, both he and Magic officials insisted that he had no structural damage to his back. On Thursday afternoon, after he participated in practice and the pain returned, he was asked specifically whether he had been assured there was no disk problem. ”There’s no disk problems,” he answered. But Howard was concerned enough that he and his agent, Dan Fegan, sought a second medical opinion. Those concerns led them to Watkins.

The Magic have now dropped to sixth place in the Eastern Conference, three games ahead of the Knicks (who had an easy home win) and the Sixers (who had an abysmal home loss).

In the West, the Suns have risen to ninth place, one game behind Houston and Denver (tied at 32-27), after Phoenix defeated Houston 112-105, the Nuggets lost to the Lakers 103-97, and the Jazz lost 96-85 at New Orleans to tumble to 10th.

The Suns victory gave them a split of the season series with Houston, leaving a potential tiebreaker between the two to come down to conference records. Phoenix is 21-20 against the West, and Houston is 21-21.

From Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic: Houston center Marcus Camby posted 10 points, 18 rebounds and four assists in the first half, but Camby did not have another rebound after that. Marcin Gortat nearly caught Camby, finishing with 15 rebounds and scoring 20 in a pick-and-roll frenzy. It was his fifth 20-point, 15-rebound game after he took the brunt of Gentry’s halftime rage for Camby’s first half. ”We were down four, not down 40,” Gortat said. “We just got yelled at. We came out harder. Let’s say the first half was just a warm-up. We came out prepared, and Houston relaxed a little bit. More important, the Suns caught the Rockets quickly in the third quarter. Gortat scored eight of the Suns’ first 18 third-quarter points to take the lead, and then the defense made it stand once Grant Hill entered the game as a reserve in his first game back from arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks ago. Houston trailed 69-67 before missing nine of its final 10 shots of the third quarter. The Suns took an 81-69 lead to the fourth when Hill made a jumper for his first points and Steve Nash hit a one-footed running jumper. The lead grew to as much as 16 with 5:46 to go.”

The Suns play five of their final seven games at home, but their slate includes matchups with the Spurs (twice), the Thunder, the Clippers and the Nuggets (who lead the season series 2-0).

In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks are still in the playoff picture after defeating Detroit 113-97 while the Sixers were suffering a 95-89 loss to the New Jersey Nets.

The Bucks are two games behind Philadelphia, which will play six of its final seven on the road. The biggest of those could come on the next-to-last night of the regular season when the teams, tied 1-1 in their season series, play at Milwaukee.

“I’m just at a loss, I really am,” Sixers coach Doug Collins said after his team shot just 1-for-10 on 3-pointers and surrendered 23 points to Gerald Green and 18 points and 14 rebounds to Kris Humphries.

Elsewhere in the NBA on a night with 12 games on the slate:

  • Dwyane Wade (ankle) sat out again but is expected to play Sunday in New York, and the Heat didn’t need him in crushing the Charlotte Bobcats 105-82. The Bobcats have lost 15 in a row. Miami improved to 11-1 in Wade’s absence, bouncing back from an overtime loss to the Bulls the previous night.
  • Andrew Bynum had 30 points and eight rebounds, Matt Barnes added a season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, and the Lakers clinched a playoff berth. The Lakers (38-22) have won three of four without Kobe Bryant while the NBA scoring leader rests his bruised shin. Los Angeles also played without coach Mike Brown, who left Staples Center shortly before tipoff for undisclosed personal reasons.
  • Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and nine rebounds, Delonte West added 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and Mavericks nearly lost a 24-point lead in a 97-94 win over Portland. Wes Mathews hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer to infuriate “The Picker,” who went 3-1-1.
  • Eric Gordon scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and New Orleans won its first game under prospective new owner Tom Benson, 96-85 over Utah. Chris Kaman added 19 points as the Hornets won for the third time in four games.
  • Baron Davis scored a season-high 18 points on his 33rd birthday, J.R. Smith had 23, and the Knicks routed the Washington Wizards 103-65 for their ninth straight home victory.
  • Durant led Oklahoma City with 29 points and nine rebounds, and Westbrook scored 22 — none more impressive than his right-handed jam that was the highlight of an 18-2 run just before halftime of a 115-89 victory over Sacramento.
  • DeMar DeRozan scored 13 of his 22 points in the third quarter and made four pivotal free throws down the stretch as the short-handed Toronto Raptors, playing without Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon, surprised the Boston Celtics 84-79.
  • George Hill had 15 points and seven assists to help the Indiana Pacers clinch a playoff spot by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-83. Indiana has won all three games Hill has started since Darren Collison was sidelined with an injury.
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Bulls beat Heat to clinch Central Division; Spurs beat Grizzlies behind Tim Duncan of old

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April is supposed to be the time of the NBA season when the best teams gear up for the playoffs and head into it playing their absolute best basketball.

The Heat must have missed that memo. And the Bulls’ starters, too.

With the NBA regular season slowly but surely winding down, two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference are heading into the postseason with plenty of uncertainty and several important questions to still resolve.

For the Chicago Bulls, the team with the best record in the league, it was another night of struggles for the oft-injured Derrick Rose and his equally fragile and supposed second scoring option in Richard Hamilton.

Will Rose, who had the lowest-scoring game of his career Thursday night in Chicago’s overtime victory over Miami, get to full strength and regain his touch before the playoffs?

Can he gel with Hamilton in time, and will they finally play more than five consecutive games together?

Can the bench continue to bail out the starters come playoff time?

This is a league dominated by stars and in order for the Bulls to win when it matters, the stars will have to show up.

In the meantime, they can enjoy yet another regular season victory that helped clinch their division.

From K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune: “The Bulls aren’t in the Finals yet, merely clinching their second straight Central Division title and ninth in franchise history Thursday night with a 96-86 overtime victory over the Heat at a raucous United Center. But they took a strong step to securing the No. 1 overall playoff seed and home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, moving four games ahead of the Heat — and three in the loss column — with just seven games remaining. And they did so with Rose failing to score in the first half for the first time in his professional career, scoring a career-low two points on 1-for-13 shooting and sitting down the stretch in favor of C.J. Watson. Carlos Boozer’s 19 points and 11 rebounds led a balanced effort that featured 17 points from Kyle Korver and 16 from Watson, whose 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left forced overtime. ”I’m not worried about my stats or anything,” Rose said. “I’m just trying to get my timing back before the playoffs start. Could I make up excuses? Yeah. But you know me; I’m not going to. My shot wasn’t falling. Shots I usually hit I wasn’t hitting. My teammates had my back. And I’m happy I have them on my team.”

