Phoenix 154 – Golden State 130: If only Phoenix could play defense, they would be the NBA Champions. The Suns had 120 points by the end of the 3rd quarter and had 11 of 12 players on the roster score against the worst defense in the NBA. Jason Richardson lead everybody with 31 points on ridiculous 11 for 15 shooting. The Shaqtus had a beastly game as well, scoring 26 on 11 for 14 shooting. Matt Barnes, who is really starting to emerge now that he is getting some playing time, had the only double-double in the game with 20 points and 11 assists. Leandro Barbosa continues to make a strong case for 6th man of the year, adding 21 and 4 off the bench. The Warriors did score a lot too, with 130 points. Monte Ellis lead the team with 26 points as he continues to recover from injury. One of the most underrated players in the league in Stephen Jackson had 10 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds.
Dallas 100 – Los Angeles (Lakers) 107: Kobe Bryant is simply amazing. The reigning MVP started the game o-4 from the field and then turned it on to finish 11 for 20. Bryant had 28 points, 8 rebounds and 5 rebounds including a clutch three from way down town to seal the victory. Pau Gasol started out a perfect 10 for 10 from the field and finished 12 for 13, which was good for 25 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Trevor Ariza had a career high 26 points and 3 steals as he splits time with Luke Walton. Lamar Odom, who has collected 204 rebounds in his last 16 games(that’s an average of about 13 a game), added 10 points and 14 rebounds. If the Lakers can get production like this from all of their role players, they will be unstoppable. Those chances will increase dramtically if Jordan Farmar can get his shot from last season back and if Andrew Bynum returns for the stretch run. The Mavs were down nearing the end of the 3rd quarter, but they put together a nice 17-2 run to get back into the game. They can thank Jason Terry for that. Terry was feeling it from downtown, shooting 7 for 16 from deep, and even hitting a 40 footer buzzer beater at the end of the 3rd to get Dallas within 10. He finished with 29. James Singleton had a career game with 16 points and 10 boards and team captain Dirk Nowitzki had 20.
Utah 87 – Orlando 105: Dwight Howard now has 21 games with 20+points and 20+rebounds since the 2004-2005 season. Tonight, he had 28 and 20 along with 3 blocks to lead the Magic over the Utah Jazz. Rafer Alston might be the reason that the Magic maintain their high seed in the Eastern Conference as he is really filling in nicely for an injured Jameer Nelson. Alston had 16 points on 7 for 11 shooting, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, and he did so against the 3rd best PG in the league. For a team that lives and dies by the three, the Magic did fairly well tonight for having Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis shooting a combined 2 for 11 from deep. Olympic Gold Medalist Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Jazz. Deron Williams added 11 points and 9 assists.
Portland 80 – Atlanta 98: The Hawks won their 5th straight thanks to 35 points from All-Star Joe Johnson. Johnson did so on 15 of 27 shooting and added 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Fellow superstar Josh Smith had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Mike Bibby had 15 points and 5 assists and Al Horford had 13 and 5. Brandon Roy dropped 29 points to go along with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points and grabbed 6 rebounds and Joel Przybilla added 8 points and 14 boards.
Miami 77 – Philadelphia 85: GASP! Dwyane Wade did not lead the Heat in scoring?! Well thats absurd! It is absurd, but it did happen. Wade was only able to muster 18 points on 18 for 21 shooting, while Jermaine O’Neal got 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Udonis Haslem added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Andre Iguodala lead the 76ers with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Andre Miller finished with 10 points and 11 assists.
