Game Time: Utah vs San Antonio

Utah Jazz at home against the Spurs tonight.

First Quarter

San Antonio leads 3-2 after one minute as Deron Williams hits a layup in transition.

• Tony Parker pick and pop with Tim Duncan, nice help defense by Brewer to dissuade Duncan from taking that jump shot immediately, Okur recovers, Duncan facing him up on the left wing, takes it, misses it.
• Okur gets good position in the middle of the paint, eight from the rim, against Bonner, turns around and hits the short shot.
• Ronnie Brewer knocks down a 17 footer off the left elbow. Nice catch and shoot.
• Tony Parker pick and pop with Matt Bonner on the right wing, three pointer Bonner, miss.
• Boozer is getting booed loudly as he misses a 16 footer on the right wing.

Game Time: Miami vs Phoenix

Fun matchup here. Two undefeated teams battling one another.

• Dwyane Wade put on a show against the Suns last season putting up 43 and 6 in Phoenix + 35 and 16 at home leading the Heat to two wins out of two versus the Suns.
• No Barbosa tonight. He’s out injured.

This should be a good game.
First Quarter

Miami lead 4-2 after 75 seconds following two Beasley free throws.

• Nice pass by Steve Nash from the left elbow out to the right wing to an open Richardson for a three pointer, miss.
• Beautiful bounce pass by Nash from the top of the key to Richardson who cut down the baseline and got himself a wide open dunk for his troubles.
• Channing Frye looks like a small forward out there. The way he moves, the positions he takes up.
• Q-Rich knocks down a triple out of the let corner. Good pass by Jermaine O’Neal to set that one up.

Game Time: Oklahoma vs Portland

Good matchup here between two of the young squads over in the Western Conference. An up and coming Thunder squad versus an already established Blazers. These two squads could be fighting one another in the playoffs for the next 5-10 years.

First Quarter

• Greg Oden just beast-ed Krstic in the low post before he ever got the ball. He’s too strong for Krstic to handle. Oden will be able to get deep position all night long, plus he can seal him away from the pass extremely well. Superb matchup for the Blazers.
• Sloppy passing from the Blazers … almost turned it over three times — Aldridge’s four foot pass to Blake off target, Blake runs it down to the sideline, trapped, throws it to Oden, Oden can’t catch the ball, spills it heading out of bounds, saves it, Westbrook intercepts it but falls out of bounds in the process — Portland lucky to hang onto possession there.

Game Time: Toronto vs Cleveland

First Quarter

• Nice intro video + music from the Raptors
• Bosh and Shaq jump up it … Bosh wins the tip. Calderon dribbles forward, pick and roll, over to Bargnani who ran around the baseline, Varejao is defending him, head fake, drives baseline, dunks over Varejao. Nice move.
• Bargnani is defending Shaquille on the other end. Mo Williams misses from the corner, Varejao beats Bosh to the rebound.
• Chris Bosh posts up on the right box, turns middle, lefty hook, well defended by Varejao, miss.

Game Time: Cleveland vs Boston

First Quarter

• Cavs win the tip … inside to Shaq, KG helps inside, passes out to Varejao who knocks down the midrange jumper.
• Ray Allen runs off an excellent screen from Perkins, out onto the right wing, catch and shoot from three, miss.
• LeBron James and Kevin Garnett exchange baskets. James with a jump shot and Garnett with a drive out of the post over Varejao.
• Varejao with a nice pump fake, Perkins bites, Varejao takes the bump but goes up too slowly after the bump and doesn’t get the foul …
• Great ball movement from Cleveland resulting in an Anthony Parker three pointer … timeout Boston.

Game Time: Celtics vs Knicks

I think this is preseason game number two for both sides. The Celtics lost to the Rockets the other day, whilst the Knicks beat the Nets with Gallinari showing off his impressive passing skills and with Wilson Chandler having one of those make-you-drool-over-his-potential games.

First Half

• The Celtics have looked amazing in the first few minutes of the first quarter. They’ve pushed ahead 17-8, mainly due to their activity defensively. Offensively they’re pushing the ball right back at NY, I love it.
• The Knicks were a lot of fun to watch while David Lee was on the floor. Unfortunately he picked up three quick fouls and had to sit down. While he was on the floor, he was picking up rebounds like a fiend and setting bone crunching screens (one beautiful screen on Rondo which took Rajon right out of the play). Offensively, he provides great balance for the Knicks. When he goes off the floor they have problems with spacing and with an interior/pick and roll threat.

Game Five: Orlando vs Los Angeles

Game Five

The Lakers can finish the Magic off tonight, and win the 2008-09 NBA Title.

The Magic are fighting for their lives.

First Quarter

• Good job by Rashard Lewis, fronting or 3/4ering Gasol in the post, and deflecting the pass … turnover. Courtney Lee drills a jump shot on the other end.
• Three or four shot attempts at the rim there for LA, Bynum missing, Gasol finishing inside. Great effort from Bynum to keep that alive.
• Rashard Lewis bangs in a long jump shot

NBA Finals Game Four: Orlando vs Los Angeles

Game Four

Lakers lead the series 2-1.

I’d absolutely love to see the Magic win this game and tie up the series. It would set up some much needed tension over the remainder of this series. So, I’m pulling hard for the Magic tonight.

First Quarter

Lakers lead 2-0 after 90 seconds

NBA Finals Game Three: Orlando vs Los Angeles

Game Three

Am I the only one who thinks there is a lack of buzz about this game?

I like the Magic to rebound and win the game tonight. They’re due for a good shooting night.

First Quarter

• Dwight Howard wins the tip … He posts up on the left block, draws a double, kicks it out, Hedo gets a great look from downtown on the left wing, miss

NBA Finals Game Two: Los Angeles vs Orlando

Game Two

I think this game is a must win for the Orlando Magic. I cannot seeing them win four out of five games against the Lakers, which is something they’d have to do should they fall back 0-2 tonight.

First Quarter

• Excellent defensive rotations from the Los Angeles Lakers to take away Orlando’s three point shooting opportunities despite having numbers on the weak side of the court, forced Alston to put the ball on the floor and to take a tough runner over Gasol, miss.

NBA Finals Game One: Los Angeles vs Orlando

Game One

I’m giddy about these NBA Finals.  This should be a terrific matchup and a very exciting series.

First Quarter

Orlando lead 7-6 after the first two plus minutes.

• Gasol pulls down the defensive rebound after Rafer’s missed floater. Lakers come up court, quick post up for Kobe, he pressures Lee, turns middle, kickout, runs out the right wing, gets the ball back, drives hard down the baseline, draws a foul.

Game Six: Orlando vs Cleveland

Game Six

Closeout game. The Magic lead the series 3-2 and are looking to finish the Cavs off tonight.

I’m pulling for Cleveland. I’d absolutely love to see this series go seven games, I think the seventh game would be a beautiful display of the mental strength both teams possess. Talk about a pressure cooker game, game seven, for the Magic. I’d love to see that.

First Quarter

Orlando lead 3-2 after two minutes after Ben Wallace misses a pair of FTS. Varejao has already picked up two fouls.

• Hedo on the drive and kick, off the high pick and roll, to Rafer in the left corner, Rafer drains it!
• James dribbling on the perimeter, pulls up, knocks it down
• Drive and kick to Lewis, top of the key, pump fake, drive, drive and kick to Lee in the left corner, extra pass, three second violation on Howard who was trying to get position for the rebound.

Game Six: Denver vs Los Angeles

Game Six

The Lakers lead the series 3-2 heading into tonight’s game. The Nuggets are just trying to stay alive.

I like the Lakers to finish off the Nuggets tonight. This series has already gone on too long.

First Quarter

• The Lakers win the tip. They got Kobe on the midpost on the right wing 16 feet from the rim, double teamed, he passes out, nothing on for LA. Their spacing there wasn’t up too much.
• Kobe Bryant tries to steal the outlet, Billups loose ball foul as he tried to keep the ball from Bryant.
• Gasol posts up on the left post, turnaround, hits it. Lakers lead 2-0 after a minute.

Game Five: Cleveland vs Orlando

Game Five

The Magic lead the matchup 3-1 and are looking to close out the series tonight. The game is in Cleveland.

I expect the Cavs to win this one. It’s hard to see LeBron not finding a way to pull this one out, and extend the series in the process of doing so.

First Quarter

I missed the first few minutes of this one. Cleveland lead 17-6 after four minutes, a fast offensive start from Cleveland.

• Ilgauksas knocks down a 21 footer off the pass.
• Turkoglu steps over the line on an inbounds pass, turnover. That’s gotta hurt.
• Mo Williams knocks down a triple over Rafer Alston — he’s 4-4 from the field, 3-3 from downtown, for 11 points already.

Cleveland lead 24-8 after a pair of Cavs FTs. We’re only five minutes into this game.

Game Five: Los Angeles vs Denver

Game Five

I didn’t watch this game, watched it on tape this morning. No game log for this one, just some thoughts on the game.

The Game

The first half was a close affair, with neither team truly able to pull away from one another.

Denver started out better, a timeout by Jackson seven minutes in calmed the Lakers down and suddenly they went on a 8-0 burst to take the lead back. Denver rallied and tied the game at 25-25 by the end one, with two huge Chris Andersen blocks denying Odom dunks and sparking fastbreaks going the other way.

The second quarter was even closer, with both teams trading baskets until the final minutes of the quarter and with neither able to create any separation. Finally, the Nuggets created a five point gap, but a strong Lakers finish punctuated by a Vujacic three pointer closed the gap and left the game tied at 56-56 entering halftime.

Game Four: Orlando vs Cleveland

Game Four

Orlando leads the series 2-1.

This is a pivotal game for the Cavs tonight. They don’t want to be heading back to Cleveland down 3-1. If Orlando can pull out the win, it’s nigh on impossible to the see them losing this series.

I’m pulling for the Magic tonight. I’d love to see them make the Finals.

First Quarter

• Rafer Alston opens up the Magic’s account with a shot from downtown. great sign to see him hit an early jumper.
• Good screen and roll defense from Cleveland on the left wing, LeBron cut off the dribble penetration, sent him back to the perimeter, screen and roll, Z did a good job sending him back to the sideline, Rafer picked up his dribble, Z got back quickly, Varejao made it across to stop Dwight’s roll to the rim far away from the hoop.

Game Four: Denver vs Los Angeles

Game Four

Lakers lead the season series 2-1

Is tonight a must win for the Nuggets? I think so. I don’t see them coming back from a 3-1 deficit.

First Quarter

• Nuggets run upcourt off of Ariza’s two missed FTs, Melo jumps to the low post, inside to him on the right block, double comes, Kenyon trailing the play, nice pass to the cutter, two handed dunk. Great pass.
• Bynum scores inside after a nice lob pass to take advantage of the smaller Anthony who had switched onto Bynum
• Anthony dribble penetration, misses the runner, Nene takes the rebound and stuffs it home!

We’re not even four minutes into this game and the Nuggets are already a +5 on the backboards (7-2). If Denver can win the battle of the backboards, that’ll go a long way towards winning the game because they’ve been better than LA elsewhere for most of this series.

Game Three: Orlando vs Cleveland

Game Three

Orlando stole homecourt advantage by splitting the first two games in Cleveland. The series is tied 1-1.

First Quarter

• Dwight Howard gets the friendly bounce, three or four friendly bounces, on his first free throw attempt of the night. He misses the second. Orlando lead 1-0 after the first minute.
• Dwight Howard gets great position inside, middle of the paint, four feet from the rim, muscles up the short shot and hits it.

Cleveland have started in jittery fashion. They look nervous. LeBron might have to take over the scoring for a few minutes to let his teammates find their comfort zone.

Game Three: Los Angeles vs Denver

Game Three

The series switches to Denver with the matchup tied at one apiece.

Interesting article saying Bynum and Jackson aren’t speaking to one another right now — Bynum is unhappy at his lack of playing time, and Phil is unhappy at Bynum’s lack of rebounding + defense. Both have a point, but Phil is  a heck of a lot more correct than Bynum is.

First Quarter

Denver lead 7-4 after two and a half minutes.

• Kobe Bryant posts up on the left post, he backs down Jones easily, Jones tries to wrap him up before the shot attempt but to no avail. Kobe makes two at the line.
• Melo fouled on a jump shot, nice spin move to get away from Ariza, stupid contest from Ariza as he jumped wildly into Melo’s body. Second straight possession LA has fouled a jump shooter.

Game Two: Cleveland vs Orlando

Game Two

The Orlando Magic stole home court by winning game one. It’s important for Cleveland to find their footing tonight, and to get a win, otherwise I worry that things could steamroll badly for them.

First Quarter

• Cleveland win the tip but don’t get a bucket
• Lovely dribble penetration from Courtney Lee, who sliced inside into the paint from the left wing and then dumped it off to Dwight Howard for the easy dunk after Big Z came over to eliminate Lee’s layup attempt … But nobody told Delonte West, who scuppered down form the perimeter and swiped the ball away from Howard from behind as Howard went up to stuff it home.
• Great job by Lee to run 14 feet to contest a high lob pass from Ilgauskas, off an offensive rebound, out to Mo Williams 30 feet from the rim. Lee got a piece of it but the Magic couldn’t get control of the loose ball.

Game Two: Los Angeles vs Denver

Game Two

The Lakers won the first game of the series, hopefully they can win again tonight.

First Quarter

• No scores in the first minute after Fisher hoists a desperation three off the dribble over Kenyon Martin as the Lakers possession comes to a miserable end.
• Chauncey Billups dribbles upcourt and hits a 22 footer on the right wing
• Nice drive by Bryant along the baseline, threads the pass beautifully for Bynum for the dunk
• Ariza tries to create off the bounce, loses his dribble twice, the Lakers possession bottoms out again — Kobe goes one on one and forces a long jump shot to beat the shot clock, hits it.

Game One: Cleveland vs Orlando

Game One

Cleveland’s rust is a major factor to watch tonight. Hopefully they can give a good performance.

First Quarter

• Cleveland win the tip, Dwight roaming off of Varejao, Varejao cuts to the rim from the opposite side of the court, layup. Nice pass over the top by James.
• Lewis misses a quick three pointer from the left wing
• Beautiful pass once again to Varejao, he’s fouled on the reverse layup. Nice threaded pass along the baseline. Cleveland lead 4-0 after a minute.
• LeBron James is on Rafer Alston, and he’ll roam defensively, try to wreck some havoc defensively.

Game One: Los Angeles vs Denver

Game One

I can’t even feign my interest in this series. Hopefully LA will win, and win quick.

First Quarter

I missed the first five minutes of the game, I got distracted by the lottery, by the way, Congratulations to the Clippers!

The Nuggets lead 16-6 after a Martin bucket

• Melo and Bryant trade jump shots. Anthony is 4-4 from the field for 9 points already.

Game Seven: Boston vs Orlando

Game Seven

The series is obviously tied three apiece. The Celtics have homecourt tonight.

I think the Boston Celtics should be considered the favourites because of homecourt, their game seven experience, and superior mental qualities (toughness/poise/focus). The Orlando Magic are more than capable of winning this game though … so we should have a great game on our hands

I think the Magic could give the Cavs a better run for their money in the next round. I think we’d see a better Conference Finals if they won.

First Round

Orlando win the tip. Boston’s defense is aggressive on the first possession, they do a very good job making the entry pass into the post difficult, Howard finally gets it, misses a jump hook. On the other end, Orlando’s defense is softer

Game Seven: Los Angeles vs Houston

Game Seven

Obviously, the series is tied three apiece. The Lakers are at home tonight, and I expect them to win in a 20+ point blowout. I have to say though, I’m pulling for the Rockets to win, I’d love to see the Lakers complacency punished. The only way I see Houston winning is if they have one of those nights where they can’t miss a shot.

I had the start time wrong, so I missed the opening part of this game.

First Quarter

I missed the whole first quarter — Lakers lead 22-12

Game Six: Houston vs Los Angeles

Game Six

The Lakers lead the series 3-2 and I expect them to end the series tonight.

First Quarter

Houston jump out to an 8-1 lead after two shots, by Scola and Brooks, hit over the out-stretched hand of Bynum. Steal by Ron Artest, breakaway layup. The Rockets lead 10-1 after three and a half minutes.

• Battier blocks Bryant’s pull up J from 18 feet on the top of the key, turnover, but Brooks turns it over on the fastbreak.
• Bynum offensive rebound, misses the short 5 foot shot, rebound Gasol, miss. LA is 0-6 from the field.
• Aaron Brooks nails a step back 3

Game Five: Denver vs Dallas

Game Five

Denver lead the series 3-1 and I expect them to end the series here.

I watched this sporadically because it wasn’t up to much as a contest, and because the series was already decided. Ergo, only a few box score thoughts to follow.

The Game

The game wasn’t much of a contest. The Nuggets jumped out early and built a 32-21 lead late in the first quarter. They then held that double digit lead for most of the action until the four minute mark in the third period. From there, Denver made a nice 8-0 run to seemingly end the contest with a massive 93-76 lead.

The Mavericks, however, would mount a mini-comeback, led by Brandon Bass as Bass scored eight quick points between the end of the third and the first two minutes of the fourth.

Game Six: Orlando vs Boston

Game Six

The Celtics lead the series 3-2 and can finish the series tonight. I, however, like the Magic to prolong the matchup.

I expect the Magic to come out with passion and ferocity tonight. I’m looking for them to make a big run early in the first quarter, or perhaps in the second quarter, and build a nice advantage for themselves.

First Quarter

I missed the first 3 minutes, tied 6-6.

• JJ Redick remains in Orlando’s starting lineup — that’s disappointing. I would have liked to have seen Courtney Lee starting.
• Inbounds by Boston, 1 second on the shot clock, to Perkins, 16 foot jumper, he hits it!

Game Five: Los Angeles vs Houston

Game Five

This series is tied 2-2.

Lamar Odom was a doubt before the game. He will play but shall come off the bench. Bynum will start in his place, hopefully this will help him get off quickly, and allow Pau Gasol to start against Scola which may help him.

I like the Lakers to win tonight, and then win the next game to end this in six.

First Quarter

Hayes defends Pau Gasol on the first possession, so no change there. Scola is on Bynum, and Artest is now defending Ariza.

• Nice lob pass to Bynum, alley oop dunk!
• Nice baseline drive by Artest, evades Bynum with a nice shoulder fake, misses the layup, rebound and putback for Hayes

Game Five: Boston vs Orlando

Game Five

The series is tied 2-2.

I have to say, I’m hoping the Celtics win this game. I think their success and valour without Kevin Garnett is a great story, and I hope it gets a chance to continue. That said, I think the Orlando Magic are a favourite by a solid margin.

First Quarter

Redick continues in the starting lineup despite some reports that Courtney Lee may re-take his starting spot.

Brian Scalabrine missed shoot-around with flu like symptoms, but he’ll play tonight.

• Glen Davis knocks down a baseline 17 footer off the baseline inbounds pass — knocked loose after a Pierce drive, good to see Paul drive the ball on the first possession of the game.
• Dwight Howard tries to attack Perkins with his quickness, Perk pushes him wide, and Dwight misses the runner.

Monday’s Games

Game Four

I didn’t bother watching either game, because frankly, both series are already over.

• Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers
• Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets

Prior to the games, I thought the Hawks chances of winning were somewhere south of two percent, and that the Mavs-Nuggets game was a 50-50 proposition … but was hoping for Denver to end the series because it’s gotten dull.

Some box score thoughts are ahead

Game Four: Houston vs Los Angeles

Game Four

I missed the first half of this one, but tuned in for the first 18 minutes of the second half as LA failed to make a run and in doing so failed to make this one a contest.

The Rockets went up double digits after five minutes and never looked back. They were up 18 points by halftime, and grew that lead to 27 points halfway through the third quarter behind a barrage of three pointers from Brooks and Battier. The rest of the game was garbage time.

What follows is mostly just thoughts on the box score:

Houston

• Aaron Brooks is a far more effective player when he’s allowed to dominate the ball. He likes to play, likes his coach to allow him to play, like a Chris Paul — a point guard who’s allowed pound the ball into the floor and make every decision for his team. We’ve known this about Brooks for a long time, and it’s part of what makes him a so-so fit as role player on a team contending for a title …. but it’s also what makes him terrifying as a team’s first option when those stars go down.

Saturday’s Games

I didn’t watch either game today:

• Dallas vs Denver — Game Three
• Atlanta vs Cleveland — Game Three

Prior to the games, I expected both Denver and Cleveland to run out to easy wins and take a 3-0 series lead in their matchups.

Box score punditry to follow

Hawks-Cavs

The Cavs won this game 97-82 behind a strong second half effort, with the game never really being in doubt.

Game Two: Cleveland vs Atlanta

Game Two

Cleveland leads the series 1-0 and is looking to take care of homecourt tonight.

First Quarter

I missed the first six minutes of the game. The game is tied 12-12 midway through the quarter.

• Varejao on the offensive glass, and gets the putback. He has three baskets and a couple of offensive rebounds.
• LeBron James hits two FTs after drawing a foul on a driving layup in transition
• Great job by Varejao tracking on the pick and roll, Joe Johnson pulls out to 30 feet, still doesn’t have much of a pass on, and after the pass Zaza is forced to create and he makes a mess of it

Game Two: Los Angeles vs Houston

Game Two

The Rockets won game one and lead the series 1-0.

First Quarter

The Rockets are 5-0 when leading after the first quarter, and 0-2 when trailing after the first quarter.

• The Lakers win the tip, good player movement to start of the game, hand off from Gasol to Fisher on perimeter, he drives right, pull up J from 18 feet at the top of the key, hits it
• Gasol drops a fadeaway over Yao off the left block, good D by Yao on the possession. Lakers lead 6-2 after 90 seconds.

Game Two: Boston vs Orlando

Game Two

Orlando won the first game of the series and lead 1-0.

First Quarter

Rondo flies to the rim and hits his second layup of the quarter (other was a layup off a backdoor cut). Pierce also knocked down a three, Rondo with the assist, to give Boston a 7-4 lead. Boston post up Perkins on the left block, he backs down Howard, right hand jump hook, hits it.

Pierce sits down with two fouls, only three and a half minutes into the game, and Stephon comes in to replace him. It’ll be very interesting to see how Boston defend Hedo, and how they manage their offense.

Game Two: Denver vs Dallas

Game Two

Denver won the first game by 14 points.

First Quarter

• Nene misses a spectacular dunk to start of the game, it bounces high, about 25 feet in the air and out of bounds on the sideline. Nice pick and roll, and lovely bounce pass from Billups to Nene to set it up.
• Antoine Wright opens up the scoring with a three pointer
• Dirk Nowitzki posts up Kenyon Martin low on the right block, fakes middle, Kenyon moves that, spins baseline, lay in.

Game One: Cleveland vs Atlanta

Game One

First Quarter

What a start! James at the top of the key, passes it to Delonte on the left high post, Delonte hand off to James, who circles down the left wing and drives hard to the rim for the two handed dunk

• Good job by Josh Smith running the floor, he was about 15-20 feet ahead of Varejao by the time he hit the low post, good help D from Big Z makes him hesitate while Varejao gets back in position. Josh Smith goes up with it, rejected by Varejao, Smith gets it back, spins to the paint, up again and finishes this time.

Game One: Los Angeles vs Houston

Game One

First Quarter

• Kobe Bryant drops a 20 footer on the left wing over Battier to open the scoring for LA.
• Yao Ming with a nice jump hook to put Houston up 4-4. Andrew Bynum returns the favour on the other end, left post, spins middle, right hand jump hook and hits it.
• Yao Ming crosses the paint, posts up on the right block, face up jumper, misses. Andrew Bynum shows to the FT line, catch and shoot, misses.
• Artest drives baseline on Ariza, Pau Gasol helps down, Artest throws a nice pass back to Scola who’s just inside the FT line, he hits the short shot. Nice pass from Artest.
• Luis Scola posts up on the right block, turns baseline, jump hook off the glass, misses.

Game One: Boston vs Orlando

Game One

Courtney Lee is still out

First Quarter

• Dwight Howard wins the tip, nice screen and roll action near the top of the key with Hedo and Dwight, Shard joins the action, gets wide open, Hedo gives it to him and Lewis drains a triple
• Nice defensive rotation by Glen Davis to draw the charge on Howard
• Kendrick Perkins backs down Howard, turns middle, goes back to the baseline for a fadeaway, rejected by Howard. Perkins gets it back, continues to force it in the post, tries to back down Howard, loses his dribble and turns it over.
• Nice fake spin move by Perkins in the lane, turns back the other way and gets a good look on a jump hook, misses. Nice move though
• Howard tries to take a jump hook over Perk out of the right post, rejected by Perkins

Game One: Denver vs Dallas

Game One

First half report only

First Quarter

Dirk Nowitzki scores the first two field goals of the game to put Dallas up 4-0 after two minutes. Dirk bags another bucket a minute later, as he drives off the right wing, into the middle of the paint and hit a fallaway from there.

Dampier falls over after collecting a defensive rebound — he’s not moving well at all, holding his hip too. Jogging gingerly. The Mavs gotta get him off the floor.

• Nene scores two layups — one on the break and one in the halfcourt

Timeout Dallas — they’re looking at Dampier now. Ryan Hollins checks in, big loss for the Mavs.

Game Seven: Atlanta vs Miami

Game Seven

Al Horford will play tonight, so Atlanta have a chance of winning this game, if he couldn’t go this series would be over before this game ever began.

Jermaine O’Neal will not play tonight. He isn’t much of a loss, although he has played two excellent games in this series and one solid game. Edit: Jermaine will play, he just didn’t start.

First Quarter

Atlanta lead 14-10 halfway through the first quarter

Udonis Haslem has 5 rebounds already, as he pulls down Horford’s missed turnaround J out of the low post. Haslem runs down a long offensive rebound on the other end of the floor, that’s 6.

Game Seven: Boston vs Chicago

Game Seven

Winner takes all tonight — series tied 3-3 — anything can happen in Game Seven!

Before the game, I listed a couple of numbers which show just how close this series has been. You can check that out here.

Boston should be considered the favourite. They have more high end talent.

First Quarter

Tuning in after four minutes — Chicago lead 13-11 after two Ray-Ray FTs

• Ben Gordon has gotten off to a hot start — 7 points — a long two just inside the three point line, a three and two FTs … make that 10 points as he hits more FTs
• Derrick Rose has the other 6 points — a runner, a 18 footer, and a short shot

Game Six: Miami vs Atlanta

Game Six

Horford will not play tonight. [edit: Second Quarter, Horford is actually on the bench and has dressed for the game, but is not expected to play.]

Marvin Williams is dressed for the game, but I read that he’s not playing again tonight. Maybe he’ll play if Atlanta become desperate? Odd that he dressed despite reports saying he wouldn’t play. Mo Evans continues to start at small forward.

Miami should be considered the favourite because of Atlanta’s two large losses.

• Hang on, Jermaine O’Neal is not playing either, he has a problem with his left elbow and Joel Anthony will start in his place.
• Miami should still be considered the favourite, O’Neal isn’t as large of a loss as Al Horford is.

First Quarter

A fast scoring start — Atlanta ahead 8-7 after three minutes.

Game Six: Philadelphia vs Orlando

Game Six

Orlando will be without the suspended Dwight Howard, and the injured Courtney Lee, tonight. In their place, Marcin Gortat and JJ Redick will start. I would have preferred to have seen Mickael Pietrus start.

The Magic lead the series 3-2 and close out the series tonight. I like Phily to hold firm and send this series back to Orlando — mainly due to Hedo Turkoglu’s struggles, if Hedo can have a good game in Howard’s absence then the Magic stand a good chance of winning.

I didn’t watch this game so the following is just a box score summary

Box Score Thoughts

Orlando won the game in a blowout, winning 114-89, a 25 point win.

Game Six: Houston vs Portland

Game Six

Houston lead the series 3-2 and are looking to end the series tonight — which they should do

Von Wafer reportedly was not going to play, but it looks like he’ll be suiting up.

Tuning into the Rockets-Blazers game late because of the triple overtime Bulls-Celtics game. We are four minutes into the third quarter, with Houston leading 58-43.

Third Quarter

Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge have 32 of Portland’s 44 points. Make that 34 of their 46 points as Roy makes two FTs at the line.

Ron Artest has 21 points for Houston. A balanced scoring effort by his lead.
Artest drives baseline, gets a step on his man easily, to the rim, layup.

Game Six: Chicago vs Boston

Game Six

Boston leads the series 3-2 and I like their chances to end the series tonight.

First Quarter

A John Salmons three pointer from the left wing puts Chicago ahead 3-2. Lovely block by Ty Thomas on Pierce’s layup attempt off some good dribble penetration from Paul, the Bulls miss a short shot by Noah on the other end.

Ah no, Perkins picks up a stupid foul off the ball 80 feet from the rim, while walking back down court. The Celtics can’t win this game without Perkins on the floor for big minutes, and playing well. Perk can’t afford to pick up stupid fouls like that.

Game Five: Denver vs New Orleans

Game Five

The Nuggets lead the series 3-1 and are trying to close out the series tonight. I think the Nuggets will win this one.

Tyson Chandler will not play tonight. Hilton Armstrong starts in his place.

First Quarter

Tuning in after the first seven minutes of the quarter. Denver is leading 12-11, make that 14-11 after Nene drops two FTs out of the timeout.

Rasual Butler is bringing the ball upcourt against Billups, it takes him 14 seconds to get rid of the ball and that was a sideways pass to Paul 25 feet from the rim. Good pressure defense from Billups there. Butler runs down to the baseline, curls off screen, catch and shoot, good plus a foul on Chauncey. The possession worked out well for the Hornets but that looks like a problem waiting to happen.

Game Five: Atlanta vs Miami

Game Five

The series is tied 2-2. I like Atlanta’s chances at taking the lead in the series tonight.

Marvin Williams will not play.

First Quarter

Miami are leading 8-6 after a few minutes. We’ve seen a powerful dunk from Josh Smith and some nice play from Jermaine O’Neal.

Odd stat — Wade has 32 three pointers versus 23 free throw attempts in the series.

Good defense by James Jones, great contest on JJ’s fadeaway J from 22 feet in the right corner. Jones’ length is going to bother that shot, JJ has to put the ball on the floor and take Jones off the bounce.

Tuesday’s Games

There were four games:

• Boston vs Chicago – click here
• Orlando vs Philadelphia
• San Antonio vs Dallas
• Portland vs Houston – click here

I wrote a game time post for two of those games, albeit only the fourth quarter for the Blazers game, and have posted a link to those posts above. The other two games will get some box score punditry here.

Game Five: Portland vs Houston

Game Five

Houston leads the series 3-1 and can end the battle tonight. Portland are playing for their playoff lives.

I only tuned in for the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

64-62 Portland lead

Nice steal from Houston, well done Lowry. Portland foul on the break. Inbounds, ball swung to Von Wafer, he drives to the rim and finishes with the layup. Tie game. Two possessions later, Yao draws the fourth foul on Oden. After the inbounds, Yao delivers a face up jumper over Oden from 15 feet right wing. Chuck Hayes checks in for Yao, to give him a break.

Aldridge has been the best scorer for Portland. He is 11-18 from the field for 25 points. He has only 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, though.

Game Five: Boston vs Chicago

Game Five

The series is tied at 2-2 and the team that wins tonight will gain a firm grasp on the series. I expect the Celtics to be that team.

Despite some speculation to the contrary, Ben Gordon will play tonight.

First Quarter

Paul Pierce knocks down his second shot of the night, a nice little step back shot off the drive from the FT line over Salmons. Pierce looks in good form tonight, which is great news for Boston.

Ben Gordon drills a three pointer from the top of the key over Glen Davis, a switch off the pick and roll, to beat the shot clock. On the next possession, Rose does a lovely job to find Noah inside for the lay in. The score is 9-8 Boston after five minutes.

Game Five: Los Angeles vs Utah

Game Five

The Lakers can close out the series tonight. It would be an impressive achievement to beat this Utah team in just five games.

First Quarter

It’s tied 4-4 after two minutes.

Okur with a nice drive and dish to Boozer for the lay in. Tied at six.

Both teams going through the motions right now, neither side is trying to grab hold of this game. It’s 8-6 LA after five minutes in a low energy, low urgency start.

Game Four: New Orleans vs Denver

Game Four

The Nuggets will look to take control of the series tonight, and they’re a good bet to do so.

I watched the Hawks-Heat game instead, so this will just be a box score report … and it’ll be even shorter than that, because of how this game turned out.

Thoughts On Game

The Nuggets repeated (Game Three) their superb opening performance to the game by opening up a 36-15 lead after the first quarter. Their lead was never threatened, and the game was effectively over at this point.

The Nuggets and Hornets played each other even in the second quarter, but the Nuggets destroyed the Hornets once again in the third quarter.  They won that quarter 27-11 and built their lead to 38 points entering the final quarter.

From there, the Hornets completely folded.

Game Four: Miami vs Atlanta

Game Four

Jamario Moon is questionable tonight and Marvin Williams will continue to sit out injured.

Update — Jamario Moon is out — big loss for Miami, only wing in the rotation outside of Wade who rebounds the ball well.

First Quarter

Monstrous dunk from Al Horford over Jermaine O’Neal — Atlanta ahead 6-1 to start of the game.

Al Horford is really going after that Jermaine O’Neal turnaround. I’m not sure it’s worth the risk of picking up a foul there. Jermaine shoots what? 30-40% on that shot? That’s a shot you’re happy that Miami takes as long as it’s contested. I don’t think Horford has to go all out for the block and give up a ticky tack foul like he just did.

The whole Hawks bench gets up and cheers after Josh Smith puts it on the floor and drives to the rim. That sentence says so many things about Josh Smith ….

Sunday’s Games

I didn’t get to watch much basketball yesterday, and caught glimpses of a couple of games, so I pretty much missed the following games

• Boston Celtics vs Chicago Bulls — Game Four
• Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons — Game Four
• Orlando Magic vs Philadelphia 76ers — Game Four
• Houston Rockets vs Portland Trailblazers — Game Four

Okay, so I’ll supply some short box score notes on each of the games

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons

This game was over before it began, after the way Cleveland demolished Detroit in the first two games and embarrassed Detroit in game three, you just knew the Pistons stood no chance in hell of winning this one.

Game Three: Miami vs Atlanta

Game Three

The series is tied at 1-1. Big game for Miami, it would give the a great hold on the series.

Interesting RealGM piece before the game

Playing good basketball on the road is extremely important in the postseason, but it isn’t something the Hawks have a strong history of doing.

The Hawks haven’t won a playoff game away from Atlanta since May 8, 1997, according to the Associated Press.

Atlanta is 0-11 on the road since that game, including 10 blowout losses.

Game Three: New Orleans vs Denver

Game Three

Unfortunately, I had the start time of this one wrong and missed the first half.

This has been a slaughter so far, with Denver leading 2-0.

Can Chauncey Billups keep up his sterling play? Can New Orleans get enough out West + Chandler to come back in the series?

First Half

Some box score notes — the Hornets lead 50-47

Game Three: Houston vs Portland

Game Three

The series is tied at one apiece — I didn’t watch the first half, but tuned in for the second half.

First Quarter

Some stats with 1:30 to go in the first quarter:

• Houston leads 15-8 on the scoreboard
• The Rockets are ahead 12-7 on the backboards
• The Blazers are 4-16 from the field. Nobody has more than one field goal.

Game Three: Philadelphia vs Orlando

Game Three

The series is tied one apiece.

I watched the first quarter, but didn’t write down any notes, and turned off until late in the third quarter — so the game time report will start there.

First Half

The Philadelphia 76ers gradually build an 11 point lead, winning the first quarter by 6 points and the second quarter by 5 points.

Third Quarter

Game Three: Detroit vs Cleveland

Game Three

Cleveland should build an unassailable lead tonight by going ahead 3-0 in the series.

First Quarter

The Detroit Pistons start off in better fashion, opening up with an 8-0 run keyed by two long Tayshaun Prince jump shots on the left wing. He has 5 of the 8 points.

• Big Z at the top of the key, a little off to the left, behind the three point line, Bron is on the right wing and cuts hard to the rim, nice bounce pass from Z to Bron, slam dunk. That ends the Pistons run.
• Next possession, Cleveland run a 1-3 screen and roll and force the switch, Stuckey is on James, LeBron takes him down into the low post, left block, and makes the catch, backs him down, turns and muscles up a short shot over the youngster.
• Oh beautiful move from Stuckey … Stuckey dribbling up the floor high out on the right wing, he drives hard to his left, his the free throw line, lovely spin move to the lose the defender and he hits the pretty layup. Brilliant spin move.

Game Time: Wednesday’s Games

I didn’t have the time to watch any of these three games, but I’ll offer some box score punditry on them:

• Game Two — Atlanta vs Miami
• Game Two — Orlando vs Philadelphia
• Game Two — Denver vs New Orleans

Atlanta vs Miami

The first strory for Miami happened on the backboards

• They won the overall battle 40-33
• Who was mainly responsibly?
  • Jamario Moon had an excellent performance on the boards, pulling down 8 rebounds in just 28 minutes
  • Michael Beasley yanked down 7 boards in 21 minutes
  • Udonis Haslem had 7 boards in 26 minutes

Game Three: Dallas vs San Antonio

Game Three

I watched the Bulls-Celtics and Jazz-Lakers game, so I only caught a small part of this game (during halftime of Chicago’s game). I’ll offer my thoughts on that, and some box score punditry on the rest.

Second Quarter

Dallas are leading the game 34-25 five minutes into the second quarter.

A couple of superb defensive plays sparks a 10-0 Dallas run

• Tony Parker was out on the right wing, drove hard at Jason Kidd, Kidd anticipated the angle, beat Parker to the spot, and forced Parker into losing his footing, and earned a traveling violation against the Spurs guard.
• Brandon Bass with a picture perfect steal out on the right wing, a lazy pass from Kurt Thomas, breakaway dunk for Bass!
• Kurt Thomas squirms around in the paint and his shot rejected back out, fastbreak again.