For the Miami Heat,  now trailing Chicago by four games, they more or less relinquished any chance they may have had of overtaking the Bulls in the standings.

More importantly, the team has lost three of their last four games, all against teams peaking just in time for the playoffs.

Looking at the bigger picture, they have lost six of the last 11 games, and dropped the last eight of 11 games on the road.

Has the team gone into a state of boredom at the worst possible time?

Is Eric Spoelstra at a loss for answers as he tinkers with his lineup so late into the season?

The team has allowed an average of 102.6 points in its recent three losses, with two of them coming on their home floor.

That from a team that had previously lost two home games throughout the entire season.

From Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com: “There were plenty of fingers to point. James missed a free throw with 11 seconds left that could’ve made it a four-point game and ended it. It erased the drama of the 3-pointer he’d made to give the Heat the lead with less than a minutes to play. Wade missed a shot at the fourth-quarter buzzer and then both of his shots in overtime. Bosh missed two shots in overtime and had a costly turnover. Shane Battier, it appeared, was the guilty party that lost Watson on the tying 3-pointer when he and James mishandled a switch on a screen. But it wasn’t about a search for goats. It was about how the Bulls’ overall team depth had beaten the Heat’s star power. That is not how the Heat planned it to go and not something they simply can afford if these teams meet in the conference finals. If that matchup takes place, it is safe to assume that Rose will not be such a non-factor. It was a missed opportunity and a mental blow as the Heat now know they’d have to start the conference finals in Chicago and play a Game 7 there if it reaches such a point. ”We’ve got to trust our bench a little more, we’ve got to give those guys an opportunity,” said Wade, who had 21 points. “I thought [Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau] did a good job trusting those guys no matter what they did. He trusted them all to the end. … We need to give [the bench] some confidence. We’re going to need them.”

With Rose playing possibly the worst game of his career, this was a game the Heat should have won. LeBron James, once again, had the chance to be the hero after hitting a clutch 3-pointer to put his team up by two with 49.3 seconds remaining in the game, but missed a free throw that would have iced the game.

It marked the second time they suffered a defeat not to the likes of Rose, but reserves such as John Lucas III and, this time, C.J. Watson who tied the game with a 3-pointer to send it to overtime.

From Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: “With Rose watching from the bench, the Bulls outscored the Heat 12-2 in overtime… Rose played but a few minutes in the second half due to an ankle injury and finished with two points on 1 of 13 shooting from the field. In his place, the Bulls’ bench outscored the Heat’s reserves 47-7. The Heat is 13-10 since the All-Star break and just 1-8 since then on the road against teams in the playoff hunt… LeBron James was fighting back his emotions after the game, clearly shaken by the loss. “It hurts,” James said. “As a team, we felt like we played well. We gave ourselves a chance to win…but they pretty much dominated the overtime.”… James finished with 30 points on 11 of 24 shooting to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Wade had 21 points on 10 of 21 shooting. Bosh had 20 points and eight rebounds.”

A team that has very little to answer heading into the playoffs is the Spurs, who got back on track from a two-game skid against the red-hot Grizzlies.

An old Tim Duncan looked like the Tim Duncan of old, much like the old days when he was the franchise player that guided the team to four championships.

From Jeff McDonald of San Antonio Express-News: “Time after time, the Spurs came down the floor in the second half Thursday and pulled out a playbook page from their past. On five consecutive occasions during a rugged 107-97 victory over Memphis at the AT&T Center, the Spurs cleared out for Tim Duncan on the low block and let him go to work. The play is called “four down.” And Duncan could scarcely recall the last time he’d seen such a steady diet of it. “It’s been forever,” he said. “Since the old days.” Fueled in part by “four down,” Duncan matched a season high with 28 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added a pair of blocks for good measure, at times simply willing the Spurs to win over the Grizzlies and steering them clear of a three-game losing streak… This is the Duncan the Grizzlies did not see in last season’s playoffs. Playing on a chronically sore knee and recently sprained ankle, he averaged a meager 12.7 points and was often exposed defensively in the six-game series. He’s turned back the clock and Thursday, he flipped back the pages of the Spurs’ playbook. “He was a monster,” Popovich said.”

If Duncan is capable of turning back the clock to this magnitude, San Antonio may be the most dangerous team heading into the playoffs, especially with all of their players healthy and fresh, thanks to the tactics of Gregg Popovich.

Meanwhile, the Clippers finally solved the Timberwolves, winning for the first time in this season’s clashes between the teams.

Though Chris Paul was quiet after stealing the show in the previous game against the Thunder, Blake Griffin stepped up to help prevent a “letdown” game.

From Broderick Turner of Los Angeles Times: “For the first time in four games this season, the Clippers defeated the Timberwolves, 95-82, Thursday night at the Target Center. The Clippers got to within one game of the Lakers for third place in the Western Conference and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies for the fourth spot… Blake Griffin was the man this time, on defense and offense. Griffin had 19 points on nine-for-16 shooting, 13 rebounds and five assists. He also had one blocked shot and his usual variety of dunks off lobs. Perhaps more important, Griffin took two charges in the fourth quarter, both after he picked up his fourth foul… Caron Butler did his thing too, scoring 17 points on six-for-13 shooting. He was five for eight from three-point range, the five baskets tying his career high. Mo Williams, out the last 11 games because of a sprained left big toe, came back strong with 14 points and five assists. And then there were the defense and rebounding of DeAndre Jordan, who had 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.”

