Behind the Box Score
where New York is loud and proud
(Just three Cow-bros
chillin’.) New York 128
San Antonio 115 This wasn’t just pace
though the pace (97 possessions in the game) was brisk. New York wasn’t stopping San Antonio
and the Spurs weren’t stopping the Knicks. And the Spurs were stopped more often than the Knicks were. And while the Spurs didn’t like that
there didn’t appear to be much the Spurs could do to stop that. The end. A ridiculous 132 points per 100 possessions for New York in the win
as the Spurs were continually caught out of position and out of whack defensively. The effort wasn’t great
I submit
but this was also New York’s quickness and commitment offensively that pushed the Spurs into places that they didn’t want to end up in. And the San Antonio starters certainly didn’t want to end up on the bench with three minutes to go in a 10-point game
but that’s where Gregg Popovich put them. That’s where the Knicks sent them. Just six turnovers
all game
for New York. 55 percent shooting
as Wilson Chandler led the team with 31 points and nine rebounds. San Antonio’s own movement and interior finishing kept this game close
but 16 turnovers to the Knicks? And all those points? A strange
strange sight. *** Miami 101
Milwaukee 89 Your typical unrelenting effort from the Milwaukee Bucks
along with your typical terrible offense from the Milwaukee Bucks. The team attacked the basket offensively (shooting a very un-Milwaukee-like 34 free throw attempts in the game) and tried to keep up defensively
but the Heat just had more consistent answers offensively down the stretch. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 34 points
as Wade
James
and Chris Bosh combined for 35 of their own free throws (Miami shot 37 of the freebies overall)
while helping to slow Milwaukee offensively in the second half. This is a very
very talented basketball team
my friends. Milwaukee kept it close and had a second half lead
but the Heat are just too strong in too many areas to be messed with right now. *** Los Angeles Lakers 108
Detroit 83 Just over 94 points per 100 possessions for the Pistons in this loss
which is terrible for any team
much less one that appears to have been built as an offensive-minded outfit. The team missed 10 of 13 three-pointers and turned it over 16 times
and while the champs didn’t exactly turn their season around in this blowout win
they didn’t string enough great possessions together to make this a workable conquest. 16 points
nine rebounds
and four assists off the Lakers bench for Lamar Odom. Detroit’s Tracy McGrady looked pretty solid at point guard at times (14 points and six assists)
but he also turned the ball over six times. We’ll have more on the Lakers later today. *** Atlanta 108
Sacramento 102 When Atlanta was blowing out the Kings
this somehow felt like a closer game than it was. And then
when the Kings made a late rally to make things look respectable
the game felt more one-sided than the final score represented. Go figure. Good shootin’ for Atlanta
with Joe Johnson looking all put back together on his way to 28 points. Thirty-one points and seven dimes for Jamal Crawford
as the Kings just weren’t closing out. Even the big men were getting open perimeter looks throughout. Twenty-nine points
eight assists
and five steals for Tyreke Evans
but the guy seriously needs to cool it with the three-pointers until he learns to jump straight up on them. Nearly three a game for Evans this year
hitting just 28 percent along the way. *** Dallas 84
Portland 81 With all sorts of able bodies on the shelf
the Mavericks and Trail Blazers were pretty co-aligned in this game
with the possible exception of a 6-2 shooting guard in a headband that likes to make plane noises when he runs. Jason Terry took over
again
down the stretch of this game. He scored 12 of Dallas’ 22 fourth quarter points
had two assists and two rebounds during that frame
and generally put a team that was hurting for offense on his ba
ck. To be accurate
the Mavs were hurting partially because Terry had shot 3-11 over the first three quarters
but THIS IS NO MATTER OF YOURS AND WE SHAN’T REFER TO IT AGAIN. 10 points and 20 rebounds for Marcus Camby
who is quietly having a rebounding season (in terms of the amount of available boards he grabs while on the floor) that is on par with Kevin Love’s
