Friday night’s game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings was one that was anticipated to be one of the more exciting games on the NBA schedule as the two top rookies this season, Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans, were set to do battle on the hardwood.

As it would turn out, Jennings would win the battle easily. The game itself was more hotly contested, however, as both teams went to two overtimes before Milwaukee managed to hold off Sacramento 114-108 at Arco Arena.

The Kings not only lost the game, but also lost Evans late in the fourth quarter as he was hit in the mouth on a loose-ball situation and may have suffered a concussion, as a result.

The battle of the rookies was definitely won by Jennings in the first half as he made five 3-pointers and scored 22 points for the Bucks, who led 49-48 at the intermission.

The Bucks’ Ersan Ilyasova sent the game into overtime, making a long 3-pointer to tie the game at 95 with 6.4 seconds left in regulation; the Kings wasted a nine-point lead in the final 2:26.

In the first overtime, Jennings missed a jumper in the closing seconds that would have won the game; neither team scored in the final 59 seconds and went into the second overtime tied at 101. The Bucks would score the first five points of the second overtime and would never trail from that point on.

Jennings led all Bucks scorers with 35 points (including eight treys), 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals while John Salmons chipped in 27 (including three 3-pointers) with 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal; Andrew Bogut added 21 with 11 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

The Kings were led by Beno Udrih with 26 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals while Carl Landry and Spencer Hawes added 16 each – with Landry grabbing 2 rebounds and dishing out an assist while Hawes grabbed 8 boards, dished out 6 assists, along with 2 blocks; Evans chipped in 15 with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Milwaukee (37-30) plays again on Saturday when they fly to Denver to take on the Nuggets while Sacramento (23-46) jets south to Los Angeles to face the Clippers Sunday afternoon.

The Boston Celtics went back to basics Friday night as they defeated the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center 94-87. They relied on the offensive output of the “New Big Three” and used stifling defense holding the Rockets to just 39.5%  (30-76) from the floor for the game. Paul Pierce led all players dropping 26 points in the Celtics victory while Kevin Martin and Luis Scola led Houston as each scored 17 points. Boston won their third straight game and are 7-3 in their last 10 while the loss snapped a four game winning streak for the Rockets.

The Celtics were never far enough ahead to take Houston out of the game; but except for a brief tie in the third quarter Houston trailed though the game after the first. The Celtics would hold the advantage as the first quarter came to an end on top 28-24. Boston would head into the locker room as the game reached the half leading the Rockets by a score of 50-41.

Trevor Ariza buried a trey from 25 feet out with 7:54 left in the third and the score was deadlocked at 52-52. However that would be closest Houston would be for the balance of the game as the Celtics would out-score the Rockets 20-10 for the rest of the quarter and would lead heading into the fourth 72-62. Houston would never get any closer than trailing by 7 points in the fourth quarter.

Paul Pierce scored 26 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. Ray Allen put up 19 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal while Kevin Garnett added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Luis Scola had a double-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists while Kevin Martin also had 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 rebound. Jordan Hill scored 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks while Trevor Ariza also had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Aaron Brooks added 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Boston improves to 44-24 and will next play Saturday as they stay in the Lone Star State to take on the Mavericks in Dallas while Houston is now 35-32 and will play Sunday in New York as they face the Knicks.

© Copyright 2010 thesackattack

The Oklahoma City Thunder visited the Great White North – Toronto specifically – to take on the Raptors at Air Canada Centre Friday night. And for 43:14, the Thunder dominated the Raptors in just every way possible.

Kevin Durant was the ringmaster of this game as he scored 23 first-half points and making many trips to the free-throw line (17 of 18 made). Oklahoma City’s 33 trips to the charity stripe was the key as they embarrassed Toronto 115-89.

Durant scored 23 first-half points to help the Thunder take a sizable 71-44 lead and would stretch their advantage in the second half to 34 on a Jeff Green three-pointer. And as one would expect when the home team is getting schooled on their court, the fans booed the Raptors loudly.

The victory was the Thunder’s sixth in their last seven while Toronto has lost 10 of their last 12 games.