Already playing without two starters in Ricky Rubio (knee surgery) and Luke Ridnour (ankle), Minnesota also missed Kevin Love who sat out due to suffering a concussion and a strained neck in the previous game. Losers of eight straight, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Elsewhere…

  • Playing consecutive games against California’s worst teams helped Dallas get back on track as they followed a win against the Kings with another against the Warriors 112-103, moving them 1/2 game ahead of Denver and Houston for the sixth seed. Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 27 points, Jason Kidd narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and Brandan Wright and Jason Terry led four bench players in double figures with 16 points apiece.
  • Everyone in the league is picking on the Bobcats these days, and the Pistons were no different as they rolled past Charlotte 109-85 to snap a three-game losing skid. Greg Monroe had a game-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and four assists while Brandon Knight added 21 points and seven assists. The Bobcats have now lost 14 consecutive games. They will play the remainder of the season without the oft-injured Corey Maggette due to a strained Achilles.

James Park is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on twitter @nbatupark.

 

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Big stat nights for Bynum, Rondo; Big wins for Knicks, Jazz

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Shall the focus be on the individuals or the teams this morning?

Well, the individual part takes less explanation, so let’s start there: Andrew Bynum grabbed 30 rebounds, yes, 30, in San Antonio on Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Spurs 98-84 to become only the fifth visiting team to win at the At&T Center this season.

The 30 boards were the most in an NBA game this season, shattering the mark of 25 shared by Dwight Howard and Ersan Ilyasova.

Rajon Rondo had 20 assists, making for his 19th consecutive double-digit dime-drop, and the tired old Boston Celtics gritted out an 88-86 victory over the Atlanta Hawks one day after their impressive road victory at Miami.

This was a night that included not just the Spurs, but also the Thunder losing on their home court, which tightened the races at the top of the conference standings.

There is a three-team tie in the middle of the Eastern Conference race (Boston, Atlanta and Orlando are all 34-24) and at the bottom of the Western Conference race (Dallas, Houston and Denver are all 32-26), with the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns still on the outside looking in, much like the Milwaukee Bucks are in the East after their 111-107 loss to the New York Knicks deprived them of a chance to win the season series against the ‘Bockers and move into the No. 8 spot in the East.

The Knicks hold that No. 8 spot now, a game behind the Sixers. If the season ended now, New York would play the No. 1-ranked Chicago Bulls. But the season isn’t over, we still have two Bulls-Heat game in front of us (one tonight), and much remains to be determined before we get even a semi-clear picture of who might play who in the playoffs.

But as a fan, wouldn’t it be something to have another Knicks-Heat playoff series, just like the old days? I discussed that this morning on the Armando and Perk show in Miami. Click to listen.

Let’s start with the Lakers, who were without Kobe Bryant (sore shin) for the third straight game but still showed how much of an asset their size is going to be in the postseason if they go up against an opponent that can’t contain the Twin Towers of Bynum and Pau Gasol.

From Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: There was a moment, late in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 98-84 ransacking of the Spurs on Wednesday night, that told the tale. Pau Gasol missed an 8-footer, and he and Andrew Bynum spent the next 30 seconds trying — and trying again — to tap it back in. The Lakers didn’t get points on that trip, but it was their relentlessness — on the boards, in the paint, on the road and without star guard Kobe Bryant — that sent the Spurs sprawling to a meek defeat that ranked as their most lopsided at the AT&T Center this season. “They beat us to death,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “There’s nothing else you can say about it.” Given the way the Spurs ended last season — manhandled by Memphis in the first round of the playoffs — it was alarming to watch the Lakers’ muscular frontline lead the way to a 60-33 rebounding advantage. Bynum, the Lakers’ 7-foot center, had 16 points to go with a career-best 30 rebounds, and did everything but steal the Spurs’ milk money. Gasol, a fellow 7-footer, added a 21-point, 11-rebound line that paled next to Bynum’s field day. The Lakers (37-22) limited the Spurs (40-16) to one offensive rebound — on a Tony Parker putback with 7:33 left in the third quarter that was the All-Star point guard’s second and final field goal. L.A.’s ownership of the glass was doubly concerning, considering the aforementioned Grizzlies are headed to town tonight in hopes of handing the Spurs their first three-game losing streak.

Speaking of rebounding, nobody is worse at it than the Boston Celtics, who are ranked 30th in that category league-wide.

That made their 56-39 edge over the Hawks in that category particularly impressive.

Paul Pierce and Brandon Bass were the only players to make buckets for the Celtics in the extra period, but Atlanta managed just two points.

From Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: “It was their fourth game in five days and that dreaded night after perhaps their biggest road win of the year. The Celtics had been near perfect in Miami, and last night a lot of shots hit the front of the rim. Passes that seared the Heat were picked off by the Hawks like Mark Sanchez floaters. Foul trouble and weariness descended like a cloud, and the result was a win that may rival the Miami game in terms of sheer toughness. The Celtics, in their 88-86 overtime victory, beat an Atlanta team that had come in off three days of rest. They outrebounded the Hawks by a season-high 17 (56-39), and survived one of their worst turnover gorges (23 for 23 Atlanta points) of the season. In an overtime period marred by repeated whistles, and the departure of Kevin Garnett and Greg Stiemsma with disqualifications, the Celtics ground out their fourth straight win. But in all truth, that verb doesn’t begin to describe the grimy, ugly nature of last night’s game. “That was the worst game we’ve ever won,” said Doc Rivers, who sounds like he’s been holding onto that punch line since he first took over the program in the summer of 2003. But there was nothing ugly about the player who once again drove this game down the stretch. Rajon Rondo, with 10 points, 20 assists and 10 rebounds, produced his sixth triple double of the season and 19th of his career, 13 of those in the regular season. It was also his 19th straight double-digit assist game, placing Rondo 10 games behind the NBA record of 29 straight, set by Utah’s John Stockton in 1992. But even with Rondo’s mastery, the Celtics were in prime position to fall. Indeed, as Rivers readily agreed, this was a game the C’s would have lost prior to their rebirth at the All-Star break.”

Next we turn to Milwaukee, where the Knicks needed a win to tie the season series 2-2 and found themselves trailing by 8 points with under 9 minutes left. Carmelo Anthony drew a technical foul when he slammed the ball on the floor in frustration with 8:53 left in the game, saying later it was a reaction to hurting his fingers on the play.

But Brandon Jennings missed the foul shot and the Knicks used a scoring spurt to tie it at 99 on a 3-pointer by J.R. Smith. New York then took a 101-99 lead on a pair of free throws by Smith with 3:16 left, and Smith nailed a key 3-pointer for the lead with 1:04 left.