Game Three: Chicago vs Boston

Game Three

First Quarter

The Celtics have jumped out of the gates and built up a 17-10 lead after just five minutes of action. Their early dominance has quieted the Bulls’ home crowd. That draws a timeout of Chicago.

Out of the timeout, Paul Pierce decides it’s time to exert his dominance. He hits back to back jumpers, including one lovely 17 footer on the left wing where he used a beautiful headfake to lose John Salmons, to put Boston ahead 21-12. Pierce is 5-5 from the floor. On the next possession, Pierce gets the ball out on the wing, dribble drive to the FT line, draws the defense, he takes the 16 foot fallaway J, hits it.

Boston is now ahead 23-14 and 16 of their 23 points have come in the paint.

Game One: Portland vs Houston

Game One

First Quarter

Tuning after the first three and a half minutes. The Houston Rockets are off to a bright start and have an 11-2 lead. Portland’s Nate McMillan just called a timeout.

It’s time for Brandon Roy to get a hold of the game for his team.

• Brandon Roy uses a high screen and roll with Yao, he drives hard, down the left hand side of the lane, layup. Houston turn it over, Brandon Roy gets the ball, uses another pick and roll with Yao, and gets another bucket.
• Artest misses a three pointer off the lift wing, long rebound, Aldridge shows little hustle, Scola on the other hand goes out and taps it away, runs it down but Steve Blake is there to meet him and it goes out of bounds of Luis Scola.

Game One: San Antonio vs Dallas

Game One

First Quarter

First blood — Dirk Nowitzki gets a down screen from Wright, he pops out for a 14 footer, shoots it, fouled by Roger Mason Jr. Three point play. Nice start for Dallas and nice screen to get Dirk open.

Antoine Wright will defend Tony Parker. Dallas are hoping his quickness, size, and length will be more impactful versus Parker than their slow or small point guards.

• Tony Parker gets a screen from Tim Duncan, slices into the paint, layup attempt, fouled, not called.
• Duncan stripped in the post by Dirk. Nice play by Nowitzki.
• Parker gets a great look but misses the floater from 5 feet. San Antonio control the offensive rebound, out to Michael Finley, Finley blows by Josh Howard and gets the layup. Great play from Finley and worrying lack of defensive effort from Howard.

Game One: Cleveland vs Detroit

Game One

I missed most of this game so I don’t have a huge amount to say about — short post only.

I tuned in after the Bulls win over Boston, it was about halfway through the second quarter at the time. The Pistons where down 43-39, and subsequently bottomed out and finished the half down 12 points after a miraculous heave by LeBron James — he ran down the left sideline, threw up a Hail Mary from midcourt and nailed it.

I missed the start of the third quarter, but the rest of the game basically followed the same tired protocol — Detroit stay down double digits, never seriously threaten the Cavs, despite being within shooting distance until midway in the fourth, and the Cavs get a very comfortable win.

Some Stats

The biggest problem for the Pistons tonight? Firepower!

• Rodney Stuckey was their best scorer on the night. He dropped 20 points but it took him 21 shots and 6 free throws.

Game One: Boston vs Chicago

Game One

I’m making some changes to my “Game Time” posts. I usually do a game log and give a brief description of what is happening throughout the game, but I have decided to abandon that method.

For the time being I’m going to be writing a brief recap of the game, but I’m not sure if that’s the long term successor or not. It’s a work in progress.

First Quarter

Quick injury report — John Salmons is still suffering from a groin injury. He can and will play through the injury.

• First Basket Of The Series — The game started with a bang from the Bulls. On the first possession of the game Boston turned over the ball, outlet to Derrick Rose, he flies up the court and finds a streaking Joakim Noah for a flush.
• Kendrick Perkins got an early post up opportunity down in the left block. He easily got low position against the much smaller Joakim Noah, then easily backed him down, and easily hit a jump hook over Noah. Perk can get that shot whenever he wants all series long.

Game Time: Boston vs Los Angeles

The final regular season matchup of the season for last year’s Finalists.

First Quarter

• Usual starting lineups for both sides. Walton continues to start at small forward for LA – watch that matchup with Pierce closely, it may decide the game.
• Boston’s crowd are up for this one
• Pau Gasol wins the tip, on LA’s first possession Odom dribbles the ball left towards the middle of the floor above the three point line, quick crossover right, blows by Garnett, fouled, runner blocked by KG. Odom misses his first free throw, and misses his second free throw.
• Kobe Bryant is defending Rajon Rondo like he did in the NBA Finals. Ray Allen needs to take advantage of Fisher.

Game Time: Detroit vs Cleveland

First Quarter

• Cavs win the tip. No scores until 90 seconds in. Nice drive by Iverson from the right wing into the middle of the paint, drawing the defense, and dishing off to Rasheed Wallace for a 6 footer on the left block.
• Big Z answers back with a 20 footer on the left wing. Great to see Ilgauskas back in action. He pulls down a rebound on the other end. Drive and dish to Big Z as he runs up the floor, he feels in rhythm (not sure he is though), he misses. I don’t like seeing Z shoot right after he runs up the floor, he’s more of a set shooter
• Nice pick and roll between Stuckey and Amir Johnson, slam dunk. Amir should be an excellent pick and roll player with his finishing ability, good picks, and athleticism. I’d like to see the Pistons use him in pick and rolls more often..
• Cavs are 1-7 from the field in the first four minutes, they’re down 1, 4-3 Detroit
• Mo Williams draws a charge. His defense earns some praise from the commentators and a story about Mike Brown praising his defense also.
• That’s a better shot for Z, his feet were set when he caught the ball for the jump shot this time, front rims it, rebound bounces right back to him, he takes a step in to catch it, another step into the paint and gets fouled on his runner. He splits a pair at the line and the game is now tied at 4-4 after five minutes.
• Rasheed Wallace close to getting a technical. He deserved one there. Two refs were mixed on who’s ball it was after it was knocked out of bounds, a third ref came over and made the correct call – that Sheed blatantly dropped it out of bounds – and Sheed was upset at the call.

Game Time: Orlando vs Cleveland

First game after the All-Star reserves have been announced. We have three All-Stars for Orlando with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson. While the Cavs sport one All-Star.

Mo Williams was a player who received a lot of All-Star buzz over the past fortnight, so it’ll be interesting to see how he reacts tonight after missing out on the festivities. As an added bonus he’ll be going head-to-head with the player who took his All-Star spot in Jameer Nelson.

Game Time: Los Angeles vs Orlando

My focus on the game tonight is the matchup of Bynum vs Howard, so most of my bullet points will be on them [edit: as the game wore on that changed, fantastic game]

I thought this would be a fun matchup and an interesting “check where I’m at” game for Andrew Bynum

In this fixture last season, I remember Bynum blocking seven shots (10 points and 6 rebounds in 29 minutes also) and playing a solid game. However, it would prove to be too little as the Magic ran out to a very good road victory behind Dwight Howard’s impressive night (17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks).

This is the second matchup of the season for LA and Orlando, the first one ending in a Magic victory on their home court. The Lakers were very poor on that day with Kobe Bryant getting far too little help from his teammates. Bynum meanwhile was atrocious and picking up 5 fouls in only 11 minutes.

Game Time: San Antonio vs Los Angeles

A different set up for tonight’s game, instead of the usual game log I’m going to run a quick Q&A on some of variables I was looking for in tonights game.

First a disclaimer – I wasn’t able to watch the game as closely as I like to do normally, but I feel like I caught the gist of the game. If anybody has anything else to add or correct please feel free to do so.

Secondly, the result was 112-111 to the San Antonio Spurs. It was a tight game throughout and came down to whoever was making their shots at the end of the game, and the Spurs where that lucky side. I’d pay very little attention to who lost and who won tonight because the game could have gone either way.

Westrbook and Rose Match Up

First NBA matchup of their careers. This should be a good one.

This game will be played in Chicago.

First Quarter

• Oklahoma are starting two point guards and two small forwards. Westbrook and Rose are defending one another on either end of the floor.
• Westbrook doing a nice job sagging off of Rose and going down to the elbow as a perimeter jump shot is taken by Gooden, then he flies into the paint and takes down the rebound.

Game Time: Los Angeles vs Boston

If the Lakers perform like they did in their previous three of four games (didn’t see the New Orleans game, good win for LA), this will be a rout.

If the Lakers perform like they have in the month of December, this will be a comfortable win for Boston.

If the Lakers perform like they did in the first month of the season, well then we have something special to salivate over.

Christmas Day Games

Orlando vs New Orleans

This excellent matchup turned into a sad excuse for a contest. The New Orleans Hornets never showed up, and were slapped around with impunity by the Orlando Magic. The Magic had leads of over 20 points for most of the game, topping the 30 point mark at times. The game was over 5 minutes into the third quarter, and from that point on it was garbage time.

Game Time: Cleveland vs Houston

Fantastic matchup tonight between two of the four best teams in the NBA. A possible NBA Finals preview? Yes. A litmus test for both sides? Absolutely. Two excellent defensive+rebounding teams on show today, so we should have a fun grind it out type of game on display.

The Rockets had a very impressive performance last night in New Jersey where they shut down the Nets and stopped their game easily. They went up by 20 points early on and never looked under threat.

Interesting tidbits

Game Time: Hornets vs Spurs

Chris Paul needs one steal tonight to break an NBA record for consecutive games with a steal. He’s currently tied with Alvin Robertson with 105 straight games with a steal, with MJ now in third place with 77 games. Rondo is second on the active list with 22 games, Jeff Foster is fourth with 9 steals which tells you how hard it is to string together a large number of games in this fashion. I’ll be so pleased when this is finally over with because I’m sick of the same damn graphic in every Hornets game since preseason. That’s almost 30 games.

Tyson Chandler is back for the Hornets, but Peja Stojakovic is out again tonight.

Michael Finley is playing his 1,000th regular season game tonight. Congradulations Finley.

First Quarter

Game Time: Utah vs Toronto

The debut of Jay Triano, exciting night for Raptors fans.

Utah are short handed tonight as they play without Carlos Boozer. Millsap starts in his place and Kirilenko will likely play extended minutes off the bench.

First Quarter

• Raptors win the tip, Calderon brings it upcourt, passes to Bargnani out on the right wing, Brewer on him, wide open right hand side of the floor, he drives hard down the right and dunks it home
• Memo Okur with a fadeaway out of the left block, miss, rebound pulled down by Jermaine O’Neal
• Jermaine O’Neal muscles his way down low and finishes inside
• Quick push by Utah, wide open right wing, Millsap takes it to the rim, Jermaine back slowly but takes up a good position to put Millsap off on the shot attempt, missed layup.

Game Time: Boston versus Portland

The Celtics are currently in the midst of a 10 game winning streak which matches their high win streak from last season’s 66 win title winning side. Tonight they’re going to try and break mark against Brandon Roy’s Portland Trailblazers.

There’s a couple of very interesting subplots to tonight’s game that are worth watching out for

• The Celtics defense, especially their pick and roll defense, shut down Steve Blake last season. They stopped him from being even a part time creator out there. When that happened all the responsibilities fell on Brandon Roy because there was no other Blazers’ guard who can break the Celtics down off the dribble. How does Steve Blake do now? Does their exciting Spanish backcourt rise to the occasion? Can Batum or Outlaw provide the help from small forward.
• Rondo played in one of two meetings last season and had a big game against Blake. Blake’s defense will be under a big test tonight also. One could make the case for Blake being the Blazers X factor against the Celtics, the guy who decides how competitive this game is.

Game Time: Denver vs San Antonio

Spurs-Nuggets tonight folks, this is an excellent matchup.

Watch out for Nene’s post defense on Tim Duncan, he’s had a couple of excellent defensive performances against Timmy.

Spurs are starting both Manu and Tony these days so it’ll be interesting to see what they do with that second unit.

First Quarter

• Toss ball, Duncan tips it forwards, Manu gest it, quick jumper as he races in front of everyone, hits the jumper
• Carmelo beating down Michael Finley and scoring inside
• Bonner knocks down a triple
• Kenyon Martin tries to drive on Bonner from 23 feet out top of the key, with two help defenders beside him, anyone want to guess how this goes? Martin fumbles the ball, it falls out luckily to a teammate, Jones drives, fumbles, gets rid of it, Nene hits a jumper in the opposite wing, right wing 17 footer

Game Time: Dallas vs Phoenix

First Quarter

• Suns win the tip but turn it over immediately
• Dampier forces a tough shot from Amare, miss, Dallas breakout, Dampier beats Amare up the floor and gets a dunk inside. Bad transition D from Amare.
• Two pick and rolls from either side, Amare and Dampier dunking.
• George banks a pull up jumper from the FT line
• George is making his second consecutive start tonight. I didn’t know he’d been inserted into the starting lineup, I guess the Gerald Green experiment is over for now.
• Amare has taken five shots and hit 3 of them in the first 2 and a half minutes. No other Suns player has shot the ball. His last basket was a long jumper.

Game Time: Detroit vs Portland

Portland begin their five game East Coast road trip tonight. They’ll be facing Detroit, New York, Washington, Boston, and the Toronto Raptors. Detroit will pose a good test for the young Blazers.

Detroit have comfortably beaten their last two opponents, New York and Milwaukee, after an embarrassing display that saw the Minnesota Timberwolves walloping them by 26 points on their home court.

[Edit: Dang it. I got the start time wrong. I thought it was 3:30 Eastern, it was actually three o'clock. Blazers ahead 18-9]

First Quarter

• Three minutes left to play in the first quarter
• 25-11 Portland ahead as we come back from a timeout

Game Time: Los Angeles vs Miami

First Quarter

• Miami ahead 5-4 after Dwyane Wade hits a ridiculous three pointer from the left corner, he came off a high screen and roll on the left wing, was pushed along the sideline by Zach Randolph, Zach then went back to his man who was rolling to the hoop, Wade stopped, Gordon got back to his man, Wade went up with a hand in his mug and drained it.
• Anthony had a brilliant rejection early in the game.
• Nice cut by Camby from the top of the key down the middle, his teammate finds him, he puts too much english on the layup and blows the easy two.
• Zach Randolph along the baseline, right side, facing up his man from 16 feet, a couple of jab steps, knocks down the jumper. Baron Davis followed that up with a long J of his own.

Game Time: Portland vs New Orleans

I’m tuning in a few moments late. I was watching the Suns-Heat game, fantastic win for Miami and a great performance from Dwyane Wade.

First Quarter

• Blazers ahead 4-0 after two minutes (Roy+Aldridge scoring)
• Nice drive by young Batum as he drives from the corner, hugging the baseline, and finishes inside with the dunk
• Aldridge posting up on the left box, he faces up, drives across the lane and hits a sweeping hook shot
• Steve Blake nailing a three pointer right wing
• Peja Stojakovic responding right back with a triple from the left corner early in the shot clock.
• Peja posting up the youngster on the right block, backing him down, draws the foul. He has 5 of the Hornets 7 points, and adds two more at the FT line.
• Portland lead 13-7 after four plus minutes
• Roy posting up Butler off the left elbow, Blake cuts across the baseline from the right corner underneath the rim, Butler in a low stance, Roy passes over the top to Blake, the sprint takes him away from the rim, he takes the 14 footer on the left baseline, good look, misses

Game Time: Oklahoma City vs Phoenix (first half only)

Shaq rests tonight, so we’ll get a chance for an extended look at Robin Lopez

This is a trap game for Phoenix. Oklahoma City will, or at least should be, riding a high from the coaching switch, they’ll come out with great energy tonight and play hard.

First Quarter

• Oklahoma win the tip
• First possession, Durant above the top of the key, passes to Collison high right wing, Durant cuts gets the hand off, unloads, misses
• Second possession, turnover, bad drive by Green against numbers got trapped on the baseline, then jumped and had nobody to pass to.
• Good ball movement by Phoenix to Matt Barnes another three pointer, his second of the game. Suns ahead 6-2.
• Earl Watson with a great hustle to play to save a loose ball off a Suns player out of bounds to save a possession. Durant gets a 18 footer, catch and shoot, left wing on that ensuing possession.
• Nash with a lazy lob pass to the unattentive Lopez, easily stolen
• Collison gets his hand on another Suns pass, it goes out to Barnes, he’s defended, Barnes has to take it, makes it.
• Wilkins beats Barnes off the bounce, takes him to the rim, layup

Game Time: Toronto vs Boston

Jermaine O’Neal will play this morning/afternoon so we will get to say the Raptors big frontline in full effect.

The Celtics bench has come back around over the last two games after a few tough ones. They were outplayed by Toronto’s second unit in Boston so it’ll be interesting to see how they come out today.

First Quarter

• Raptors win the tip. Jermaine on the right baseline, 18 feet out, takes one dribble in, back to the basket, gets off a shot, falls down, little out of control, misses
• Perk misses in traffic, contested rebound, slapped out, Bargnani snares it
• Bargnani cuts down into the post, Pierce bumps into him and pushes himself (Pierce) out of the play, Bargnani reacts poorly and moves off the block, sets a screen for Bosh to come down there. Ball knocked out of bounds a few moments later, inbounds, a heave at the buzzer, miss. Bad possession.
• Calderon dribbles into the lane, picks up his dribble, he’s in no man’s land, turns it over on a bad pass.
• Perkins back to the basket right block, turns, swings the ball, takes a power dribble down ot the baseline and draws the foul on Jermaine
• Great cut by Perkins across into the middle of the paint, gets the pass, kicks it out to the corner, three pointer good
• Rondo slap’s Calderon’s dribble from behind, breakaway layup for Rondo as he leaked out.

Game Time: Orlando vs Toronto

Andrea Bargnani starts at small forward again tonight

Mickael Pietrus is out injured for the Magic. Redick starts in his place.

Great matchup tonight. A rematch of last year’s playoff battle and a possible playoff matchup this season too. Toronto have undergone big changes since last season with Jermaine O’Neal now at the club, it’ll be very interesting to see how these two clubs matchup now.

First Quarter

• Bargnani flashes from the corner to the right hand side of the hoop, makes the catch and finishes inside
• Howard with a shot block on Solomon’s forced drive as he attempted to beat the shot clock. Rough possession for Toronto there

Game Time: Cleveland vs Denver

Denver have been a tough matchup for LeBron James and the Cavs over the past few years. Their speed and offensive firepower gave them a stylistic difference over the methodical Cavaliers, and the Nuggets were consistently able to force the tempo they needed to turn that difference into an advantage. With Billups in town, and Mo in Cleveland, the speed advantage and firepower advantage Denver had is smaller than recent years …. Cavs might have the advantage now.

Denver have won the last 5 games against Cleveland.

I believe Chris Andersen is out tonight. Kenyon Martin is a game time decision, if he can’t go that would leave Denver with only one legit big man …. very difficult to see them winning in that scenario. Cleveland are too tough on the interior to get away with that.

Kenyon Martin will play. He’s a bit tender, but ready to go.

Game Time: Phoenix vs Houston

First Quarter

• Suns win the tip
• Both teams turn the ball over in the first 30 seconds.
• Suns have gone inside to Shaq on the first two possessions, second was a kickout to Nash for a three which he hit
• Shaq blocks Yao’s lefty jump hook, turnover, Matt Barnes pushes it the other way.
• Suns go inside to Shaq again, nice pass by Shaq to the cutting Barnes, layup
• Bad pass inside by Ron Artest. Yao had inside position but the pass forced him outside of the paint, misses the ensuing shot. Why make your teammate take a worse shot? Make a good pass would you please?
• Phoenix ahead 8-0 after Barnes hits a corner three pointer off of Nash’s drive and kick
• Artest and Scola play a nice two man game, Artest threads the bounce pass, dunk Scola.

Game Time: New Orleans vs Los Angeles

Peja Stojakovic – 21ppg in 36 minutes a night shooting 47% from the field and 60% from three on almost 10 attempts per game from downtown. The Lakers defense was disgracefully bad on him more often than not (especially Radmanovic). Good test for this team’s D.

First Quarter

• Hornets can’t get the lights to come back on after turning them off for the pregame introductions. There’s enough light on the court but not around the rest of the stadium. They’re holding up the start of th contest to see if they can quickly fix the problem.
• The court is looking brighter now. They must have some if not all of the lights on.
• Haywoode Workman is a ref tonight.
• Jump ball to start the game, problem on the jump ball, problem on the jump, is the third or fourth jump ball? Chandler wins the tip
• Chandler low post, drives hard to the middle, takes a poor jump hook, Bynum blocks it easily. Chandler didn’t use his body well enough to protect the ball.

Game Time: Dallas vs Los Angeles

This is an exciting matchup

Tonight is a test game for the Lakers, well more specifically for Pau Gasol and the Gasol-Bynum tandem. Before the season Phil Jackson amongst others voiced concerns about how well their big lineup would do against perimeter orientated bigs, guys who can shoot or drive, and also players who are mobile+quick. If Gasol does poorly we’ll see a lot of Lamar Odom.

Ah, terrible news before the game starts, I was hoping Josh Howard would be playing tonight but he isn’t ready to return yet. That leaves Dallas without their second best player. This is going to make the game a lot tougher for Dallas.

First Quarter

• Oops misjudged the start of this one. Five minutes into the game. Dallas are ahead 14-10. No idea how the game is going so far.
• Dallas ahead 17-10
• Commentators say that the Mavericks are on a 13-0 run and that the Lakers have not scored for three minutes
• Green makes two FTs, now 19-10.

Game Time: Cleveland vs Milwaukee

I’m going to tune off this game to watch the Mavs-Lakers matchup at 20:30 ET. So I should get to see 2-3 quarters of basketball.

These two teams played a couple of nail-biters last season, close contests that went down to the finish. A pair of really good games post Ben Wallace trade too. Of course one of the big reasons why was Mo Williams who destroyed Cleveland last year, so we’ll see if the Bucks can hang tough without him – one of the reasons Cleveland rated him so highly? I think so.

Ah bad news, Michael Redd isn’t playing tonight. Charlie Bell starts in his place. A tough game just got tougher.

Game Time: Boston vs Toronto

I struggle to see how Toronto make this a game, I expect a convincing win from the Celtics.

It’s Perk’s birthday tonight folks

First Quarter

• Raptors win the tip
• Jermaine O’Neal on the right post, fadeaway in the middle over Perk, nails it
• Pierce posting up Moon on the midpost left wing, one or two dribbles and a quick turnaround, misses. Didn’t look in rhythm.
• Officials don’t know who deflected that ball out of bounds. They’re discussing it. Boston ball.
• Jermaine O’Neal is defending KG, KG gets the step as he moves right, spins left, Jermaine recovers, great contest, KG hits it anyway
• Jermaine O’Neal with a beautiful fadeaway over Perk in the low post. That was a tough shot, Perk played him brilliantly. Jermaine has come out to play tonight.
• Jermaine posting up too far out, faces up, thinks about the jumper, Celtics double, make Jermaine reconsider and dish it out, Calderon misses a three, offensive rebound, quick 16 footer taken by Jermaine, miss
• Offensive rebound for Boston
• Good hustle by Jamario Moon to beat KG to the loose ball. Jermaine didn’t react and didn’t put a body on KG.
• KG against Bosh inside, moves inside, passes out, slapped on the arm by Moon. Foul.
• Toronto ahead 4-2 after three minutes
• Lob pass by Perk to Pierce, layup and the foul on Moon. That’s two, Graham should enter the game. It’ll likely be Kapono. Let’s see what Sam Mitchell does. He leaves Moon in the game. Okay.
• Moon hitting a rainbow fallaway top of the key off the backboard, lucky shot
• Jermaine fighting Perk on the defensive glass, tapped out, Moon scrapes it up. Those loose balls that Moon makes his is his best value as an NBA player.
• Jermaine hits the jumper from the FT line
• Raptors defense scrambling all over the court effectively. Got a little disorganized late in the possession but found their way back before Boston spotted the open man.
• Jermaine with another fallaway inside. He has 8 points in the first five minutes.
• I don’t think Jermaine’s performance will last the full game …. I expect Perk’s defense to win out as the game goes on.
• Calderon goes away from Jermaine, passes out, Parker puts it back inside, Jermaine posting up, backing him down, muscling it up, wants the refs to give him a foul, doesn’t get it, misses badly. He played for the foul instead of the shot attempt.
• KG getting good position as he runs up the court quickly, he makes the catch right post, backs down Bosh, foul on Bosh as KG goes up through his arm. Foul on the floor, must have been before the shot attempt.
• Bosh trails the play, hits a 20 footer in rhythm, nice pass allowing Bosh to step into that.
• Perkins loose ball foul on the offensive glass
• Timeout
• Jermaine drives on Perk, takes a wild ruunner, brick …. Calderon steals it, lob pass, alley oop dunk by Jermaine. He has 10 points already.
• 7 minutes into the game now
• Rondo goes strong to the hoop, misses, rebound Jermaine
• Bosh beats Perk as he drives right off the right wing, gets to the rim, foul on Perk. Bosh makes two at the line. Perk’s second foul, who’ll replace him? He’s already looking at the break. Leon Powe enters the action. Bosh has been averaging 26.7ppg, 11rpg and 54% shooting from the field.
• KG with the fallaway, misses, rebound Jermaine
• Rebound KG …. Celtics walk it up slowly. Pierce posts up left block, doubled passes it out, Ray has had enough, he takes Parker one on one, drives right on the right wing, spins back left as he nears center court, fouled on the runner, makes two at the line.
• Rondo pressuring Calderon a little bit
• Jermaine goes up for the dunk … blocked by KG from behind. Nice pass by Parker to Jermaine in the middle of the lane.
• Ray makes two more FTs.
• Toronto lead 16-11
• Andrea Bargnani replaces Chris Bosh
• 3 minutes to play
• Jermaine forces a jumper from 12 feet, Leon Powe with a great contest, airball. Jermaine is now 5-10 from the field.
• Ray finds Pierce for an open three, nails it
• Timeout
• Ray knocks down the jumper off the pick, he has 8. Tie Game.
• Solomon with a fake, and a long two, misses, tracks down his offensive board, out to Kapono, Kapono knocks down a three.
• Raptors ahead 21-18
• Leon Powe inside, travel.
• The Celtics second unit is now in. Ray Allen is the starter that’s remained out on the floor.
• Nice pass by Kapono to Humphries, he dunks inside

Second Quarter

• Raptors lead 23-18
• House nails a long jumper
• Offensive foul on Bargnani, moving pick
• Doc during the timeout – Both teams are playing like garbage right now, they’re just winning because they’ve been making all the hustle plays, getting to all the loose balls – When he’s right, he’s right.
• Bosh enters the game for Bargnani as Andrea picked up another foul, Leon drew it.
• Leon Powe travels again, turnover. Third Boston turnover, Raptors have two turnovers of their own.
• Kapono creating off the dribble, I don’t like that, Raptors end up with a long jumper as the shot clock winds down, miss … they get the rebound though.
• Graham is in the game too. Toronto had a full five bench players on the floor to start the quarter.
• Graham with a nice rebound inside
• Bosh hits the face up J along the baseline from 14 feet over Powe
• Pierce is about to enter the game for Ray Allen. I prefer Paul in that unit, he does a better job as a central figure who provides balance/creativity for the unit for the unit.
• Raptors ahead 26-22
• Graham wide open from 18 feet top of the key, hits the shot
• Graham with another wide open J from 17 feet, this time right wing
• Kapono created both of those shots for Graham. Odd sight.
• Timeout
• Glen Davis jumps over Humphries and lands on top of him.
• Drive and dish to Graham, he nails a 20 footer top of the key
• Tony Allen beats Graham off the bounce easily, gets to the rim, blows the layup
• Lovely passing by Toronto, nice pass back by Kapono to Humphries for a dunk on the break. Kapono bumping shoulders with Humphries on the way back.
• Davis takes a 17 footer left wing, misses
• Pierce posting up, faces up from 18 feet left wing, drives right, gets into the paint and goes up, smacked, foul.
• Joey Graham with a great hustle play getting on the offensive glass, loose ball foul against Boston as Graham tried to snatch that away.
• Jermaine re-enters the game
• Bosh forces a shot from the top of the key, misses
• Graham trips up Tony Allen … refs rule incidental contact. Celtics uphappy with the call, rightly so.
• Rondo turns it over going to the hoop but it’s a good sign that he’s taking it the hole.
• Jermaine turns baseline off the right block, pump fake, Davis bites, Jermaine goes up, gets some contact, gets the foul, hits the shot
• KG with a nice fadeaway J out of the low post over Jermaine O’Neal, he nails it
• Graham hits the jumper from the corner off the drive and kick. Graham’s shooting providing the Raptors with some offense here in the second quarter.
• Sam Mitchell brings Anthony Parker back in for Graham. I’d be tempted to leave him in there.
• Jermaine makes two at the line
• Toronto lead 40-26
• KG offensive rebound, out to Ray Allen, he misses a three, defensive rebound Jermaine O’Neal
• Jermaine with a nice pass to the beautiful cut by Kapono running around Jermaine from the left wing along the baseline as Jermaine faced up from 14 feet left post, layup. Heady play from both Jermaine and Kapono.
• Raptors are geared up tonight
• KG gets a three point play inside as Jermaine goaltends after the foul.
• Jermaine with a beautiful spin move out of the low post, layup. He was so quick that he looked like he was out of control and about to fall over, but he steadied himself and lays it in.
• Jermaine getting animated …. didn’t like that foul on the defensive end. Pierce made one of two FTs.
• Toronto ahead 22-14 on the backboards
• Jermaine O’Neal and Perkins going nose to nose. Having words. Perk is relaxed quickly. Jermaine has moved away from the action. Foul on Perkins. Didn’t see that. Replay shows a little shove from Perk, not much. Double technicals called also. Third foul on Perk.
• Lovely pass by Rondo off his dribble penetration to KG, open 18 footer along the baseline, nails it. Calderon cannot defend Rondo off the dribble.
• Timeout
• Jermaine O’Neal has 19 points and 7 rebounds on 7-12 shooting. 11 of those shots came inside of 13 feet.
• Rondo overpassing. His teammates head was turned the other way, KG couldn’t see the ball, Rondo threw it to him anyway, turnover. He had a layup but wanted to pass.
• Pierce with a nice hesitation dribble to break loose and get to the rim on the break, layup, missed badly
• Turnover Parker, he stepped out of bounds. Mitchell fired up.
• Rondo falls over on his dribble, gets rid of it before Toronto tie him up
• Offenisve foul on Parker on the fastbreak, third on Parker. Turnover. He used the off arm to push Pierce out of the way in mid air. Easy call.
• Toronto ahead 46-32 with a minute fifteen to go
• Inside to KG, back out, they make a few passes, post up Pierce, he passes out, KG creates a shot for himself from 15 feet off the bounce, ball tapped around, Toronto come away with it.
• Calderon with a bullet bounce pass, slips through the hands of Kapono. Pass looked low but hard to tell from this camera view.
• Pierce takes it to the rim, passes off the KG, short shot good. Pierce is 2-10 from the field. The two field goals were layups.
• Rondo fouls Calderon, Jose makes two at the line
• Timeout Celtics
• Rondo takes Calderon off the bounce, layup

Halftime

• Toronto ahead 48-36
• Toronto ahead on the backboards 25-18
• The Celtics have only shot 32% from the field on their 37 attempts, 12 makes, 7 dimes on those 12 buckets. They are 1-10 from three and 10-12 from the FT line.
• The Raptors are 18-40 from the field for 45% shooting. They have 13 assists on their 18 baskets. They are 4-5 from three and 10-11 from the FT line.
• Jermaine finished the half with 19 points and 8 rebounds on 7-12 shooting, plus 5-5 from the line. He was the player of the half.
• Joey Graham gave the Raptors a gerat spark of the bench with 8 points and 5 rebounds in 12 minutes
• Chris Bosh was quiet with only 6 points and 2 rebounds. That isn’t likely to continue. I expect to see him come up big in the second half
• The C’s Big Three have 28 of the team’s 26 points. Ray is 2-7 from the field. Pierce is 2-10 from the field. KG was the best of the three from the field shooting 5-12.
• Eddie House was the Celtics’ only bench player to make a shot. The bench didn’t contribute much in the first half. Tony Allen was disappointing.
• The Raptors bench has outscored BOston 19-6

Third Quarter

• Ray Allen makes the pull up J from 12 feet to start the half
• Moon misses the three pointer
• Jermaine misses a jumper from the left wing, about 17 feet …. Celtics run the other way, Ray Allen hitting the layup
• Drive and kick Calderon to Moon, he hits the three pointer from the right wing. Defensive rebound Moon on the other end after KG missed a 19 footer top of the key.
• Rondo settles for a jumper out of the corner, misses
• Jermaine faces up 15 feet out left wing, drives left along the baseline, kicks it out to Parker. Nothing comes of it.
• Nice deflection by Toronto on the lob pass, fastbreak the other way, jump shot from 18 feet along the baseline, nailed it. Think that was Parker.
• Calderon and Rondo trade hoops. Rondo’s was a drive and layup late in the shot clock. Calderon’s was a 20 foot pull up J after coming off a screen.
• Heinson – this is the type of game where I’d try to get throw out if I was coaching. Try to get some emotion into the game.
• Moon with the offensive rebound. Great rebound by Moon.
• nice bounce pass by Calderon to the top of the key, Bosh pump fake, drives middle, shuffle pass to Jermaine, he’s fouled on the layup. He goes to the FT line, misses the first, misses the second, high bounce off the rim and it bounces up off the rim over the backboard.
• Tommy and Mike Gorman are working some witchcraft
• Ray Allen bricks a 7 footer. Bricks it badly.
• Calderon drives inside, dishes it out to Moon, three from the top of the key, misses
• Pierce misses on the otehr end, long rebound Moon, Moon pushes it up quickly, passes it inside to Bosh, Bosh drives baseline, travel.
• Boston settling for jump shots as KG misses another from the top of the key. KG is 5-14 now.
• Boston still shooting 32% from the floor
• Perk backing down Bosh, short jump hook, good. He beat up Bosh easily.
• Perk’s outlet pass, Calderon deflects it. Out of bounds
• Timeout
• Toronto lead 57-44
• 13 point lead isn’t safe against this Boston team. That can disappear in 3-4 minutes.
• KG scores off the Pierce feed
• Moon creating off the dribble, finally gives it up, Calderon posts up Jermaine, Pierce is defending him, Jermaine takes the fadeaway, misses. Good D by Pierce.
• Toronto ahead 59-46 after that Bosh alley oop dunk.
• Active hands by Toronto. Two deflections out of bounds on this possession. Still 9 seconds on the shot clock for Boston.
• Boston’s crowd is quiet
• Ray inbounds it to Rondo, he drives it, misses the floater. Rondo is now 2-6
• Toronto ahead 32-26 on the backboards
• Toronto post up Jermaine, he passes out, Moon misses a three
• Glen Davis is defending Jermaine right now. Tought matchup for Jermaine in the low post, but he should be able to shoot over the top of him on his post moves or face up jumper.
• Loose ball, Celtics steal it, come up the other way, pass to Pierce on the left wing, Pierce nails a three pointer
• Boston are on a 9-2 run
• Timeout Sam Mitchell
• Toronto ahead 8-4 on offensive boars as Bosh pulls that one away … Kapono drives, passes out, Bargnani shoots it from three left wing, closed out well, brick. Bad brick.
• Toronto pick up their first team foul almost 10 minutes into the third quarter. Bosh called for a loose ball foul on that Bargnani miss
• Rondo misses a layup. Bosh did well to alter that late.
• Celtics defense cranking up. Great possession there to deny Bosh, stop a Kapono drive, and then force a long three from Calderon to beat the buzzer.
• Celtics run out the other way, Pierce fouled, two FTs, makes them.
• 6 point game
• Calderon harrassing Calderon, Calderon falls over, Rondo looses his show as he tries to reach down, goes to pick up his sneaker and fouls Calderon with the other hand to get his shoe back on.
• Parker nails a jumper from the top of the key as he comes off the pick
• Ray drive and kick to KG in the corner, 18 footer good
• KG pressuring Calderon up court
• Rondo pokes Parker’s dribble away from behind, KG steals it … Boston push it the other way, passes it to Ray on the right wing, Ray drives right, gets to the rim, foul on Ray, no foul on Bosh. They change the call. Bosh had his foot in the circle, he changed his standing foot at the last moment before Ray hit him and stepped back inside the semi-circle.
• Garnett is pumped right now … Crowd responding. KG taunting Calderon all the way up court, clapping his face and jeering him.
• Foul on KG off the ball. He’s pissed at the call. Bosh misses the first FT, makes the second.
• Toronto ahead 62-57
• 34 seconds to play
• Pierce passes to Rondo along the baseline, quick pass to KG cutting inside, layup
• KG pressuring Calderon upcourt again
• KG switches onto Calderon, Calderon passes it to Kapono in the corner, Kapono nails it in Pierce’s face. Wow.