Durant led the Thunder with 31 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists while Green poured in 25 (including four 3-pointers) with 7 rebounds and a steal; Kyle Weaver, recently called up from Tulsa of the NBA D-League, added 12 (including 4 treys) with 3 rebounds, an assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks while Russell Westbrook earned a double-double, scoring 11 with 10 assists.

Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 22 points, 10 rebounds and a block while Andrea Bargnani chipped in 15 with 4 rebounds; Marco Belinelli added 12 with an assist.

Oklahoma City (42-25) plays again on Sunday when they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers while Toronto (33-34) goes east to New Jersey to face the Nets Saturday night.

LeBron James recorded a double-double including a game high 29 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Chicago Bulls Friday at the United Center by a final score of 92-85. Cleveland held the Bulls to just 39.3% (33-84) from the floor for the game as they were led by Taj Gibson who also had a double-double and scored 20 points in the losing effort. It was the tenth consecutive loss by Chicago while the Cavaliers have now won six straight and are 9-1 in their last 10 games.

James hit a shot at the line with 14 seconds to play in the first and the Cavaliers would hold a razor thin lead of 29-28 at the end of the quarter. Cleveland would be able to add some cushion to their advantage in the second and they would head into the locker room on top at the half 54-46.

Chicago would close to within 2 points of the Cavaliers as Flip Murray drained a 24 foot trey with 1:43 remaining in the third making it a 67-65 game. However Jawad Williams knocked down an outside jumper to give Cleveland a 69-65 advantage at the end of the period. The two opponents would trade the lead back and forth for most of the fourth; however James buried an outside jumper with 4:48 to play giving the Cavaliers the lead at 80-78. The Bulls never recovered and Cleveland held on for the win.

LeBron James recorded a double-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals while Mo Williams put up 18 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds. Delonte West scored 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal while Jawad Williams also had 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Taj Gibson also had a double-double with 20 points, 13 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block while James Johnson had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Flip Murray came off the bench with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist while Kirk Hinrich added 10 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal. Cleveland now has a record of 55-15 and will host the Detroit Pistons Sunday while Chicago falls to 31-37 and will play Saturday in Philadelphia.

© Copyright 2010 thesackattack

The Boston Celtics went into the 2009-2010 NBA season as the pick of many veteran NBA observers (including this one) as the favorite to win the NBA Finals this June. Through Christmas Day it appeared that the Celtics were making great headway into accomplishing that goal as they were tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the Association. 

As we have approached the middle of March Boston has not been that impressive; as they no longer lead the Association or even the Eastern Conference. The Celtics as of Friday morning have a record of 43-24 and trail the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record by 10 games. Cleveland has been playing without a “True Center” for the last couple of weeks yet still have the best record in the Association.

The Celtics had injury problems earlier in the season but they have had all their players back since about mid-February. However they are still not playing up to the expectations that were put upon them earlier in the campaign. The “Boston Herald” spoke with Boston General Manager Danny Ainge as to why the team has not played as well either the Cavaliers or the Orlando Magic have at this point of the season.

Ainge told the paper that he believes that age has caught up with All-Star forward Kevin Garnett; who of course was a key component to the team winning their first NBA Title in 22 years in 2008. However the Boston General Manager has not seen the same player on the court this season.

Ainge told the paper “I don’t think he’s as athletic as he was two years ago, but I think that’s the case with a lot of guys. I’m not sure how critical that is. I think now he has to be a little more sound fundamentally. He’ll have to do it more, because he’s not the same athlete. He’s had some adjustments to make, for sure. KG’s got to do a better job of keeping guys in front of him because he can’t catch up. But that’s the case with everyone on our team.”

Ainge says that he has seen recent improvement from his power forward. He said “I think he’s gotten better as the year’s gone along, and I think that he’s playing at a very high level right now. He’s doing a lot of things better. He’s shooting the ball better, and I think he’s playing really good team position defense. So I think that what he may lack from a couple of years ago athletically he’s making it up in other ways.”

So where exactly do the Celtics look like they will end up in the NBA Post Season? Barring any major injury to LeBron James I believe that the Cleveland Cavaliers are the team with the best chance on March 19, 2010. But the NBA is just like the weather; hang around long enough you will see some incredible sights.