From Howard Beck of the New York Times: “Definitely the biggest shot I’ve made since I’ve been here so far,” Smith said softly. “Especially on the road, in this atmosphere. A team that we are batting for that eighth spot with. It’s big for us.”The victory kept the Knicks (30-28) from falling into an eighth-place tie and losing the season series tiebreaker. Instead, they emerged with a two-game lead over the Bucks (28-30) and firm control over their destiny as they navigate the final eight games of the regular season. Carmelo Anthony led the way with 32 points and 10 rebounds and hit a huge turnaround jumper down the stretch as the game tipped back and forth. But it was Smith who played the unlikely savior after Luc Mbah a Moute’s second-chance layup gave Milwaukee a 107-105 lead. Smith had been erratic, even by Smith’s standards, missing 8 of 12 shots up to that point, and committing several glaring errors. But Coach Mike Woodson stuck with him, then called a pick-and-roll for Smith and Anthony that created the winning shot. “I need J. R.,” Woodson said. “I’m a big believer in J. R. I told him that after the game. I’m in his corner and I’m going to do everything I can to see that he’s successful for this ball club. I think he has a talent and he showed it at the end of the game.” The Bucks disintegrated down the stretch, missing eight of their last 10 shots, including all five attempts after Smith’s 3-pointer.

So the Bucks are on the outside looking to get in, as are the Utah Jazz.

The difference is that the Jazz did exactly what the Knicks did — went out on the road and secured a must-win (despite missing five key players because of injuries) that kept them 1 1/2 games out of the eighth spot in the West by deheating Houston 103-91 to snap the Rockets’ four-game winning streak.

From Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune: “Who needs a roster filled with 15 healthy players? Who needs a big-name, flashy All-Star to finish off crucial games? Who needs experienced, proven veterans to carry them into the playoffs? Not the Jazz. Not when second-year small forward Gordon Hayward is playing out of his mind. Throwing down his best overall performance as a professional and pouring in the most meaningful statistics of his young career, the 22-year-old rising star was often untouchable Wednesday at Toyota Center. G-Man finished with a season- and game-high 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting, drilling four of five 3-pointers, hitting all seven of his free throws and adding in six assists and two steals. Utah (31-28) rode Hayward for 48 uncompromising minutes. The Jazz ripped the Houston Rockets, 103-91. And Utah again thrust itself back into the Western Conference playoff picture. ”The mentality now is we’ve just got to find ways to win,” Hayward said. “This was a huge win for us as a team, and I don’t think you can ever doubt the heart of our team.” Phoenix’s loss to Memphis was music to the team’s ears. The Jazz walked off the hardwood ninth in the West, 1.5 games behind Denver, Houston and Dallas, who are tied for sixth. Utah gained a potential playoff tiebreaker against the Rockets by winning the season series, the Jazz started a pivotal three-game road trip the right way and Utah captured back-to-back victories for the first time since March 22-23.

The Jazz are a half-game ahead of the 10th-place Suns because of that aforementioned loss to the Grizzlies, who rose Rudy Gay’s season-high 32 points to their fourth straight victory, 104-93. Memphis outscored the Suns 17-6 after Phoenix tied the game at 87-87 with 6:27 left.

From Ron Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Rudy Gay just smiles when he hears the question. Other people forget. But the Grizzlies’ forward has been reminded of never having appeared in the playoffs every step of his comeback journey this season. So when a reporter asks — like one did Wednesday night — if these final regular-season games feel like playoff basketball, Gay’s answer indicates part of this motivation. “I still haven’t had a taste,” Gay said. “I still feel like I’m trying to make the playoffs.” Barring injury or a major collapse by the Griz in their final nine games, Gay’s first crack at postseason hoops is little more than two weeks away. Gay made sure the Griz inched closer to clinching a playoff berth by tossing in a season-high 32 points in a 104-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns in FedExForum. Before a crowd of 15,239, Memphis won its fourth straight behind Gay’s efficient scoring and a 17-6 fourth-quarter run after the game was knotted at 87 with six minutes left. “He’s a heck of a player,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said of Gay. “I mean, if he’s shooting channeled jump shots and making them, there’s not anything you can do unless you want to put a 7-foot guy on him to try and block it.” Gay collected 17 points by halftime when the Griz led 59-53. He finished the game making 13 of 20 shots to go with seven rebounds and two steals. Gay buried jump shots in rhythm but he didn’t settle. He had an offensive rebound and put-back basket during the Grizzlies’ decisive run down the stretch.”

This roundup is running a little long, this morning, but we would be remiss if we did not give you a few more details of the Clippers’ victory at Oklahoma City, only the Thunder’s fifth home loss of the season.

Maybe those details will convince you of how worthy Chris Paul is of being mentioned in the MVP debate.

From Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times: “The media had formed a semi-circle around an exhausted-looking Chris Paul sitting inside the locker room, the group waiting for the All-Star guard to explain how he was able to be the ultimate closer again.Paul, with a towel wrapped around his waist, looked up at the gathering and uttered, “Whew! I’m tired.”
He had just scored nine of the last 11 Clippers points, 31 all total, having carried his team to a 100-98 victory over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. He scored the game-winning shot on a layup with 8.8 seconds left, played 36 minutes 48 seconds, turned the ball over just once, handed out four assists and grabbed six rebounds — good reasons for Paul to be tired. And after all he had done, the Clippers didn’t escape until Kevin Durant (22 points) missed a potential game-winning three-pointer and after Blake Griffin (16 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) tipped the rebound away as time expired. … So much of this was because of the way Paul took charge of the game after it was tied, 89-89.
That’s when Paul went on his run of scoring nine of the last 11 points. ”He has that competitive edge about everything,” Coach Vinny Del Negro said. “There’s a play that shows how competitive and tough he is when he split a defender, threw the ball off the glass and then tipped it in. That was a big tip-in for us. But his demeanor and his attitude and his approach obviously rubs off on guys. And tonight he was locked in.”