and LaMarcus Aldridge continued the best stretch of his career with 28 points and 10 caroms. But the Blazers just couldn’t get anything consistent going on the perimeter
while making only 11 free throws all game. *** Memphis 110
Oklahoma City 105 The Grizz are rolling. They’re giving Zach Randolph the ball
thank you
Rudy Gay is continuing to play great all-around basketball
and Tony Allen just put the team over the top. Yep. It was scary
throughout
but Allen wobbled his way to 19 points in the start
while coming through with some astonishingly active defensive plays throughout that just aren’t picked up by his three steals and two blocks in the box score. And though he punched his way into the starting lineup
Allen was the straw in this particular drink
as the Grizzlies beat the Thunder in their own
active game. A good showing by the Thunder
save for Jeff Green who should be given his unconditional release after playing nearly 42 minutes at “power forward” while failing to bring in a single rebound. *** Chicago 111
Toronto 91 An embarrassing display for the Raptors over the last three quarters of this loss. The team had Chicago on its heels
as has been the case on and off for the last few years
with great spacing in the first quarter. But the Raps just didn’t want to move their feet defensively
Chicago kept attacking the rim
and the Chicago depth up front helped put Toronto away. It was a bounce-back game for Taj Gibson
who has struggled of late
with 16 points and 14 rebounds (six offensive) in just 25 minutes. Derrick Rose was slick and quick with 19 points and six dimes in under 30 minutes
and Luol Deng right-placed his way into 24 points. 13 points
seven rebounds
five blocks
and two assists in 20 minutes for Omer Asik
as well. Chicago just keeps coming at you.
US wins sixth Hopman Cup team title (AP)
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and John Isner beat Belgium’s Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans 6-1
6-3 in mixed doubles Saturday to give the United States its sixth Hopman Cup team tennis title. Isner evened the title contest 1-1 with a 6-3
6-4 win over Ruben Bemelmans after Henin won the final five games of her match to beat Mattek-Sands 7-6 (6)
6-3.
Greg Dulli doesn’t like Donald Sterling. Or Baron Davis
No one much likes Clippers owner Donald Sterling. That was the first line of Eric Freeman’s post on the miserable Clipper owner from Friday morning
and I almost feel as if every column and blog post regarding Donald Sterling
from here on out
should include this line as its opener. It would make it easier for David Stern to research
when he finally bothers to act like a proper commissioner and kick this piece of garbage to the curb.Greg Dulli
former lead singer of the Afghan Whigs and current Twilight Singers head man
doesn’t much care for the Clippers owner
or Baron Davis
either. From SPIN (via Pop Candy):You’re a big basketball fan. Where do you play?I play pick-up games at the YMCA. I was in a league for a couple years until I started getting worked over by the kids [laughs]. Actually
I went to the Clippers vs. Timberwolves game the other night with Mark Lanegan. We sat next to Donald Sterling
the owner of the Clippers who is this maligned guy in L.A. He’s known as the worst owner in sports — all sports [laughs]. We talked to him all night.What about?About what a rip off [point guard] Baron Davis is [laughs]. He’s lazy! He signed this big contract but never came to play! We also talked about how special [21-year-old power forward] Blake Griffin and [22-year-old shooting guard] Eric Gordon are now
and are going to continue to be. The
Clippers will probably get a good draft pick again this year and then they’ll have an excellent
young core. We were brutally honest with him. I’ve been a frustrated Clippers fan for over a decade and I let him know all my problems. But I forgot to get his number and so he could get us floor seats!It’s nice to add Dulli to the chorus
because he can really write a chorus
and it’s important that just about every dissenting voice (whether they want floor seats with the former singer from Screaming Trees) regarding Donald Sterling be heard.Along with Matt Moore.And Breene Murphy.And anyone else that wants to write a post or column on the subject of this man
whom nobody much likes
that we will dutifully link to because we don’t like Donald Sterling.