© Copyright 2010 thesackattack

Carmelo Anthony scored a game high 26 points and grabbed a career high 18 boards as he helped the Denver Nuggets defeat the New Orleans Hornets Thursday 93-80. Denver would pull far ahead in the first half and they had enough of a cushion to drop both the third and fourth quarters to the Hornets  and still won the contest by double digits. Rookies Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton would each score 15 points for New Orleans in the loss.  Denver won their second straight game and have gone 8-2 in their last 10 contests while the Hornets lost their second game in a row and have a 2-8 record in their last 10 games.

The Nuggets came out firing on all cylinders in the first while the Hornets motor was sputtering through out the period. Denver would grab the lead at the end of the quarter as they were on top 27-17. Things did not get any brighter for New Orleans in the second as the Nuggets would walk into the locker room at the half leading 62-37.

The Hornets finally found their offense in the second half; but it was far too little and far too late. Denver would still hold a 77-61 advantage at the end of the third quarter. New Orleans would be able to cut the Nuggets lead to 9 points as Darren Collison hit a shot at the line with 7:35 left to play. However they would not get any closer and Denver won the game handily.

Carmelo Anthony recorded a double-double with 26 points, 18 boards, 4 assists and 1 steal while Nene scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. J.R. Smith came off the bench with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block while Chauncey Billups added 10 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal.

Darren Collison had 15 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal while Marcus Thornton also knocked down 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. David West scored 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists while Darius Songaila added 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block. Emeka Okafor had a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block. Denver improves to 47-22 and will host the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday while New Orleans falls to 33-37 and will play Saturday in Utah as they take on the Jazz.

© Copyright 2010 thesackattack

Usually, the Orlando Magic doesn’t give up double-digit leads late in most of their games, yet that’s what exactly happened during their game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena Thursday. Things were going their way in the last five minutes of regulation, before righting themselves in overtime.

Rashard Lewis’ three-pointer with just 28.4 seconds left in OT allowed Orlando to survive Miami 108-102.

Dwight Howard went to the bench just 12 second into the third quarter with his fourth foul, getting caught sliding left and not being set while trying to screen Vince Carter. Interestingly enough, it seemed to put a charge into the Magic; Matt Barnes, Carter and Jameer Nelson provided all of the scoring for Orlando during their 14-4 run over a 5 1/2 minute span of the third period, turning a two-point deficit into a 70-62 lead.

When Howard returned, the Magic didn’t really need him offensively; J.J. Redick took a charge against Dwyane Wade with 8 minutes left, Carter scored off a drive and Orlando went up 83-73, at that point feeling good about their chances. But then Wade got hot and the game would go into overtime.

The Magic would put the game away in the extra period as Miami, which had led 100-99 with 3:09 left in OT, went scoreless for nearly 2 1/2 minutes.

Carter led the Magic with 27 points (including three treys), 3 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal while Lewis added 24 (including 4 three-pointers) with 11 rebounds, an assist and 2 blocks; Nelson poured in 15 with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals while Howard notched a double-double, scoring 10 with 11 rebounds.

The Heat were led by Wade with 36 points (including three 3-pointers), 10 rebounds, 7 assists, a steal and a block while Jermaine O’Neal added 14 with 6 rebounds, a steal and 5 blocks; Carlos Arroyo chipped in 11 with a rebound and 5 assists.

Orlando (49-21) plays again on Monday when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers while Miami (35-34) remains at home to host the Charlotte Bobcats Saturday night.

The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the NBA Central Division Wednesday night as they defeated the Indiana Pacers at the Q Arena in Cleveland by a final score of 99-94. Cavaliers All-Star forward LeBron James led all players with 32 points in the victory pushing his club’s record at home to 30-4. Roy Hibbert would lead the Pacers with 20 points while Troy Murphy had a double-double including 19 points in the loss. Indiana would cut the Cleveland down to a single point in the fourth quarter but the Cavaliers re-grouped and held on for the victory.

Cleveland would hold the advantage at  the end of the first as they were on top 30-25. The Pacers were able to reduce their deficit in the second but the Cavaliers would still hold the lead as the contest reached the half with the score 50-48.