A few words on the night’s other five games:

  • Ty Lawson scored 24 points, including four free throws in the final 17.6 seconds, to help the Nuggets hold on after blowing a 24-point lead for a 113-107 win over the Timberwolves, who lost All-Star forward Kevin Love to a mild concussion in the first quarter. “Worst win of the year,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. Denver’s next seven games are against playoff contenders before they finish the season at Minnesota.
  • Danny Granger and George Hill made key 3-pointers in overtime, lifting Indiana to a 104-98 victory over Cleveland as the Pacers stayed No. 3 spot in the East, just ahead of Boston, Atlanta and Orlando in the standings. During pregame introductions, West got into a mock fight with Moondog, the Cavs’ floppy-eared mascot, who often interacts and teases opposing players. West accidentally struck the character in the mask, sending him to the hospital with an eye injury.
  • Thaddeus Young scored 17 points, new starting center Nikola Vucevic had 12 and the 76ers beat Toronto 93-75. Elton Brand scored 11 points and Andre Iguodala, Spencer Hawes and Louis Williams each had 10 as the 76ers avenged a 21-point home loss to Toronto last Wednesday, a game in which the Raptors held the Sixers to 22 points in the second half, and just seven points in the fourth quarter. This time, the 76ers blew the game open in the fourth quarter, outscoring Toronto 30-18. The Raptors went scoreless for 4:16 late in the game.
  • Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 34 points, Wesley Matthews had two baskets in the final minute and the Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors 118-110. An examination of LaMarcus Aldridge’s hip showed an “abnormality,” according to interim general manager Chad Buchanan. That could cause Portland to shut him down for the rest of the season and effectively end its faint playoff hopes. The Blazers are 4½ games back of Denver.
  • Jason Smith scored 22 points, hitting 10 of 12 shots, to lead New Orleans to a 105-96 victory over Sacramento, which has lost six in a row.

 

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Surging Celtics run past Heat; Knicks get “ripped” in Chicago

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Could the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat in a playoff series?

Well, they couldn’t a year ago, when they managed more than 91 points just once in five games and looked a tad long in the tooth.

If Boston was to beat Miami, it appeared it would have to find a way to stall LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in transition and make every game a walk-it-up, grind-it-out affair, where the Celtics excel and the Heat are not exactly comfortable.

The Celts did just that on April 1, limiting the Heat to a season low in a 91-72 home win. That appeared to be the formula, one Boston would have to concoct four times in a playoff series, including at least once in Miami, one of the toughest places to win in the NBA.

However, the Celtics may now have a backup plan – outgunning the Heat.

In Tuesday’s 115-107 win at Miami, Boston shot a staggering 61 percent from the field. The Celtics used an eight-man rotation, and the only player to make less than half his shots was none other than sharpshooter Ray Allen, who was 3-of-7 as he continues to come off the bench.

The Celts have gone from a team on the verge of being blown up to one that was too proud to miss the postseason to one that looks ready to do some serious damage in May – and perhaps June. Boston is 18-7 since the All-Star break and 4-2 during this seven-game death march that ends tonight at home vs. Atlanta.

From Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe: “The Celtics not only needed to prove to the basketball public, but perhaps themselves, that their recent stretch of impressive play was good enough to compete with the NBA’s elite. Last Thursday in Chicago, they had nothing to show their audience in a demoralizing loss to the Derrick Rose-less Bulls. Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena, they displayed much improvement. Facing a Heat team promising to atone for a 19-point beating April 1 at TD Garden, the Celtics countered every Miami run with a damaging one of their own, finally quieting LeBron James and his mates in a confidence-boosting 115-107 victory. While moving Avery Bradley into the starting lineup has sparked the Celtics, the rejuvenated Kevin Garnett has been just as critical to their recent success. With Boston holding a precarious 5-point lead with nine minutes left, and the announced sellout crowd screaming for the Heat to go on a run, Garnett (11-of-14 shooting, 24 points) looked vintage, delivering four consecutive midrange jumpers as he torched counterpart Chris Bosh. The 8-point surge gave the Celtics an 11-point lead and Garnett landed a finishing blow with another turnaround jumper with two minutes left for a 110-103 lead. The Celtics shot a blistering 60.6 percent, more than 5 points higher than the previous high against the Heat, who are fifth in the league in percentage allowed. A team that has struggled scoring all season suddenly couldn’t miss. A team that was considered too old and out of condition to compete in the Eastern Conference is suddenly trending again.”

The Celtics climbed back into the playoff picture with their defense. But with the offense now clicking as well as it has all season, battle-tested Boston could be a very dangerous playoff team.

From Peter Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com: “Coach Doc Rivers takes great pride in his team’s defense. He’s convinced it’s that side of the ball that will dictate the success of the Green. But that doesn’t mean the Celtics can’t get offensive from time to time. In a meeting of two of the league’s top defenses, the Celtics scorched the floor by connecting on a season-high 60.6 percent of their shots (43 of 71) while winning a track meet with the rival Miami Heat 115-107 on Tuesday night. “We finally got all our plays down,” Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo deadpanned about a much-maligned offense that entered Tuesday’s action ranked 29th in the league with an offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) of 100.6. In fact, all of the headlines about the Celtics’ recent resurgence seem to center around their defensive dominance, particularly how the team has thrived since shuffling Kevin Garnett to the center spot and moving Avery Bradley into the starting lineup in place of Ray Allen. Maybe the offense was a little jealous. The Celtics missed their first two shots Tuesday night but rarely missed consecutive attempts again. Boston shot 52.9 percent in the fourth quarter and that was far and away its worst frame of the night. As Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “None of us were expecting that, to give up 115 points on our home floor. That is not our style.” Don’t worry, Coach; it’s not Boston’s style either. But maybe that’s all the more reason for the rest of the Eastern Conference to be leery of the surging C’s.”

Meanwhile, this should be dismissed as another “doldrums” game for the Heat. Yes, they looked bored at times late last month, when they dropped visits to Oklahoma City and Indiana before being flattened in Boston. They have talked about getting back to that “deep, dark place.”

This was the ideal place to do it – national TV, revenge game, in front of the home crowd. And they got schooled.