Fourth Quarter

• Kapono makes a tough runner off the glass off a broken play. Big shot. Good defense by Rondo pressuring Calderon and almost stealing the ball away.
• Pierce takes it hard to the rim, foul on Bargnani, he makes both. Paul is 3-13 tonight for 16 points on 8-9 shooting from the line.
• Bargnani nails a difficult shot over Davis along the left baseline.
• Big mistake by Toronto – Graham and O’Neal fought one another for the rebound and lost it out of bounds.
• Calderon doesn’t want to leave the game. Has words with Mitchell. Now he’s on the bench clapping on his teammates. Doubt he sits long. It’s important he’s fresh for the finish, because he’s the Raptors closer.
• Tony Allen sparking the defense with a steal, ahead to Paul, fouled again. He splits the pair.
• 7 point game
• 10:35 to play
• Overpassing from Toronto, they had three good shooting opportunities but key passing them up, House steals it, fastbreak House to BBD, blocked by Jermaine, called for a foul. Not sure that was a foul. Davis splits a pair.
• Toronto ahead 69-63
• Leon Powe draws a charge on Jermaine. Great job by Leon Powe there.
• Pierce with a looping layup, makes it, plus the foul. Calderon comes back in. Pierce makes the FT. Pierce has 20 points now and is 10-12 from the FT line.
• 69-66 Toronto
• Graham taking an unneccassy dribble that screwed up Calderon’s wide open three pointer …. Kapono bails him out with a tough tough jumper to beat the shot clock.
• Pierce spins into the lane on Calderon, finds Leon, dunk.
• Kapono has to force it, misses. Raptors getting nothing going offensively.
• Pierce nails the pull up jumper
• Toronto lead 71-70
• 8:18 to go
• Timeout Toronto
• Kapono misses a floater … Pierce rebounds, Pierce dribbles it upcourt, pulls it out, drives left, kicks it over to House early, Calderon gets a piece of Eddie’s shot. Turnover.
• Celtics have shot 50% this half, compared to 39% for Toronto
• Tony Allen called for the offensive foul. Good charge drawn by Jermaine.
• Kapono loses the ball on the way up for his pull up J, it lands on the baseline, turnover.
• Third time lucky for Boston?
• No offensive foul on Tony Allen for pushing off …. no wait, replay doesn’t show that. Bad call. Boston should have gotten the lead on that play
• Calderon nails a three pointer left wing
• Big swing there on those two possessions
• Pierce looking comfortable attacking Kapono, help comes quick, BBD takes a 18 footer left wing, misses
• Foul on Glen Davis. That’s his fourth.
• 6 minutes to play
• Paul Pierce has played 40 minutes already tonight, he isn’t getting any rest now.
• Pierce nails a three pointer as the Celtics push it up quickly after a Raps miss
• Nice ball movement from Boston as the swing it side to side off Calderon’s drive and kick, Parker nails a three
• Pierce and House left against Calderon on the left wing, good ball movement, Pierce fakes the pass, Calderon buys it, Pierce nails a three
• Calderon gets to the rim, misses the layup
• House scores a three over Calderon
• Boston take the lead
• 79-77 Boston
• Nice drive by Bosh, passes to Jermaine, fouled inside, misses the layup. He should have made that. Lack of concentration after the foul, it was soft foul.
• Timeout
• Jermaine O’Neal has 0 points and 3 rebounds in the second half. He hasn’t been involved in the game on the offensive end of the floor.
• Jermaine makes the first FT, next one to tie the game, crowd giving him some abuse, makes the second.
• Tie Game 79-79
• Celtics ball …. House brings it up court, to KG top of the key, to Pierce right wing, pick and roll, Pierce turns the corner gets to the FT line, bounce pass to KG who’s rolling down the right wing, KG hits the short J off glass. Boston take the lead back.
• KG fouls, third team foul.
• Raptors inbound the ball. Nice kickout from Jermaine to Parker in the corner, three pointer good. Toronto take the lead
• Pierce misses the jumper, Kapono rebounds.
• 3:20 to play
• Nice pass by Calderon to Jermaine as he cuts across the paint after Jose’s penetration, Jermaine gathers himself and finishes inside.
• Timeout
• Ray Allen with a massive three pointer on the catch and shoot … Tie Game again
• Jermaine makes one pass too many after good ball movement. Turnover. He should have shot that.
• Rondo dribbles out the shotclock, has to force a fadeaway, side irons.
• High screen and roll, nothing on, Kapono making a bad entry pass to the post to Jermaine, lost O’Neal inside position, Jermaine can’t get a good shot, has to take the fadeaway, blocked by Perk
• Celtics push it ahead the other way, Pierce nails a jumper right wing, he backed down Kapono to the right elbow, then spun away from the rim and hit the fadeaway
• Timeout Toronto
• Calderon top of the key, runs off a high pick, throws it back to O’Neal, he puts it on the floor, loses it, turnover. Great defense by Boston on Calderon to force him along the baseline, took away any good options he was hoping to create.
• Pierce nails another jumper over Kapono
• Calderon air balls a 15 foot pull up J, he had a great look. Perk made himself big coming over but he wasn’t close to getting it.
• Pierce drives to the rim, nifty finish, up and under in midair to avoid Bosh’s contest. He blew by Kapono at the top of the key to get into the lane in the first place.
• Boston ahead 90-84
• This is over
• 34 seconds to play, inbounds to Parker, pull up J off the dribble, miss, rebound Rondo, he may have stepped out of bounds on that board before getting rid of it. Toronto foul.

This is over.

Very good win from the Celtics after playing very poorly for large chunks of this game.

Toronto will be disappointed that they blew this contest after controlling the game for close to three quarters, and having a lead in the final three minutes of the game.

Game Time: Los Angeles vs Houston

Great matchup tonight, quite possibly the best two teams in the Western Conference.

For my money, Houston are the team that’s best equipped to knock the Lakers off in postseason action

First Quarter

• Bynum just about wins the tip. Lakers immediately go to Bynum, he backs Yao down, turns middle, jump hook, loses control of the ball. Bynum has said in teh past that Yao is one of the more difficult players for him to play against, he’s the only one who’s bigger than him length wise.
• Pau Gasol with a defensive rebound, Fisher brings it up, Fisher probing off the bounce, creates his shot, takes a fallaway 15 footer left wing, in and out, miss. Looked good.
• Bynum forces an air ball from Yao on his fallaway along the baseline off the left post
• Kobe hitting a floater over Yao
• Artest backs down Kobe, Kobe dives, open path to the rim, LA’s defense all rotate over, pass out to Scola for the 17 footer top of the key, nails it
• Kobe beating Artest with his quickness, another bucket for him
• Lakers run the fastbreak, Radmanovic throws the lob pass to Gasol, slam dunk. Nice play
• Yao called for a travel. He got Bynum on the head fake and was about to draw a foul, but he travelled first.
• Bynum keeping it alive, Scola corrals it.
• Tracy driving, Kobe strips him … fastbreak the other way, Fisher layup, contested, miss, putback contested, miss
• Pau misses a 16 footer left wing off the pick and pop
• Kobe from behind blocks Yao Ming. Looked like Yao had an open dunk after a sweet pass from Scola. Yao tried to lay it in rather than dunk it on the layup.
• Lovely bounce pass by Fisher to Bynum off the pick and roll, he goes strong to the rim, foul on Houston. Bynum misses the first, makes the second.
• Lakers lead 7-4
• Alston throws an awful pass out of bounds. That was 7 feet wide of two players, almost perfectly in between the two
• Bynum throws a bad pass, Artest leads the break, finds Alston, layup
• Kobe showing some nice footwork, spins baseline, fouled by Artest. Artest playing Kobe tight.
• Fisher has another J rattle in and out. Unlucky.
• Lakers 3-12 from the field to start the game
• Lovely cut by Yao, he dunks it hard. Learned his lesson from the previous play.
• Quick push by Houston, three pointer Alston right wing. Rafer has 7 of their first 11 points.
• Houston ahead 11-7
• Rafer leading the fastbreak, behind the back to McGrady, layup contested, missed, tap up and in.
• Bad pass by Gasol, Bynum almost saves it. His athleticism is crazy. Turnover … fastbreak Houston, three pointer on the break.
• Timeout
• Houston lead 16-7
• Lakers miss a shot out of the timeout, Bynum keeps it alive, fighting for it, it goes out of bounds. Rockets ball.
• Great collapsing defense by LA on Tracy McGrady, forced Houston into a very poor shot.
• Turnover LA, bad pass by Radmanovic. Fifth turnover
• Rockets have 4 turnovers. Houston have scored 10 points off turnovers, LA only 2.
• Bynum inside over Scola, takes the turnaround, great look, misses, rebound Scola
• Rafer races up court, and all around the court, now resets the offense, into Yao, he takes the quick turnaround J, in and out
• Fisher nails a 18 footer left wing
• Rockets post up Yao, tentatively passes out instead of taking the shot, Houston repost, Yao takes a hook shot, nails it
• Houston try to run off the fastbreak, Artest looks to slow it down and reset, then sees the trailing Scola, finds Luis, Luis dribbles right, thinks about resetting the offense, thinks better of it, notices Pau isn’t in good defensive position, spins baseline, gets under the hoop, goes up strong, draws the foul
• Timeout
• Scola makes two
• Yao taps it away from Gasol in the low post, fastbreak, Alston takes a runner, misses, Yao runs to the front of the rim and sets up shop, taps it up, misses, taps it in on the second attempt
• Ron Artest picks up his second foul
• Aaron Brooks comes in for Artest. Odd substitution. Adelman must want to keep up the high pace. Brooks will run the point by the looks of their first possession.
• Alston three pointer, left iron
• Kobe doubled by Yao …. terrible matchup. Kobe will kill Rafer Alston. At least put Tracy on Kobe. This is where Shane Battier’s absence really hurts
• Rockets lead 22-11
• Kobe misses the first FT, makes the second FT
• Chuck Hayes comes in for Yao. Now the Rockets are really small.
• Two minutes to play in the first quarter
• Difficult two minutes ahead for Houston
• Chuck Hayes tries to create a shot for himself, almost turns it over, passes out, Scola forced into a 20 footer to beat the shot clock.
• Blocking foul on Hayes trying to take a charge on Ariza’s slashing.
• Houston forced to heave at the end of the shot clock again, miss, offensive rebound, out to Brooks, three pointer good. Brooks has gotten 1-3 of those three pointers of teammates offensive rebounds per game in the Rockets games I’ve watched this season.
• Houston miss a runner, offensive rebound, they bring it back out and play the clock.
• Brooks top of the key, drives into the paint, fouled by Gasol, finishes up over Gasol off the glass, nice high arc there. Brooks makes the FT, three point play.
• Houston ahead 28-14
• Kobe brings it up, crosses over T-Mac and takes the pull up J, hits it

Second Quarter

• Lakers shooting only 29% in the first quarter. Plus the 8 turnovers. Plus the 4 offensive rebounds Houston got. Lakers are only down 12?  They should be happy.
• Lovely pass down low to Carl Landry, he gets a hoop in the middle of the lane to start the second quarter off right
• Bynum taps the rebound out, Ariza hustles it down
• Houston have no starters on the floor right now
• Landry is the tallest Rocket on the floor. Hayes is guarding Bynum. Go to Bynum! Please!
• Rockets lead 32-16
• Hayes called for the hold on Bynum
• Lakers go inside to Bynum, nice give and go between Ariza and Bynum as Ariza cuts baseline gets the hand off and lays it in
• Brooks drives baseline, throws a bad pass, turnover, foul on the fastbreak as Landry reaches in on Sasha’s dribble
• Bynum with a nice move in the post to hit a turnaround over Hayes. Little shoulder shake and good footwork.
• Rockets turnover, Ariza gives it to Farmer, Farmer layup
• Head passes out to Brooks, he nails a three from the right corner as Sasha gets hit by a screen
• Timeout Phil Jackson
• Phil has a word with Sasha as he comes to bench – friendly word. Likely give some directions to Sasha after that last play.
• Rockets lead 35-22
• Farmer nails a three from the top of the key, 10 point game
• Brooks runs off a screen, loses his man completely, wide open three, no two pointer, foot on the line, right wing. Nice movement by Brooks.
• Bynum walks, isn’t called, he finishes over Hayes easily in the paint
• Landry on the pick and pop, great look from 15 feet, FT line jumper, hits it
• Hayes called for another foul. Tried to draw a charge again, failed, blocking foul.
• 8 minutes to play in the first half
• Brooks has 13 points already.
• Scola checks in for Hayes
• Landry strokes it home from 18 feet right wing
• Lamar Odom very aggressive on two straight possessions posting up on Landry. Called for three seconds on the second possession before he could get it up and in. Landry has to start defending him before the FT line. Odom is starting to low.
• Turnover, Bynum steals Barry’s pass, Barry wants a foul. Fastbreak, three pointer, good.
• Another Rockets turnover, Farmer runs it, looks to reset, no he takes a three after pulling out, misses. Huge momentum shot right there. Another basket would have been brilliant, crowd would have erupted. Should have gotten a better shot.
• Rockets run the other way off Farmer’s miss, Scola draws the foul inside, makes two FTs.
• Rockets lead 43-31
• 7 minutes to play
• Lamar Odom posting up at the elbow, turns middle, shoots, Ariza swoops in from the right wing, offensive rebound, misses the putback, Odom hits the putback
• Bynum posts up inside, misses the baseline shot, Ariza swoops in again. Fouled on teh putback.
• Brent Barry – Put a body on Trevor Ariza already! You’re killing your team right now. Four second chance points and it’s on your head for being lazy. Nothing else, just a lack of effort. Get your head in the game.
• Farmer steals it, breakaway dunk
• Houston lead 43-36
• Head drives to the rim, layup. Nobody stopped the ball. Two bigs showed some attention and reached over, but didn’t go strong enough
• Lamar Odom to pop off from three, no, passes off in midair, finds Bynum open under the rim, dunk.
• Timeout Houston
• 7 point game now
• Lakers are leading on the backboards, 17-15.
• This is one of those matchups where not having Mutombo kills the Rockets. They need that second big to handle the Lakers quality big man play, especially Bynum.
• Ariza swooping in fon the offensive glass, another rebound. That was Head’s fault.
• Kobe nails a 20 footer after Yao didn’t come out on the pick and roll
• Timeout
• Houston lead 45-40
• Alston probing off the dribble, over-dribbles, Ariza helps, reaches in, knocks it loose, turnover.
• Kobe suffocated on the drive, barely gets rid of it. Perimeter shot, huge offensive rebound by Bynum, he gets it back, goes back up, misses, Houston pull it down.
• Yao tries to thread the backdoor pass, Ariza steals it
• Lovely pass by Fisher to Ariza who was running the baseline, reverse layup, miss, Pau taps it home
• Bynum defensive rebound
• Houston up 1
• Houston lead 45-44
• Kobe drives to the rim, rejected by Yao, Artest retrieves it
• Yao fighting on the offensive glass, taps it home
• Yao has 8 and 4
• Fisher has the ball stolen by Alston, he goes coast to coast, misses the layup, tip by Artest, missed, smacked out, Lakers run the other way …. to Bynum, he stretches back and looks to dunk it home hard after Ariza’s feed, Yao jumps up straight, hands down, called for a foul. Bad call.
• Timeout
• Bynum makes two at the line
• Houston lead 47-46
• 1:37 to play in the half
• Fisher called for a bump
• Bynum takes a break. He had a great stretch in the second quarter. As did Ariza.
• Odom defensive rebound, with one hand as he does so well.
• Lovely footwork by Gasol to get the easy shot in the paint. Lakers have taken the lead.
• Kobe gambling, knocks it loose, Artest falls over, turnover … fastbreak the other way, Tracy tries to stop the ball, Gasol jumps into him. Gasol smacked into Tracy’s knee. Not sure if he’s worried about his knee or ankle. He’s walking gingerly but staying on the court.
• Second last possession, Houston bring it up, Artest, forces it against Kobe, fouled by Fisher, sorry Kobe. Bail out foul by Artest. Artest only had one thing in his mind there, and that’s to shoot the ball. Nothing but one-on-one play. Three Lakers surrounded him trying to steal the ball after they realized he wasn’t passing.
• Lakers lead 50-48
• Final possession, Kobe turns it over, Artest on the break, layup, blocked by Odom from behind. Great defensive play to end the half.

Halftime

• Houston were up 32-16 after the first 13 minutes. Over the next 11 minutes, LA went on a tear outscoring Houston 34-16
• Lakers ahead 25-21 on the backboards
• The Rockets second unit is badly missing Shane Battier and Dikembe Mutombo tonight
• Lakers have 7 assists on 17-41 shooting from the floor for 41.5% FG%. They are 2-7 from three and 14-18 from the FT line.
• The Lakers have 11 turnovers costing them 17 points. Turnovers hurt LA badly in the first half.
• The Rockets have 12 turnovers of their own, costing them 13 points
• The Rockets have 12 assists on 19-43 shooting for 44.3% from the field. They are 4-9 from three and 6-7 from the line.
• Pau Gasol had 12 points and 8 rebounds in the first half. He’s perhaps the biggest key to LA beating Houston, because he’s their second best scorer and has a matchup that he can take advantage on if he plays smart.
• Bynum had 9 points and 6 rebounds, 2 assists and one steal+block
• Kobe Bryant had 9 points but no assists and no rebounds. Played 17 minutes.
• Trevor Ariza had 5 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals off the bench in 12 minutes
• Brooks leads the Rockets with 13 points. Landry adds another 6 off the bench. Head had a layup.
• Luis Scola leads the team with 6 rebounds, also has 8 points. Yao adds in 8 points, 4 rebounds and block. Alston had 7 points.
• Tracy McGrady is 1-7 from the field and has 3 points plus two dimes.
• Ron Artest played 15 minutes, shot 0-5 from the field and 1-2 from the FT line for one point. He has 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and one block … also two personal fouls so he has to be careful in the third

Third Quarter

• Lakers lead 50-48
• Kobe called for two quick fouls. That’s three. He switches to Tracy now.
• Artest isolation top of the key, he’s dribbling, threatening to drive, pump fake, Radmanovic bites, he jumps into Rad, takes the contact, FTs coming, he makes one of two.
• Yao makes a bad pass, throws it behind Scola, turnover
• Kobe jumps around Yao and puts it home with his left hand in the paint. Pretty move.
• Alston bricks it, offensive rebound Houston, Alston drives it in, out to Tracy, 17 footer, misses, he’s now 1-8 from the floor
• Tracy is gimpy as the commentator puts it … he’s not running smoothly at all
• Scola with a nice spin, heavily contested by Bynum, great defense, Scola got it off and just missed, rebound LA
• Bad pass Kobe, Bynum tries to save it, can’t get there in time.
• Rockets have 13 turnovers, Houston have 12
• Awful spacing for Houston. Their frontcourt and Tracy was within 5 feet of each other for about 4 seconds there. Finally Tracy moves two feet to the left, Tracy backs down Kobe, passes off to Yao, dunk
• Lakers lead 52-51
• The second half has been at Houston’s pace
• Alston misses another three, defensive rebound Bynum. Alston was wide open there
• Radmanovic nails a three pointer from the left corner
• 7:30 to play in the half
• Nice pass and interior pass by Alston to Yao, Yao not ready, miss, defenisve rebound, pass out, intercepted by Artest, Artest dribbles to the corner and takes a three … What is he thinking? … makes it. Bad shot to take
• Kobe scores, then blocks McGrady’s layup. Tracy should have dunked that. He was wide open under the rim.
• Kobe scores off the glass from midrange
• Lakers lead 59-54
• Timeout
• Halfway point
• Artest knocks down another three pointer, this time off a hand off from Yao
• Radmanovic with a high arcing three looking to respond, long rebound to the corner, Kobe beats everyone to the ball, passes out, Lakers swing it to Fisher, he bags a long jumper
• Yao muscling Bynum underneath, blocked by Pau, jump ball, no foul on Bynum first. Bynum has played aggressive defense on Yao tonight.
• Yao posting up inside, quick fadeaway, fouled on the reach in by Fisher. Yao will shoot two. Yao misses both.
• 5 minutes to play
• Gasol touches the ball, still hasn’t shot the ball in the second half, he forces a running a hook, scores it. Looked a little off balance but the shot was good all the way.
• McGrady driving to the rim, barely gets off the floor, blocked by Bynum. Not sure if Bynum even jumped there.
• Artest and Scola miss shots
• Lakers lead 67-57
• Kobe pushes it on the break, back to Pau on the left elbow, misses, Bynum fights for it, doesn’g te it, Houston bring it up court.
• Nice pass by Artest inside to Scola, fouled inside.
• Landry and Brooks enter the game
• Lakers turn it over on the breakaway. 15th turnover for LA.
• Lakers lead 67-59 with 2:30 to play. Eight point game.
• Lakers lead by 9 on the backboards, 38-29 overall.
• Landry getting away inside on the weakside, Tracy finds him, dunk
• Screen and roll Kobe to Pau, slam dunk
• Brooks drive and dish to Scola, 17 footer baseline J, hits it
• Kobe takes a contested three, rebound falls right to Farmer
• Radmanovic posting Brooks, horrific entry pass pushes Radmanovic out from 6 feet to 18 feet. What was that? High looping pass that was way off the mark. Stopped an easy shot. Those types of plays drive me crazy.
• Kobe has to take it at the shot clock buzzer, contested, misses
• Artest sets up Landry, blocked by Gasol, Landry gets it back, goes up again, blows it
• Lakers run up the other way, Lamar takes the three pointer top of the key, makes it
• Lakers lead 72-63
• Brooks holds it for the final shot, he takes it to the rim, Bynum helps, Brooks get it over him, off glass, rims out, rebound Landry, putback Landry.

Fourth Quarter

• Lakers lead 72-65. It’s a 7 point game.
• Lovely pass by Farmer, Lakers open the scoring
• Artest and McGrady are a combined 3-21 from the field. The Rockets are still in the game. Scola and Rafer are a combined 6-18 from the field. So Yao is bailing them out right? He has 10 points on 5-10 shooting so not really. He’s doing fine, but not a major factor.
• Sasha nails a deep three from the left wing
• Sasha drive and kick to Pau, 18 footer right elbow extended, he hits it. Gasol has 18 points on 9 attempts. He also leads LA with 12 rebounds.
• Lamar Odom strokes a fallaway along the baseline.
• Timeout is coming if Houston don’t score here.
• Head on the crossover, almost a steal … real deep, shot clock down to five, he takes a 28 footer, nails it
• Lakers lead 81-69
• Lamar takes a pull up J, misses, Scola ball watching, doesn’t box out, rebound Pau Gasol. He kicks it out to Farmer, Farmer nails a three.
• Luther Head jacks a three, misses
• Gasol nails another jumper
• Timeout
• Pau Gasol has 20 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 assists. He takes a rest now. He has played 33 minutes tonight
• Kobe Bryant has 17 points, 3 dimes and 3 rebounds
• Bynum has 9 and 7
• Houston score inside
• Lakers lead 86-71
• 8 minutes to play
• This game is pretty much over
• Beautiful crossover by Brooks to get to the rim and hits the nifty layup
• Farmer responds right back with a similar move
• Down to 7 minutes
• Lakers lead 88-73
• Brooks has to force it, no gives it to Landry on the pick and pop, Landry misses, long rebound, Brooks gets it, takes the three, misses badly …. Lakers run out the other way, Farmer nails a three on the right wing.
• Brooks picks up a tech. In fairness, he was hit on the three pointer on the other end. Surprised their was no call.
• Vujacic hits the FT
• Lakers up 92-73
• 6:36 to play
• Vujacic hits the teardrop in the lane
• Yao spinnig baseline, fouled by Bynum, third team foul, on the deck. Inbounds to Yao, doubled, Vujacic strips him, out of bounds of Yao, Lakers ball.
• Lakers lead 97-77
• Bynum goes backdoor, lob pass, Bynum dunks over Yao.
• Bynum has 11, 7 and 2 blocks. He’s altered a lot of shots in the paint tonight.
• Kobe steals it at midcourt, takes it to the rim, Brooks with a good foul, doesn’t let Kobe get a shot up, fouled him hard.
• 8 players on LA are averaging at least 20 minutes and at least 8 points
• Kobe driving to the rim, fancy pass to Bynum, fouled on the interior shot, Bynum takes two, makes two.
• Kobe with an alley ooop dunk on the break. Great work by Bynum trapping on the screen and roll and stealing the pass to ignite that break.
• Ariza with the defensive rebound, tries to go coast to coast, passes to himself, refs don’t notice, he scrambles it down, takes a three from the corner, hits it
• Head misses a 13 footer
• Lakers run it the other way, Brooks sets up and takes a charge, on Odom.
• Lakers unload their bench with Mihm, Powell and Walton

This is over, I’m calling it. Excellent performance from LA outside of the first quarter. Very poor performance by Houston.

Game Notes/Stats

• I love that Lakers 9 man rotation. The starting five plus Odom, Ariza, Vujacic and Farmer.

Game Time: Detroit vs Boston

A rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, and there’s a good chance they’ll meet there again later this season. Great matchup.

I’m very excited about seeing these two teams go head-to-head again …. Iverson’s home debut only adds to the occasion.

First Quarter

• Perk gets the tip, but Rip comes away with the abll. Celtics extend their defense beyond the three point line, nice spin and right handed drive by Prince, he misses a pull up in the leane, Celtics rebound.
• Iverson steals KG’s pass inside
• AI drive and kick to Prince, he passes up the three, Prince puts it on the floor tentatively, passes it back out, Sheed takes the three, misses
• Perk turns it over
• Hamilton pounds the ball into the floor, takes the shot to beat the clock, misses
• Great job by Perk to hustle down the offensive board
• Iverson drives along the baseline, to far under the backboard to anything, tough pass out, Prince gets it, missed shot
• KG posting up Prince inside, takes a fallaway inside, offensive rebound Perk, pump fake, goes up, Wallace swats it away
• Lovely passing by Detroit around the key, Amir goes up, is contested, miss
• Pierce drives to the hoop, gets his shot rejected
• Iverson on the quick push, hits a 18 footer right wing
• First basket of the game after three and a half minutes
• Pierce gets to the rim, layup
• Rondo nailed by Rasheed on a pick before midcourt …. no Celtic was back there to call out the pick.
• Iverson fouled on his penetration. Sideline inbounds. Detroit run Hamilton and Prince along the baseline, Iverson gives it to Rip, he misses left corner
• KG inside, doubled, shoots, misses, offensive rebound, out to Ray, Ray takes a runner, loses control of the ball, turnover … Pistons run the other way, slam dunk Amir Johnson off the nice feed.
• Ray Allen ties the game at four. He was fouled on a jumper right wing by Rip Hamilton, made two at the line
• Amir Johnson on the offensive backboards, misses the layup though
• Ray takes a quick three, misses
• IVerson on the drive and kick to Rip, he pump fakes, drives right, takes a midrange runner, misses, rebound KG, he’s falling out, not many to pass it too, he heaves it, intercepted by Prince, he drives to the rim, Pierce tries to take the charge, foul, Pierce’s foot was in the key, blocking foul.
• Wallace lost control of the outlet pass – that was, it slipped out of his hands and went behind him out of bounds on the baseline. Turnover.
• Celtics have 4 turnovers early in the game. That was Detroit’s first.
• KG posting up Amir Johnson, turns middle, jump hook, nails it. I love it when KG takes that shot.
• AI bails out the offense with a late shot clock jumper … next possession, Iverson leads the break and Detroit get a layup
• Celtics isolate Pierce on the left wing, pump fake, Prince bites, Pierce draws the contact and gets teh foul, makes the jumper too. Opportunity for a three point play.
• Timeout
• Rondo pressuring Iverson in the backcourt …. looking over his shoulder for Rasheed Wallace. He doesn’t want to get hit on a pick like that again.
• Perk muscling Amir Johnson out of the way from the FT line inside for a 5 foot hook, misses
• Amir Johnson nails a 19 footer right wing to beat the shot clock.
• Detroit lead 13-9
• 3:30 to play in the first half
• Celtics fighting on the offensive glass, two tips, Prince comes away with it … Iverson pushes it up the other end, drives down the left wing, changes direction as he nears the three point line, cuts across the middle inside to the FT line, hits the runner. Nice shot.
• Herrmann is defending KG down in the post now. Defensive three seconds as his teammates look to help him, Ray makes the FT.  No sorry, that was a switch. Herrmann is on Pierce. The matchup ends up again with the two forwards switching on the pick and roll.
• Iverson picks up his 2nd foul. Offensive foul.
• Stuckey into the game. Kwame Brown also. Eddie House as joined the action for Boston, immediately nails a three pointer.
• Detroit lead 15-13
• Stuckey takes it hard to the rim, heavily contested, miss, Celtics knock the rebound out of a crowd, House gets it, pushes it on the break, finds Ray open on the wing, three pointer left wing good. Celtics take the lead.
• Kwame Brown posts up inside, takes a turnaround J, misses badly, Herrmann gets a hand on it but knocks it out of bounds. Celtics ball.
• House brings it upcourt, Stuckey backing off him, passes it to Pierce top of the key with his back to the basket, Pierce called for pushing off. Flop from Herrmann? Celtics announcers think there was a hint of it.
• Pierce in the low post against Herrmann, up and under, layup, misses, offensive rebound, tapped out of bounds by Detroit. Celtics ball. House misses a three as he runs off a Perk screen to the corner following his inbounds pass
• Kwame Brown with great position in the middle of the paint, fouled inside by Perk, that’s two fouls on Perk. Big foul drawn by Kwame. No sorry, the foul has been changed to Pierce, and now a technical is called on Pierce. That’s Pierce’s third foul. That’s huge. Tech on Doc Rivers, likely for the sarcastic clapping for the call on Pierce. Replay isn’t kind to the refs call. Detroit have to use this opportunity to build up a lead before halftime. Tony Allen’s play has just grown in importance.
• Herrmann called for a touch foul 40 feet outside. One of those annying ticky tack calls … rule changes! Tony Allen will shoot two, makes the first, misses badly on the second one. His shoot looked off from the minute it left his hand, back iron.
• 13.5 seconds on the clock, Detroit will hold it for the final shot
• Stuckey beats House off the bounce and draws the foul on House as he gets into the lane. Stuckey is averaging 10ppg and 4apg on 40% shooting from the field. Stuckey makes the two FTs
• Inbounds to Rondo, he pushes it upcourt, hands it off to Eddie, he nails a three, doesn’t beat the clock. Looked like Rondo took too much time on the pass. He was fine if he shot it himself, but a pass and a shot was too much.

Second Quarter

• Detroit lead 19-17
• House turns it over, breakaway Detroit, 3-on-1, Tony Allen breaks it up, Boston steals possession back.
• House splits the pick and roll defense, gets into the paint, draws the help D, passes it to his big man, dunk. That was Leon Powe finishing inside.
• Pistons shooting 29%, Celtics shooting 24%
• Offensive foul on Kwame Brown
• Ray is playing with the second unit tonight
• Davis with a spinning fallaway out of the post, score it
• Kwame Brown draws the foul inside with a strong move to the rim after being left open 15 feet out. Foul on the floor.
• Stuckey dribbles out the shot clock, finally passes it, Maxiell has to take it to beat the clock, 17 feet right wing, misses
• Kwame Brown fouls Davis as he runs up court. That’s three fouls. He’s gone to the bench. This is Kwame Brown’s 8th year, amazing.
• Travel inside, turnover Celtics.
• Boston lead 21-19
• 10 minutes to play
• Prince posts up Tony Allen, drives left, spins right, hits the fadeaway, nice shot.
• Lovely finish inside by Tony Allen with the right hook deep in the paint
• Stuckey nails the runner over Davis
• Celtics lead 10-5 in bench points right now
• Leon Powe going to work inside, drives right off the left elbow, spins left, muscles it up through Johnson’s chest, draws the foul, finishes the layup. He makes the FT.
• Timeout
• Boston lead 26-23
• Stuckey with a nice over and back dribble to beat House, he creates the contact with his elbow, foul on House. Smart play.
• Tony Allen slashing along the baseline and finishing at the hoop
• 8 minutes to play in the first half
• The crowd is getting uneasy. Prince makes a tough shot off the bounce, that gets a cheer from the crowd.
• Quick pass ahead, Tony Allen on the screen and roll right wing, he flies into the lane and draws teh foul as he makes the layup. That was an incredble blaze of speed. He misses the FT, Powe gets the offensive rebound, great effort, fouled on the putback.
• Iverson called for an offensive foul, that was harsh, looked like House fouled him.
• Powe attacks Walter Herrmann, travel
• 7 minutes to play in the first half
• Stuckey off the high screen and roll, Ray does a solid job, Stuckey gets nowhere, they post up Maxiell midpost right wing, he takes a fallaway, in and out, defensive rebound Boston …. Tony Allen attacks in the open court, defense collapses as he reaches the foul line, nice passing, Celtics score again
• Timeout
• Michael Curry has to be fearful right now. Celtics starting to heat up and their second unit have been beating the Pistons unit.
• Iverson fumbles the ball, it scrambles loose 20 feet into open space, AI gets to it first … he drives hard to the rim, gets his shot blocked. Turnover.
• Boston lead 33-25
• Halfway point in the second half
• Hard foul inside by Leon Powe on Jason Maxiell to deny the dunk
• Paul Pierce giving Leon Powe a congradulatory greeting as he comes over to the bench.
• Stuckey gets to the rim, draws the foul, on the floor before he got up the shot.
• Pierce is still sitting on the bench. He likely won’t play until the second half. He’s getting on his feet to high five each of the bench players as they come out.
• Great defense by Rasheed Wallace, tough fadeaway, missed. Should have reposted, lot of time left on the clock.
• Iverson driving hard into the paint, nice bounce pass, Maxiell fumbles it, turnover.
• Rondo smacked by Rasheed. Nah actually, small bump, Rondo dived.
• Iverson takes a wild runner, misses, gets the offensive rebound, turns it over on the pass, breakaway, Tony Allen layup
• Boston get the first double digit lead of the night
• Rasheed posting up inside, turns middle, fallaway, contested well by KG, miss
• Passes into the post to KG, Rondo cuts down the middle, KG finds him, Rondo reverse layup, smacked by Maxiell. Rondo is just 14-28 from the FT line so far this year, that’ll pick up, he makes both.
• 3:30 to play
• Iverson brings it up slowly, Rondo almost picks his pocket, 14 seconds into the shot clock, Iverson still hasn’t gotten inside of 30 feet, he fumbles the ball, almost turns it over, out of bounds off Boston. 8 seconds to shoot, lovely pass to the cutting Prince by Maxiell, blocked by Tony Allen but he got a lot of body, foul. Prince makes two.
• Rondo with a beautiful drive and dish to the cutting Allen as he moved across the baseline, layup, rejected. Pistons run the other way, Celtics defense recovers and knocks it out of bounds
• Timeout
• Big closing period right now. Boston are trying to hang onto a double digit lead. Detroit are trying to cut it single digits and preferrably below 5 or even erase it. Very interesting to see who succeeds here.
• Rondo called for a reach in foul. They’re in the penalty. Iverson misses the first, makes the second
• Did Ray Allen slip there? Step on Rip’s foot? Or did Rip bumble over him? Anyway, foul on Rip Hamilton as Ray dribbled the ball after curling off a screen. He makes two FTs.
• Boston up 11
• 2:30 to play
• Prince has it up top, initiating the offense, Rip is taking a one on one, falls over, out to Sheed, three pointer, missed.
• Travel on KG down in the post. That’s happening a lot these days. League cracking down on those travels.
• Iverson draws another foul, he makes one of two at the line.
• Offensive foul on Perk as he smacks Iverson out of the way after looking to establish post position
• Iverson with a nice step back J off the catch, misses
• Detroit has only 1 field goal in the last 7 minutes
• Cedric Maxiell says a lot of that has been self inflicted – He’s right, Detroit have resorted to a lot of one on one play, haven’t moved off the ball or moved the ball as well as normal, and haven’t got anything going in the post. All the action is happening in front of the defense.
• Detroit’s crowd is quiet
• Maxiell misses a 20 footer top of the key.
• Rondo beats Stuckey off the bounce with a crossover, drives right down the right wing, layup and the foul. He has 6 points now.
• Celtics up 43-29
• One minute to play
• Great help defense by Perk to force Rip to give it up, Rasheed crosses the ball to the other side of the court, intercepted by Tony Allen, foul on Maxiell.
• Rondo to KG, 19 footer top of the key on the pick and pop, nails it. Not the smoothest pick (spacing wasn’t good) and pop but effective.
• Hamilton driving to the rim, stripped, long pass to Tony Allen who leaked out, layup
• Detroit’s fans are booing loud. Very loud. It’s not even halftime
• 7.1 seconds to play
• Timeout – Michael Curry wants a set play
• Boston have outscored Detroit 30-10 in the quarter
• Tayshaun Prince inbounds the ball, no, Rip will inbounds it on the opposite side. Odd. Isolation for Stuckey, to Rasheed, clearout for Rasheed to take a contested three, miss. What the hell was that? Out of a timeout? What? Awful.
• Rasheed Wallace throws his head band to the ground in disgust
• Detroit didn’t score a field goal in the final 7:23 of the half

Halftime

• Boston lead 47-29
• Tommy Heinson on the Pistons – No chemistry, nobody knows what to do, disorganized – absolutely, spot on.
• Boston have shot 16-37 for 44% shooting. They have 10 assists on those 16 baskets. They are 2-4 from three and 13-17 from the FT line
• Detroit are 10-40 from the field for 25% shooting. They have only 2 assists on those 10 field goals. Only 2 assists at halftime? It’s been that bad for Detroit. Boston’s defense has put on a clinic. Detroit are 0-5 from three but 13-15 from the FT line which is good.
• Boston winning out 29-22 on the backboards, Detroit ahead 8-7 on the offensive backboards.
• The Celtics had 12 first half turnovers costing them 9 points. Detroit had 9 turnovers, costing them 8 points
• Tony Allen has 13 first half points to lead Boston
• KG has only 4 points. Pierce has only 5 points, in 11 minutes. That has to scare the hell out of Detroit, Boston have done this damage without their two best players scoring.
• KG does have 8 rebounds and has played excellent defense. Perkins added 7 rebounds. Ray Allen had 6 rebounds, and 8 points to rank second in that category for Boston.
• Tayshaun Prince leads Detroit with 11 and 4. Sheed has 6 rebounds but he hasn’t been in it offensively, 0 points. Iverson has 8 points. Rip Hamilton has their two assists, but only 1 point. Amir and Stuckey have 4 apiece. Nobody else has more than 1 point (Kwame).

Stuckey was struggling at halftime … didn’t make it to the locker room. He crumpled over in half at midcourt, then sat on the bench for 5-10 minutes while they took his pulse and other such. No word on what’s wrong or if it’s serious or if he’ll be back. I hope he’s alright.