The Cavaliers would dominate in the third and would have a pretty healthy advantage as the quarter came to an end with Cleveland on top 81-65. But the Pacers would have another run left in them in the final 12 minutes of play. With 4:52 left to play Indiana veteran Earl Watson drained an outside jumper and the Cavaliers lead was a razor thin 88-87. But Cleveland went on a 7-0 run gaining a 95-87 advantage and the Pacers never recovered.

LeBron James had a game high 32 points, 9 assists, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks while Antawn Jamison scored 17 points, 9 rebounds and 1 steal. J.J. Hickson came up with 13 points and 2 rebounds while Anderson Varejao also added 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Cleveland improves to a mark of 54-15 and will play Friday in Chicago as they take on the Bulls while Indiana falls to 22-46 and will host the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

© Copyright 2010 thesackattack

It isn’t every day when San Antonio Spurs forward-center Tim Duncan is completely ineffective on the floor. But to be fair, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard wasn’t exactly his typical self, either. Duncan had his worst shooting game in his career, going 1-for-10 while Howard was just 3-of-4, although to be fair, he played just 24 minutes.

But their ineffectiveness was irrelevant as the Magic shot 52 percent while the Spurs shot just 42%; Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis combined for 44 points, leading Orlando to a fairly easy 110-84 win over San Antonio at Amway Arena.

The Magic bench proved to be clutch as the quartet of Marcin Gortat, J.J. Redick, Brandon Bass and Jason Williams joined Matt Barnes for a huge stretch in which Orlando scored 14 straight points, part of a run  that gave the Magic a 48-28 cushion. The only downside to the run was Mickael Pietrus spraining his ankle. According to Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, Pietrus should be able to return after Thursday’s game at Miami.

Vince Carter opened the third quarter with a trio of driving layups and also dished an alley-oop pass to Howard for the slam over Richard Jeffrson, to highlight a 13-4 Magic run that put them ahead by 22 and all but sealed the win for Orlando.

Carter led the Magic with 24 points (including three 3-pointers), 4 rebounds and 8 assists while Lewis added 20 (including 4 treys) with 4 rebounds, an assist and a block. Gortat, while scoring only 7 points, grabbed 10 boards.

Jefferson led the Spurs with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block while Manu Ginobili added 18 with 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

Orlando (48-21) plays again on Thursday when they make the short trip to Miami to take on the Heat while San Antonio (40-26) returns home  to host the Golden State Warriors Friday night.

The Boston Celtics most likely will not end up with the best regular season record in the Association at the end of 82 games and a big part of the reason why was their lack of success earlier in the campaign at their home arena. The “New Garden” was not an automatic victory for the Celtics; far from it if truth be known. Boston up until just a few weeks ago had played far better in the other team’s homes than in their own. However that tide seems to have turned as Wednesday night they celebrated their third straight dominating victory at home as they beat the stuffing out of the New York Knicks 109-97.

Boston forward Paul Pierce led the way dor his club with 29 points while Kevin Garnett added another 22 in the win while David Lee would knock down 29 points in the loss for the Knicks. The Celtics would completely dominate both sides of the floor in the opening period, win the next two and then would coast home in the fourth with plenty to spare. Boston short 50.6% (42-83) from the floor for the game while holding New York to just 41.4 (36-87) from the field for the night.

The Celtics would control both sides of the floor so well in the first that they were able to take the fourth quarter off and still win the contest by double digits. Boston would look focused in the first while the Knicks looked frazzled and when the smoke cleared the Celtics would hold a 32-19 advantage at the end of the quarter. Things did not get get any brighter for the Knicks in the second and Boston would head into the locker room at the half on top 68-49.

Marquis Daniels knocked down a mid-range shot at the buzzer to end the third quarter and the Celtics would have a 92-71 lead as both teams headed into the fourth. The Knicks would outscore Boston 12-2 in the final 4:48 of the game and would still finish the night losing by a dozen.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 29 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal in the victory. Kevin Garnett scored 22 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal while Marquis Daniels came off the bench with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.

David Lee would put up 29 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block while Al Harrington came off the bench and scored 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Tracy McGrady had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist while Toney Douglas added 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Boston improves to  43-24 and will play Friday in Houston as they take on the Rockets while New York falls to 21-44 and will play host Friday to Philadelphia.

© Copyright 2010 thesackattack