From David J. Neal of the Miami Herald: “Two ways to look at the Heat’s 115-107 home loss to Boston — a team that looked doddering during a blowout Heat win in December and retro 2008 in dusting the Heat twice this month. One way is to consider it an anomaly. Boston’s 67 first half points were the most they’ve scored in any half and the most the Heat’s allowed in any half this season. Nobody from Boston seemed to miss. Not point guard Rajon Rondo. Not Kevin Garnett, who went 11 of 14 shooting with equal proficiency whether against Chris Bosh or air. When a fan hit a half court shot to win a Kia, you half expected him to plop himself down on the Celtic bench. Boston shot 58.9 percent in the third quarter. It was their worst shooting quarter of a game in which they shot 60.6 percent from the field. “They shoot like that, it’s going to be tough to beat them,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. … The other way to look at the loss is it was indicative of a team that’s 5-5 in their last 10 and on search for chemistry and consistency with the playoffs nigh. … “We’re being made to feel uncomfortable right now,” Spoelstra said. “That’s the residual of the last three weeks or so. And when you feel uncomfortable, the one silver lining out of it is our group, staff and players, are getting to know each other now on the level that is needed for us to prepare for the playoffs. We all know we have to take a big step forward as a basketball team.”

That step needs to be taken soon, with visits to Chicago on Thursday and New York on Sunday. There also is a home meeting with the Bulls on April 19 and a trip to Boston on April 24.

As for the Bulls, they also have stumbled a bit lately, dropping three of their last five games. Chicago got back on track with a 98-86 home win over the New York Knicks that again came without Derrick Rose but featured the return to prominence of backcourt mate Richard Hamilton.

From K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “One of Tom Thibodeau’s favorite sayings — “We have more than enough to win” — applies no matter the injury, no matter the circumstance. The Bulls’ 98-86 victory over the Knicks on Tuesday night at the United Center not only avenged Sunday’s difficult overtime loss but supported that theory once again. Playing without Derrick Rose and again using Richard Hamilton for only limited minutes, the Bulls received another strong effort from The Bench Mob to improve to 16-7 without the league’s reigning most valuable player. Hamilton’s 20 points led a balanced attack as 10 Bulls scored and they enjoyed ridiculous advantages of 51-33 on the boards and 25-5 on second-chance points. “We watched the film (of Sunday’s game) this morning during shootaround and it was such a downer,” Kyle Korver said. “We came out with a bad taste in our mouths and wanted to change that. I thought we played great, with a lot of energy.” Hamilton scored 18 points in the third quarter alone, playing the entire period. Though he didn’t return and again played just 20 minutes, he also finished with five assists. “Guys did a great job setting screens so I could get to my sweet spots,” Hamilton said. “I still missed easy shots that I normally make 90 percent of the time. But it’s coming together.”

The Bulls signed Hamilton in the offseason, believing his timely shooting would be the missing piece in their push for a championship. Thus far, Hamilton has pretty much been missing, sitting out 38 games with groin and shoulder injuries. His play Tuesday was what Chicago envisioned – alongside Rose, of course.

From Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com: “The best sign for the Bulls moving forward is that without Derrick Rose, Hamilton finally showed how dangerous he could be in short spurts. The Knicks could not slow him down in the third quarter, and he was able to open up the floor for the rest of his teammates. Tom Thibodeau has said over the past week that he would like to start getting more time for Hamilton on the floor, but he played just 20 minutes yet again. It will be interesting to see if and when Thibodeau decides to start sticking with the veteran shooting guard more. If he continues to play like he did on Tuesday night, and stays healthy, the Bulls are in good shape.”

The same cannot be said for the Knicks, who took a step back after stealing an overtime win from the Bulls on Sunday. They face their biggest game of the season Wednesday as they travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks, who are one game back in the race for the final playoff spot in the East. The winner will hold the tiebreaker.

From Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: “The Knicks’ setback doesn’t mean that they can’t catch the Celtics, although that’s looking like a long shot now. And it also doesn’t mean the Knicks are falling out of the playoff race and the Sixers are making it. But it does put more of an emphasis on their game Wednesday in Milwaukee, which is also vying for a playoff berth and is right on the Knicks’ tail. “It’s a must-win game for us,” said Tyson Chandler, after the Knicks were pounded on the glass. “We have to treat it like it’s Game 7 of a playoff series.” But that’s exactly how the Knicks should have treated this game. We understand, a lot of teams haven’t beaten the Bulls when Rose hasn’t been on the floor during his nightmare season. They’re now 16-7 without him, which is simply astounding. Still, when you’ve still got big plans for the playoffs and you don’t have to contend with one of the NBA’s premier players on his home floor, you’ve got to get the game. Somehow. Some way. “We struggled all night,” said Mike Woodson. “We didn’t flow into anything. That’s the first time I’ve seen that since I’ve been coaching this team. It was like everyone was trying to beat them by themselves.”

Elsewhere …

  • Sixers coach Doug Collins made good on his promise to shake up his lineup and got the results he wanted, a 107-88 road win over the Nets. Center Spencer Hawes was benched in favor of rookie Nikola Vucevic, who had five DNPs in the last 10 games. Hawes had 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes. Guard Evan Turner was benched for Jodie Meeks, but Turner scored just two points in 19 minutes. Philadelphia ended a four-game skid and moved one game in front of New York into seventh place in the East.
  • Dwight Howard sat out again with back spasms, and the Magic lost to the Wizards, 93-85. Howard has missed four of the last six games since purportedly being punched in the back by Dallas center Brendan Haywood, and Orlando is 1-3 in those games, with losses to Detroit and Washington. France’s Kevin Seraphin took full advantage of Howard’s absence with career highs of 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards.
  • In the only game involving Western Conference clubs, the host Mavericks handled the Kings, 110-100. Dallas had six players in double figures – none of them named Lamar Odom - as it inched into seventh in the West, a half-game behind Houston and a half-game ahead of Denver. The last defending champion to miss the playoffs was the 1999 Chicago Bulls.
  • When I mentioned in my column two Sundays ago that the Bobcats had to lose all of their remaining games to break the record for the worst single-season winning percentage, I didn’t realize that Michael Jordan’s team would take it as a challenge. Their 103-90 loss at Cleveland was their 13th in succession. Charlotte has 10 games remaining, including home contests vs. Detroit, New Orleans and Sacramento and a visit to Washington.
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Spurs lose to Jazz while three starters rest; Thunder beat Bucks; Grizzlies beat Clippers

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As the truncated season winds down, teams are jockeying for playoff positioning and home-court advantage.