Third Quarter

• Boston lead 47-29
• Boston are ahead by 18 points
• Pierce opens up the half with a bucket, stretches the lead to 20
• Rasheed Wallace misses a jump shot, offensive rebound, bad pass out, over and back backcourt violation.
• Pierce backing down Iverson, takes the shot off the right elbow, misses
• Maxwell – Mouse in the House – Pierce backing down a smaller guard in the paint – gotta love that
• Johnson rips Ray Allen on the pick and pop as he looked to pass to KG, fastbreak, 3-on-1, Iverson back to Johnson, layup and the foul, makes the three point play
• Detroit extend their defense full court, Boston left Rondo back there by himself but beats the trap easily
• Give and go, Ray Allen gets the layup from Paul’s feed
• Rasheed misses another jumper
• Celtics ragged, reset the offense, Rondo drive and kick, stolen by Rip, breakaway, Pierce fouls Rip in the open court. That’s the fourth quarter.
• Ray Allen with a nice fallback J
• Perkins tips the rebound to himself after boxing out Amir Johnson beautifully.
• Rondo beats Johnson off the dribble, nice pass to Perk, Perk wasn’t ready for it, they pass out, rotate it back to Rondo in the corner, pump fake, beats Johnson again, goes baseline, smacked from behind by Johnson. That’s four fouls on Johnson. Kwame Brown enters the game
• 8 minutes to play in the quarter
• Boston ahead 53-34
• Ray Allen misses a pull up, Kwame rebounds the ball
• Lovely pass from Prince inside to Brown, lovely shuffle pass by Kwame, layup
• Pistons miss a jumpshot on the break
• Timeout
• Boston ahead 34-26 on the backboards. Perkins now in second place in blocks per game with 2.8bpg
• KG down in the low post, scores inside with a fallaway. Love that.
• Nice passing from Detroit as Rasheed flashes to the elbow, then finds Prince wide open in the opposite corner from where the ball arrived from, he takes and makes the jumper
• Halfway point in the third quarter
• Good trap by Rasheed on Pierce, Pierce manages to get rid of it, KG fouled by Iverson as he finds Perk for the dunk inside. Would have been a three second call against Perk if it wasn’t for the foul.
• Pierce forces the pass, Iverson steals it. Iverson has Rondo on the right wing, he wants a clear out, draws the foul.
• Timeout
• Iverson has it out on the left wing, gets a screen, Detroit swing the ball to the corner, nothing on, shot clock winding down, Prince has to create something, takes an awful off balance running hook shot, misses. Should have just taken a face up jumper from three.
• Rasheed picks up his second foul on Ray’s shot. Rondo groups his teammates after the foul and gives out some orders. I love seeing that from the young point guard.
• Boston ahead 57-38
• Wallace creates a runner off the bounce from the right wing, misses, goes out of bounds off Boston. Detroit ball.
• Ray Allen with an excellent contest on AI’s fallaway jumper in the lane off the dribble, rebound Boston
• Ray Allen knocks down the three from the left corner
• Detroit are giving up. IVerson just dribbled the ball for 13 seconds with none of his teammates moving for him. Tayshaun hoists a three late in the clock, makes it.
• Rondo knifing into the paint off the hand off at the elbow, under Sheed’s armpit, layup
• Prince nails a three from the opposite wing. Nice pass off of some penetration. Good look. Prince has 8 straight points.
• Perk getting too fancy with his pass, turnover
• Timeout
• 3 minutes to play
• Boston ahead 62-44
• Boston have kept their halftime lead
• Tayshaun Prince now has 21 points, 21 of their 44 points. AI has 8, Amir has 7. That’s 36 of their 44 points. Stuckey adds 4. That’s 40 of their 40 points. Rip has 1, Kwame has 1, Wallace has 2. Ouch.
• Maxiell has his shot altered by Perk, he may have gotten a piece of that, miss.
• Boston will play 20% of their schedule in the opening month of the season. Busy start. At least it allows them to get rest later on in the year to prepare for the playoffs.
• Rondo fouled on a drive, he misses the first FT, makes the second.
• Tony Allen enters the game. He’ll defend Tayshaun Prince
• Prince passes up the three, now decides to drive, spacing is horrible from Iverson on his right, he runs into a second Celtics defender. Detroit don’t get a shot off in time. 24 second violation after AI dished to Maxiell for a 16 footer, but he couldn’t get it up in time.
• KG nails a 19 footer top of the key
• 21 point lead
• Boston lead 65-44
• 1:40 to play
• Perk picks up his third foul
• Foul inside on Perk on Maxiell’s dunk attempt. Max will shoot two
• Legal Sea Foods Trivia Question – AI is 20th all time in scoring, which there former Celtics are ahead of him – John Havlicek, Dominique Wilkins and I’m not sure on the third. Larry Bird? I’ll pick Bird as the third.
• Iverson with a tough 20 foot pull up J along the baseline, makes it
• Nice drive and dish from Rondo to Tony, three right wing, air ball.
• Iverson has it top of the key, one two with Herrmann, takes a three, miss, foul on Glen Davis on the rebound. He didn’t put a body on Kwame Brown, Brown gets two FTs, makes the first, front irons the second.
• Glen Davis hits a 17 footer left wing. Not sure I like him taking that shot. He’s been missing it most of the season so far.

Stuckey has not played yet. It looks unlikely that he’ll play again tonight. Still no word on what the problem is.

Fourth Quarter

• Boston lead 69-49
• House nails a jumper to open the fourth
• Bynum is in the game now
• Rip draws a foul, makes two FTs
• Davis finds House running off a screen, nails a deep three. Runs back down court cleaning his eye out.
• Afflalo inside to Maxiell, turns baseline, up and under, loses it on the way up
• House still poking at his eye ball
• Tony Allen beating his man off the bounce, layup
• Celtics ahead 38-28 on the backboards
• Celtics ahead 17-8 for assists
• 10 minutes to play
• Amir Johnson rejoins the action
• Boston ahead 76-53
• House catch and shoot from the corner fading away into the bench, air ball … fastbreak Detroit, layup
• Leon Powe gets a post up, jumps into Amir, short shot, rolls out
• 9 minutes to play
• Timeout
• The answer to the Legal Sea Foods Trivia question is – John Havlicek, Dominique Wilkins – Not Larry Bird … it was Robert Parish. Dang, didn’t think of the Chief. Didn’t think Larry had enough points to be that high up on the list.
• Sheed misses another jumper
• Paul Pierce has played only 23 minutes tonight and has only 7 points. KG has only 8 points on 4-13 shooting. Still …. Boston is up by 21 points.
• BBD diving on the ground, jump ball between him and Amir Johnson, jumps into Amir on the jump ball, mistimes it, Amir knocks it back, Celtics get possession.
• Foul on Rasheed Wallace for knocking over Leon Powe
• Boston ahead 76-55
• 8 minutes to play
• Leon muscling his way into the paint, gets a good look, miss. Decent D by Amir to stay in the play. Powe is smacking him around easily though
• Pistons turn it over as they bring it up court, foul on Rasheed was it? Not sure
• Another jump ball, conceived out on the right wing, House and Johnson jumping, Amir wins the tip.
• Will Bynum takes it to the hoop strong on the drive, House fouls him. Bynum misses the first, makes the second
• Pistons fans have been leaving the building since the start of the fourth. It’s emptying out quick now.
• Lovely block from Amir Johnson on the weakside help to stop House’s layup
• Another foul on Boston. Not good. Clock is stopping. Doc getting up and giving out instructions. He wants them to get their heads back in this. Their intensity has been dropping noticeably over the past three minutes.
• Tony Allen isolation with Bynum on his back, he turns faces, drives left, spins right, layup, misses, tap by Leon, tapped over the backboard and out of bounds. Too strong on that offensive rebound.
• Leon Powe fouls Bynum. Another foul. Another clock stoppage. Doc is getting animated now. Bynum makes both this time.
• Boston ahead 76-59
• Pierce enters the game to calm Boston back down
• Detroit’s full court press causing Boston some problems
• Lovely reverse layup to avoid the shot blocking presence of Amir Johnson
• Drive and kick, Rasheed three pointer right wing, nails it
• 16 point game
• 5:30 to play
• House turns it over
• Timeout
• Rajon Rondo checks back into the game
• Pistons trying to make a late run. They’re playing with some pride right now … at last.
• Iverson is 4-11 from the field for 10 points, also has 4 turnovers
• KG is back in the game too
• KG rebounds the ball, Rondo brings it upcourt, Pierce and KG run and screen and roll left wing, Celtics reverse the ball, Baby posts up right block, spins out of control, misses the shot. He had the mismatch against Bynum. Rebound is loose, Celtics dive on it, Rondo and Bynum jump ball midcourt. Boston win the tip. Pierce misses a 20 footer right wing
• It’s uncomfortable for Boston right now. They’re not in rhythm. Detroit are snipping at their heels.
• Sheed takes a three, in and out, offensive rebound Prince, out to Bynum, he thinks about three, thinks better, notices KG is on him, decides to drive, lovely drive, and finish on the opposite side of the rim using the rim to negate Garnett’s length.
• Great block by Tony Allen to deny a fastbreak layup
• 3:44 to play
• Iverson back in the game
• Sheed misses another three, rebound KG, fastbreak Boston, layup Tony allen
• Boston ahead 80-64
• Detroit need quick baskets
• Prince makes a 16 footer left baseline, score it. He has 23 points now.
• KG with a fallaway over Herrmann, misses, Sheed rebounds, Tony Allen intercepts the outlet pass. That’s a killer steal by Boston.
• Pierce creating against Afflalo out on the three point line, foul on Afflalo
• Timeout
• 2:25 to play
• Boston ahead 80-66
• KG scores inside over Prince, no wait he missed that easy shot, offensive rebound and tip in by Tony Allen. 21 points from Tony Allen to lead Boston
• KG deflects the cross court pass by Boston
• 5 seconds on the shot clock, in to Detroit, nice cut by Afflalo after the inbounds pass, nice pass Prince, Afflalo scores inside.
• Davis draws the foul inside, maks two FTs
• Bill Walker checks into the game.
• 1:40 to play
• Boston lead 84-68
• Steal Tony Allen, breakaway, layup
• Wallace gets a bucket. He’s 4-17 from the field now, has 10 points. Mostly done in garbage time.
• Bynum makes a three to end the game
• Boston win 88-76

Boston trashed the Pistons tonight. Great performance, especially on the defensive end.

Detroit has a lot of work to do to incorporate AI and keep their offensive principles in tact.

One worrying note as described at halftime – Stuckey was struggling at halftime … didn’t make it to the locker room. He crumpled over in half at midcourt, then sat on the bench for 5-10 minutes while they took his pulse and other such. No word on what’s wrong or if it’s serious or if he’ll be back. I hope he’s alright. – Stuckey didn’t return to the game. There has been no update on Stuckey since. Not a pleasant sight, hopefully it was nothing and not something serious.

Game Time: Portland vs Minnesota

Tuning in just before halftime

First Half

• It was 45-36 Minnesota when I tuned in with about 2 minutes to play in the half. Rudy
• According to the commentators, the Blazers big men have dominated in the paint. Przybilla has led the charge. For Minnesota, Big Al has missed a lot of shots he normally makes, while Love is 0-2 from the field.
• Rudy Fernandez’ movement off the ball was brilliant there on back to back possessions, causing Minnesota a lot of worries.
• Aldridge is 0-6.
• Roy fouled on the elbow, not called. Nate is pissed, gets a tech. Wolves make it.
• Roy turns the corner on the screen and roll, drives right, drive and kick to Rudy, three pointer right sideline, nails it
• Miller high screen and roll, drives right, to the rim, Aldridge blocks it … fastbreak Blazers, Blake has it, misses, offensive rebound Roy, putback.
• Telfair from midcourt? Misses.

Halftime

• Minnesota leads 49-43
• Portland leading 24-20 on the backboards. The Blazers have 10 first half offensive rebounds
• Portland have 7 assists on 15 field goals, making only 15-39 shots for 39% shooting. They are 3-9 from three and 10-14 from the line.
• The Wolves have 14 assists on 21 baskets, making 21-45 shots for 47% shooting. They are 1-5 from three and 6-9 from the FT line.
• Al Jefferson was only 3-10 from the field in the first half. Only 1 FT also. He finished with 7 points and 3 blocks. He only had 3 rebounds though.
• Kevin Love was 0-2 from the floor and in 10 minutes finished with 1 point, 1 rebound and 1 assist.
• Brandon Roy leads Portland with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. All team highs.
• Four Blazers have between 5-6 points, and Blake adds four more points. Balanced scoring behind Roy, but no second scorer.
• Aldridge is 1-7 from the floor and 4-6 from the FT line. He does have 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Przybilla has 4 rebounds.  Frye had 4 rebounds (plus 2 blocks) off the bench, Outlaw had 3. Sergio had 3 dimes off the bench.
• Rashad McCants led the Wolves with 13 points on 5-8 shooting in 11 minutes. Craig Smith and Randy Foye had 8 points apiece. All three players came off the bench and have 29 of the team’s 49 points. Ryan Gomes also came off the bench, he has 4.
• The starting backcourt for the Wolves have 4 points each, Telfair has 3 assists while Miller has 2 boards and an assist. Brewer played only 7 minutes and has 2 rebounds.
• Martell Webster has removed the protective boot from his foot. His recovery is progressing.

Third Quarter

• Jefferson finishing inside with a 11 footer, good look in the paint, no contest on the shot. Not sure how that happened, looked like his defender wasn’t paying attention, can’t describe it better than that.
• Batum with a rejection on the break
• Aldridge forced into a tough fallaway, miss … fastbreak again, this time Brewer takes it to the rim, Batum blocks it again. He blocked Telfair on the previous layup attempt.
• Jefferson doubled, Batum came down, Miller wide open three, nails it. Batum shouldn’t have left Miller.
• Brewer’s pass is intercepted, Roy on the right wing, finds his trailer, slam dunk. Great effort by Batum to get up there and help his teammates, he was under the basket when Portland began that break. Great end to end effort.
• Offensive foul on Aldridge
• Miller gets the switch, Blake on him, he posts him up on the right block, doubled, pass to the open Brewer on the opposite side of the court along the baseline, hits it
• Roy slowly dribbling, lulling his defender to sleep, takes the pull up J, hits it
• Love inside, going up strong, blocked by Aldridge, gets it back, goes up again, Batum from behind swooping for the block, Przybilla nails him from the other side, smacked in the face, foul.  Timeout. Kevin Love can’t see. Commentators wonder if he has contacts? Or if his eye is bleeding. He’s okay. Comes back to the FT line after the timeout and takes his FTs, makes  of two.
• Batum fouled on the defensive rebound, fouled by two Wolves
• Roy is dribbling very slowly tonight, moving slowly. Not injured, just playing slowly. It’s hurting the pace of their halfcourt offense because all his taemmates have to adjust to his pace since he’s on the ball so much.
• Halfway through the third
• Minnesota ahead 57-52
• Telfair turns it over, bad pass
• Roy coming up again, slowly dribbling, screen comes up from Aldridge, Roy crosses over and goes the other way, he turns on the gas, gets to the rim, layup. That play reminds me so much of John Stockton. Lulling the defender to sleep then blazing by him in an unexcpected direction away from Karl Malone’s screen. It’s hard to do, don’t see it often.
• Timeout
• Blazers on a 7-0 run …. starting to build some momentum
• Telfair drives from the right corner, gets into the middle of the paint, takes the runner, blocked by Blake
• Commentators questioning why the Wolves Head Coach waited this long to bring some of his scorers off the bench back into the game. Fair question. Portland have been building this momentum for some time now.
• Turnover Telfair, illegal screen, stuck out the elbow and hit someone
• Batum misses a three from the right corner, Aldridge rebounds, scores the putback. Batum scored a three earlier in the quarter.
• Brewer scores the three from the right wing
• Big Al fouled inside, makes two at the line. Minnesota lead 62-58
• Roy unwinds from three at the top of the key late in the shot clock, nails it
• Al spinning his way through the post, drawing the foul on Joel, that’s four, he’ll sit, Al will shoot two more.
• Aldridge reples with FTs of his own
• Aldridge is in foul trouble, he’s defending Jefferson, Al low post left block, shot fake, Aldridge bits, Big Al goes inside, layup, misses
• Big Al face up J from 15 feet left wing, hits it
• Minnesota lead 66-63
• Aldridge nails the jumper off the pick and pop
• Blazers haven’t led since they were up 5-3 in the first quarter
• Miller drives into the middle, passes off to Gomes, dunk, Aldridge contests it, Gomes misses the dunk. Aldridge’s presence was a factor there.
• Roy draws the foul on a drive on the other end
• Timeout
• Tie Game 66-66
• Two minutes to play
• Miller shoots a three, sticks his leg out, Frye runs into his leg, no only two FTs, long two, not a three
• Aldridge on the post, finds the cutter from the top of the key running down the middle, layup Sergio
• McCants shoots over Frye on the switch, misses. McCants has to move Frye around more than that if he’s going to take that shot, made it easy for Frye to stay in the play and alter the shot
• Tie Game 68-68
• McCants clearout left wing, drives left, doubled, passes out, miss, loose ball foul on Portland as Aldridge grabbed the rebound. Craig Smith will shoot two. Foul on Sergio. Smith makes both.
• 40 seconds to play
• Sergio brings it up, runs a high screen and roll, doesn’t get anyhting, goes back and runs it again, picks up his dribble, almost loses it, out to Rudy, misses a quick three, offensive rebound Travis Outlaw, fouled on the putback. He makes one of two.
• McCants short arms a three, offensive rebound, nice passing, McCants cuts, runner, misses. Lot of contact. End of the third.

Fourth Quarter

• Wolves lead 70-69
• Rudy nails a three to open the fourth quarter. Blazers get their first lead since the opening minutes
• McCants misses another shot, a three, he’s cold. Hasn’t been close on any of these shots.
• Aldridge hits the 18 footer over Madsen on the feed from Fernandez
• Gomes out of control on the drive, picks up and offensive foul
• Great work by the Blazers, Frye and Outlaw went hard to the offensive glass, and tapped it off the offensive glass, Aldridge hustles to ensuing rebound, gets to it, goes up, fouled. Great effort from the Blazers frontcourt. He makes two.
• Portland lead 76-70
• Big Al muscling his way into the paint, double comes, passes out to Telfair in the corner, nails it
• Lovely pass along the baseline by Outlaw to Aldridge for the easy dunk
• Portland lead 78-73
• Portland should win this game. They have all the momentum and nobody on the Wolves can score right now.
• Telfair step back J off the dribble from 21 feet left wing, misses. Bad shot to take.
• 9 minutes to play
• Big Al drawing the foul in the low post. He has 15 points but is only 5-14 from the field. These are his sixth and seventh FTs. Jefferson makes two.
• Portland ahead 78-75
• Lob to Rudy, it’s off, Rudy somehow guides it in as he falls on his rear end
• Telfair gets the switch, Frye on him, drives, hesitates, drives again, fouled by a help defender reaching in.
• 8 minutes to play
• Big Al, double there if he goes middle, forces him baseline, Joel right there, tough shot, wants to pass out, looks at the clock, takes it, makes it. Tough shot.
• Outlaw nails a three
• Rudy losing Foye off the ball, he turns down the three, drives, gets stripped, fastbreak, layup, foul. Rudy is holding his face, evidently he was fouled too. Big Al apologises for hitting him in the face. Foye makes the three point play.
• Minnesota have cut the lead
• Portland ahead 83-82
• Aldridge has gone to the bench, now to the locker room. No idea why. He didn’t come out of the game because of a knock or look uncomfortable.
• Foul line, Love passes up the shot twice, posts up Big Al, turns middle, jump hook, misses, offensive rebound Love, he takes a bounce, muscles it up, stripped by a guard on his way up …. fastbreak, pass to Frye who beat Jefferson up the court, foul. One of two.
• 6 minutes to play
• Aldridge checks back in, well in a moment, he’s at the scorers table
• Two point game
• Foye gets a great look 17 feet along the baseline, miss
• Roy is stripped by Jefferson, fastbreak Telfair, leaves it for Miller, layup
• Tie Game
• Roy takes Mike Miller off the bounce, draws the foul on his drive. He splits a pair of FTs
• Nice drive and dish Foye to Jefferson, 14 footer right wing, misses it, rebound Portland
• Roy turns the corner, gets to the rim, misses, rebound Przybilla, layup
• Fernandez jumps into Przybilla on the defensive rebound, almost lose it out of bounds
• Roy misses a jumper
• Four minutes to play
• Telfair scoots to the middle, lefty layup, miss
• Rudy fell over as he was shooting the ball, air ball. He’s pissed off at himself.
• 87-84 Portland
• Randy Foye steps back behind the screen from Big Al, three pointer, misses
• Three minutes
• Blake on the three pointer, miss, contested rebound, big offensive rebound by Aldridge, finds Rudy for a wide open three, miss. Seventh offensive rebound for Aldridge.
• Big Al posts up, double comes, Miller launches a three, scores it. That’s twice they’ve scored off that pass when Miller was on the strong side of the floor.
• Blake scores a two
• Post up Big Al, up and under, scores
• Tie Game 89-89
• Clearout for Roy top of the key, drive and kick, three pointer from Blake on the left wing, two pointer, foot on the line.
• Timeout
• Big Al and Roy trade buckets
• 95-93 Blazers
• 32 seconds to play
• Wolves inbound, Love into Telfair, just avoids a 5 second call, just avoids a turnover on the pass. Telfair gets it into Big Al, up and under, no, offensive rebound Love, putback no, offensive rebound, Big Al, miss, defensive rebound Aldridge as he taps it out and dives on the floor to get possession of the ball, timeout called by Aldridge
• Rudy, Blake, Outlaw … Roy and Aldridge. Blazers FT shooters.
• Blake inbounds the ball to Rudy, can’t foul him as he turns the corner and loses his man, defense rotates over, pass to Aldridge in the FT line, pass to Outlaw in the corner, finally a foul. 5 seconds lost for Minnesota.
• Only fives seconds left
• Outlaw makes two
• Wolves down four, the’yre donePortland up four, Outlaw steals the inbounds pass at midcourt

Good win for Portland in a tough game. Portland are now 3-3 in their first 6 games. Good start considering this is the first team they’ve played that don’t consider themselves a title contender - Lakers, Rockets, Jazz, Spurs, Suns.

There will be a rematch next Saturday in Minnesota. Should be good.

The Blazers are about to undergo a tough 16 game strecth where only 4 of their games are at home. Two long road trips, one cross country, and the other out on the East.

Game Time: Chicago vs Cleveland

No Drew Gooden tonight. Not sure why.

Kirk Hinrich will be out for the next 3 months. Ben Gordon will take over the starting spot.

First Quarter

• Tie Game 6-6
• Good finish by LeBron James on the fastbreak, he kept the smaller man on his hip while he dribbled towards the basket, and then muscled up the finish over him. He got the foul and FT.
• Thomas switches onto Mo Williams, late in the clock, Mo has to force it 20 feet out along the baseline, blocked by Tyrus, Wallace with the rebound and finish in midair. Next possession, offensive rebound Big Z, passes to the cutting LeBron James, layup.
• Cleveland ahead 13-8
• Thomas out near the three point line right wing, Ben Wallace hanging out in the paint, Tyrus drives left, spins right, jump hook from 12, blocked by Wallace, Gray gets to the loose ball and scores inside.
• Wow … Rose with the crossover dribble slicing into the lane and flying through midair, layup, missed. What a move though.
• Great 40 foot bounce pass cross court from the right wing up near mid-court to the James filling the left lane, right on the money just enough ahead of Rose’s out-stretched hand, slam dunk LeBron James
• Defensive rebound Big Z
• Cleveland are on a 17-4 scoring run right now as they stretch the lead 19-10
• Ben Wallace showing the moves inside, shoulder faking, pump faking, nice footwork, draws the foul, makes one of two
• Joakim Noah misreads a Gordon cut to the corner for a cut to the hoop, throws the bounce, turnover. If Gordon had of made that cut he would have had a layup, his defender had his back turned to the ball and was behind Gordon’s movement.
• Mo Williams with a pretty floater in the lane
• Big Z with another defensive rebound, loose ball foul on Noah going over the back.
• James making the catch above the left elbow, comes off a screen, passes to the corner, long two good. I love seeing James catch the ball beneath the three point line.
• West deflects the pass, Nocioni retains possession. He swings it to the other side, Rose takes it to the cup, misses the layup, offensive rebound Noah, foul on Z. That’s two fouls on Z, he’ll sit down. Noah makes two at the line.
• Cleveland lead 24-14
• West runs off a high screen and roll, has a lane to the rim, doesn’t attack it hard enough, allows the defender to stick with him, skip pass to the corner, no shot on, Gibson dribbles up top, passes back to West in the corner, West drives left, finds Varejao with the wrap around pass, layup
• James tries to throw the tricky behind the back bounce pass in mid air through traffic … steal, fastbreak Bulls going the other way, bucket
• Timeout
• Great block from Noah from behind on Varejao’s layup attempt
• Final minute of the quarter
• Inbounds baseline to Williams, 20 footer catch and shoot, nails it from the left wing
• Deng side arms a 20 footer left wing, hustles down the offensive rebound, passes to Noah, out to Ben Gordon, three pointer top of the key, hits it.
• Ben Gordon holds it at the top of the key, holding it for the final possession, nice drive, spins right, hits the runner
• Great run by Chicago to end the first quarter
• Cleveland ahead 32-27

Second Quarter

• Both teams trade misses to start the quarter … great hustle play by Hickson to come away with that, layup Hickson. Next possession, another offensive rebound Hickson, whisle, travel I think.
• Williams misses a 20 footer from the right corner, shot came off a dribble off a screen and roll … rebound Chicago, they push it upcourt quickly, Ben Gordon takes it hard to hole, fouled, makes two at the line.
• Ben Gordon top of the key, drives left, gets the step, into the middle, fouled by Gibson. Gordon makes one of two FTs to tie the game.
• Tie Game 34-34
• Chicago jump out to a lead, ahead 43-38.
• Cavs post up Big Z on the left box, he turns middle, draws contact, gets the foul, shoots two at the line
• Nocioni passes up the three, passes left, hard drive, missed layup, Tyrus Thomas from the weakside slams it home
• Nice passing from Cleveland to find Z open from 14 feet on the baseline, he hits the shot
• Big Z bangs in a 20 footer right wing
• Nocioni responds with a three pointer
• Chicago ahead 48-42
• 5 minutes to play in the half
• Nocioni bangs home another three pointer. Back to back threes for Noce.
• Big Z left post again, he spins middle, finishes inside.
• Chicago ahead 51-44 with under four minutes to play
• Z posting up on the right post, help comes, bouce pass to Varejao on the opposite side, layup
• Timeout
• Rose stuck in the paint, nobody to pass to, close to a three second call, gets rid of it, Chicago have nothing on, have to force it, miss … defensive rebound, Cleveland get it in the hands of LeBron James who drives down off the left wing into the paint, jumps, takes the contact, tries a fallaway off glass, misses, makes two at the line.
• Nice move by Luol Deng as he curls off a screen into the paint, gets the pass, blows the layup. Jump ball after Gray and Varejao get tied up on the rebound, Bulls win the tip, Rose has it top of the key, dribbles inside, screen just above the elbow, Gray slips behind, Rose rises for the 15 footer at the FT line, changes his mind, finds Gray, wide open dunk, blocked from behind. Wasn’t quick enough.
• Z adds a long jumper to his account
• Deng slicing into the paint again, this time off the drive as Varejao got stuck on the switch, he takes it hard to the rim, hits the layup and the foul. Tech on Varejao, Gordon makes the FT, Deng makes the FT. Varejao still complaining, a teammate tells him to shut up and move onto the next play.
• Chicago lead 55-50
• Delonte West soaring through midair to break up the lob pass on the fastbreak. Out of bounds, Chicago ball. Inbounds to Rose, high screen and roll, gets nothing, picks up his dribble, Chicago in trouble now, turnover.
• Williams off the pick and pop to Z on the left wing, 19 footer teeded up and in
• Great play by Rose, he comes off the screen and roll, drives, Varejao switches, he slowly brings it out, about 15 feet out on the baseline now, then turns, gives a stutter step, blows by Varejao for a layup
• LeBron James with an authorative slam to end the half in the halfcourt

Halftime

• Varejao still complaining about the call. He’s in the refs face over the scorers table, a second ref ushers him away to the locker room before he gets himself into trouble.
• Chicago ahead 57-54
• Chicago ahead on the backboards 25-21
• Chicago have only 8 assists on their 20 baskets, shooting only 20-48 from the field for 41.7% shooting. They are, however, shooting 3-5 from three and 13-15 from the FT line.
• Cleveland also have a low assist number with 10 dimes on 23 baskets, shooting 23-49 from 47% FG%. They are 0-3 from behind the arc and 8-9 from the FT line.
• LeBron James has only 3 FTs in the first half …. he has taken 18 shots and has only 3 FTs, unusual for him. He is 7-18 from the field  and has only 2 assists. He does have 6 rebounds though.
• Big Z has done a great job for Cleveland finishing with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists on 6-11 shooting plus 4-4 from the FT line. LeBron and Z have combined for 33 of the Cavs 54 points, with nobody else having more than 6. Some of their teammates need to step up offensively, their guards - Mo Williams, Delonte West, Danny Gibson - haven’t done nearly enough.
• Chicago have 7 turnovers costing them 11 points. Cleveland have only 5 turnovers, costing them 3 points. Nice edge in transition points from Cleveland.
• Ben Gordon got his first start of the season tonight and has responded with 17 first half points.
• Chicago had 7 blocks in the first half led by Tyrus Thomas with 3. They also have 3 steals.
• Deng has chimed in with 14 points of his own, while Noce has 10 off the bench. Derrick Rose has 6 and 5. The Bulls starting big men have 4 points apiece.

Came across this stat at halftime – LeBron James is 7-41 (17%) on jump shots to start the season.

Third Quarter

• Tyrus hits the 15 footer (right wing) off his guard’s penetration
• Noah deflecting William’s pass out off a Cavs player
• Rose drive and dish to Thomas, 18 footer left baseline, miss
• Chicago ahead 59-54
• Derrick Rose dribbling, stops and pops from the left elbow, hits it. Terrible defense by Williams, no pressure on the ball whatsoever, didn’t contest the shot either.
• Williams driving along the baseline, shuffle pass to Big Ben, pump fake, Tyrus goes for it, Wallace stuffs it home
• Big Z saves the ball in the left corner after an awkward bounce from Tyrus’ missed FT, it falls right to LeBron, he goes coast to coast, hard to the rim, fouled. Tyrus takes a seat.
• Chicago ahead 62-60
• Big Z missing a jumper from the top of the key
• Derrick Rose coming off a high screen and roll, drives left, beats Z to the cup, lays it off the backboard and in
• Timeout
• Chicago lead 68-60
• Rose missing a layup, gets his rebound, resets teh offense, up to Ben Gordon top of the key, to Noah above the FT line, Rose left wing backdoor cut, Noah finds him, layup
• Chicago are up 10
• LeBron James nails a 22 footer left wing
• Chicago run a screen between Rose and Noce, Cleveland switch, passes back to Nocioni at the top of the key, he tries to take advantage of Mo, called for a foul.
• James called for an offensive foul, moving screen. He doesn’t know what he did. Moving screen, you were moving!
• Noce creating one-on-one against Wally World, left wing, fakes a couple of times, crossovers, now drives left, fallaway, Wally looked uncomfortable on the play but fair due to him he stuck it out and got a hand in Noce’s face, may have tipped the ball on the shot too, miss.
• James goes coast to coast, FTs, two of two. He has more FTs in 7 minutes in the third quarter than the first half.
• Gordon runs off a high screen and roll left wing, takes the 18 footer, makes it
• Gibson has a 20 footer rim in and out
• Varejao posting up Noah, nice move, screws it up at the final moment with the way he went up on the release, forced himself to jump backwards on the hook, allowed Noah to contest it, he bangs it in strong off the glass. They all count.
• Chicago ahead 74-66
• 3 plus minutes to play in the third
• James nestles in a three pointer from the top of the key. He’s heating up.
• Timeout Chicago

Missed the final minutes of the third there

Fourth Quarter

• Chicago ahead 77-74
• LeBron James gets to the FT line on Cleveland’s first possession, he came off a high screen and roll, dribbling down the lane, shoulder faking side to side, cut right, went up into Thomas’ body and drew the foul, missed the layup. He made one of two at the line.
• Rose looses his dribble, dribbled it off his heel as he tried to go through his legs from behind, Mo Williams dives on it, passes out, Cavs running the other way, Gibson to LeBron, Bron takes it to the rim, foul. He makes two. Great defense by Cleveland, Varejao and Mo trapped him effectively on the pick and roll and almost stole possession twice before Rose lost control.
• Tie Game at 77
• James pounding the rock into the ground, no movement from Cleveland, he loses his dribble, picks it up, pass, asks for it back, takes a 23 footer off the dribble to beat the shot clock from teh top of the key.
• Wow …. check the highlights for that acrobatic James layup. A guy his size shouldn’t be able to knife through the air like that.
• Rose on the offensive glass, putback, rejected by Varejao
• James on a heat check four feet behind the arc, misses, loose ball foul on Chicago
• Timeout
• Cleveland have taken the lead 85-77
• Cleveland getting some rest for LeBron, also getting some movement offensively. Wonder that? Gibson from the right corner, drives right, teardrop, nails it
• Cleveland ahead 10 points now. Chicago turn the ball over and Ben Gordon rejoins the action.
• 8 minutes to play
• Varejao hits a 17 footer right wing
• Rose and Gordon playing by themselves, causing Cavs’ guards lot of problems off the bounce, Rose ends up getting the to rack and makes the layup
• Thabo and Tyrus go up for the block, they foul Varejao and Thabo decks Tyrus in midair. Hard fall there for Thomas.
• Cleveland ahead 91-79 with 7 minutes to play
• LeBron still on the bench, he’s cheering loudly, most of the Cavs bench is standing. LeBron was, now he’s sitting down again but he’s up every 20 seconds to clap and cheer loudly.
• Loose ball foul on Nocioni, Bulls in the penalty, Varejao gets two, misses the first, makes the second.
• Gordon trapped hard on the pick and roll, forced back to midcourt, struggles to get rid of it …. does, Deng bails Chicago out with a long two.
• Gordon nails a three pointer off the screen and roll
• 9 point game
• Gibson misses the pull up J from the left elbow, Chicago push it quickly, to Deng in the right corner, he drives baseline, muscles up the layup
• 7 point game
• Timeout Cleveland
• James beats Deng on the drive easily, runs into the help defense, three Bulls jump straight up around him, he can’t get the shot anywhere near, miss. Great help D.
• Cleveland lead 96-87 off Mo’s FTs
• 4 minutes to play
• Missed shot, Bron rebound, long outlet to the Gibson who leaked out, looks like an easy layup but Noce is coming down hard and fast, he blocks the layup from behind. Out of bounds, Cavs ball. James runs off two screen and rolls, couldn’t get anything better than a 18 footer fallaway baseline off the dribble while sprinting … how tough is that shot? Want to guess if he made it? Yeah he missed it.
• Nocioni hits a three pointer
• 6 point game
• Timeout Cleveland
• James in the post, spins middle, short shot, rejected
• Three minutes twelve to play
• Two seconds on the shot clock, inbounds to Varejao, he takes a dribble backwards, turning from three along the left baseline falling rather than jumping he heaves a shot … air ball
• Ben Gordon hits a pull up jumper on the other end
• Four point game
• James has it top of the key, high screen and roll, good help defense, he finds Mo open in the left corner, he misses the three … contested rebound … Chicago come away with it. Mo fouls Gordon out near midcourt, trying to steal the ball to make up for his missed shot, he was pressing too much there.
• Rose drives into the paint, jumps up, tries to pass, no angle,  loses the ball on teh way down, West got a piece of it, he tries to pass it again before hitting the ground, deflected out of bounds. Chicago score off the inbounds
• Two point game
• LeBron James hits a 20 footer left wing/top of the key off the dribble after going behind the scree. Cavs ran that screen and roll with their point guard as the screener … I love that play for Cleveland.
• Hard foul by Varejao to deny Gordon’s layup. Good penetration from Gordon. Ben makes two FTs.
• Two point game
• 1:42 to play
• Cleveland brings it up, James has it in his hands, same play, this time James nails a three.
• The score changed. The scoreboard must have been wrong. It’s a 6 point game, not a 5 point game. That’s not Chicago’s scoreboard.
• Derrick Rose draws the foul on his drive, makes the first, misses the second. It rimmed in and out, hit the inside of the rim 2-3 times before coming out.
• Cleveland beat the full court press easily
• James waves off the screen, wants to milk the clock, now they run it, James weaves into the middle, Mo pops to the left corner, three pointer on the way, miss, offensive rebound, James has it again. He milks the clock again, same play again, passes to Mo along the left sideline again, this time the defensive rotation gets to Mo in time, he drives right towards the middle, Nocioni comes from the weakside and alters the shot. Miss. Long rebound fumbled out of bounds, off Varejao.
• Timeout
• Chicago ball, they advance it 3/4ers of the court
• Inbounds to Rose, Rose passes up top to Gordon, he takes a quick three, misses, rebound James, fouled. This is over.

Does anyone else get the impression that the Cavs don’t want any part of the regular? Like it’s an unneccessary chore for them? I’ve gotten that feeling a couple of times in the games I’ve seen.