One of those teams should be the San Antonio Spurs.

But coach Gregg Popovich is playing a different game.

Popovich, the silver-haired, long-tenured guru who is among the frontrunners for Coach of the Year Award, decided to sit out three of his top three players – Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili – for the second time this season.

The result was the same as the last time the Spurs had an 11-game winning streak:  They lost.

The last time, however, the Spurs weren’t in a dogfight for the best record in the conference, let alone a run at the best record in the league.

With a win against the Jazz, the Spurs could have stayed percentage points ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder and within one game of matching the Chicago Bulls for the best record in the league.

No dice.

Perhaps home court isn’t an issue for Popovich, who lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs last season despite having home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs after a 61-win regular season.

But Pop’s plan to rest players — even his best three all at once — was hatched before the season even started, and it was a no-brainer for the man who has coached the team for the past 16 years.

From Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express-News: “Ninety minutes before tipoff of what became his team’s first loss in 23 days, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich answered the question everyone inside EnergySolutions Arena couldn’t wait to ask: Which great Spurs had not been on the passenger manifest for the team’s flight that followed a victory over the Jazz at the AT&T Center on Sunday? After all, hadn’t the Spurs coach shown his hand about perhaps holding some players out of Monday’s rematch with the Jazz when he held two regulars out of Sunday’s game? With some drama, Popovich ticked off names: George Gervin hadn’t been on the plane, he said. David Robinson hadn’t traveled to Utah, either, the coach informed, unable to suppress a grin. Ultimately, Popovich admitted he had ordered his Big Three All-Stars — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker — to remain in San Antonio, perhaps to watch the telecast of the game with The Admiral and The Iceman. Without the Big Three, the Spurs fell to the Jazz 91-84 in a game long on physicality and bereft of artistry. The loss ended the Spurs’ stay atop the Western Conference after three days… Popovich blamed their absence Monday on a schedule that crammed too many games into the final few weeks of the season. “However you want to look at it, 13 games in 18 days or 16 games in 23 days or ending the season four in five nights, it’s just crazy,” Popovich said. “So I’ve got to do something about it. It just doesn’t make sense to have those guys playing four in five nights, anything like that.” The decision to go without the Big Three was made in December, not long after Popovich got his first look at the 66-game schedule the NBA decided to cram into 124 days after the end of the lockout. “It’s pretty much a no-brainer when you look at our schedule,” he said. “We tried to figure it out at the beginning of the season.” Popovich gave a hint that Monday’s back-to-back rematch would be the second game this season without the Big Three when he gave DeJuan Blair and Stephen Jackson the night off against the Jazz on Sunday. That meant 31 minutes for Duncan and Parker, 28 for Ginobili and banishment from the team flight.”

For the Jazz, who are fighting for their playoff lives as they trail the eighth-seeded Nuggets by 1 1/2 games, it was a much-needed and welcomed gift – even if some of the players wouldn’t admit to it.

From Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune: “The Jazz got a gift from San Antonio on Monday night, but they almost forgot to open it. Despite the fact Spurs’ stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were resting, Utah needed a fierce rally in the final nine minutes to score a 91-84 victory at EnergySolutions Arena. Devin Harris finished with 25 points, including 11 straight during the fourth-quarter comeback, to help the Jazz stay close in the Western Conference playoff race. ”We were a little flat,” coach Tyrone Corbin said. “But we toughed it out when we needed to.” Paul Millsap scored 18 points for Utah, including two on a thunderous rebound dunk with 43.6 seconds left that gave the Jazz an 88-82 lead. Millsap, still recovering from a bout with the stomach flu, saw Al Jefferson’s 17-footer bounce off the rim and soared for the critical putback despite a diminishing energy level. ”I jumped higher than I expected to,” he said. “I felt like I wasn’t going to make it at first. But I got there.” According to Millsap, the Jazz were motivated by San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich’s decision to play them without Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. None of Spurs’ Big Three even made the trip after their 114-104 win over Utah on Monday night in the first game of this home-and-home series. ”It’s kind of a slap in our face that they aren’t playing three of their top guys,” Millsap said. “We recognized it and I think that was the motivation that got us over the hump. That got us through, just thinking about that.”

Meanwhile, the Thunder took back sole possession of first place in the Western Conference while hurting the Bucks’ chances of making the postseason, as they now trail the Knicks and the Sixers by 1 1/2 games.

From Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: “The Thunder thumped Milwaukee, 109-89, inside the Bradley Center behind a total team effort that saw everyone play their role to near perfection and result in an almost flawlessly executed game plan… Size was the difference-maker. Oklahoma City’s length was simply too much for Milwaukee, as (Serge) Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins bullied the undersized Bucks on the boards at both ends while helping the Thunder block six shots in the opening frame. Ibaka and Perkins combined for 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and six blocked shots. “The first unit did a great job,” said James Harden. The work the big men did on the inside was complemented by rock-solid guard play from Sefolosha and Russell Westbrook. Sefolosha in particular gave the Bucks fits. He helped hold recently acquired Bucks guard Monta Ellis to nine points and seven assists on 3-for-12 shooting. It was Ellis who scored 48 points against the Thunder on Feb. 7 while still with Golden State. Sefolosha was forced to sit out that last meeting with Ellis as he nursed a foot injury that cost him 23 games. But the Thunder’s defensive stopper said he vividly remembers watching helplessly as Ellis lit up the scoreboard against his teammates. This time, Sefolosha was a pest with both on-ball pressure and in the passing lanes. He recorded a career-high seven steals to go along with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting while adding five rebounds and three assists. “Thabo was all over,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “He basically was like a one-man wrecking crew. He caused havoc on the entire defensive end of the floor.” Westbrook scored a game-high 26 points with seven rebounds and three assists, while dominating his individual matchup with Jennings (13 points on 12 shots) for much of the night. Kevin Durant, meanwhile, scored 19 points and handed out eight assists.

In another battle between two teams desperate for home-court advantage, the Grizzlies avoided a season series sweep against the Clippers.

The last time these two teams met, they were both going through the toughest stretch of their respective seasons.

The Clippers had lost nine of 14 games while the Grizzlies had lost six of eight.