Game Time: Indiana vs New Jersey

*Partial game, I switched off late in the third quarter to watch the Bulls-Cavs matchup

Indiana are without two of their starters tonight – Mike Dunleavy and Rasho Nesterovic

New Jersey are without their point guard Devin Harris

First Quarter

• Pacers lead 10-4 off a quick push by TJ Ford, and dish to Foster for a Foster layup
• Daniels with a strong drive and finish
• Timeout … missed a few moments there.
• Back to back long jumpers as Vince Carter nails a three pointer in transition on the left wing.
• Indiana leads 17-16, 18-16 off a FT
• Vince Carter nails another three pointer, this time from the top of the key. Eight straight points by Carter. He’s heating up.
• Troy Murphy responds right back with a three of his own
• TJ Ford showing some activity defensively to knock Carter’s dribble as he double down on Carter’s attempted drive.
• Carter misses a jumper, kept alive by Najera.
• Lovely ball fake as Rush fakes the pass to the right, drives hard left, blows by Simmons, takes it to the rim, finishes inside.
• Pacers in transition, Murphy trailing the play, Rush sets him up with a nice soft pass, quick trigger, missed. Murphy stepped into that shot nicely.
• Lopez lost his shoe. Nets decide to take a timeout, let Brook Lopez get his shoe back on. Good work by Lopez to hustle down court and grab a defensive rebound instead of worrying about his shoe …. or lack of a shoe.
• Carter has 11 first quarter points. He’s gotten off to a fast start.
• Indiana lead 23-20
• Nice jumper from Brook Lopez off the pick and pop from 15 feet right wing
• Granger nails a three pointer left wing. Quinn Buckner is delighted with how Danny has been shooting early in the regular season.
• Deiner and Jack are playing together in Indiana’s backcourt. Good decision making by Indy to hold that up and set the offense, nice quick passing, ending up with a corner jumper from Jack.
• Nets are in a zone right now. Jack cutting into the middle, defense collapses, Danny jumps down to the corner off the wing, Jack finds him, three pointer on the way, good.
• Hassell has scored two buckets in a row
• Indiana hold it for the final shot, Rush drives by his man to the rim along the baseline, loses it, no, late call, foul on Lopez.
• 20 second timeout. 3 seconds on the shot clock. Set play coming up, I’d like to see Indiana run Rush off a screen or two and give him a catch and shoot. Inbounds pass by Jack, Pacers line up in a four man queue at the FT area, Granger pops out to the top of the key, receives the pass, he dribbles right, pulls up from 16 feet, miss. Good look.

Second Quarter

• Indiana lead 32-27
• Nice pass fake by Deiner, loses his man, takes a bounce in and shoots it, miss. Nice play by Deiner.
• Jack steals the ball as Dooling mishandles the rock … Indiana run the other way, take a long J, miss.
• It gets frustrating watching Obie’s offense at times. The quick threes on the fastbreak, blah.
• Troy Murphy had 8 points and 5 rebounds in the first quarter
• I love seeing Roy Hibbert play in the NBA. Feels like it’s a long time coming, the forgotten effect of a four year college player?
• Dooling has scored two jumpers
• Nice pass by Hibbert to TJ Ford who went backdoor, defense recovers well, TJ kicks it out, Jack drives right, muscles left as meets the center of the key, and shoots up over the defense.
• Timeout
• Nice pick and roll, Yi takes a bounce to get to the rim, misses inside
• Daniels misses a corner three in transition. Too many jumpshots in transition from Indiana, they’re allowing NJ to hang in, making the game difficult on themselves.
• Hayes gets bailed out by the refs. He was in the no charge area when he drew the foul. Poor call.
• Nets start the possession on the right wing, reverse it the opposite side, Dooling drives into the middle before the defense fully reacts and he gets the runner to go.
• Murphy putting the ball on the floor and creating on two consecutive possessions. Don’t like that.
• Vince Carter nails a wide open three pointer off the drive and kick
• Nice back screen by TJ Ford to free up Daniles for the cut, Foster finds him, fouled before he could get up the layup.
• Jarvis Hayes with the acrobatic runner off the glass from the right hand side of the lane
• TJ Ford driving into the paint, takes the fallaway over Boone, misses, gets the offensive rebound, turns down the putback and passes out.
• Jeff Foster with the putback and offensive rebound in one motion. He’s the best offensive rebounder in the league today.
• Vince Carter making a very difficult fallaway
• NJ lead 46-43 with three minutes to play in the half
• Jeff Foster making himself big, he spreads out in the paint and streches his arm out to receive the ball, Boone can’t get near it, one step, layup. Nice job setting up shop in the paint off the screen and roll.
• Daniels settles for a three, 1-5 from downtown tonight, 2-15 from three on the season …. shot looked flat.
• Vince Carter runs the screen and roll with Boone, nice pass, Boone fouled on the layup. Boone air balls a FT. He bricked a jumper badly the possession before. He front irons the second. Offensive rebound Nets, turnover Nets.
• Final minute
• TJ Ford brings it upcourt, Indiana stagnant on that possession, forced into a long J, miss, offensive rebound Jeff Foster, Daniels cuts to the hole, nice pass, layup
• NJ lead 51-49 off some VC FTs
• Foster with another offensive rebound, to TJ Ford, out to Danny Granger, three pointer, miss. Granger could have held that for the final shot, didn’t do so.
• New Jersey will hold it for a final possession, Vince drives, stops and pops from the elbow, misses

Halftime

• NJ lead 51-49
• Indiana are ahead on the backboards 22-16
• Indiana have 12 assists on 19-45 shooting from the field. They are only 6-21 from three and 5-5 from the line. Only 25% shooting from three and on course for 42 attempts in the game, no wonder those long shots were bothering me so much in the first half.
• New Jersey have 9 assists on 21-42 shooting from the field. They are 5-10 from three and 4-7 from the line.
• Vince Carter leads New Jersey with 20 first half points. Dooling adds 9, nobody else has more than 5 points.
• TJ Ford is 0-6 from the field but has 5 assists and 4 rebounds
• Jeff Foster leads the team with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Murphy has 10 and 5. Daniels has 9, Granger has 7 and Jack/Rush have combined for 10 points off the bench. Indy’s two big men doing good work, and a balanced act from there on.

Third Quarter

• TJ Ford with a nice drive from the corner with three seconds on the clock, gets into the paint, fallaway J at the buzzer, hits it. Nice way to start the half.
• Murphy with a contested rebound in the paint
• Daniels has to force a shot, he puts it on the floor, drives baseline, takes a one armed leaner over two defenders, misses.
• Indiana’s offense has not looked good tonight. Lacks movement. Lacks quick decision making. TJ Ford is starting to dribble more as the game goes on. They’re clearly lacking Mike Dunleavy’s multi-skilled threat from every spot on the floor offensive game.
• Nice block by Granger on Simmons’ floater
• Indiana ahead 53-51 after two and a half minutes
• Granger coming off a screen, nothing on, waits from Daniels to come up top, TJ Ford doesn’t get open on his cut. Nothing happens … missed shot … fastbreak the other way, lob by Dooling to Boone, one handed dunk, miss
• Murphy trails the play, nails a three
• Steal by Danny Granger, he goes coast to coast, gets fouled as he cuts passed the lane, layup, and one.
• Pacers on a 8-0 run to start the second half
• Nice pass over the top to Murphy who was being fronted, he’s fouled inside on the short shot
• Turnover NJ, moving screen on Boone. It was a hand off pass/screen.
• Granger makes two more at the FT line. Four FTs in the quarter.
• TJ Ford runs into Najera in the open court, falls over, looses the ball, NJ have it, Lopez dribbling in cautiously, goes into the paint, Indy have no shotblockers, try to get a charge, foot in the paint, layup and the foul.
• Lovely passing by Indiana to get Murphy and open look from three at the top of the key, miss
• Is it just me or is Vince Carter cursing a lot more this season? Every TV close up I’ve seen he’s “F” this and “F” that.
• Vince hasn’t scored in the second half yet
• Nice pass into Lopez on the baseline inbounds, Hibbert fouls. Hibber turns it over on the other end, bad pass.
• Daniels deflects the cross court pass out of bounds. 7 seconds on the shot clock, in to Dooling, to Vince, face up three, miss. TJ Ford passes it into Hibbert quickly after Roy got great position on the break, short hook, makes it.
• Najera misses a three pointer badly. Air ball.
• Daniels swishes a three pointer on the left wing, stretches the lead back to 10, 11 actually.
• Indy lead 66-55
• Timeout Lawrence Frank
• We just passed the halfway point in the third quarter.
• Drive and kick from Vince to Dooling, three pointer from the corner, good
• Turnover TJ Ford, offensive foul, pushing off
• TJ Ford and Murphy screw up the spacing there, standing alongside one another at the top of the key with only one defender in the vicinity. Force a contested three, miss, offensive rebound, Murphy bags the second attempt.
• Oh pretty dribble to beat his defender, even sweeter pass by Daniels in midair to Ford after drawing the shot blocker for the wide open layup. Fastbreak there.
• Indiana lead 71-60

Okay I’m going to switch over to the Bulls-Cavs game. That looks like an interesting matchup.

Indiana should really win this game. They’ve been toying with an inferior side all game, but they haven’t had enough of a killer instinct to put them away so Jersey are still in with a shout. The game has all been about what Indiana is doing, and not doing ….. rather NJ making it tough.

Game Time: Denver vs Dallas

Wow … great ovation from the crowd as Chauncey Billups is announced. He makes a short speech, gets a great reaction again. This crowd is pumped. I’m pumped, this is great, very excited about seeing Chauncey Billups’ return to the Nuggets

Chauncey is wearing #7. Dahntay Jones will start in Allen Iverson’s place as previously reported.

First Quarter

• Hubie Brown announcing tonight
• Nuggets getting three shot attempts on their first possession after a Mavericks turnover. Their big men taking a 18 footer each, missing both.
• Dirk is down in the low post, backs down Carmelo, spins baseline and lays it in.
• Billups posts up on the left block, backs down Kidd, turns middle, short shot in the lane, misses
• Is that Kevin Calabro? Is he working for ESPN? Yes, that is KC. Great. One of my favourite announcers (damn Thunder stealing the Sonics)
• Billups comes down court, slips behind the screen and nestles in a three pointer
• Moving screen on Dampier. Melo shaken up for a second.
• Nene off the right elbow, he drives left into the paint, draws the foul. Diop enters the game after Damp picks up two fouls in the space of about 10 seconds. Inbounds, worked into Nene inside, he powers it up, fouled. Nene makes the first, and gets the roll on the second.
• Denver ahead 7-4
• Dirk with a tough fallaway, Martin might have gotten a piece of that, air ball
• Post up for Melo on the left post, face up, takes the 14 footer, nails it
• Jason Terry nails a long J to end a 7-0 run
• Nice pass from Billups, foul first, Martin slams it home. Martin is going to like Billups.
• Terry misses a three from the corner over Martin’s hand, deflected out, Martin comes away with it.
• Nene keeps alive the offensive rebound, Melo hustles it down, drives along the baseline and stuffs it home as Diop falls over. Love it.
• Timeout
• Nuggets leading 11-6
• Howard misses a tough shot over Carmelo at the shot clock buzzer, they get an offensive rebound. Illegal defense on Denver following the iso for Howard who got a switch.
• Billups has had three practices and a meeting in the last 24 hours trying to learn the Nuggets offense. He says it’s light and day with what he ran in Detroit.
• Loose ball foul on Diop, that’s two, Nene takes another two FTs, makes one of two. Bass comes in for Diop.
• Dallas push it up quickly, get into their offense … illegal defense, another FT made by Dirk. Inbounds, Dallas never gets into their offense, never below 20 feet, Kidd has to take a 26 foot three, blocked by Billups, Denver come away with it, outlet pass, intercepted by Kidd, he runs down the left lane, draws the defense, fancy pass, intercepted. A couple of turnovers later, Dallas gets a basket.
• Lovely backdoor cut from the left corner by Howard, Terry finds him, layup. Josh Howard is getting so many of those types of baskets this season.
• Dirk fouled at the rim, he finishes, well goaltend really, makes the FT. Dallas on a 8-0 run to take the lead, they’re up three.
• Dallas ahead 15-12
• Martin top of the key, crosses it over right to left, drives down the left side, flips up the runner, misses
• Howard has been shaking his left hand/wrist for the last two minutes. Got fouled again on that play. Timeout.
• Nuggets have been on a scoring drought for some time. JR Smith enters the game along with Chris Andersen. JR immediately takes a pull up J off the bounce from 20 feet left wing, misses, loose ball foul, Andersen will shoot two, makes the first, makes the second.
• Under four minutes to play
• Good work by Martin trying to block Bass’ 9 footer that looked wide open in the middle of the key, looked like it put Bass off in the last moment. Oh my, next possession, Bass with the one handed follow up slam on the offensive rebound from the weakside. Watch the highlights tonight. That’s nasty.
• Kleiza driving across the paint, taking the contact, finishing and making the FT.
• Stackhouse hitting a long J
• Tough hard nosed drive by JR Smith bullying his way through two players including the helping big (Dirk), and muscling up the lay in, good.
• Bass passing to himself after Martin came over and tried to block the shot. Should try a pump fake next time, Martin has been jumping at everything over the past few minutes.
• Dirk scores inside …. Denver push it back up while Dirk is on the floor, Carter pushes the length of the court, finds Kleiza, fouled inside, makes two FTs. Dirk made a nice drive from the right wing to finish that shot. Denver’s quick response caught Dallas off guard.
• Dirk backing down Martin, fadeaway 14 footer, Martin jumps at it, Dirk misses.
• Lovely ball movement from Denver as all five players touch the ball, ball swings to the corner, Kleiza bags it. He’s brought Denver back into this game.
• Bass with a great hustle play to keep that offensive rebound alive, but he steps out of bounds on the catch. Unlucky. Great effort.
• Lovely strip by Dirk on Martin’s drive. Martin grimmacing after that. He’s fine. Holding his hand but he looks okay.
• JR Smith roasting Wright off the dribble, takes it to the rim, crowd gasps, Bass fouls. That looked like a big dunk. Camera turns to Martin on the bench, he’s in a bit of pain, Denver’s trainer looking at him. Smith makes the first FT, and the second.
• Denver lead 26-23
• Denver 7-0 run
• Kidd holds it for a final shot …. dribbling up right wing, runs a high screen and roll, nothing on, Wright cuts from the right wing, lob pass, miss, Bass tap, miss, Bass tap, good.

Second Quarter

• Wright with a hard drive, pass out to Damp, 17 feet out, not much use there, passes out to Kidd, three pointer, miss …. leakout, layup, missed. Hubie wants a strong dunk there.
• Nuggets turn it over in the paint
• Stackhouse misses a three pointer top of the key, loose ball foul on Damp going after that rebound. Diop re-enters.
• Kleiza looking to pass, Andersen can’t get open, Kleiza has to take it, he drives, spins, gets in there, scores
• Bass nailing a 15 footer
• Kleiza driving again, Diop smacking that out of there …. Dallas push it up the other end, Wright takes it hard to the rim, and he falls hard on a soft foul, looks in pain. He gets up after about 15 seconds and plays on.
• Kidd taking another three to beat the shot clock, another offensive rebound, this time by Stack, quick pass to Bass, he scores inside.
• The Nuggets are getting killed on their defensive glass
• Lovely move by Nene, he spins middle, up and under, left handed dunk.
• Stack taking an off balance runner, great defense, nobody goes to get the rebound, Stack does, layup, Stack loses it on his way up, turnover
• Tie Game 30-30
• Smith fading off a screen, takes it to the rim, scores on the drive
• Dallas clearout for Bass, Kleiza defending him, double comes, perimeter shot forced, offensive rebound, Dallas pass it around, Carter plays the passing lane …. breakaway, layup
• Nene with the offensive rebound, one power dribble and then he slams it home, hard.
• Timeout
• Nuggets tap the defensive rebound out, Dallas come away with. Quick jumper, another offensive rebound. This is getting tiring. For the love of all that is right will someone box out, and go up with two hands and snatch a defensive rebound.
• Lovely pass by Nene to Melo inside, layup, miss, foul. Billups comes back into the game. Melo makes two FTs.
• Denver lead 38-32 with 6 plus minutes to play
• Carmelo Anthony is defending Jason Kidd, Billups defending Terry.
• Nene spikes that shot, fancy block as he knocks it out of bounds. Still Dallas ball though.
• It was Kenyon’s left wrist that was sore, he’s been icing it since coming out of the game. He just returned now. He also has a hamstring problem.
• Kidd left wide open, tees up a three from the right wing, hits it
• Pass by Melo to Nene, awful pass. Nene had a wide open layup and a straight forward passing angle, pass had to go 6 feet, how’d he screw that one up?
• Nuggets shooting 34%, Dallas 32%
• Howard knocks down a three pointer, Dallas take back the lead.
• So many mistakes tonight. Lots of blown layups, horrible passing, horrible rebounding, and all these missed shots.
• Kenyon Martin driving right, flinging up a runner, hits it.
• Terry taking it to the rim, fouled on his layup.
• Dallas are ahead 44-40
• 3:30 to play
• Billups brings it up along the left wing, Melo runs off a screen on the left post, Billups times the pass beautifully, wide open dunk for Anthony.
• Kidd hits his second long jumper tonight. He’s now 2-6 from the field. Dallas lead 46-42
• Billups driving into the paint and getting fouled on his way up, makes two
• Stat – Dallas has 14 offensive rebounds in the first half – Hubie is disgusted, righly so too.
• Billups deflects the pass, almost steals it, Dallas retains possession, Dallas go back to Howard, Chauncey defending him, Howard forces a drive, takes a tough shot, misses, good D.
• Kidd trying to back down Anthony, changes his mind, lets Howard back down Billups, takes another tough shot, misses, defensive rebound Anthony, he falls down, gets rid of it before he can be tied up.
• Lovely steal by Martin, fastbreak, Carter finds Nene, Nene with the athletic glide to the hoop and finishing inside with his left hand
• Timeout
• Tie Game 46-46
• Dirk posting up on the right block, double, pass out to Terry, three pointer, miss
• Terry picked Billups’ pocket, breakaway dunk
• Billups has it on the left wing, steps back for a three after coming off a screen, misses. He’s 1-7 from the floor in 13 minutes.
• Under one minute to play
• Nene with a one hander, lefty layup scored
• Dallas lead 49-48 after the refs change a Kidd three back to a three after it changed to a two incorrectly

Halftime

• Chauncey Billups struggling. He’s 1-7 from the field and has more turnovers (2) than assists (1). Kenyon Martin is struggling with his shot, going 1-6. Carmelo Anthony is only 3-9 from the floor. Chauncey and Billups leading the team with negative +/-
• Nene has been very good leading the team in points, rebounds, blocks and FG% – 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 5-7 from the field
• The Dallas Mavericks have 14 rebounds against the Nuggets 16 defensive rebounds. Dallas pounding the Nuggets 31-23 on the backboards
• Both teams have 8 assists. Denver have 16 field goals, Dallas 18 field goals. Dallas have 8 more attempts, 52 to 44. Dallas shooting a miserable 34.6% from the field, Denver barely did any better with 36.4% shooting.
• Dallas have been led by four players – Dirk and Terry combining for 23 points, Howard and Bass combining for 18 points. That’s 41 of their 49 first half points. Terry and Bass are both

Let’s hope the quality of play picks up in the second half. Very low in the first.

Second Half – Third Quarter

• Jones bagging a 18 footer right wing to start the half. Only his second shot tonight, first basket.
• Terry responds with a three pointer. Good vision to spot him open in the opposite corner.
• Carmelo muscling up a shot in the paint, he’s in a crowd, misses, rebound Jones, dribbles out, has to take it, misses it
• Nuggets double Kidd on the wing for some unknown reason, pass to the wide open Dirk Nowitzki, three pointer good.
• Nene scores a 18 footer left wing, face up jumper.
• Dirk on the block, backs down Martin, fallaway J, nails it
• Billups scores a three pointer top of the key as he pulls up right away after bringing the ball up court
• Chauncey with a nice drive and dish in the open court, Jones wide open 18 footer on the baseline, he drives it, goes up strong for the dunk, loses it, turnover. He had a wide open J.
• Dallas lead 60-59 with 8:25 to play in the third
• Jones switches onto Dirk, Dirk backs him down, 18 feet out, spin move, fouled.
• Kidd knocks down another three pointer from the right wing. He’s hit a pair of catch and shoot threes from either wing. Dallas 4-4 from three in the quarter
• Nene with the lefty finish in the paint again. Great left hand.
• Tie Game 63-63
• Dirk posts up, spins … hang on … Dallas miss …. hang on … Nene is limping …. Dirk knee to knee with Nene. He hit him on his padded knee. Timeout. Nene heads to the bench. He’s in some discomfort
• Kidd is now up to 12 points. Five of Dallas’ players have scored 61 of their 63 points. Stack has the other two. Dirk leads all scorers with 16.
• Nene has returned to the agme.
• Nene goes right to work, lovely pass to Nene as he ducked into the paint and called for the ball, layup. Hubie – Nene is quick with the ball tonight – couldn’t agree more.
• Dirk off balance, fadeaway, nails the 18 footer
• Billups driving into the paint, layup
• Nene slips the screen, pass over the top, quick pass by Nene to Martin, slam dunk
• Carlisle wants a timeout
• Nuggets lead 69-65
• JR Smith goaltends Diop’s short shot. That’s the eight Maverick to score.
• Four minutes to play in the third quarter
• Dallas shooting 64%, Denver 69%
• JR Smith in the right corner, dribbles left and unwinds a long jumper, score it
• Stackhouse misses, he’s 1-7 now, rebound Denver. Nuggets need to extend this lead while they have a bit of momentum.
• Dirk isolation against Billups, spins, Billups wraps around from the back almost steals it, Dirk misses the runner, offensive rebound, blocked shot, Billups gets the ball and goes coast to coast, dunk Kenyon Martin
• Steal Martin, breakaway, Dirk fouls before he can dunk it home, two FTs.
• Denver lead 75-67
• Isolation for Dirk, against the buzzer from the corner, fadeaway over Martin who’s right in his mug, miss, long rebound, long outlet, Kidd showing his pace to get back and break up that pass, denying Anthony the easy two. He knocked it out of bounds, still Denver ball.
• Andersen with the defensive rebound, outlet to JR Smith, he’s dribbling up the left wing, drives middle, gets into the paint, fouled on his runner, he’ll shoot two, make two. 10 point lead.
• Kidd brings it up, passes to the right wing to Green, he’s trapped after going away from the screen, prays with a long pass, deflected, out of bounds. Dallas hangs onto it and manages to get Kidd open from three on the drive and dish from Terry. Denver miss, Dallas push it, Kidd stops and sets up at the three point line, he nails it. That’s his 5th three, fourth of the quarter. Foot was on the line on one of those makes, sorry.
• Denver lead 79-72
• 32 seconds to play in the third quarter. Both sides making some substitutions.
• Terry winds down the clock, makes his move at the 8 second mark, high screen and roll, runs into a double, passes out, Kidd has to force it, miss, rebound, fastbreak, Carter open 16 footer baseline, miss, offensive rebound, miss. Why the hell did Carter run to the midrange point on the fastbreak? Denver had a 2-on-1 there.

Fourth Quarter

• Lovely pick and roll, nice bounce pass, Andersen hacked on the dunk. He goes to the FT line, makes one of two
• Denver come away with the defensive rebound, tipped by Andersen, JR Smith takes it in the paint. He goes coast to coast, slices his way into the paint off the dribble, layup. 10 point lead again.
• Kidd hustles in another three pointer. He is 7-13 from three and 6-12 from three for 20 points. The only other shot he took he had his foot on the line.
• Terry adds 17 points off his own as he bangs home a long J
• Loose ball foul against Dallas on Andersen. Good effort by Andersen on the offensive glass. Third on Diop.
• Dahntay Jones up and under in the paint on the drive, misses. Forced it …. fastbreak the other way, Green filling the right lane, slam dunk. Wow. He skied there.
• Andersen erases Green’s layup attempt. Inbounds … double on Dirk, pass out, Green hits a three pointer.
• Denver misses their shot, Dallas run up the floor, pass to Green in the corner, pump fake, drivse baseline, jumps over three Nuggets for a floating jumper, fouled.
• Carter tips the offensive rebound to Kleiza, layup. Great work by AC.
• Dirk spotting up from three, nails it.
• Denver lead 89-88
• 7:30 to play
• Kleiza turns it over, third turnover in the second half from Denver
• Dallas have taken 29 threes tonight as Terry misses badly
• Nene with an offensive rebound, stripped by Dirk, goes out of bounds. Nuggets ball.
• Chauncey Billups rejoins the action
• 6:30 to play
• Anthony posting up left blow, turns middle, shuffle pass inside to the cutting Martin, he’s fouled on the layup. Martin gets the friendly roll and bounce on the first FT, second one is up and good.
• Denver lead 91-88
• Dallas has only 10 points in the paint since their 18 points in the opening quarter
• Dirk posts up inside, right post, kicks it out, Green three pointer right wing, scores it
• Long rebound, outlet, breakaway, layup Dallas
• Howard in some pain. He’s holding his wrist again. It’s been lightly wrapped tonight.
• Green’s energy has been great here in the fourth quarter
• Dallas got nothing going in that possession. Good defense. Carmelo scores on a crossover drive and layup off the glass on the quick shot in the halfcourt.
• Green isolation, beats Smith off the bounce, goes left, layup
• Nuggets post up Anthony, stripped by Kidd, Nene has to force a 20 footer falling backwards to beat the clock, miss
• Four minutes
• Tie Game 95-95
• Great defense by Denver, forced Kidd into the corner on the high screen and roll, trapped him hard, deflected the pass, fastbreak the other way, slam dunk Anthony after nice passing back and forth between him and JR Smith.
• Dallas ball, Kidd brings it up, passes to Dirk left high post, Kidd flashes by him, moves into the mid post, pass to Kidd, posting up Billups, foul called. On Kenyon Martin for holding Dirk. Inbounds, Dirk’s ball fake creates a lane to drive, he drives left, layup, swatted by Kenyon …. fastbreak, nobody stopping the ball, Billups takes the pull up three, makes it. Crwod are on their feet.
• Bass fouled at the rim
• Denver lead 99-98 with three minutes to play
• Chauncey misses a long two, high bounce behind the backboard, Kenyon jumps out of bounds and saves it off Dirk.
• Timeout
• Nuggets ball, billups has it up, high screen and roll, doubled, he gives it up, Melo creates against Kidd, spin move, turnaround J, stripped by Kidd …. long pass out by Terry, stolen by Billups. Billups brings it up, Melo moves into the post, they go to him, he draws the foul, makes two at the line. Kidd has five fouls now.
• 2:21 to play
• Kidd brings it upcourt, passes to Terry left wing, runs off a screen, does nothing, passes back out to Dirk, Dirk drives right and draws the foul on Martin’s reach in, he’ll shoot two, makes two. Dirk has 23 points and 8 rebounds.
• 2:07 to play
• Denver lead 101-100
• Nuggets come up court, Billups top of the key, waits for Anthony to rub off the screen, Billups doesn’t make the pass, drives through the middle to the rim, has his shot blocked from behind, turnover.
• Dallas struggle to get anything going offensively, long three heavily contested by Terry, miss, loose ball foul on Dirk. Melo goes to the line, Anthony makes two – Melo has 24 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Swished both FTs.
• Steal by Billups on Kidd’s dribble, great D
• Billups brings it upcourt, isolate Melo, he goes to work on Green, muscles his way inside, misses the four footer, almost gets the offensive rebound, Dallas come away with it.
• Dirk clearout at the elbow, he takes the fallaway, misses
• 103-100
• 32 seconds to play
• Billups drives into the paint, he’s smacked to the floor after his shot is rejected …. Dallas run the other way with Billups crumpled over on the deck, Kidd takes it hard to the rim, and lays it in plus the foul. Soft touch foul allowing Kidd the and one opportunity. He misses the FT. Rebound Martin. You just knew Kenyon Martin would get that rebound that didn’t you?
• Timeout Nuggets
• 103-102 Denver
• 20 seconds to play
• Denver have to get the ball to Billups. He’s a superb FT shooter. 91.8% last season on 400+ FTs.
• Barea enters the game for Kidd. Has he played tonight?
• Kenyon inbounds the ball in the backcourt, inbounds to JR Smith, Green deflects it out of bounds. Inbounds, Chauncey manages to get free after splitting through a screen. He’s fouled by Barea. Ah yes, Kidd had 5 fouls. Barea moves back to the bench. Billups takes the first, misses, second shot is up and in.
• 17.5 seconds to play
• Dallas timeout
• Green inbounds to Bass, stripped by Nene 30 feet to the rim, Anthony gets to the loose ball. He’s fouled. Carmelo makes the first, and makes the second.
• Inbounds, quick push, Dallas dribble up, Dirk takes a three, misses, long rebound, Terry gets it, nails a three.
• Timeout Nuggets
• 1.1 seconds to play
• Nuggets have to make sure they inbound the ball now. How many timeouts do they have left? Any? I doubt it.
• Nuggets inbound the ball and the clock expires before a foul. Refs review. Refs give foul … yada yada yada, Green misses at buzzer.

The greatest part of this game? Kevin Calabro.

I wrote this midway in the fourth – The second half picked up in a big way, but the play was still very inconsistent and disjointed, both sides. Lots of runs and bad decisions.

I’ll add one more thought to that – great finish, very exciting.

Game Time: Portland vs Houston

First Quarter

• Scola makes the jumper
• Rafer Alston bagging the three pointer off McGrady’s kickout
• Scola filling the lane on the fastbreak, Rafer finds him, layup
• Rockets lead 7-4 after two and a half minutes
• Batum sticks a midrange J
• Yao Ming with a hook shot baseline off the right post, misses. Przybilla doing a good job keeping him out of the paint.
• Scola backing down Roy, shoots the turnaround over him, score it
• Rockets lead 11-10
• Turnover, fastbreak Houston, Rafer makes a mess of it, manages to retain possession, gives it to Tracy, he drives left on Batum, draws the foul. Batum’s length looks like it could cause Tracy some problems, hard to get a good look over those arms. That should hurt his face up game.
• Tracy isolation on the right side of the wing, he doesn’t take the J, starts overdribbling, bounces it off his leg, has to get rid of it, team shoots at the shot clock buzzer, miss
• Rockets work it inside to Yao Ming, he takes the fallaway over Przybilla, misses, great work again by Przybilla to push Yao well out from the paint, made that shot difficult for Yao.
• Timeout
• Rockets lead 13-10
• 5:30 to play in the first
• Moving screen on Channing Frye
• Carl Landry has entered the game for Yao Ming. Frye and Outlaw have come in for Portland.
• Brandon Roy gets the step on Ron Artest, blows right by him, gets to the rim, fouled. Roy makes
• Artest post up Brandon Roy, Roy fronting him, Frye comes to double, forces Artest back out to the three point line after the catch, he takes the long J on the left wing, misses
• Artest misses another three, this time from the opposite wing
• Frye swishing the 19 footer left elbow extended on the pick and pop
• Rockets haven’t scored in awhile, Scola hits the 17 footer top of the key
• Brandon Roy draws the foul on Landry who has picked up two quick fouls.
• Rudy fires up a three quickly after entering the game, miss
• Blazers lead 16-15 … we have a timeout
• Barry called for the reach. Bad defense by Barry. He shouldn’t be defending Brandon Roy, he can’t stay with Roy. Roy isolation right wing, Roy backs him down about 10 feet, then the defense collapses, he finds the cutting Rudy, Rudy passes out to Outlaw in the corner, he nails the three pointer
• Scola missing an 18 footer. Don’t like seeing him shoot so far out.
• Aldridge driving left on Scola, muscles it up in the paint, misses, offensive rebound, pass out to Frye, he bags a 20 footer from the right corner
• Great job by Roy to slap away Barry’s dribble, then diving on the floor and getting it to a teammate before he can get tied up.
• Blazers lead 21-15 with one minute to play in the first
• Aaron Brooks nailing a three to end the quarter.

Second Quarter

• Outlaw with the one dribble pull up J from 20 feet on the right wing. Jumping over Barry like he wasn’t there.
• Outlaw strips Yao on his post up … man Yao’s confidence has to be low right now. He needed this game to regain his confidence, not a lot of good right now.
• Portland lead 23-18
• Brooks weaving through the paint, wastes the clock, passes out, in to Yao, quick pass out, missed jumper, rebound Outlaw. That’s Travis’ 6th rebound already.
• Frye bags another jump shot along the baseline
• Brooks looking to post Yao, was too slow on the post up, Yao lost his great position but still has good position, double, pass out, three pointer from the opposite wing.
• Rudy Fernandez answers right back
• Brooks with a runner in the lane
• Brooks on the quick push, driving it up, goes right down the right hand side of the lane, fouled on the runner. Brooks’ change of pace creating that drive. He makes two at the line.
• Outlaw bangs in another jumper right wing
• Blazers have 11 assists to the Rockets 6
• Timeout
• Portland lead 30-24
• Blazers are outrebounding Houston 17-7
• Yao gets his first field goal of the night with the hook shot in the lane
• Lovely pass by Sergio to Rudy for the bucket inside
• Brooks nails another three pointer. He has 10 points.
• Artest driving inside, shows great patience and vision to find Landry for the dunk on the opposite side as he threads the pass through a crowd
• Rebound Barry, back to Artest who takes it up, he looks to post up Fernandez, looks for the repost, Barry wants to drive, beats his man, draws the defense, nice pass to Artest, wide open layup, he passes it up, Yao contested layup, fouled. Artest should have shot that one. Yao makes two.
• Fernandez nails a three
• Portland lead 38-34
• We’re near the halfway point in the second quarter
• Landry jab stepping right, twice, then takes the face up J over Przybilla, misses it from 17 feet.
• Yao travels inside as he shuffles his feet after the catch.
• POrtland are 16-30 for 53% shooting from the field
• Offensive foul on Frye, another moving screen.
• Fernandez with the steal, and the save, no he threw it out of bounds on the baseline.
• Tracy and Roy check back in
• Tracy and Artest both have 0 points. Houston only down 4.
• Offensive foul on Artest, he hooked Roy around the neck when Roy was trying to get out and front him
• Steve Blake with a pretty drive and finish
• Great patience by the Rockets to exploit Artest inside, Roy was fronting Artest, Houston let the ball do the work and reversed the ball, Artest had position, easy pass, immediate foul. Artest made one of two at the line.
• Artest strips Rudy, Rudy fights for it, gets it back, Ron dives on him, jump ball. Timeout. Great stuff.
• Rudy’s flip shot misses badly on his drive
• Tracy with a rolling hook as he slashes to the hole
• Aldridge drives right, spins left, jumps up into Landry and finishes over him, gets the foul too. Nice move.
• McGrady finishing inside with the left hand
• 3:30 to play in the half
• Portland lead 42-39
• Aldridge hits another midrange jumper off the pick and pop
• Scola with the putback, great hustle
• Blake driving along the baseline, nowhere to go, he forces the pass, picked off, fastbreak going the other way, Rafer fouled.
• Timeout
• Brandon Roy turns the corner on the pick and roll, tripped up by Scola. Roy has taken only one shot so far, he’s been relatively quiet.
• Roy slicing and dicing his way past Yao Ming and finishing off the glass beautifully. Great drive off the high screen.
• Tracy comes back down and takes it to the rack, finishing and drawing the foul
• Artest with the breakaway dunk as he leaked out on the defensive rebound, great pass by Tracy to spot him, first bucket for Artest
• Aldridge scoring inside. He’s looked great every time he’s tried to shoot the ball.
• Aldridge down in the low post, doubled by Rafer, passes out to Blake, three pointer, good, no foot was on the line make that a two pointer
• Lovely behind the back pass by Tracy to the cutting Luis Scola for a layup
• Rockets have taken the lead on that basket, they’re ahead 51-50
• Roy being shadowed by Artest, Roy gives it up, Aldridge bangs in a 19 footer left wing

Halftime

• Portland lead 52-51
• Surprisingly the Blazers are ahead on the backboards and by a large margin, leading 23-14
• Portland have 16 assists on 23 baskets, shooting 53.5% from the floor as they’ve made 23-43 shots. They are 4-12 from three and 2-3 from the line. Only three FTs. Not surprising when you consider how many perimeter jump shots.
• The Rockets have 11 assists on 20 baskets, making 20-35 shots for 57% shooting. He is 4-7 from three and 7-9 from the FT line.
• Luis Scola had a very good first half finishing with 12 points and 4 rebounds on 6-8 shooting. Aldridge matched him with 14 points and 4 rebounds on 7-10 shooting.
• Travis Outlaw has 10 points and 9 rebounds off the bench in 14 minutes. Rudy Fernandez adding another 8 points.
• Blake and Roy have combined for 8 assists and 10 points. Brandon Roy has shot the ball only five times.
• Alston is the second leading scorer in the Rockets starting lineup with 7 points. The other three (Big Three) have 5-6 points.
• The Rockets have 5 turnovers costing them 2 points. Portland have 7 turnovers costing them 4 points.
• Przybilla played 13 minutes and finished with only 1 rebound. No points. 2 fouls. He played good defense on Yao Ming though.
• Brooks let another second quarter charge tonight when he dropped 10 points in 7 minutes allowing the Rockets to stay close while both Tracy/Artest were scoreless.

Third Quarter

• Aldridge bangs home his 8th field goal. Another jumper
• Scola with a hand off to Rafer who’s curling around a screen out on the three point line right wing, Rafer drives middle, gets into the paint, shoots the floater, misses
• Nice pass to Przybilla who was trailing the play and left wide open, slam dunk. Yao double teaming unnecessarily off the ball.
• McGrady misses the short shot in the paint
• Three second violation on Portland … just before Aldridge could go to work on a clearout in the midpost along the baseline
• Scola has his shot rejected inside. Blazers third block of the evening.
• Blake misses a three, tapped out by Joel, Blake drives inside, finds Aldridge, dunk
• Yao with a quick turnaround off the catch on the left block, went baseline, misses, out of bounds of Portland. Inbounds, catch and shoot McGrady, he nails it
• Portland lead 58-53 after three minutes. Make that 60-53 as Aldridge hits the baseline hook shot off the right box.
• Tracy isolation left wing, his man leaks out, Tracy misses but goes after the offensive rebound, taps it inside to Scola, layup
• Batum missing the 18 footer right wing, rebound Artest
• Yao is just 2-7 from the field. He was 4-14 the other night against Boston. He’s short of confidence right now, looks unsure of himself when making some moves, some hesitancy or passiveness from time to time.
• Blake leading the break, finds Batum filling the left lane, layup
• Rockets in a bit of trouble right now. They’re struggling to weather this storm.
• Rockets post up Yao on the left block, he turns middle, Przybilla plays him for that side, gets a hand in his face, miss. Refs bail him out with a foul, Yao makes two at the line.
• Blazers swinging the ball from right to left, back to the right again corner, Blake facing up and shoots the three, Rafer hits his elbow on the way up.
• Aldridge fouled inside. He’s creating all types of problems. Sideline inbounds, Aldridge out on the three point line, has a bit of space, puts the ball on the deck and drives, shuffle pass inside to Joel, slam dunk
• Tracy driving frmo the left wing and finishing inside
• Aldridge with the turnaround J from 15 feet on the left wing, nails it. He’s tearing apart Houston.
• Timeout
• Aldridge has 22 points and 6 rebounds on 11-14 shooting. Aldridge is the difference in the game so far
• McGrady has scored 6 in the third, to give him 12 points.
• Blazers 7-9 shooting in the third
• Brandon Roy loses his dribble against Artest, forced outside, Ron goes with him, Roy has enough room to turn on the gas, gets by him, drive and kick, missed jumper
• Yao misses a shot inside, goes after the offensive rebound, tied up, jump ball. He wins the tip, goes right to McGrady, top of the key, he waits for everyone to clear out, drives left and hits the floater. nice shot. Steal Tracy McGrady, he pushes it up court, fouled on the dribble.
• McGrady swishes a jumper … that’s 9 straight Rockets points by McGrady. He’s catching fire.
• Blazers lead 68-66
• Outlaw misses a wide open jumper at the top of the key. Good defense by Houston until the final moment on that possession.
• Tracy facing up Outlaw, settles for the jumper, misses.
• Long rebound snagged by Rafer Alston
• Chuck Hayes taking a short baseline jumper, contested jumper. Why’s he taking that? Doesn’t he know Tracy has the hot hand? Brandon Roy nails a jumper on the other end and forces a timeout from Adelman. McGrady has 17 points now, 11 in the third. He’s 8-15 from the field.
• Aldridge with the rejection inside, his third block of the night, smacked that one off the glass
• Brandon Roy faces up Barry from 18 feet on the left wing, takes the J, makes the J
• Alston responds with a quick three pointer
• Final two minutes of the third quarter
• Roy isolation on Barry again, he backs Barry down, turns middle and takes the turnaround J, rims out
• McGrady makes a poor pass, turnover. He thought he had Hayes down low but Hayes cut across the rim thinking he could create a better passing angle on the other side, could have had a layup if he stayed.
• Roy iso on Barry again, fourth straight possession, misses again
• Loose ball foul on Hayes on the offensive rebound.
• Portland lead 72-69
• Final minute
• Frye wants the ball in the post, faces up Landry, takes the 10 footer, misses … fastbreak the other way, rejected by OUtlaw. Portland bring it back up, isolation for Outlaw, one dribble pull up J nails it from the corner
• Rockets clear out for McGrady, drives by Outlaw easily, gets to the rim and is fouled by Frye. Artest back in for Landry for the defensive possession.
• Portland hold it for a final shot, Blake uses a high screen and roll, then finds Rudy running off a screen on the opposite side, passes it across, Rudy loosk to drive, steps back and shoots the three, misses

Fourth Quarter

• Portland lead 74-71
• Aldridge trying to back down Hayes, Hayes holding his ground well, forces Aldridge into a tough shot, missed, offensive rebound, Frye scores
• Artest called for a travel. Turnover.
• Rudy Fernandez nails a big three to stretch the lead to 8
• Brooks razzle dazzling with the dribble, driving inside, gets nothing, passes it out, Artest left wing drives right down the middle, Outlaw blocks it.
• Fernandez calls for everyone to clear out, beating Barry easily, getting into the paint and will head to the line.
• Portland on a 7-0 run to start the fourth. Houston bringing Yao Ming and McGrady back in.
• Fernandez fouls McGrady as he jumped into him, Tracy makes two. Eight point game.
• Yao picks up his first foul
• Fernandez with a sweet acrobatic finish in the lane
• 9 minutes to play
• Artest is defending Rudy now. Houston doing everything possible to cool him down.
• Foul away from the ball on Joel, that’s his fourth.
• Great replay on Rudy running through around a screen twice to create separation from Artest off the ball
• McGrady misses a long jumper. It’s been 5 and a half minutes since the Rockets made a field goal. It’s a miracle the lead is only 10.
• Lob pass from Rodriguez to Rudy, push by Artest, Rudy will shoot two.
• Yao coming away with the defensive rebound
• Chuck Hayes scores inside
• Blake running the pick and pop twice with Outlaw, passes to Outlaw who’s hugging the left sideline, he drives on McGrady, gets to the rim, Yao comes over and alters the shot, Outlaw goes weak, misses, defensive rebound Houston, Rockets push it ahead, Ron stops at the three point line, shoots it, five point game.
• Timeout
• Portland lost a close one the other night against Utah after being in a great position to win
• Luis Scola hasn’t scored since halftime, in fairness he’s barely played in the second half. About 6 minutes so far. McGrady has taken over on the offensive end but hasn’t gotten enough going.
• Defensive rebound, tapped out by McGrady to Brooks, Brooks turns on the jets, goes coast to coast, layup
• 7-0 Rockets run to close the gap to three
• Portland lead 83-80
• Hayes called for a foul on Aldridge’s move in the post. Aldridge will shoot two, makes one.
• Portland have gotten Houston into the penalty, all fouls will be FTs from here on out
• McGrady bags a long two. He’s shot 9-18 from the floor.
• Roy misses a long two
• Foul off the ball, Batum holding McGrady, that’s four on Batum.
• McGrady isolation, double comes from the baseline, Tracy looks to pass, nothing on, drives left to the middle, fouled as he reaches the rim, he’ll shoot two, he’s 5-6 tonight from the line, makes the first, one point game, takes the second, misses.
• Portland lead 84-83
• Roy runs into Yao on the drive, gets the foul. Looked like Yao was still, not in defensive position but not moving either. Roy makes two, he has 10 points now, and 4 assists, on 3-10 shooting.
• Ron Artest will take Roy down the stretch – Reggie Miller says – Ron has shut down Rudy Gay, Paul Pierce, and two others in the fourth quarters of recent games.
• Offensive rebound Roy over Yao Ming
• Roy on the isolation with a beautiful crossover dribble, shakes free of Artest, gets to the rim, layup. Roy is too quick for Artest, if he drives each time he’ll roast Artest. If he settles for jumpers he’s likely to struggle.
• 3:50 to play
• Portland lead 88-83
• Inbounds to Yao, fadeaway out of the post. Tough shot over Joel, that’s 10 points for Yao. Joel has done a terrific job on Yao, first field goal by Yao in almost 30 minutes.
• Rebound inside by LaMarcus Aldridge, putback good. Big sequence for Portland, Rockets needed that rebound.
• Rockets keep the rebound alive, knocked out by Aldridge, baseline inbounds for Houston after the timeout.
• Portland ahead 39-29 on the backboards … rebounding has hurt Houston tonight.
• Brooks driving baseline, looses the handle, turnover
• Portland haven’t had a turnover in the last 15 minutes
• McGrady driving off the screen and roll, finishes inside over Przybilla
• Tracy has 20 of his 26 points in the second half. He hasn’t gotten enough help from his teammates.
• Przybilla wins the tip against Yao, quick shot by Roy, misses. He is only 1-8 in the quarter
• Artest fouled, Rudy reached in on his jumper and caught him across the arm. Artest misses the first, big miss, timeout Portland, makes the second
• Portland lead 90-88
• Chuck Hayes is still on the floor. He’s played too many minutes tonight. Actually, he has cooled off Aldridge, heck, he might have been worth those minutes. His offensive difficulties are irritating though.
• Roy has missed his last three shots and turned it over.
• Tracy ties it up at the line
• Tie Game 90-90
• Final minute
• Roy has it top of the key, he gets teh high screen and roll, gets another, drives inside, gets nothing going, passes it to Aldridge in the corner, Aldridge puts it on the floor and drives, runs into a crowd, knocked loose out of bounds, still Portland ball, Outlaw gets wide open on the inbounds, 18 footer left wing, misses, rebound Aaron Brooks. Great play by the little fella.
• Timeout Houston
• 33.8 seconds left in the game
• Houston inbounds it in the backcourt, Hayes to Brooks, Brooks brings it up, Tracy runs off a screen on the opposite side of the floor, gets the ball, runs a high screen and roll, Portland double off of Chuck Hayes, Hayes wide open under the rim, McGrady forced back towards the halfway line, he’s smothered, can’t see anything, calls a timeout. Adelman draws up a play.
• Inbounds to Artest, he forces a three to beat the clock, misses badly, great D by Roy, rebound Outlaw. Timeout Portland.
• 10.1 seconds to play
• Portland will get one final shot to win this game, or else we’ll head to Overtime.
• Inbounds to Roy, isolation, now the screen with Aldridge comes, Aldridge slips under, Artest strips the ball, Roy kicks it. Turnover. Houston ball. Timeout. There’s only 0.2 seconds on the clock. We’re headed to overtime.
• Adelman wants the inbound pass on the other side of the court … nope … he drew the play on the wrong side of the floor. The Rockets run McGrady off a screen, throw a lob to the rim, he gets and on it, tries to guide it home, no good. Overtime.

Overtime

• Rockets win the tip, post up Yao, he gets a good look inside, misses
• Defensive rebound Portland, Rudy and OUtlaw run two screen and rolls, as Rudy dribbles for a bit, Outlaw pops out rather than rolls, collects the pass, drives baseline, gets to the rim, fouled.
• Scola has played only 22 minutes. He hasn’t seen any action since halfway through the third quarter. Landry has only played 13 minutes. Hayes leading that trio in tick.
• Offensive foul on Hayes, moving screen
• Four minutes to play
• Portland lead 92-90
• Rudy brings it up, they run the same play with Rudy and Travis, this time Rudy drives middle, dishes out, Blazers swing the ball right to left, Outlaw drives, takes a jumper, misses
• Aaron Brooks flying up the court off the miss and laying it in
• Fernandez called for a charge. Good work by Chuck Hayes.
• Portland have 12 turnovers now, Houston 8. Both teams have taken good care of the ball tonight.
• McGrady settles on a long two early in the clock, misses
• Aldridge loses the ball on his way up, rebound Przybilla, pass outside. Refs call … clock shouldn’t have been reset.
• Isolation for Aldridge, he drives left, spins right, muscles it up, Hayes is in troubl, Aldridge smacked Hayes left shoulder with his left elbow, Hayes heading to the locker room. Foul should have been on Aldridge, an offensive foul, called on Hayes. The other two PFs haven’t played in awhile.
• Timeout
• Tie Game 92-92 but two Aldridge FTs to come, he makes none
• Portland lead 46-33 on the boards, and 16-5 on the offensive glass
• Brooks coming off the screen, stops and pops from the FT line, misses, rebound Outlaw
• Blake in for Rudy Fernandez, Portland still running that same play, get Travis the ball, he posts up, turnaround J, little off balance, misses
• Great pass by Tracy in midair to Landry who was cutting along the baseline, slam dunk
• Rockets take the lead 94-92
• Roy driving into the paint, finds Przybilla, layup. Roy worked hard to get that opportunity. Tie game.
• Tracy top of the eky, Aldridge switches, Tracy drive and dish to Yao, 18 footer baseline, miss, rebound Portland, timeout.
• Tie Game 94-94
• Portland ball
• Blazers are just 1-11 from the field in the last 7 minutes. They’ve done well to hang tough and stay in this.
• 1:10 to play
• Portland bring it up, they run something different, run a clearout for Aldridge in the post on the left wing, turnaround J, miss, rebound McGrady … he brings it up, runs a high pick and roll, pump fake, defender bites, McGrady takes the contact, doesn’t get the foul, he hits the 22 footer anyway. He wanted that foul. He was fouled too.
• Aldridge fouled inside by Landry, Aldridge 1-5 tonight from the line, 76% last season from the line, he hits the first, takes the second, makes the second. That’s 27 points for LA tonight.
• Timeout Houston
• Tie Game 96-96
• 30 seconds to play
• Houston inbounds on the baseline, bring it upcourt, get Tracy the ball, 20 seconds time, switch, Tracy isolation, he settles for the J, tough shot over Aldridge who was right there with hin, Tracy didn’t make him change directions or anything
• Portland push it up fast the other way, Roy drives the right wing, stops turns around, takes the J, nails the 19 footer on the right wing as Artest falls down.
• Timeout Houston
• Batum to defend the inbounds, into Yao, he’s 18 feet out, takes the fallaway against the double team, nails it …. and he’s fouled. Roy scampered along the baseline and reached. Yao hits it.
• 0.8 seconds remaining
• Portland Timeout
• Rockets lead 99-98
• That should do it. Rockets need to get a stop here. 0.8 seconds, switch everything. Blake to throw it in, Yao defending the inbounds the pass, I love it. In to Roy who gets a good look, three pointer from 30 feet, nails it. Game winner. Officiating crew review it. It’s good.

Wow … what a game. Blazers win it at the buzzer.

Game Time: Orlando vs Philadelphia

Great matchup tonight. This is a potential first and/or second round matchup.

There’s a couple of things to bear in mind tonight

• Elton Brand will decide this game, either as low post tough post scoring force or as a defensive liability. No matchup has more importance than Rashard Lewis-Elton Brand. Brand has the advantage because he’ll be shooting 6-10 footers instead of 20-24 footers. It’s a question of application and intelligence for Elton Brand tonight. If he does poorly in those areas then Rashard Lewis will have the opportunity to light him up on the other end.
• Sam Dalembert is a very talented interior defender …. but he cannot defend Dwight Howard. Dalembert struggles against guys with muscle who can and will knock him around the court, Dwight does that to him with regularity.
• Thaddeus Young’s defense against Hedo Turkoglu is a watching point.
• Phily have a big matchup advantage in the backcourt with Miller and Iguodala going against Nelson and Pietrus. The backcourt battle could go a long way to deciding who controls the contest.
• Phily should have a big rebounding advantage tonight. Big test for Orlando on the backboards.

Game Time: Toronto vs Detroit

First Quarter

• Stuckey starting in place of Chauncey Billups
• Chris Bosh posting up on the right block, turns middle, pump fake, Amir jumps at, Bosh jumps into Amir and draws the foul. Amir tries to block everything, over-commits too often.
• Stuckey bringing the ball up court, turns on the pace, gets to the rim and finishes easily. Too easy.
• Lovely ball movement from Detroit, inside out to the right wing, swung around the perimeter to the opposite corner, open three pointer for Rip Hamilton, miss
• Bosh with great position in the post, pass inside, spin baseline, Amir from the weakside, pump fake, Amir jumps and he’s out of the play now, Bosh finishing easily
• Great job by Amir Johnson fighting for that offensive rebound, he stopped what looked like an easy defensive rebound for Bosh, Bosh smacks it out of bounds, unable to grab the ball
• Stuckey posts up, spin move, finishes easily
• Jose and Bosh run the pick and pop on the right wing, Jose drives inside, Bosh pulls out to the top of the key, receives the pass, another pump fake by Bosh, Amir flies by, he makes the jumper
• Bad offensive possession from the Raptors. They get nothing going and resort to an isolation for Moon. Moon faces up from 18 feet right wing and takes the jumper, makes it. That’s not a shot Toronto want, they were easy to defend on that possession.
• Toronto lead 9-8 after four minutes
• Prince posts up Moon, passes out, repost from Wallace, back out, Wallace has to take the three, miss
• Jermaine taking an off balance fallaway off the left block. Wallace played him for that right shoulder (baseline), Jermaine refused to go the other way and made the shot harder on himself.
• Stuckey on the break, the Raptors are all ahead of him, turns on the gas, gets to the rim and draws the foul on his layup. He’s strong, finishes despite the contact.
• Oh, wow, Anthony Parker in the right corner, fouled on the three, high arcing three pointer that went about 20 feet in the air before dropping home, swishing home, makes the FT, four point play. That was a pretty shot.
• Rip with a nice give and go off the post entry pass, basket.
• Raptors lead 13-12 halfway through the first …. sorry that’s 14-13 Detroit.
• Jermaine wins the jump ball on the second attempt, tapped into the left corner, Bosh runs it down, tries to create a jumper for himself off the dribble, misses badly, never looked good
• Rasheed posts up 14 foot out on the right wing, faces up, and shoots over the top of Jermaine, nails it
• Amir Johnson strips Bosh after Bosh got superb position inside and looked to have a sure layup on his hands
• Kwame Brown enters the game for Amir
• Calderon drains a jumper off a screen … calderon steals the ball from Stuckey following the inbounds pass from Kwame Brown, turnover, out of bounds, Raptors ball.
• Rasheed will defend Bosh now, forces Bosh into a tough fallaway shot which he misses
• Jermaine O’Neal backs down Rasheed, goes the easier way this time, nails the fallaway in the lane
• Nice hand off pass and shot from Bosh to Parker, three pointer, no
• Timeout
• Toronto lead 17-16 with two plus minutes to play in the first quarter
• Excellent block by O’Neal, no it was late, thought he got there in time, he didn’t. He was close. Rip had cut down the right wing, Jermaine came down from the FT line and pinned it against the glass.
• Joey Graham and Jason Kapono have entered the game. As has Andrea Bargnani. Calderon and Jermaine remain out there.
• Kapono doing a good job pressuring Hamilton out on the perimeter, stops him from passing into Rasheed down in the post, he passes to the corner, quick pass to Rasheed, Rasheed makes his move and draws the foul. Wallace makes the first, and the second. Detroit up 20-19.
• Calderon brings it up, high screen and roll with Jermaine, Jose patient on the dribble, now finds Jermaine who rolled to the basket well, immediately goes up off the catch after stopping in the middle of the paint, fouled on the shot, Jermaine makes two.
• Will Solomon enters the game. No Roko Ukic? That’s disappointing.
• Great job by Jermaine O’Neal to alter Rip’s layup after his nifty drive, Rip misses.
• O’Neal banging inside, turns middle, and goes up over the top, nails it
• Herrmann misses the three, defensive rebound Bargnani
• Jermaine out of control on the left block, loses his dribble, tries to force the up and under along the baseline after regain his control somewhat, offensive foul with the shoulder. He has two fouls, Bosh comes back in for him. Jermaine has been the team’s best player so far.
• Bosh with the defensive rebound, passes ahead, Solomon drives across the three point line and leaves it for the trailing Chris Bosh, three pointer, no.

Second Quarter

• Raptors lead 23-20
• Raps defense doing a great job keeping the ball out on the perimeter and making the Pistons’ perimeter players lifes difficult. Oh, Tayhsaun hits a leaner at the shot clock buzzer
• Maxiell faces up Bargnani along the baseline, nails it from 17 feet
• Wow … Amare Stoudemire has 21 points three minutes into the second quarter over in Indiana. He’s off to an explosive start. Amare is 8-8 from the field and 5-5 from the line.
• Tayshaun drills a three pointer. That puts Detroit up 28-25
• Prince making a couple of FTs here in the second
• Detroit have taken the lead and gone up 33-27
• Raptors second unit haven’t been able to score
• Kapono curls off a screen, nice pass by Solomon, layup, fouled, makes two at the line.
• Bosh leads the team with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Watching the game, it feels that he’s been quiet.
• Bargnani swishes a three pointer off the dribble hand off from Kapono
• Will Bynum hanging in the air and scoring off the glass on his drive
• Great work by Kwame Brown to knock the pass into Bosh in the post out of bounds
• Lovely move by Kapono, passes into Bosh, fakes right, goes left, defender gets lost trying to watch the ball and follow Kapono, open look from 19 feet left baseline, miss
• Will Solomon beating Bynum off the dribble and finishing inside
• Kwame Brown banging into Bargnani aggressively, takes the jump hook, Bargnani doing well to hold his ground and get a hand up, miss, Tayshaun taps it up and in. Moon has to keep him off the offensive glass.
• Dertoit lead 39-34
• Replay shows a lovely bounce pass by Bynum on the break to Afflalo for the fastbreak layup
• 6 minutes to play in the second quarter
• Tayshaun runs off a screen, catch and shoot from 18 feet left elbow extended, he makes it, he has 12 points. Most of them have come in the second quarter, all of them actually according to Devlin.
• Wallace backing down Bargnani, going where he wants, gets the baseline fallaway, Bargnani stays in the play and gets a hand up in Sheed’s face, miss
• Nice cut by Moon, alley oop by calderon, too fast on the pass, turnover
• Stuckey drive and kick to Prince, three pointer right wing, miss
• Bosh in the post, squares up Rasheed, drives baseline, reverse layup, miss, Bosh wanted the foul
• Prince pump fake, drives left and dunks it home
• Moon inside into Bosh, he fakes both ways and then takes the fadeaway, swishes it. Maxiell on Bosh there
• Calderon on the quick push, ahead to Kapono, Kapono has a one on one so he takes a three pointer from a step behind the line, miss …. fastbreak the other way, Maxiell dunks it
• Bosh misses the face up J from 20 feet left wing
• Calderon doing well to deny Stuckey’s drive, forces him back outside, Stuckey gives up the ball
• Rip fouled on the drive, makes two.
• Odd stat of the day, Rip and Chauncey only two players to finish one and two in team scoring each year since 2002.
• Jose has his shot stopped by Prince … fastbreak, nice pass (Rip) to Maxiell, Max jumps into Bosh’s chest and lays it in
• Bosh drives right, layup, miss. Nice drive by Bosh.
• Rip Hamilton fakes the three, one dribble in, takes the 17 foot leaner, nails it
• Pistons on a 13-4 run
• Pistons lead 50-38
• Bosh sets a pick for Jose Calderon, he drives right along the baseline, layup, fouled
• 1:20 to play after two Jose FTs. 10 point game. Who’ll finish the half strong?
• Prince up top of the key, Bargnani on him, Prince looks to drive, goes left, fouled by Bargnani. That’s three fouls on Andrea. He comes out for Humphries, that gets a cheer from the crowd. Prince makes two FTs.
• Calderon running off two screens, Pistons switch, Bosh posts up, double comes, Jose stunts to the left to avoid the help from the top of the key, pass out by Bosh, three pointer good
• Stuckey nailing a tough shot
• Humphries catches it on the FT line, drives right, fouled on the layup, hits it. Aggressive play by Hump, he wants the coaching staff to notice his scoring ability. Three point play by Humphries.
• Final possession, Stuckey holding it up, clock winding down, Stuckey top of the key, 1-2-2 zone, he drives, gives it up, gets it back, has to force a contested 20 footer, misses, bad possession

Halftime

• Detroit lead 54-46
• Rebounding tied at 20 apiece
• The Pistons have 10 assists on 22 baskets. They’ve shot 22-44 from the field, 1-6 from three, and 9-12 from the line.
• The Raptors have 11 assists on 16 baskets on just 36 attempts for 44.4% from the field. That’s 8 less shot attempts than Detroit. Raptors are 3-8 from three and 11-11 from the line
• The Raptors have 8 turnovers to the Pistons 3.
• Calderon has 9 points and 5 assists. Bosh has 11 and 7. Jermaine O’Neal has only 6 and 1 after an impressive first quarter, foul trouble ruining his half.
• Tayshaun Prince leading all scorers with 16 points, all coming in the second quarter. He is 5-7 from the field and 5-6 from the line. Rip is second with 11 points. Rasheed, Maxiell and Kwame have four rebounds each.

Pacers lead 66-59 at halftime. I’m watching the wrong game. Amare finished the half with 27 points. TJ Ford is leading the Pacers with 18 points of his own, Granger has 15, Murphy 12. An old fashioned shootout out in Indiana.

Third Quarter

• Pistons open the third quarter with possession of the ball. Problem with the clock. Restart.
• Chris Bosh just passed, well in the second quarter, Antonio Davis for the all-time Raptors record for offensive rebounds
• Rip posting up Parker, Calderon cheating of Stuckey, forces the pass out, Stuckey takes the 20 footer, misses.
• Jermaine posting up on the right block, turning middle, misses, Rasheed doing a great job playing Jermaine on that right side allowing him to bother that shot severely
• Great steal by Moon cheating from the right wing to the top of the key and stealing the pass, two Raptors were trapping the ball on the right sideline, pass to the top of the key, Moon breaking away the other way, hesitant, passes up the drive, Jose passes up the drive, brings it back out
• Amir Johnson hits a jumper
• Bosh on the right wing nails a 19 footer over Amir Johnson
• Tayshaun Prince hits his second jumper from the right wing in the first three minutes of the third. He’s having a big game so far.
• Parker side rim-ing a three pointer. Looked ugly. Misses the catch and shoot right baseline on the inbounds pass
• Detroit score again, Stuckey on the weakside, scores inside.
• Timeout Toronto
• Detroit lead 63-48
• Jermaine O’Neal with a defensive rebound.
• Pistons missing a couple of long jumpers. Starting to settle for perimeter shots.
• Jermaine on the left block, drives right, runs into Rasheed, falling runner double clutched, lot of contact, missed. Jermaine is furious. Tech. Pistons make the FT.
• Let’s see how Jermaine reacts to that little anger fit.
• Moon settles for a three pointer right wing, misses
• Wallace with his foot on the line bangs in a long two on the left wing
• Pistons lead 66-50
• Calderon bags a long two top of the key
• Halfway through the third quarter now
• Stuckey drives right, behind the back, goes left, baseline, up strong, Calderon does well to pin Stuckey under the edge of the backboard, tough shot, miss
• Raps score a three
• Wallace has his dribble poked away by Jermaine, forced into a long two from the corner, shot clock violation on the air ball
• Jose taking the long two top of the key again. That’s a 7-0 Raptors run.
• Timeout Michael Curry
• Prince has only taken 9 shots tonight. He has 21 points. Bunch of FTs too.
• Lovely cut backdoor by Rip Hamilton, layup.
• Moon thought about three, thought better of it, passes inside to Bosh, drives towards the middle, spin move baseline, fouled, layup, three point play. Bosh has schooled Amir Johnson several times tonight.
• Jeez … Amare has 39 points halfway through the third quarter. He’s tearing up Indiana.
• Bosh pump fake, Amir jumps at it again, drives down the paint and lays it in
• Detroit lead 74-64 … make that 74-66 after two Calderon FTs
• Calderon has 20 points now
• Jermaine tips Bynum’s floater, rims out. Big tip by Jermaine
• Jose takes the 19 footer right wing off the screen and roll again, misses
• Jose deflects the pass, Pistons hang onto it, inside to Maxiell, Max drives right and misses his runner, rebound Jermaine
• Bosh faces up Wallace, 17 footer left wing, misses it
• Bargnani about to check in
• 1:30 to play in the third
• Prince drives left from the right wing, step back J from the elbow, hits it. Timely shot by Tayshaun to hurt the Raps momentum.
• Jermaine posts up Wallace, turns middle, takes the contact, foul called, hits the runner in the paint, three point play. That move by Jermaine started out by the three point line, good composure to take one dribble in and then post his way back down into the paint. He missed the FT, not a three point play.
• Jermaine taps the defensive rebound, Jose secures it
• Bosh isolation against Rasheed on the right wing, 17 feet out, drives left, fouled on his long armed lefty layup, hits it.
• calderon heads to the bench. Calderon had 11 points in the third to spark the Raptors back into the game.
• Detroit lead 76-71
• 21.7 seconds to play in the third, Detroit hold it for the final shot, managaing the clock, Bynum razzle dazzling, goes to early, has to get rid of it after getting himself in trouble, Pistons work it around the perimeter, tough contested shot from the perimeter, miss

Fourth Quarter

• Bosh drives it right to the rack, slam dunk
• Bosh defensive rebound, turnover, Bynum turns it over right back, Raptors come back up, Solomon bags a 20 footer off the screen and roll on the left wing
• Detroit lead 76-75
• Toronto are on a 16-6 run
• No look pass by Rasheed to Herrmann, reverse dunk
• Lovely pass by Solomon to the cutting Bargnani, slam dunk
• Bargnani fighting Wallace effectively in the post, making him work for the catch, now holding his position, Wallace turns middle and takes an usual floater out of the post, misses, good work by Bargnani to keep a hand in his face. Offensive rebound Detroit, works it way out to the perimeter, three pointer by Rasheed, nails it
• Raptors haven’t led since early in the second quarter when they were up 25-24
• Bargnani swishes a three pointer
• 9 minutes to play
• Detroit lead 81-80
• Wallace posts up, faces up, looking for the pass, nothing on, Bargnani pressures the ball, Sheed shoulder fake to get some space, face up J, air ball, shot clock violation
• Timeout
• Solomon carried the ball, turnover
• Bosh is going to sit for a brief bit now. Jermaine is back in the game
• 8 minutes to play
• Acker is in the game, looked a little worried on that dribble, gets rid of it.
• Jose Calderon checks back into the game.
• Stuckey makes another bucket. He has 14 points
• Parker catch and shoot as he runs off the screen top of the key, calderon with a nice pass, hits the shot
• Jermaine late on a defensive rotation, fouls Kwame on the layup, nice pass by Stuckey to find the rolling Kwame open in the middle of the lane
• Double on Calderon, knocked loose into the backcourt, three players dive on it, jump ball. Great strip by Maxiell after hedging the screen well. Maxiell wins the tip
• Detroit lead 86-82 with 6:30 to play
• Kwame hand off to Stuckey, misses the 17 footer off the right elbow
• Jose pass deflected by Hamilton, falls to Bosh, fouled
• Herrmann with a defensive rebound
• Jermaine keeps the rebound alive as he tips it away from Maxiell to a teammate
• Detroit lead 88-84
• Five minutes to play
• Prince is now defending Chris Bosh
• Jermaine backing down Kwame, spins middle, misses the short shot
• Parker with the blocked shot on the fsatbreak by Detroit
• Bosh posts up Prince, faces up, drives left, picks up his dribble, nowhere to go, up and under, squirms up a layup that’s good. Bosh looked in trouble there for a minute.
• Bosh contesting the perimeter shot, misses badly. Good D by Bosh.
• Detroit lead 88-86
• Four minutes to play
• Calderon top of the key, inside to Jermaine, passes out to Parker, Herrmann running hard at him, brick
• 3:30 to play
• Rip Hamilton clear out, dribbles in, pump fake, defender bites, he jumps into him and creates the contact, hits the 20 footer. Refs don’t give him the foul, easily could have.
• Jermaine posts up right block, fallaway to the middle, misses
• Rip isolation top of the key, he drives on Parker, goes up through Parker’s chin, misses the runner. Good bit of contact there again. Offensive rebound Detroit. Timeout Detroit.
• Detroit lead 90-86
• Stoudemire leading Phoenix with 43 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. All categories. Suns up 5 with 6 minutes to play. Make that 45 points as he scores inside.
• 2:30 to play
• Bargnani with a big block on Rip’s runner, falls out to Rasheed, three pointer right wing, good. No long two pointer.
• Calderon knocks down a long jumper, foot was on the line, two pointer
• Under two minutes to play
• Rip runs off a screen, catches the ball, shoulder fake left, dribble right, pull up J from 16 feet, miss
• Bosh misses a long jumper, rebound Prince
• 1:20 to play
• Detroit lead 92-88
• Prince backing down Moon, lefty hook, hits it
• That’s the game right there
• Pistons up 6 with 1 minute to play. Raptors call timeout
• Parker driving, missing, rebound Wallace
• Pistons run down the clock, Stuckey sees an open lane, drives hard, Raptors collapse, passes out to Tayshaun, Prince lets the clock wind down some more, then takes the long jumper, misses
• Calderon sees the defender wasn’t set, drives hard, draws the foul. He makes two at the line. There’s 32 seconds on the clock. Raptors down four. Pistons ball.
• Full court pressure, Detroit looked surprised but end up handling it comfortably enough. Foul on Bosh as Detroit cross midcourt. 26 seconds to play. Sideline ball, Herrmann inbounds the ball, Rip will shoot two after being fouled. Pistons back up 6, 25 seconds to play.

Good win for Detroit. Raptors played them tough but couldn’t execute well enough late in the game.

Game Time: Houston vs Boston

Possible 2009 Finals matchup tonight

First Quarter

• Boston win the tip, Rondo brings it up court, on the left wing, up top to Perk to Pierce on the right wing, back over to Ray on the left wing, off a screen, Ray drives towards the middle spots Rondo in the corner, jumper, missed
• Lovely quick passing by Scola to the cutting Alston and the touch pass to Yao for the dunk
• Turnover Celtics, steal Artest, McGrady passes ahead to Alston, Alston takes it strong to the rim and gets fouled
• Alston is standing 6 feet off of Rondo when Rajon has it along the three point line after bringing it upcourt.
• Great hands by McGrady to smack the ball loose on Ray’s dribble, Ray steps out of bounds trying to regain control.
• Scola slithers into the paint and finds a way to get it up off the glass in between KG and Perk
• Haywood Workman is reffing tonight. Great to see him back in the league.
• Artest rebounds KG’s missed jumper
• Perkins left wide open, in 7 feet of open space just outside the FT line, he takes it and makes it
• Scola with a great tap to himself on the offensive glass, saves a possession for Houston.
• Rondo rebounding over McGrady on the offensive end, layup. Tracy gave up on the play after he failed to catch that board.
• Rockets lead 8-4
• Allen with a layup in the halfcourt
• Artest draws the foul on Pierce on his baseline drive from the left wing
• McGrady with a beautiful pass to Scola who was cutting along the baseline, short 6 foot jumper from Scola, misses
• KG with that dribble going left and step back J that he loves
• Artest with a long high arcing three from the left wing, nails it
• Long rebound off the KG miss, Alston rebounds it. Good work by Alston because the rest of his teammates where too close to the rim and had no chance of getting that rebound, four Celtics were next in line.
• Perk misses the follow up on Rondo’s miss, rebound KG, Celtics reset. Ray Allen top of the key drives through the middle, lovely pass to Perk, foul on Yao on the layup. That’s two on Yao, he’ll be sitting for a long time.
• Boston lead 14-13 after the halfway mark in the first
• Tracy posts up inside, draws the double, kicks it out to Artest, missed three
• Perkins posts up Artest, Artest goes for the steal and knocks it out of bounds
• Garnett misses a 20 footer from the left corner, long rebound, loose ball foul on Hayes
• Rockets getting beaten on the backboards here in the early going
• Pierce posting up Artest, kicks it out as the defense starts to inch closer. Celtics work it around. Nice pass to KG who flashed to the right block, KG spins middle for the turnaround … foul on Hayes on Perk.
• Hayes getting a short hook off the glass. Nice pass by Alston.
• Artest takes it hard to the basket, misses, tips it, nope, everyone is fighting for it, after four more tips it ends up in the Celtics hands, Rondo running the other way and cooks Alston on the way to the hoop for the easy two
• 19-17 Boston after a Rafer hoop
• McGrady is the only scoreless Rockets player so far
• Ray with a long jumper left wing
• Rondo goes under the screen, Alston stops and pops from three, miss
• Pierce gets a layup. Lot of easy baskets inside for Boston right now.
• Artest snags another three from the top of the key
• Timeout celtics, final two minutes of the first quarter
• Pierce gets a quick two out of the timeout
• McGrady fouled inside, Tony Allen enters for Ray, sideline ball, inbounds, ball moves cross court to Tracy, isolation on  the right wing, face up J, good
• Rondo driving to the hoop and finishing inside
• Clyde Drexler says that Rondo is an All-Star caliber player who just doesn’t get the recognition
• Rockets look small out there
• Boston leading 28-22
• Boston hold it for the final shot, Pierce up top of the key, his cross over dribbles, between the legs and spin move don’t work on Alston, he picks up his dribble for no reason, forces himself into a tough 19 footer and doesn’t have his feet well set, misses. Good D by Alston

Second Quarter

• Artest gets a step on Pierce in the backcourt as he brings the ball up court, he keeps Pierce on his hip and rides him all the way down the right wing to the rim for the layup and the fou, misses the layup, makes one of two at the line
• Pierce is back in the second unit again instead of Ray Allen. He’s playing alongside House, Tony, BBD and Powe.
• Artest scrapping inside, drawing another foul, makes two
• Pierce with a beautiful jab step, step back jumper out of the midpost after facing up Artest on the right wing from 16 feet
• Yao Ming re-enters the game
• Boston leading 33-25
• Tony Allen beating Landry to the defensive rebound. On the other end, Davis doing a great job beating Yao to the offensive rebound and getting the putback, using his body well to hide the ball from Yao.
• Celtics getting all the loose balls right now. Their effort levels have been very good.
• Celtics move ahead 38-25
• Rockets offense is misfiring. Landry just picked up his third foul. Yao has two. Brooks enters the game.
• Brent Barry misses a jumper from the right wing. The Rockets are now 2-9 from three.
• Davis air balls a 18 footer
• Boston lead 20-8 on points in the paint. They’re doing an excellent job of getting shots close to the basket.
• Boston lead 40-25
• Another turnover for the Rockets
• BBD takes another jumper from 17 feet, misses another jumper.
• Brooks slithering through the paint for a floater, score it. That ends a good Boston run.
• BBD steals another offensive rebound and draws the foul on Yao Ming on the putback. Great job by BBD. BBD got the shot to go plus the foul. Hayes comes back in for Yao Ming
• Aaron Brooks nails a three pointer. He’s scored the Rockets only points in the last 3-4 minutes.
• Scola with a steal 30 feet out from the hoop, he dribbles up court under control and makes the layup
• KG with that left dribble step back J again, misses hard off the rim, long rebound, loose ball foul on Rondo, Celtics in the penalty, Barry makes two.
• Rondo dribbles upcourt, Brooks happy to let him do so, standing a foot off him, Rondo shoulder fake right, drives hard left, Brooks beat instantly, Rondo into the paint, pump fake by Rondo, Hayes not buying, Hayes draws the charging foul
• Barry nails a three
• 10-0 Rockets run
• Perkins posting up Chuck Hayes, and scoring easily.
• Barry stripped on his drive, falls right to Scola who has an open layup, good
• Perk left unguarded on the left box, gets the pass, turns inside, hacked on the layup. Timeout. Perkins makes the first, and misses the second
• Boston lead 45-39 with 5 minutes left in the half
• Brooks running the pick and pop with Scola, Scola gets the ball 18 feet out on the left baseline, he makes the shot. A well executed move.
• Brooks draws the foul on Rondo has Brooks blazes right on the drive trying to get into the paint
• Boston lead 45-43 with 4:30 to play in the half
• Ticky tack call on Scola, KG will shoot two. Good double team by Houston prior to the foul to bother KG. Eddie House came in for Rondo after that third foul against him. KG makes two.
• Tracy McGrady nails a three pointer from the right wing. One point game. 19-4 Rockets run.
• Pierce misses, rebound McGrady, he dribbles, pulls up from 20 feet, gets the kind roll, Houston take the lead. 21-4 Rockets run.
• Hayes blocks KG’s inside shot, long outlet to Brent Barry who leaked out, layup good.
• Timeout Doc Rivers
• Three minutes left in the half
• Boston were up 16 earlier in the quarter, now Houston are up three. 23-4 run.
• Pierce over to Ray, left wing, drives on Barry easily, pass out to KG on the left baseline, long jumper missed, rebound BArry
• Brooks brings it back up, he dribbles, takes the 20 footer off the bounce, nails it.
• Haywood Workman with an inadverdent whistle on Ray’s jumper, Ray made the shot anyway. Play on.
• Ray Allen dribbles up and nails the three pointer from the right wing. Boston take the lead back.
• Turnover McGrady, steal KG, he leads the break, no good, miss, offensive rebound, miss, loose ball foul on Pierce
• Double technicals on McGrady and Perk
• 1:30 to play in the half
• McGrady iso right wing, he settles for the three pointer, miss, long rebound, loose ball foul Hayes, two FTs
• Illegal defense on Boston on Brooks’ penetration, Barry makes the freebie. Doc unhappy with the call.
• Pierce right up on McGrady, gets too close while McGrady was looking for hte pass, McGrady flies by him to the left, bullet pass to Scola, Scola drops it, turnover … Celtics come up the other way and get a three pointer
• Houston had a 25-4 run, then Boston went on a 11-1 run
• Brooks holds it for the final shot, he runs a high pick and roll, excellent help from Perk, House knocks the ball loose, turnover

Halftime

• Rockets lead 27-19 on the backboards. They have 12 offensive rebounds to 4. The rebounding difference has been one of the major stories of the first half.
• Houston have 10 assists on 19 made baskets, on 42 shots for 45% FG%. They are 5-14 from three and 10-11 from the line.
• The Celtics are 21-45 from the field for 47% shooting. They only have 9 assists. Also, they are 2-6 from three and 14-19 from the line.
• The Celtics 6 turnovers have cost them 9 points. The Rockets 5 turnovers have cost them 8 points. Largely even there.
• Yao Ming played only 8 minutes in the first half. He had 6 points and 2 rebounds.
• KG was only 2-10 from the floor in the first half. He missed a lot of shots that he normally makes.
• Boston’s backcourt has combined for 22 points. Pierce has 9 more. KG and Perk have combined for 13 points. That’s 44 of the team’s 58 points. Glen Davis led the bench with 7 points.
• Tracy McGrady leads all players with 5 assists but he is only 3-7 from the floor for 7 points, he hasn’t looked for his own offense enough so far.
• Ron Artest has been quiet outside of the two threes. He is 2-8 from the floor and 6 of those attempts were three pointers.
• Rockets supporting cast stepped up in a big way. The insertion of Aaron Brooks in the second quarter turned the game around for Houston, he leads the team with 9 points. Scola has been huge too (8 points), and Brent Barry (8 points). Landry picked up three quick fouls. Hayes was solid. Alston did a decent job offensively but Rondo had his way with him on the other end.