Since then, both teams have gone on to win eight of their next 10 games. On Monday night, the Grizzlies showed they may be the hotter of the two teams.

From Broderick Turner of Los Angeles Times:  ”Chris Paul sat in his chair with ice packs on both knees and a towel wrapped around his body, lamenting his poor shooting and the Clippers’ lack of physical play when he grabbed his right arm, which began to shake. The pain registered on Paul’s face as he held the same elbow that he bruised six games ago, and yet he insisted, “I’ll be all right.”… The Clippers own the tiebreaker over Memphis because they won the season series, 2-1, but the defeat cut their lead to half a game over the Grizzlies for the fourth seeding in the Western Conference. And if the playoffs started now, the Clippers would face the physical Grizzlies in a first-round series that would begin at Staples Center. Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro was asked if his team would rather avoid Memphis in the opening round. ”I’m not looking at that right now,” Del Negro said. “We’ve got a lot of basketball left and things are going to change almost on a daily basis. So to worry about all that stuff right now … we’ve got to get in the playoffs. We’ve got to stay focused on what we can do and then all that stuff will take care of itself.” It seemed as if the Clippers could have avoided waiting until late in the game to exert the effort and energy they displayed when they got down big. ”They probably were a little more aggressive than us,” said Paul, who had 21 points on seven-for-17 shooting, one for four on three-pointers. “It was a physical game and if you’re physical from the jump ball like they were, then refs let it go.”

From Nikki Boertman of The Commercial Appeal: “Zach Randolph couldn’t make it to shootaround Monday morning because someone rammed into the back of his Dodge Challenger on Bill Morris Parkway. The Grizzlies’ power forward complained of minor back soreness but wasn’t seriously injured. That’s more than he could say for that Challenger given its rear end was smashed and all but detached. So Randolph cranked up a different set of wheels in order to make the Grizzlies’ 94-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers before 17,219 in FedExForum. “I drove my Rolls,” Randolph said, referring to his Rolls-Royce. Randolph’s mode of transportation almost seems symbolic of the way the Griz are playing these days. They enjoyed another smooth ride to victory with the luxury of balanced scoring and a defensive effort that put the brakes on the Clippers’ offense. Randolph notched his third straight double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) as six Grizzlies scored in double figures. Center Marc Gasol’s 18 points led Memphis to its third straight win overall, and fifth in a row at home. The Griz shot 50 percent but set the tone early by playing physical defense, crowding Clippers forward Blake Griffin and not allowing Chris Paul to freely toss a bunch of lob passes for easy scores. “It seemed like our crowd was waiting for something to happen,” Griz forward Rudy Gay said. “We knew if you let Chris get into a rhythm and throw alley oops its hard to stop them. But we punched first.””

Elsewhere…

  • With Kobe Bryant missing his second straight game due to a shin injury, the Lakers rallied to beat the Hornets 93-91. Pau Gasol led all scorers with 25 points along with nine rebounds and four assists, Andrew Bynum added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Ramon Sessions had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. Sessions had a highlight dunk over Chris Kaman and delivered the game-clinching 3-pointer in the victory. Eric Gordon missed the game due to lower back tightness and Jarrett Jack will reportedly miss the remainder of the season due to a stress fracture of the right foot. Carl Landry and Marco Belinelli scored 20 points apiece.
  • Announced player of the week, Goran Dragic – a soon to be unrestricted free agent – showed what the Blazers may be missing as he helped the Rockets defeat Portland 94-89. Dragic led the team with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and seven assists while Chase Budinger added 15 points off the bench. Kyle Lowry scored 13 points and came off the bench for the second straight game but played alongside Dragic for much of the fourth quarter. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 20 points. Houston won its fourth consecutive game, all on the road, and took sole possession of the sixth seed by moving a full game ahead of the Mavericks and the Nuggets.
  • Playing without Dwight Howard due to back spasms, the Magic easily dispatched the Pistons 119-89 for their second consecutive victory and avoided a season series sweep. The win kept them within one game of the third-seeded Pacers in the Eastern Conference. Jason Richardson led all five starters in double figures with 22 points including six 3-pointers, J.J. Redick added 20 points and four 3-pointers, and Glen Davis had another superb game as the starting center with 16 points, 16 rebounds and five assists. Tayshaun Prince  had 21 points and eight rebounds in the losing cause.
  • The Suns continued to fight for a playoff berth as they routed the reeling Timberwolves 114-90 for their fifth win in six games. The bench outscored the starters as Markieff Morris led the way with 21 points and Sebastian Telfair added 14 points and seven assists. Steve Nash had 14 points and five assists while Shannon Brown added 17 points and seven rebounds. Phoenix sits one game behind the Nuggets for the eighth seed of the Western Conference. Kevin Love had 25 points and 13 rebounds, but his team lost for the sixth straight time.
  • George Hill replaced Darren Collison, who missed the game due to a groin injury, and helped the Pacers hang on to beat the Raptors 103-98 for their fourth win in the last five games. Hill had 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Danny Granger added 18 points, and Paul George had 15 points. Toronto lost for the third straight game and played without Andrea Bargnani, who may be shut down for the season.
  • After suffering an embarrassing defeat to the Warriors two nights before, the Nuggets redeemed themselves with the most lopsided victory of the season as they beat Golden State 123-84. After having his worst game of the season as a starter with one point and four rebounds, rookie Kenneth Faried dominated with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting and 17 rebounds while limiting David Lee to 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting and a season-low three rebounds. Danilo Gallinari returned from a 10-game absence and had 15 points, five rebounds and six assists while Arron Afflalo added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
  • Despite being the second-worst team in the league, the Wizards proved they are still a class above the worst team in the league by beating the Bobcats 113-85, sweeping the season series. Jordan Crawford had 20 points and Roger Mason added 17 points, but it was a couple of 10-day contract players in James Singleton and Cartier Martin that helped put the game out of reach. Singleton – not to be confused with rookie Chris Singleton – had 18 points and 12 rebounds while Martin added 19 points, showing a new level of ineptitude of the Bobcats. Washington snapped a five-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 12 games. Charlotte has lost 12 consecutive games, inching closer to the worst winning percentage of all time.

James Park is a regular contributor to Sheridanhoops.com. Follow him on twitter @nbatupark.

 

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