Third Quarter

• Artest posting up Pierce, help is reluctant but nearby, now it comes, Artest gets slapped across the wrist on his shot. He makes one of two.
• Pierce posts up 17 feet out on the left wing, he spins baseline, called for using his arm to wrap around Artest. Offensive foul, turnover.
• Big rejection inside on Artest’s shot
• Rafer misses another long jumper. He’s 1-5 now.
• Ray’s pass on the drive and kick was a little of the mark, Pierce fumbles it after repositioning himself, it falls out of bounds, turnover.
• Yao catch and shoot from the FT line, good
• Perk answers right back with a 16 footer from above the FT line. Same shot Yao gave him in the first half.
• Yao on the right block, pump fake, drives left, tries to dunk, blocked by Garnett
• Lovely passing by the Rockets on the slow break from the right wing to the top of the key to the left lane for Scola to get the layup, he’s fouled by Perk, gets the and one.
• Boston lead 60-59
• Perk left open above the right elbow, nails it
• Great post defense by Perkins to push Yao out to 10 feet going away from the rim on the jump hook and getting right up under him to bother the release, misses badly. Great D.
• Ray with a nice drive and finish
• Yao misses the dunk
• KG with great position inside on the quick push, two dribbles, fallaway baseline, hits it
• Boston lead 66-59
• Scola makes two more FTs
• Ray Allen off the high screen on the ball, drives hard right and takes the pull up J over McGrady from 11 feet, hits it
• Rockets hitting the offensive boards and getting several shots, long rebound, to Artest in the right corner, three pointer good
• Lovely cut by Rondo on the left wing heading towards the rim after finding Pierce curling off the screen at the top of the key, touch pass by Pierce, touch pass by Rondo to Perk on the right hand side of the rim, dunk
• Pierce gets the layup off the inbounds. Nobody helped Artest on the screen.
• Boston leads 72-64
• McGrady line drives a jumper on the right wing. He has 9 points on 4-8 shooting. Settling for long jumpers. Not driving, not playing in the post.
• Perkins nails a 16 footer along the left baseline. Perkins has 15 points and 7 rebounds.
• Scola responds. He’s been huge tonight. 15 points for Scola now. Scola called for another ticky tack call on KG.
• Timeout
• Houston are missing Battier defensively. They lack some defensive leadership out there, a coordinator.
• Boston lead 76-68
• Scola called for a loose ball foul. That’s three on Scola, not one of them has been a useful foul, all small stuff.
• Artest creates a turnover
• Scola with a scoop shot on the drive, misses badly
• Great steal by T-Mac, knocks it loose, saves it before it goes out of bounds, fastbreak Houston, Alston works it to perfection getting Scola the layup after drawing the defense. Next possession, steal McGrady, he takes it coast to coast, driving on KG, finishing over KG off the glass
• Ray with another hoop to stablize the Celtics. He’s made a couple of big shots tonight.
• McGrady on the right wing, drives hard, draws the foul.
• Timeout
• 2:30 to play in the third. Tracy makes two FTs. He has 13 points, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds.
• Tony yo-yoing at the top of the key, finally gives it up, did very little with all that time and handle. Celtics miss their shot on that possession … fastbreak coming the other way, Houston make a mess of it but keey possession.
• Perkins with a nice block on Yao inside
• Boston lead 78-76
• Artest called for his third, Pierce to the line, makes one of two. He has 13 and 7 himself. Ray Allen picked up his fourth foul a few minutes ago and is on the bench.
• BBD enters the game. Great effort from Perk. Landry also joins the action, for Scola.
• McGrady isolation on the right wing, 21 footer over Tony Allen, nails it, swish, first time his jump shot has looked that good tonight. He’s heating up.
• Turnover Houston, fancy pass by Alston went awry.
• Offensive rebound Rondo, he takes the floater, misses
• Artest with a big offensive board, loses it on the way back up …. Boston run the other way, Davis gets a layup.
• Tracy holds the ball for the final shot off the third, misses a contested three pointer

Fourth Quarter

• Brooks has entered the game. Barry and Artest are on the wings. Landry and Yao are the bigs
• Pierce loses it on the way up, gets it back, passes out to House, Eddie to beat the shot clock? Doesn’t get it up in time. Turnover. Great D by Houston.
• Landry misses the jumper, hesitated on the jumper and allowed the defense to conteste it
• Lovely cut by House, Powe with a lovely reverse bounce pass
• Davis fronting Yao, Houston can’t get him the ball, they swing it to the FT line, bad pass Landry intercepted by BBD, Boston go the other way, House makes the basket
• Barry on the offensive board, loses it, now gets tangled with Powe
• Pierce left wing, trapped on the screen and roll, gets rid of it, BBD can’t find anyone, now House gets free for him, defense chases after House, leave BBD open on the left wing, he takes the 18 footer, misses
• Powe picks up his fourth foul. Yao sits down for Hayes. Yao had only two points in the second half so far and that was a hoop at the begining of the third. Tough quarter for him.
• Illegal D, another FT made by Barry
• Brooks has his shot stripped on the way up by House. Baseline inbounds to Artest, three right corner, miss, rebound Landry, passes out to Brooks at the top of the key, three pointer on the way, good
• Boston lead 85-82
• Pierce high screen and roll left wing, Houston switch, Boston clear out, Hayes does a great job contesting the shot, miss
• Timeout
• Nice pick and pop, Landry makes the 17 footer top of the key. 6-0 run Rockets. Crowd getting behind the team well now.
• Houston have to tap it up three times but they come away with the defensive rebound. Big win for Houston. Now they turn it over on the other end, Boston give it right back two seconds later. Artest on the left wing, driving inside, smacking into Pierce, foul on Pierce. Doc Rivers is unhappy with that, Thibs has to pull him aside and chill him out. Tech. Artest ties the game at 85 on the FT. He has two more, makes the first, Houston take the lead, first lead since the second quarter, misses the second, rebound KG.
• KG hits the jumper from 17 feet off the right elbow. KG has 12 and 8.
• Artest misses the three pointer at the shot clock buzzer, great position by Landry, offensive rebound, passes out to Brooks, three pointer on the way? No. Crowd was about to explode on that one.
• Boston lead 87-86 with 6:20 left to play
• Brooks misses the runner
• Catch and shoot House in the corner running off a screen, miss, offensive rebound Ray Allen, fouled on the putback
• Timeout
• Perk playing excellent post defense on Yao again, he blocks the turnaround J
• Easy catch and shoot for Ray
• Boston lead 92-86
• Yao misses the tip on the offensive rebound. Boston on a 7-0 run here.
• Offensive foul on Perkins, moving screen.
• Adelman has gone back to his starting lineup
• Yao travels on his post up. Perkins has taken Yao’s game off rhythm.
• Pierce misses the three, rebound Scola
• Tracy misses a three from two feet behind the arc. That possession went badly when they missed Scola inside for an easy opportunity, didn’t have enough time left on the shot clock to get a good shot.
• Boston lead 92-86 still
• There’s 3:40 left in the game
• Tech on Rafer Alston, Boston make the FT.
• Artest misses the 20 footer, Scola misses the tip, hard tip Scola was reaching from the opposite side of the rim
• Ray misses a three pointer on the left wing. That could have been huge.
• Tracy drives right on Ray, fouled, he hits the runner and goes to the line. Long continuation. How many dribbles did he take after that foul? One? Two? Tracy makes the FT after the timeout.
• Boston lead 93-89
• Ray Allen responds with a three pointer from the left corner after running the baseline. He has 27 points on 10-14 shooting tonight.
• Tracy makes a long J, two pointer
• Ray Allen curling off a screen, nails it from 16 feet
• Boston lead 98-93 after a Scola two
• Artest scraps for it, Yao dives on the floor, passes it off, fastbreak, layup. Great effort from the Rockets. There were two Celtics right there who looked sure to gain possession of the ball, but Artest saw it differently and bowled his way into the two guys to keep it alive, Yao then dived on the ball to win possession. Love it.
• Scola has 21 points and 7 rebounds
• Timeout Boston
• 1:13 to play. The Celtics lead 98-95. Boston ball after the timeout.
• Hand off to Ray, Rockets stay with him, he dribbles cross court and hands it off to Pierce on the right wing, he dribbles left, finds KG on the left wing, long two, good.
• Rockets miss the jumper …. forced to foul. Pierce to the line. He makes two. That’s a seven point lead. This is over.

Wait this one isn’t quite over. It should have been but two poor Celtics plays defensively and a so-so offensive possession have allowed Houston a chance they shouldn’t have.

• Dumb play by Ray giving a quick foul on the inbounds. He’s fouled out now.
• Pierce runs the clock down, takes a jumper off the dribble, misses
• The legend of Tony Allen grows? Will this play last the season like the Billups one last year? Three FTs for Tracy. Gives Houston a shot, a long shot but a shot. Tracy makes two.
• Boston lead 101-99
• Inbounds to House, quickly fouled, makes two at the line.

That’s the game. Good win for Boston.

Some Stats and Game Notes

• Kendrick Perkins was the man of the hour for the Boston Celtics. His defensive performance was superb, especially in the second half. He bothered Yao Ming tremendously. Offensively he had one of those nights where he did just about everything right. He finished with 15 points on 7-8 shooting from the field, 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
• Ray Allen hit timely basket after timely basket. He was huge in the fourth quarter where he led the team in scoring and helped keep them in the lead. Ray finished with 29 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He was 11-15 from the floor, 2-6 from three, and 5-5 from the line. Great game for Ray.
• Rafer Alston did a good job running the Rockets offense but he couldn’t buy a shot (1-6 from the floor) and struggled defensively. He did have 7 assists and 4 rebounds though.
• Kevin Garnett floated through the game and still had a big impact finishing with 14 and 11.
• The Big Three for Houston had inconsistent-to-rough nights. Yao Ming managed only 8 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, and finished with just 8 points and 7 rebounds by the game’s end. He was regularly unable to beat Boston’s defense, it was far too comfortable for Perk and the gang. Ron Artest had a horrible shooting night going only 3-16 from the floor to finish with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Tracy McGrady was the best of the three but even he had an inconsistent night. He regularly failed to drive, or play in the post, and settled for long contested jump shots time and time again. His stat line disguises some of his offensive problems as he went for 26 points on 9-18 shooting. Tracy did however do a good job distributing the ball and creating shooting opportunities for his teammates as he always. Defensively Ray Allen had an easy time working on Tracy, Tracy is capable of much better defense, he looked a step or two slow for most of the night.
• The Rockets regularly failed to get Yao Ming the ball in advantageous situations. The entry passes to the post were consistently telegraphed and late. The team also failed to get him the ball on the post several times tonight. It was disappointing. The Rockets also failed to play off Yao Ming when he had the ball in the post. Each touch in the block seemed to do more damage to their offense and take them out of rhythm. Not a good game for the Rockets in terms of servicing Yao Ming.
• Luis Scola was the main reason Houston were able to keep it close. He finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds. His 9 rebounds led the team, while his 21 points paced for second place.
• Rajon Rondo had an excellent first quarter, but after that he was up and down.
• Celtics’ understanding of how to play alongside one another is much improved over where it was late last season.
• Several times late in the game the Rockets failed to come away with key rebounds. They were improved in second half, but still not as good as they should be, they underperformed on the backboards. In the end Boston outrebounded them 46-41.
• The biggest difference tonight was the Rockets inability to score baskets on their possessions. Despite having 10 more shots at the hoop, the Rockets made 6 less field goals. They shot a poor 39% from the field making 34 of 87 shot attempts. In contrast, the Celtics shot 52% making 40 of 77 field goal attempts.
• The Celtics had 21 assists on their 40 baskets. The Rockets had 19 assists on their 34 hoops.
• Turnovers hurt the Celtics badly once again tonight. Their 17 give aways cost them 19 points. The Rockets had only 11 turnovers, costing them 12 points.
• Eddie House gave the Celtics good minutes, particularly in the second half. He finished with 8 points and 3 steals.
• Disappointing games for backup power forward marvels Carl Landry and Leon Powe. Both were incredibly quiet.
• Glen Davis was superb in the second quarter, well except for those silly long jump shots. He played great defense and added 9 points plus 2 rebounds.
• The Rockets missed Mutombo tonight. They needed that big defensive/rebounding presence in the middle with Yao struggling and in foul trouble. He could have been a difference maker.
• Aaron Brooks was fantastic in the second quarter sparking a 25-4 Rockets run with a few big shots and his ability to pressure the defense with his speed and penetration. For the rest of the game he was mostly quiet, and didn’t make enough use of his defensive abilities.
• Brent Barry keyed in with some good minutes on the wing.
• The Rockets were clearly lacking Shane Battier. Throughout preseason and the early regular season games the Rockets have lacked a defensive leader, a coordinator out there. Their defense has slipped from last season. Battier is a huge difference maker for the Rockets and will likely solve this problem once he returns.
• Offensively the Rockets still lack fluidity to their play. A problem for several years now.
• Tracy McGrady continues to look in poor physical shape. He’s clearly still recovering from his end of season ailments …. I’m not sure it’s in the Rockets best interests that he’s on the court right now. I’d be more comfortable with him coming back when he’s healthier. They don’t win a title if he isn’t healthy come playoff time. Feels like they’re taking a risk with him on the court right now.

Game Time: Oklahoma City vs Minnesota

Oklahoma starting lineup – Jeff Petro – Nick Collison – Jeff Green – Kevin Durant – Earl Watson

Minnesota starting lineup – Al Jefferson – Ryan Gomes – Corey Brewer – Mike Miller – Randy Foye

First Quarter

• Thunder win the tip, try to post Durant 18 feet out, can’t get him the ball, reverse the ball to the other wing, pass inside to Collison who travels on his post move, turnover
• Opposite end, Big Al clumsily drops the pass into him in the low post, turnover
• Nice drive by Brewer to draw some help defensive, Al floats to the baseline, Brewer hits him, Al knocks it down
• Two nice cuts by Gomes, one a made layup, the other a missed runner
• Collison diving on the floor to win the offensive rebound, saves a possession for Thunder. Thunder have four offensive rebounds in the first three minutes.
• Thunder don’t get back on defense, Miller gets a breakaway layup
• Pick and pop between Miller and Al, Al misses from the right elbow
• Nice lob pass by Foye to Big Al for the dunk on the high screen and roll, poor help defense from Thunder, left Petro out on an island after he helped Watson on Foye’s dribble down the left wing
• Durant dribbles to the left wing, dribbls back to the top of the key, does nothing and gives it back to Watson. He just wasted six seconds dribbling the ball 25 feet from the rim while never threatening to drive before giving the ball back to the guy who gave it to him. Anyone want to guess if OKC scored on the possession?
• 8-6 Wolves, Foye turns it over
• Brewer coming away with the rebound in traffic, immediately puts it on the floor and pushes the dribble beyond Petro, gets by Petro, running up court, passes ahead to the left wing, quick pass inside to Big Al on the left block, Al fouled before he scores inside. Great push by Corey Brewer.
• Brewer doing an excellent job forcing Green out to the three point line with Green looking to accept the pass after running around a screen.
• Turnover Wolves, fastbreak, 3-on-1, Watson to Durant, slam dunk
• Quick outlet off the made basket by the Thunder, Green is way ahead of the pack, he has a one man to beat … guess who? Brewer the first Wolves player back to defend the hoop. Green drives down the right wing, he goes directly to the hoop, Brewer beats him to the spot and draws the charge. Turnover. Great play by Brewer. That should have been an easy two for Green but he never made the defender react, and never created the angle to the rim, made it easy for Brewer. Timeout.
• High screen and roll between Foye and Al on the left wing, defense jumps out on Foye as Al rolls to the rim, Foye passes to the top of the key, quick pass to Al, layup. Nice possession.
• Minnesota leading 14-10 with under five minutes to play in the first quarter. Not sure if that last basket counted, some inadvertent whistle by the ref.
• Collison finds a wide open Desmond Mason for an easy two
• Durant missing the jumper but runs down the long offensive rebound.
• Jefferson missing a right hook in the lane
• Moving screen on Wilcox. Westbrook went too early.
• Craig Smith with the teardrop in the lane after a reluctant drive
• Joe Smith knocking down a jumper off the left elbow. Lack of defensive coverage after he made the catch, too easy. Other end, Smith knocks the defensive rebound out of the paint and away from Big Al, it ends up in Westbrook’s hands who blazes into the frontcourt and draws the foul on his drive, he mades one of two at the line. Great work by Joe Smith to start that opportunity. Kevin Love enters the game,
• Minnesota lead 18-16 as we near the final minute of the quarter
• Rodney Carney hits the 20 footer in the left corner
• Joe Smith making the catch on the right wing 15 feet out, faces up Al Jefferson, and nails the jump shot over him.
• Westbrook with a beautiful runner coming across the lane on the break
• Carney misses a three from the right wing, he forced it a bit, Love gets a hand on the offensive rebound but can’t corral the ball, out of bounds.
• Westbrook holds it for the final shot, beats Ollie off the bounce into the paint, Ollie stays in the play well enough to make the shot difficult, Westbrook misses

Second Quarter

• Nice drive and dish to the open Carney along the left baseline, Carney knocks it down. Minnesota get the lead back.
• 22-20 Wolves
• Joe Smith beating Craig Smith to the rebound, he starts the break … nothing comes of it
• Nice drive and short pass by Ollie to his rolling big man off the pick and roll, layup and the foul for Smith.
• Smith beating old Joe Smith off the dribble on his drive and finishes with his right hand off the glass
• Wilcox misses two FTs at the line, Minny building a lead right now.
• Lovely give and go between Ollie and Love from above mid-court to the high right post, then the sweet pass after the cut, layup. That’s a 9-0 run by Minnesota to open up the second quarter.
• Thunder miss another shot, fouled on their offensive rebound. Thunder hold onto possession. Carney deflecting a pass out on the perimeter out of bounds. Inbounds to Westbrook, he has to shoot it, drives and pops a 15 footer at the FT line, misses, offensive rebound Wilcox, fouled on the putback, he makes the first and the second. That ends Minnesota’s run. First points of the second quarter for Minnesota.
• Carney air balls a forced jumper on the left wing. That his second air ball?
• Carney contests Mason’s shot, long rebound, doesn’t bother to box out Mason or follow the ball, jumped out of the play into the left corner, rebound right to Mason, slam dunk. Two bad possessions by Carney.
• Jeff Green scoring over Rashad McCants on the face up J
• Craig Smith runs Joe Smith over, layup. Rough house drive from Craig Smith.
• Offensive rebound Joe Smith, lovely pass to Westbrook who was hanging around underneath the rim on the opposite side, layup
• Minnesota struggling to hold off a surge from Oklahoma. Just about hanging onto their 8 point lead.
• Wolves fronting Wilcox, nice pass over the top, dunk Wilcox. Too easy. No pressure on the passer and no help from the weakside. They can’t leave Kevin Love out there like that. First basket for Wilcox.
• Timeout
• Minnesota lead 36-30, halfway through the second.
• Wilcox makes two more at the line. Four point game.
• Desmond Mason loses his dribble as he looks to drive baseline from the left wing
• Brewer scores a long jumper after adding a FT on the previous possession. Durant answers right back on the other end.
• Watson knocking down a 20 footer from the top of the key to beat the shot clock
• Mike Miller scoring a 19 footer top of the key after running off a screen, his defender ran for the steal allowing Miller to take one step in and make an uncontested jumper. That was Mason, the defender. Does better on the next possession heavily contesting Miller’s three.
• Timeout
• Minny lead 43-38
• Nice dunk by Green on the fastbreak from the feed by Earl Watson
• Durant takes the lead back on two FTs. OKC lead 46-45
• Collison blocks Al Jefferson after coming across from the opposite block along the baseline to swat Jefferson’s short shot
• Another offensive rebound for Minnesota, rebounding killing Minnesota so far tonight.
• Mike Miller takes the lead back, also from the FT line. Miller has only 6 points so far, very quiet offensively.
• Final possession, Watson holds it for the final shot, two high screens, nope, Watson forced for a terrible step back jumper after ineffectively trying to shake and bake his man, misses.

Halftime

• Rebounding has been the story of the first half. OKC doubling up ‘Sota on the backboards 28-14, with half of those coming on the offensive end. Oklahoma City actually have more offensive rebounds than Minnesota have defensive rebounds.
• Nobody on the Wolves has shined on the backboards. Jefferson leads the way with four rebounds but he hasn’t done nearly enough. Love had three rebounds in half the minutes Al played.
• Minnesota have 14 assists on 19 baskets on 39 attempts for 48% shooting from the field. They are 1-4 from three and 8-8 from the line.
• OKC have been bricking a lot of shots in the first half, one of the principal reasons for their high offensive rebound totals, but to my surprise are actually managing a 40% FG%.  They have taken only 6 more shots but also 6 more FTs.
• Turnovers have hurt the Thunder badly, their 9 turnovers costing them 13 points. In contrast, the Wolves have only 5 turnovers resulting in only 4 points.

Milwaukee are leading NY by 5-6 points in the final minute of the game. They’ve been ahead for much of the second half. I watched the first half, odd game, neither team were capable of taking control of the game and both teams were doing a poor job of executing their offenses. I had stopped watching, but was still checking the live game scores, Milwaukee rectified the situation and took control of the game in the third quarter and have sustained Knicks rallies since then.

Third Quarter

• Nice finish by Brewer on the fastbreak. Minnesota open up with two layups, the other from Al Jefferson. Wolves lead 51-46. Foye nails the three from the right corner off the penetration from Miller. Wolves lead 54-46. Quick 7-0 run by the Wolves over the first 70 seconds of the third quarter.
• Earl Watson fakes the pass, the defender bites, Watson oddly passes up the shot and makes the pass anyway, and the Thunder get the three from Jeff Green despite the defender being right there.
• Collison tries to drive on Gomes from 20 feet, does it well, but misses the runner. Collison needs to go beat up the smaller Gomes in the low post.
• Brewer with a beautiful up and under in the middle of the lane off the drive from the right wing, misses, offensive rebound, touch pass outside, three pointer on the way from Foye, good.
• Al Jefferson posting up inside, gets the roll on the right hook off the left block. Good post defense by Petro, he stopped Jefferson from backing him down and stopped him from turning/spinnning in either direction. Thunder have done a good job with Jefferson so far.
• Wolves lead 61-53 after a Nick Collison basket, Mike Miller answers from 22 feet top of the key
• Durant isolation left wing, jab step right, drives left, beats Miller to the rim, layup, misses, rebound Miller over Collison.
• The Wolves guards are chasing down every defensive rebound here in the third quarter. They got their marching orders at halftime.
• Halfway point in the third
• Wolves move ahead by 12 off two Foye FTs
• Nice pass by Collsion to the cutter, miss, follow up slam by Wilcox
• Wolves have a chance to kill off Oklahoma right now. One more run.
• Wilcox posts up left post, turns middle and knocks down the right hook.
• Jefferson makes the catch in the middle of the paint, drives left, Collison gets back in it, another pump fake, spins the other way, hook shot, Wilcox contests it, score it anyway.
• Thunder’s confidence is growing after a few good plays in the last few minutes
• The Thunder’s announcers are god-awful. They’re killing me.
• Another offensive rebound and putback for the Thunder
• Jefferson has four rebounds in the last three or so minutes. He has a double double now, make that a 20-10 performance.
• A little over a minute remaining in the third
• Boston Celtics next up for the Thunder.
• Westbrook with the steal in the backcourt, on Smith’s outlet pass, two dribbles layup and the foul, makes the FT. That cuts the Wolves lead to 73-66. One minute to play in the third.
• Another steal by Westbrook stealing Love’s pass back out to the perimeter, he pushes it up in transition, finds Joe Smith, he hits the midrange J.
• Another turnover for the Wolves, steal Joe Smith, Thunder will hold it for the final shot. Westbrook dribbles it out up top, then passes to Mason, he loses it on the catch, regains his composure, now he has to force it, drives right off the left wing and knocks down the jumper from 22 feet out.
• Wolves lead 73-70 … terrible finish to the third by Minnesota

Fourth Quarter

• A lot of the crowd in the picture are up on their feet. Everyone is clapping, nice rhythm. Great cheer on Wilcox’s made short hook.
• Miller forces a three after being unable to beat his man, misses
• One point game
• Westbrook misses the pull up J from 10 feet, offensive rebound, Westbrook finds Green running off a screen, he knocks down the 12 footer in the middle of the paint off the catch.
• Mason blocks the layup attempt … fastbreak the other way, Westbrook finger roll, good
• Nearly all the crowd is standing now. Tremendous noise from the crowd.
• Oklahoma City have all the momentum. Minnesota look rattled, they need their starters back out there and they need that to happen right now.
• Nice pull up J from 18 feet by McCants. He has to lead this second unit, he’s by far the best player on the court for the Wolves right now. Next possession, McCants misses a layup on the fastbreak. Great effort by Joe Smith to come away with that defensive rebound.
• Lovely move by Durant, on the right wing, driving left, spinning right as he hits the paint, and making the layup
• McCants takes it hard to the rim and draws the foul on Wilcox.
• Mike Miller has only 8 points tonight.
• Smith scores inside once again. He’s caused the Thunder a lot of problems tonight. Last night it was Carl Landry who killed them. Direct physical power forwards? Something to keep an eye on.
• Turnover, McCants goes coast to coast, misses another layup
• Minnesota lead 79-78, Oklahoma City lead 80-79 off a Collison hoop
• Mason playing terrific defense on McCants on that possession, denying the drive and then stripping McCants on his step back J, fastbreak the other way, layup.
• Timeout Minnesota
• We’re near the halfway point in the fourth quarter
• Wolves top two scorers – Jefferson and Smith (13 points). Then Gomes in third place (12 points). All power forwards. Mike Miller is actually fourth, Wolves getting no scoring outside of their power forwards tonight.
• Miller makes the runner. Good drive and finish off the glass.
• Durant posts up Gomes, Gomes too close, bah …. Durant shoots the face up drive, misses, offensive rebound and tap by Collison, good. Durant had Gomes for a foul if he drove.
• Durant has 20 points but he’s been poor tonight. Only 7-20 from the floor, only 3 rebounds and no assists. Poor defense too. He’s been nowhere near their best player tonight. Disappointing to see such a lack of progress from last season.
• Good double on Jefferson, no options, he jumps up and throws a poor pass outside, Miller saves it, Wolves miss the jumper, offensive rebound, Wolves work the ball around, Love shoots a three from the top of the key, miss, defensive rebound Westbrook. Westbrook misses a three on the other end.
• OKC lead 84-83 with four minutes to play
• Lovely up and under by Miller, Miller curled off a screen, caught the ball in the paint, pump fake, up and under, lost the ball unforced on his way back up, turnover.
• Timeout by PJ
• Westbrook and Watson play the guard spots, then Durant, Green and Collison.
• Durant step back J off the face up, misses. Poor shot to take. He’s been missing that all night.
• Offensive rebound and putback Al Jefferson, Wolves lead again
• 2:30 to play
• Wolves lead 85-84
• Westbrook goes all the way to the rim and hits the driving layup
• Foye and Gomes run the pick and pop, Gomes ends up with a good look from 17 feet on the right wing, rims out
• Thunder turn it over on the other end
• Jefferson misses the short shot
• Brewer steals, out of control, saves it, but it goes into the backcourt straight to the Thunder … Watson dribbles up and takes an awful off balance fallaway J from 18 feet, miss. PJ is pissed at that shot. Timeout. He gives Watson a long look, then lets it go, gives some marching orders out.
• OKC lead 86-85
• My god these announcers are terrible. It’s painful.
• Great help D to knock away the pass into Al Jefferson as he cut across the lane off the ball and had great position inside. Wolves turn it over after retaining possession on that deflection, block by a Thunder play.
• Durant calls for the ball, drives, fouled.
• Timeout 20 second timeout. 28 seconds to play. The Thunder are up one.
• Side out, to Watson, to Green on the opposite wing, over to Collison on the right elbow, no passes on, Collison decides to drive it on Jefferson, Jefferson’s defensive position is disgraceful, easy blow by Collison, lefty finish, scores the layup. That was an awful defensive effort by Al Jefferson.
• 16 seconds to play. Another timeout, this time Minnesota. They’re down three.
• Wolves should go for a quick two. Anyone want to bet they’re taking the three? Inbounds to Foye, Foye drives hard, throws up an off balance runner though, misses. At least his head was in the right place.

Game Over.

Decent game, it was competitive and full of effort, lacked quality though.

Good win for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Some notes

• The Wolves second unit and some coaching decisions hurt the Nuggets badly last night. They were up double figures late in the third quarter and looked close to finishing off the game, but unfortunately they couldn’t find the right punch. Then came some mass substituions and a huge number of gaffes from the second unit, allowing OKC to go on a big run to end the third quarter. Wittman decided to stay with his second unit to start the fourth instead of coming back with a starter or two to provide some stablity, the result was another short run by OKC to tie the game. Wittman didn’t bring his starters back until halfway through the fourth quarter. By that point Oklahoma City had been rolling for about 8-9 minutes, had all the momentum and the crowd was roaring right behind them. The Wolves starters were cold and never found any fluidity to their play over the final few minutes, the result was Oklahoma holding off the Wolves and taking the win.
• There was actually three points in the game where this happened as described over at Canis Hoopus

Last night the Thunder went on runs of 12-6, 12-2, and 13-0.  The first run was brought about by a near whole-sale substitution of the 2nd unit near the end of the 1st quarter.  The 2nd run was brought about after a near whole-scale substitution of the 1st unit in the middle of the 2nd quarter.  The last run was a nasty little ditty that spanned the 3rd and 4th quarters where the 2nd units were matched against one another for the majority of the run.

• Oklahoma City were sparked by a great effort from their big men, especially on the backboards. The Thunder had an offensive rebounding rate of 40% which speaks for itself. Nick Collison was the star of the show finishing with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Wilcox came off the bench to supply 14 and 7 in just 25 minutes, while Joe Smith added 6, 6 and 2 dimes in 16 minutes. Petro played only 17 minutes but came away with 6 rebounds in that time. Jeff Green mostly played the three but had a few minutes at power forward, finishing with 13, 6 and 3 in 36 minutes. The Thunders big men also did a fine job containing Al Jefferson who except for a good period in the third was largely under wraps.
• Russell Westbrook was a game changer tonight, especially in the fourth. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it several times over before the end of the season, but the lad is simply impossible to keep out of the paint on the fastbreak. He’s like a small LeBron. You see him coming and you can’t do anything about it, he just barrels right over you. Westbrook was so threatening that Carlesimo elected to run him and Watson at the guard spots down the stretch rather than playing two big men, who had been so successful throughout. Westbrook responded by coming up with a couple of huge defensive plays.

Game Time: Philadelphia vs Toronto

Starting lineups

Philadelphia 76ers – Andre Miller – Andre Iguodala – Thaddeus Young – Elton Brand – Samuel Dalembert

Toronto Raptors – Jose Calderon – Anthony Parker – Jamario Moon – Chris Bosh – Jermaine O’Neal

First Quarter

• Dalembert wins the tip, Miller runs through two screens on the ball from Brand, is trapped well by Jermaine, Bosh rotating over to Brand, Miller denied the passing angle, has to throw it over to the opposite corner, Thaddeus faces up and drains the three.
• O’Neal posting up on the right block, he backs down Dalembert, doesn’t go anywhere, turns middle and takes the fadeaway, misses. He jumped too far back on that jumper, Dalembert’s length bothered him on that play, took him off balance.
• Brand gets his first bucket as a Sixer with a jumper from 17 feet on the left wing
• Pick and pop with Jose and Bosh, Jose from the right wing passes to Bosh at the top of the key, no hesitation as Bosh immediately puts up the 21 footer, fouled on the arm from Dalembert on the lazy reach. Dalembert looked surprised by Bosh’s quick shot.
• Andre Miller running around another pick from Elton Brand on the right elbow extended, Miller driving hard right, near the baseline now, passes back to Brand at the elbow, he drains the 16 footer
• Jermaine posts up on the left block, great position with a foot inside the paint, immediately takes one power dribble towards the middle off the catch and muscles up a shot four feet from the rim, misses
• Andre Miller getting a piece of Calderon’s pull up jump shot, nice D by Miller. On the ensuing possession, Miller beats Calderon off the bounce as he dribbles down the left wing turning hard on the corner and driving baseline, getting to the rim for the reverse layup, misses, both teams scrapping, out of bounds off Phily.
• Jermaine faces up from 14 feet, hard drive left, goes up, loses control, off the backboard. That’s either a turnover or a brick.
• Iggy posting up left block, in to Iggy, double, out to Miller, repost, Iggy spins baseline, elevates, hangs in the air as the help D comes over, nice short pass along the baseline to Dalembert for the easy two, Dalembert blows it ….. It didn’t cost the team anything but poor communication/recognition from Elton Brand trying to catch the ball five feet from Iggy while Iggy was trying to post up, Andre Miller had to tell him to get out of the way, wasted about 4 seconds of Phily’s shot clock leaving their offense stagnant and showed Toronto exactly what they wanted to do which resulted in the quick double.
• Jermaine shoots off the catch from 17 feet left elbow extended, misses it
• Low scoring opening, it’s 7-1 Sixers after five minutes
• Jose top of the key off the inbounds pass, fires it across to Chris Bosh on the right wing, he faces up, the puts his foot on the acceleration driving right, Brand doing well to stay with him, Bosh loses it out of bounds
• Andre Miller driving along the baseline again, this time from the right corner, reverse layup good. Jermaine was a tad late trying to block that shot.
• Jose nails a jump shot to give the Raptors their first field goal of the game as we near the halfway point for the first quarter.
• Iggy with a step back J as he takes one bounce off the catch then decides to pull up on the right wing, hits it
• Bosh with position inside, tries to turn to get some protection from the rim, Dalembert muscles him far enough to contest the shot, swats it …. fastbreak the other way, Brand throws it away on a poor alley oop pass, shouldn’t be throwing that.
• Calderon blazing by Miller to the hoop and finishing easily off the glass
• Bosh down on the left block, jab step left, shot fake, drives right with one dribble, hesitant on the drive, pulls it back, shot fake again, Dalembert right there, Bosh rises up, rejected by Dalembert. Indecisive possession by Bosh.
• Thaddeus Young picks up his second foul on a charge on an aggressive drive down the middle, good work by Jermaine drawing that foul.
• Chris Bosh hasn’t been threatening when at the top of the key so far
• Moon faces up from three off the sideline ball in, he has Miller on him, he takes the shot and hits it
• Iggy on the screen and roll top of the key, Iggy drives hard right towards the baseline, passes the ball cross court to Miller who’s on the left wing, touch pass by Miller back to Brand who’s open from 18 feet top of the key, drains it
• Calderon bringing it up, to Bosh in the high post, Parker down on the left post, starts to run out, sets a screen for Jermaine (high left wing) to run his man through, O’Neal wide open on the cut to the rim, Bosh finds him, dunk.
• Willie Green entered the game for Thaddeus after the foul
• Iggy misses the jumper, Dalembert gets the rebound, misses the putback over Bosh and Jermaine’s contest, another offensive rebound, blocked by Moon from behind, out of bounds. Baseline in, Phily (Dalembert 13 footer baseline) miss another shot, Miller with the offensive rebound, on hard dribble around Jermaine, Jermaine contests it, Miller misses the layup, it rolled all around the front half of the rim before falling out, nobody puts a body on Dalembert who races to the rim and pulls down another offensive rebound, he’s caught beneath the rim, Jose doesn’t stay with Dalembert he was on the ball side, Dalembert pivots back to the right of the rim and he’s fouled on the putback as Jose slaps his arm. Strong move by Dalembert. Dalembert makes the first FT, makes the second.
• Phily lead 17-11 with three and a half minutes to play
• Parker curls off two screens, the second above the FT line, passes back to the screener Jermaine after a dribble, finds Jermaine for the easy two. Nice play by Parker.
• Good vision by Jermaine O’Neal to spot Parker wide open on the opposite wing after he retained the loose ball
• Bargnani blocks Iggy’s driving layup from behind, Calderon runs the break the other way, 4-on-2 for the Raptors, horrible spacing, Jose passes to the right, Parker goes up strong, blocked by Green … fastbreak the other way, Miller passes ahead to Brand, he goes between his legs, drives off the right elbow to a lefty runner, misses, Dalembert with the offensive rebound and dunk.
• Miller blocks Calderon’s jumper again. Jose wanted the foul …. fastbreak the other way, Miller is about 30 feet ahead of Calderon who was complaining to the refs, he gets the easy layup on the break. Good response by the Sixers after Toronto cut the lead to 1. Timeout Raptors. Jose goes over to complain to the refs again.
• Sixers lead 21-16 with two minutes to play
• Jose and Bargnani run a high screen and roll, Phily switch, Evans on Calderon, Miller on Bargnani, Bargnani goes right to the low post on the left block, Jose makes the pass to Parker in the left corner, entry pass, Phily double quickly, Bargnani passes out to Jose on the left wing, Jose swings the ball to the right elbow extended, Moon takes the jumper, misses
• Bad pass by Lou Williams trying to pass through traffic, picked off easily
• Bosh nails a 19 footer on the right elbow extended as he trailed the break, that’s his first field goal today.
• Brand with another offensive rebound, he dribbles out, then decides to pull up from 18 feet, misses, offensive rebound, Phily reset their offense, after some passing they clearout for Brand in the post, he’s doubled on the post, passes out, re-post a few seconds later, Brand has it late on the shot clock, drives hard right going nowhere, passes out to the right wing, Iggy has to take it to beat the clock, heavily contested, misses badly. Bad possession for Sixers on each shot.
• Toronto have it for the final possession, 12.6 seconds to play, ahead to Bosh, he brings it up, to Bargnani on the left wing, puts it down on the floor and drives right, gets through to the paint, takes a runner in the lane, misses, offensive rebound Moon, fouled on the putback. He misses the first FT, misses the second.

Second Quarter

• Phily out-rebounded Toronto 22-5 in the first quarter
• Phily only shot 34.6% shooting and had 5 turnovers. The Raptors only shot 33% themselves.
• Sixers showing some backcourt pressure, Evans stays back to trap Ukic, Ukic looks in trouble, stays composed and passes ahead, Raps pass left to Bosh who’s left open by Evans, Bosh to Kapono, back to Bosh at the three point line, Bosh drives hard and hits the layup
• Lou Williams nails a three to beat the zone defense
• Donyell Marshall is on the floor. Why? Why in the name of everything that is right is Marshall on the floor?
• Good tap out by Bargnani on the offensive board, right to Bosh. Smart play.
• Bosh blocks Williams driving layup, he recovers possesssion
• Thaddeus Young picks up another foul, a cheap touch foul, that brings Miller back. He’s on Joey Graham defensively.
• Bosh doing well to get an offensive rebound over Evans, great position inside as Evans cheated over trying to help defensively, Bosh brings it out, passes to Graham top of the key, dribbles, spins and muscles Miller out of the way, makes the floater. Nice move. Toronto need to milk that matchup. No way Miller can defend Joey Graham
• Lou Williams notices he has Bargnani rotating over to cover him, drives left immediately off the catch, gets to the rim and finishes off the glass
• Philadelphia continue to try and trap in the backcourt, pass ahead by Ukic to Bargnani, Bargnani drives inside, draws the defense, passes out to Kapono, 18 footer right wing, hits it.
• Joey Graham on the left baseline 18 feet out, drives right towards the middle, muscling up the shot over Miller again, he follows his miss, nobody puts a body on him, taps it up, tries for a second time and makes the shot.
• Bargnani blocking Miller’s runner, Miller gets it back, Bargnani staying involved and contesting the follow up, miss, rebound Bosh, great outlet pass by Bosh finding Ukic for the breakaway layup
• Toronto take the lead 28-26
• Sixers call timeout
• Toronto doing a great job altering shots around the rim
• Bosh hustling to the offensive glass, dunks it home. Raptors have all the energy right now, Phily look out of it. They need to bring Brand and Dalembert back, oh Brand is back already. Must have came in on that timeout.
• Graham drives baseline, blocked by Dalembert, turnover.
• Lovely drive and kick by Ukic to Kapono, three pointer from the opposite (left) corner, hits it
• Roko drives through a crowd and gets the layup, misses. Little out of control on that drive but good idea.
• Bargnani with the rebound, not much of a boxout on the missed FT though, if the ball had bounced a different way Brand might have stolen that rebound.
• Bargnani running the pick and pop with Ukic, over to Bargnani on the left wing, fakes left, one dribble right pull up J from 17 feet, misses, Bosh offensive rebound over Dalembert, fouled on the putback.
• Iggy dribbling for awhile, can’t find anything to do, decides to pull up with the jumper, makes the 19 footer over Parker. He’s 2-8 from the floor.
• Dalembert offensive rebound, Bargnani leaves his hand out to contest the shot but wasn’t straight up and Dalembert jumped into his arm drawing the foul. Bargnani got caught out there trying to decide whether to help on the initial drive or not, allowed Dalembert the rebound.
• Ukic with a lovely behind the back dribble on the outley to get away from Miller, breakaway layup
• Parker in the right corner, Dalembert ended up defending him in transition, isolation, Parker jab step right, pulls it back, jab step again, takes the three pointer over Dalembert and nails it.
• Bosh posts up left block, Bosh has good position, spins middle and shoots over Dalembert, makes it
• Under three minutes to play in the half
• Elton Brand driving on Jermaine O’Neal from the right box, drives left towards the middle and is fouled on the way up. Looked like he was out of control on that drive, lucky that he got a foul, likley would have missed the shot.
• Ukic weaving through Phily’s defense, finds Kapono in the corner, Kapono passes up the three and drives left, travel. Should have taken that shot.
• Chris Bosh draws the charging foul on brand
• Raptors lead 44-38
• Great work by Jermaine fighting for position inside throughout Parker’s drive and ending up with great position on the offensive glass, and he comes away with the rebound. On the same possession on the baseline inbounds, Jermaine on the left elbow extended blows by Dalembert and slams it home with his left hand over Dalembert, plus the foul, makes the FT.
• Theo Ratliff checks in and draws a big cheer from the home crowd upon his return to Phily
• Miller drive and kick to Rush, three from the corner, nails it
• Theo on the right block, jab step right, face up J from 14 feet, nails it
• Andre Miller makes a difficult layup in traffic
• Jermaine O Neal steals another rebound, he ended up with Ivey on him on the break, Rush left the minute the ball didn’t come to Jermaine in the post, he was wide open under the hoop for that rebound.
• Rebound Rush, passes ahead to Iggy, Iggy flies down the open court and makes the layup in transition
• Bosh with an aggressive drive and two hand slam
• Iggy holds it for the final shot, is smacked by by Bosh + Jermaine on the drive, he’ll go to the line, makes one of two.

Halftime

• Raptors shooting 41.2% from the floor, 5/7 from three and 4/7 from the free throw line. They have 11 assists against 2 turnovers.
• The Sixers shot 37.8% from the field, 4-10 from three and 7-11 from the line. They had 9 assists but also had 8 turnovers.
• Raptors were plus 7 on the backboards in the second quarter, outrebounding the Sixers 17-10 in the second quarter
• Thaddeus Young foul trouble caused the Sixers problems
• Phily started the game well, struggled with their shooting but controlled the game. Then the Raptors turned up their intensity and energy and seemed to get every loose ball. That turned the game around.

Third Quarter

• Raptors inbound the ball to the start the second half, the Raps lead 51-45, Bosh misses a 19 footer left elbow extended
• Brand posting up, Jermaine doing a good job pushing Brand out to 15 feet and off the low block, Brand faces up and drops the jumper over Jermaine
• Bosh posts up on the low post, left block, spins baseline and takes the lefty hook, misses
• Brand gets Bosh in transition, turns down the shot, demands the ball back, he wants to go at Bosh, posts him up, backs him down, fadeaway, misses
• Dalembert misses a short hook, rebounds his miss, scores the putback
• Poor defense by Dalembert, he gets caught ball watching, Jermaine creates some space in the middle of the paint receives the pass from Parker (good pass) and gets an easy two. Next defensive possession, Dalembert gambles for a steal down in the paint on Bosh, misses, layup Bosh. Poor defense again from Dalembert
• Dalembert snares another offensive rebound, that’s 10 offensive rebounds already, he passes out to Brand, Brand misses the 16 footer
• Jermaine posting up on the right box, backs down Brand, Iggy rips it from him as Jermaine tries to turn into the middle, turnover.
• Moon drops a 19 footer from the right elbow extended
• Young driving off the left wing, across the middle, spins back left, shoots the floater, goaltend by Bosh and a foul on Bargnani, Thaddeus makes the FT.
• Bargnani active on the offensive glass, tapping it out but it goes out of bounds
• Iguodala isn’t doing much work defensively, maybe they should try him out on Jose Calderon? Give him something to do.
• Moon making the steal on the horrible outlet pass from Dalembert, Raptors don’t punish the Sixers in transition. Too hesitant on the open jumper (three times – open three for Parker, open 16 footer above the FT line for Calderon, open 14 footer for Bargnani on the right wing/baseline), made life harder for themselves.
• Iguodala scores on the driving finger roll, that’s a 7-0 run
• Parker sells the pump fake, Iggy bites, Parker has an open lane down the baseline, he attacks, misses the layup after the good contest from Brand, Bosh goes to the offensive glass and gets the rebound, fouled on the putback.
• Andre Miller with a line drive jumper, never looked like going in
• Beautiful pass by Calderon to Moon who cut underneath the hoop and was wide open, fouled on the layup
• Jermaine O’Neal has been in the locker room for the past few minutes. He was in the locker room getting checked over and stretching out his right hamstring. He returns to the bench and asks to check back in, he re-enters. Let’s see how he looks phyiscally.
• First possession out the Raptors go to Jermaine in the low post, right block, turnaround J along the baseline, nails it. Nice move from Jermaine O’Neal.
• Bosh calling for it in the post, double teamed, passes out to Calderon, to Moon top of the key, drives right into the paint, called for the charge on the layup. Good aggressiveness from Moon to drive it into the hoop.
• Jermaine with great position in the middle of the paint four feet out, Dalembert is struggling, makes a desperate attempt to knock the pass into O’Neal away, he does, turnover. Jermaine is upset at himself for not getting that ball, he’s spinning/jumping/shouting at himself but not getting back on defense. Sixers slow to break the other way, now Jermaine is the last man back for the Raps, nice pass by Brand to Iggy inside, Jermaine slides down and alters the shot, miss, offensive rebound. Sixers hold onto possession, Iggy drives, fouled, Jermaine blocks the shot to stop the potential three point play. Iggy makes two at the line.
• Toronto lead 62-58 with 4 minutes to play in the third quarter
• Bosh and O’Neal have combined for 32 points and 17 rebounds and we haven’t even finished the third quarter yet
• Raptors lead 9-6 on offensive rebound since the first quarter
• Parker with a dagger from the corner to beat the Sixers’ zone defense
• Iguodala bricks a three pointer, rebound Brand, putback Brand, altered by Jermaine, blocked by Bosh, shot clock violation
• Did Theo Ratliff were #50 last time he was with Philadelphia? That number looks weird on him. I can’t remember what was. #42?
• Raptors perimeter players doing a sensational job on that possession pressuring the ball and stopping the Sixers from getting the ball inside the key, long three forced to beat the clock, miss, Raptors don’t get the rebound. Sixers make nothing of the rebound.
• Jermaine swings from the left elbow to above the right elbow, catch and shoot, knocks it down. He’s in rhythm right now. Keep shooting big fella
• Another excellent defensive possession from the Raptors. The Sixers can’t get anything going right now.
• Caleron runs off a high screen from Bosh, dribbles to the left and pulls up from 17 feet on the left wing, knocks it down
• Final minute of the third quarter
• Iggy with a nice pass to Brand, he knocks down the midrange jumper. That ends a 9-0 Raptors run.
• Bosh drives, kicks the ball to the right corner, Raptors swing it to the right wing to the top of the key, Calderon knocks down a triple. Lou Williams was terrible on that possession, he was right there able to defend Calderon but stood too far away from Calderon and gave up an easy look at the rim. Poor recognition of his mark, and how quickly the ball was moving to his man … just bad defense from Williams.
• Iggy gets two at the FT line
• Roko has it up top, he’s entered for Calderon, Roko manevours his way into the paint, nice drive, layup, Theo from the weakside eliminates the shot. Defensively Roko jumps into Lou Williams on hsi three point attempt to beat the clock, three FTs coming, Williams makes all three

Fourth Quarter

• Raptors lead 74-65
• Bosh has a double double already, Jermaine is close to that mark himself
• Jermaine looked like he had that charge foul, nope replay shows him moving at the last second. Green goes to the line, makes two.
• Raptors struggling to get the ball up against the pressure but they eventually figure it out
• Great defense by Evans fronting Jermaine and denying the entry pass, i was so busy watching Evans I didn’t see the shot, Kapono hit a long two from the left wing … it was a one dribble left pull up J.
• Green nails a three pointer over Bargnani
• Graham handling the ball against Iggy+Evans, gets across the line, loses control for a moment but retains possession easily.
• Big rebound by O’Neal off the missed Sixers jumper in transition … Jermaine with a good look from 16 feet just above the FT line, misses
• Nice cut across the paint by Thaddeus Young, his teammate finds him, one spin the other way and lefty hook over Kapono, misses, offensive interference by Evans
• 76-70 Raptors after two minutes
• Jermaine trying to get position, Evans doing a great job making O’Neal work for it, now O’Neal has position, he’s sealed Evans, gets the ball, turns and drives left towards the rim, Evans pulls the rug from under Jermaine’s feet and Jermaine travels.
• Evans’ energy is lighting a spark for Phily
• Lovely quick pass by Jermaine out of the post, on the double team, to Jose for an open three, nails it. Lou Williams again caught out defensively, he was out of control and scrambling, never in the play.
• Calderon dribbles all around the world, from the halfway line to the top of the key, down the right wing, along the baseline, under the basket, coming back up along the left hand side of the lane, to the top of the key, passes to Jermaine on the right elbow, Jermaine drives right and makes a good pass to Kapono along the baseline, 17 footer, makes it. Raptors hot shooting is keeping them
• Lou Williams with a great drive through a crowd, gets a good look on the layup, misses, offensive rebound, Sixers pass out, swing it to the corner, Lou is open, a Raptor rushes out to get a hand in his face, missed shot.
• Calderon called for an offensive foul as he runs into Williams. He’s holding his elbow after the fall. Ukic checks in.
• Timeout
• Raptors lead 81-72
• Under 8 minutes to play
• Young dribbles in, takes a runner from midrange, misses, offensive rebound Young, loses the ball … Raptors run up the other way, Ukic leaves it for Kapono, Kapono travels
• Jose now pointing to his fingers/wrist on the bench
• Bosh with the quick first step, draws the foul on the drive, makes two at the line. Bosh is 7-14 from the field and 9-10 from the line. Bosh pulls down another defensive rebound, that’s 11 boards for Bosh.
• Roko dribbles for 18 seconds, goes all around the court, finally passes the ball, Jermaine has to force the fadeaway, misses
• Brand on the offensive glass, fouled on the putback
• Jermaine O’Neal has 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists on 7-14 shooting
• Jermaine tells Bosh to switch sides on the FT line, he wants to box out Dalembert
• 5:30 to play in the game
• Kapono nails another three from the right corner after some good ball movement from the Raps
• Elton Brand offensive rebound, makes about four head fakes, I think O’Neal bought the third one, Brand draws the foul
• Ukic with a fancy dribble, looked like a carry though, he gets the step on Miller, drives inside, sets up a good look for his teammate, missed long jumper
• Calderon checks in for Ukic
• Raptors lead 86-75 with 4:20 to play
• Dalembert crowding Bosh, way too close, Bosh drives left and draws the contact before the ball even hits the floor on his dribble, foul
• Nice finish inside by Bosh
• Isolation for Brand, takes a bounce, goes up with the jumper, misses. He was 16 feet out going up against Jermaine. He got the shot he wanted, a good look, just missed
• Lou Williams with the teardrop over the Raptors big men
• Jose and Bosh run a pick and pop at the top of the key, Jose passes back to Bosh at the top of the key, Bosh with the upfake, Dalembert goes flying, now he goes up for the shot, Jose’s man rushses over, Bosh passes to Jose for a wide open three on the left wing after changing his mind in mid air, missed shot … Phily run off the rebound, fastbreak dunk Iguodala
• Jermaine takes a turnaround 15 feet out on the left wing, side rims, defensive rebound Phily … Phily run again with Williams finishing in a crowd and drawing the foul. Good pass ahead by Iggy.
• Timeout Raptors
• Raptors lead 88-81
• Bosh and Calderon run another high pick and pop, back to Bosh top of the key, jab step, takes it from 20 feet, nails it
• 2 minutes to play, 8 point game
• Raptors clear out again, run the screen and roll again, lovely extra pass by Bosh to Kapono for the open three in the corner, Kapono nails it
• 11 point game
• Sixers force the miss, leakout and get a layup in transition, 9 point game
• Good cut by Bosh from the elbow than to the low post when he recognized the smaller man was on him, quick pass to the middle of the paint to the cutting Jermaine O’Neal who’s fouled, Jermaine ices the game at the line

Very good win for Toronto

Game Time: Los Angeles Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Tuning in late in the first quarter, only three minutes to play in the the first, Lakers lead 24-20

First Quarter

• Showing some nice highlights of Baron Davis having words with teammates in several different circumstances. Leaderership.
• Kobe left wing faces up on Thornton, blows by him and misses the layup, offensive rebound Odom
• Ricky Davis with two quick assists after checking, one to Baron for a three, the other to Skinner for a 14 footer
• Baron Davis with his third steal of the quarter as he plays the passing lanes beautifully on Farmer’s pass, Baron running the other way, finds Thornton, bucket
• Game tied 27-27
• Baron has gone to the bench, still giving his teammates instructions, unhappy with Skinner with forcing it, wants him to slow down.
• Lakers hold it for the final shot of the quarter, Kobe up top, Davis on him, Pau sets the screen, Clippers help cheats over, Ariza sprints the baseline, alley oop lob, misses the dunk, Gasol runs down the offensive rebound, passes out to Kobe, Kobe drives, Ariza runs out and sets up at the three point line in the opposite (left) corner, Kobe finds him, three pointer scored as the quarter expires

Second Quarter

• Lakers lineup – Gasol, Odom, Ariza, Vujacic, Farmer – this will be Phil’s quick lineup. They’ll pressure the ball defensively and try to push it offensively.
• Clippers lineup – Jason Hart, Ricky Davis Steve Novak, Tim Thomas, Brian Skinner – I’m surprised by this lineup. The loss of Marcus Camby has left their big men a bit short handed. They’ll likely go with a lot of small ball lineups because that’s where the most individual quality is. I’m surprised Novak made the rotation though, I expected him to be an irregular player in the Clips rotation
• Odom on the backboards, takes a dribble, passes ahead to Ariza who’s coming down the right wing, Novak is defending him, little move right, then burst of speed left, blows by Novak, has a lane to the rim, fouled.
• Lakers lead 32-31
• Very good double team by Ariza and Odom on Tim Thomas, Thomas crumbled under the pressure late in the shot clock and couldn’t get rid of it, turnover.
• Nice penetration and dishes off to Tim Thomas for the dunk along the baseline. Thomas gets a tech for the delay of game, his second of the game, Vujacic takes the FT, misses, third missed FT in 30 seconds for LA.
• Gasol rejected at the rim
• Gasol doing great work on that offensive glass tapping it twice to himself before Skinner fouls. Those long arms of Gasol can reach right over the top of Skinner.
• Gasol on the right block, dribbles towards the baseline, loses control of the dribble, picks it up, draws a crowd, passes it out, Lakers swing the ball from right to left, Farmer drives past his man and nails a short J. Next possession Gasol hits a shot off the right elbow.
• Vujacic nails a thre pointer on the left wing. Gordon was too far off his man defensively.
• Tim Thomas forced to create his own shot off the dribble to beat the shot clock.
• Farmer defensive rebound, he pushes the break, hits Ariza cutting to the rim along the left wing, bounce pass, dunk.
• Timeout
• LA lifting the caliber of the team right now. Clippers second unit looks weak and in trouble. They need Baron Davis back in the game. Everything they were doing was on the perimeter and for the most part it looked bad, the Lakers defense caused them the world of trouble.
• Lakers have extended the league by 5 points since Kobe sat down over the past 5 minutes, Lakers up 8 now.
• Farmer driving, showing some patience as he navigates his way from the right wing, to the elbow, across the paint, now finds the passing angle and throws the lob to Bynum, layup. Bynum reluctant to truly flush that down, he’s been hesitant for most of the season so far.
• Farmer is playing brilliantly
• Nice push by Farmer, gets into the paint, hits his trailer for the long J from 19 feet, Bynum takes it, misses it. Not his shot, should have held that up and reset the offense.
• Baron Davis getting closer on Farmer now, holding off his drive and keeping him on the perimeter, Farmer passes off, he gets it back, now he’s reluctant to drive on Baron, passes it off, Ariza nails a face up three. Next possession, Farmer yo-yo-ing up top, making up his mid whether or not to drive, passes off instead attacking Baron Davis.
• Baron Davis bringing the ball up court, nice hesitation dribble, gets to the rim, layup
• Timeout
• Mobley playing good defense on Bryant in the post, slaps the ball loose, Thornton picks up the loose ball, races the length of the floor down the left wing right to the rim, fouled, misses the first FT, makes the second. Kobe is unimpressed with the refs, felt he was fouled.
• Fisher on the drive, Kaman alters it at the basket, Fisher misses, rebound Clips. Clippers look to get out in the fastbreak, turn it over in the paint. Clippers need to do a better job in the open floor
• Kobe gets a post up on the right block, whirls into the paint and shoots over the top of Moblye, shot rolls out, Kaman rebounds. Good look for Kobe, he should keep attacking Cuttino in the post.
• Offensive foul on Kaman, turnover
• Luke Walton with a nice spinning hook 9 feet from the rim, now he gets the steal and pushes the break, over to Fish who stops for a three on the break, nails it
• Lakers quickly and quietly up 16 points. It doesn’t feel like that big of a gap but the Lakers keep making small runs and have pushed this lead well. Be interesting how the Lakers respond to this.
• Bryant backing down Mobley on the left post, the double team comes from the elbow, Kobe spins baseline, Clippers help rushes over, passes back to Bynum who’s coming down the middle of the paint, Bynum elevates for the dunk, fouled, makes two of two
• Ricky Davis nails a three at the buzzer for the shot clock. The Clippers were all over the place on that possession from some terrific Lakers defense, big bail out shot from Davis.
• Lakers lead 59-42
• Baron Davis makes two FTs
• Lakers bring it up and will play for one good shot, Kobe runs down the clock, now gets the high screen from Gasol, Kobe drives left, kicks it to the corner to Fisher, misses the open J from the perimeter, Clippers rebound, stolen back by LA, halftime

Halftime

• Lakers leading 59-44
• Lakers ahead 21-17 on the backboards
• The Clippers have 12 assists on 16 baskets, shooting only 16-37 from the floor for 43% shooting. They are 3-12 from three and 9-15 from the line.
• The Lakers have 15 assists on 22 baskets, making 22-40 from the field for 55% shooting. They are also a red hot 8-13 from downtown and are 7-10 from the free throw line.
• Derek Fisher leads the Lakers in scoring with 13 points. Bynum is the only player in double digits with 10 points. Very balanced scoring from the Lakers with all 10 players on the scoresheet in the first half
• The starting forwards (Thomas+Thornton) for the Clippers have 21 points combined while Baron Davis leads the way with 9 points and 5 assists. Nobody else on the Clippers has more than four points. Davis also has 3 steals and 2 boards.
• Kobe Bryant had 5 turnovers in the first half, all came in the first quarter. He sas the small guys on the Clippers’ active hands caused him some problems in the first quarter.
• Tim Thomas only 2-6 from the FT line, main reason why the Clippers are shooting 60% as a team from the stripe.
• Andrew Bynum has only 3 rebounds in 16 minutes. He had a poor rebounding night against Portland too. Something to watch over the next few games/weeks.
• Chris Kaman has only 2 rebounds for the Clippers, the Clippers starting frontcourt has only 7 rebounds as Tim Thomas leads the starters with 3 boards. Skinner has a team high 4 boards off the bench. The Clippers need more rebounding from their frontcourt to compete in this game.
• Both teams have 8 turnovers, the Lakers capitalizing on 12 points off those turnovers, while the Clippers made 10 points off LA’s turnovers.
• Pau Gasol leads the Lakers rebounding effort with 6 rebounds. Ariza is second on the team with 4 boards off the bench in 11 minutes. Bynum and Bryant are next with 3 apiece, Odom has 2 boards, nobody else has more than one.

Third Quarter

• Baron Davis starts off the third by initiating some physical contact with Fisher before running back to get the ball and bring it up, little reminder that Baron is capable and happy to handle Fish’s physical D, Baron brings it up court, blows by Fisher off the bounce and makes the layup
• Bryant trying to kill the game, forces it on Mobley and draws the foul, goes to the FT line for two
• Bad pass by Thornton cross court to his open teammate, threw it over his head and out of bounds.
• Kobe steals the ball from Kaman after the defensive rebound, off Gasol’s miss, ball squirms loose to Bynum, pass to Gasol, layup, fouled, he shoots two, makes two.
• Lakers ahead 66-45
• Bynum with a defensive rebound, those long arms snaring the ball high out of the air
• Bynum gets the pass inside, caught too far under the rim, draws a crowd, kicks it out to Kobe, Thornton rushes out, makes it easy for Kobe to blast right by him, foul on Thornton to stop the open path to the rim.
• Baron Davis jams Fisher off the dribble, then traps him along the sideline, Fisher has to get rid of it, steps out of bounds trying to make the pass. Great defense by Davis.
• Horrid pass by Tim Thoms. He had Thornton wide open for a three 6 feet to his left and he throws a slow high bounce pass gifting the Lakers defense enough time to get out and challenge the shot. Those type of unintelligent selfish plays that hurt your teammate drive me nuts.
• Davis on the driv,e throws it up, ball rolls around the rim, ball gets caught on the back end of the rim,  Thornton has great position for the offensive rebound, he’s just waiting for it to leave the cylinder, taking too long, now it drops, Thornton has been surrounded but he still has position inside, ball falls off the rim, Bynum from under the backboard jumps up and taps the ball out to stop Thornton getting the rebound, it goes right to Fisher … fastbreak the other way,  Fisher with a nice bounce pass from the right win, three point line, to the opposite lane for Gasol who was trailing the play, layup, fouled
• Lovely touch pass by Davis off the outlet to a streaking teammate for the layup. He was around midcourt, Kobe sprinted over to cover him, and Davis just flipped over to the man Kobe was initially defending. Easy two for Mobley on the breakaway.
• Bynum and Thomas bang heads, Thomas is shaken up, doesn’t get back on defense, Odom scores inside. On the way back up Bynum gives the thumbs up to Tim to check if he’s okay, Tim gives him the thumbs up back. Sportsmanship.
• Lakers ahead 76-50 with 4 minutes to go in the third.
• This game is over.

Rest of the game

• Lovely give an go with Lamar and Gasol. Lamar left wing passes into Gasol on the post, cuts left, gets the hand off, drives baseline and finishes. Nice play. Odom is at the four spot right now, how hard is that play to defend for an opposing power forward?
• Gasol scrapping inside for the loose ball of Fisher’s miss on the aggressive drive from the left wing on the break, Pau comes away with it, misses the putback, Kobe hits the offensive glass and is fouled on the putback. Mike Dunleavy’s face has been plastereed with dismay for the last couple of miscues from the Clippers. Timeout.
• Lakers lead 82-50
• Ricky Davis on the fastbreak, finds Mobley filling the right lane, bounce pass on the money, dunk. That ends a 13-0 Lakers run.
• Pau Gasol with another defensive rebound. He’s been focused on the glass tonight.
• Bryant curling off a screen on the right wing, gets the pass, has the step on on his man immediately, flies into the paint and is fouled by Skinner. Bryant makes two. The Lakers starters will likely stay on the bench for the fourth quarter.
• Novak nails a three
• Farmer holds the ball for the final shot of the quarter, calls for the screen from Gasol, Gasol sets up top of the key, Farmer runs off the screen and drives right, manevours his way to the right elbow, help D is there, Farmer jumps up and tries to throw a pass to the left baseline, over the head of Odom out of bounds. Wouldn’t let Kobe make that play? No?
• Fourth Quarter
• Pau Gasol stays out there with the second unit. Odom, Ariza, Vujacic and Farmer are the other four.
• The Clippers will likely rest their starters too – we have Gordon, Hart, Davis, Skinner, Novak.
• Unselfish pass by Gordon to Hart who was trailing the play and had an easier layup than he did. He held the ball up well waiting for Hart to get himself into position. Next possession, Novak hits another three. Clippers still down 25, 28, Ariza hits a three.
• Vujacic helping out on the glass … Lakers defense so far has stayed active and aggressive despite the big lead. Lakers go up 30 off of two Gasol FTs.
• Lakers ahead 101-66
• Lakers second unit has been passing well, and making smart cuts, especially Ariza.
• Lakers lead 115-77 with under two minutes to play
• Eric Gordon misses off the bank on the drive

Some Stats

• Lakers have 7 players in double figures. All 12 players got on the scoreboard, and everyone scored more than 4 points. Kobe Bryant led the way with 16 points, Farmer had 15 points, Fisher had 15 points, Pau Gasol had 13 points, Andrew Bynum had 12 points, Trevor Ariza had 11 points, Chris Mihm had 11 points. Radmanovic and Odom had 6 apiece, Vujacic 5, and Walton+Powell had 4 points each.
• The Lakers had 28 assists on 41 baskets, on 80 attempts, for 51% shooting. They wre also 10-19 from behind the arc and 25-33 from the FT line. A superb offensive display from the Lakers.
• The Lakers pummeled the Clippers on the glass in the second half building up a 51-32 advantage in rebounds. Bynum and Gasol led the way with 9 apiece, Kobe had 8, Ariza 6, Farmer 5, Odom 4 boards and once again every single Laker registered a rebound.
• Pau Gasol led the Lakers in assists with 6, Farmer had 5, Fisher had 4 and three other Lakers finished with 3 dimes each. 9 of the 12 Lakers finished with assists – the three that didn’t are Bynum, Mihm and Powell. Powell played only 6 minutes, Mihm only 9 minutes … plus you can’t blame Mihm he was too busy shooting (10 points in 9 minutes) to get in on the action.
• Some indivudal Lakers statlines
  • Andrew Bynum had 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal in 25 minutes. Bynum was 4-7 from the field and 4-6 from the line.
  • Pau Gasol 13 points (only 3-10 shooting, 7-7 from the line), 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
  • Kobe Bryant had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 assists. Bryant was 5-12 from the field and 6-7 from the line. Kobe played 31 minutes.
  • Jordan Farmer led the way off the bench with 15 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds on 6-8 shooting from the field. Farmer played 26 minutes to Fisher’s 22.
  • Fisher had 15 points (5-11 shooting) and 4 assists
  • Ariza had 11 and 6 in only 20 minutes
  • Odom had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 23 minutes
• Not a lot to say about the Clippers
• Tim Thomas led the team in rebounding with 8.  Kaman had only 5 rebounds in 30 minutes. Skinner had 5 boards in 27 minutes. Thornton had 3 boards. Nobody else had more than 2 rebounds. The Clippers got beaten up on the backboards to a 19 board differential, clearly they missed Camby.
• Baron Davis led the team with 11 points and 7 assists, plus 3 steals, but he was quiet after the first quarter. He sat too long into the second quarter and by that stage the Clippers had lost momentum, put themselves into a deficit, and Baron was too cold to bail them out. The game got out of hand in the third and Baron didn’t press the game, he knew it was over.
• Ricky Davis had 6 assists but only 5 points, only took 5 shots making 2 (1-4 from downtown). Ricky needs to provide some scoring punch of that bench.
• I expect the seriousness of the Clippers postseason challenge to be defined by the contributions of their two young wings, particularly their scoring, so how did they do – Al Thornton finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds and an assist. He was 7-15 from the field and had only 3 FTs. Also had 3 turnovers. He wasn’t a factor for long parts of the game and struggled defensively. Eric Gordon played 14 minutes off the bench and never got into the game. Gordon was 0-4 from the floor, and finished with 2 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound.
• The Clippers clearly lacked scoring options. Their offense lacked direction because they had nobody to pass the ball the ball to after LA took away their first option. The Lakers defense kept the Clippers on the perimeter, where they had only one legit player who could create for himself and others (Baron Davis), and that killed the Clippers. The spacing difficulties were made even worse by a poor night from behind the arc, going only 5-22 from three.
• Defensively the Clippers were unable to give much resistance. The Lakers had little difficulty in working around the Chris Kaman’s presence, he was often the only shot blocker on the floor, so they either moved him (Pau/Bynum setting screens, spotting for jumpers, passing high post) out of the way or worked around him (pick and rolls). Getting Camby back there defensively should help the Clippers defense attack more aggressively, because they’ll have a fail safe on either side should the defender get beat. Without that second anchor the Lakers abused the Clippers. Baron Davis was the only Clippers perimeter player that had a good night defensively, part of the reason the two shot blockers is so important is because the defenders on the perimeter are questionable/mediocre/poor. It’s hard to tell what this Clippers team is capable of defensively, we must wait to see Camby out there and give the perimeter guys more time to settle down (young duo – Thornton/Gordon again important).

A Lakers drubbing – 117-79 – 38 point blowout

Game Time: Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland

First Quarter

• Drive and dish Bryant to Gasol, 17 footer just off the baseline on the left hand side, makes it
• It looked like Bynum got a piece of that reverse layup from Roy, Oden snatches it out of the air, Bynum locks him down on the ground before he can dunk it home
• Lovely drive, baseline pass to Oden, Oden gathers himself, decides to take the short hook instead of muscling it up, misses
• Bynum posts up, wants to go one-on-one, he turns middle, hook shot, misses.
• Travis Outlaw is at small forward.
• Blake leads the fastbreak, throws a bad bounce pass to Roy, Roy manages to avoid the charge, puts it up off the glass from five feet, misses, Fisher rebounds, goes coast to coast and drops the floater over Oden’s outstretched arm
• Timeout
• Lakers jump out to an 11-4 lead
• Oden with a tough off balance hook shot, misses, offensive rebound Aldridge. Offensive foul on Oden for the screen. Two fouls on Oden. That was predictable. The first was a tough foul.
• Gasol with the lefty shot in the paint over Aldridge, nice footwork in the post
• Outlaw doing a solid job of guarding Bryant so far. His length is causing Kobe some problems.
• Odom enters the game, knocks the ball loose on Roy off Roy out of bounds
• Blake forced to defend Kobe in transition, Kobe locks him in on his hip and takes him right to the rim, shooting over him easily.
• Aldridge making the shot over Odom out of the low post, looked like he lost control off the ball on the way up.
• Bynum on the offensive glass, putback
• Rudy Fernand