Rockets 108 Nuggets 97

The Rockets go to Denver and do their best impression of a bad guest as they kick the Nuggets to the curb with defense, hustle and finally find the stroke to make some shots on offense. They also rebounded, played some transition defense and did I mention, hustle? Something the Rockets seemed to be in short supply of lately. Mcgrady still isn’t back to normal, only hitting 11 of his 30 shots, but he totaled 28 points, grabbed 6 boards, had 7 assists and seems to be back on track and healthier. The Rockets held the Nuggets to 14 points in the 3rd period and that was huge since the Nuggets came back in the 4th and outscored the Rockets by a 28 to 21 margin. Once again the Rockets had a dry spell offensively late in the game and went about 6 possessions without a score. They know this kind of habit will lose games for you in the playoffs. This game was more like the Rockets want to play and can play. It was a more balanced offense and the defense was good against a team that can be explosive and score a lot of points.

S.Battier -15 points 3 boards
J.Howard - 18 points 6 boards 7 assists
R.Alston - 12 points 3 boards 6 assists
L.Head - 17 points 2 boards 2 assists
D.Mutombo - 5 points 22 boards

Shooting % from the field - Rockets 42 Nuggets 47
Rebounds Rockets 51 Nuggets 40
Turnovers - Rockets 12 Nuggets 18
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS -Rockets 30 Nuggets 9

UP NEXT: Spurs
================
Spurs 98 Magic 74

The Spurs played their usual game of good defense and go to the guy with the hot hand on offense. At the end of the 3rd period, the Magic had only scored 57 points and the last quarter didn’t change that much. They were held to less then 20 points in 3 of the 4 periods, scoring 16, 17, 24 and 17 while the Spurs scored 33 in the last period alone.

Magic defenders got a good look at how the Spurs give them the pick and roll look but change it to a jump shot from beyond the arc. Usually, Duncan or Horry would set the pick but instead of rolling to the basket, they would stand still and set a screen for Manu Ginobili. The choice for the defender is, which side will Manu go to and slash to the hoop? Most of the night, the answer was, neither. Manu would step back, with no hand in his face, and shoot from 3 point land. He hit 6 of 9 attempts. Just to make to make the defense hesitate and think longer, he also dished out 5 assists to go with his 31 points. When Duncan is your man in the middle, the dilemma is apparent. It was also a boost since Tony Parker seems to have lost something and isn’t playing up to his usual game.

T.Duncan - 19 points 10 boards 4 assists
T.Parker - 8 points 5 boards 4 assists 4 turnovers
M.Ginobili - 31 points 4 boards 5 assists
M.Finley - 12 points

Rebounds - Spurs 44 Magic 35
Turnovers - Spurs 11 Magic 16
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS - Magic 12 Spurs 23

UP NEXT: AT Rockets

MAVERICKS 103 Magic 98

The win streak is up to 15 games and a new franchise record.

On a night when Dirk’s numbers were almost equaled by Dwight Howard’s, it was important for the Mav’s to find someone else to contribute in a big way. But the Magic finally got their offense untracked and had a balanced attack with 5 players in double figure compared to the Mav’s, who only had 4 in double figures. The bad news for the Magic was they had only scored 72 points by the end of the 3rd period. The good news for the Magic was the Mav’s had only scored 75 including a disaster of a 2nd quarter when the Mav’s had scored 16 points.

Enter the “Jet”. Jason Terry had been playing a good game until the 4th quarter and now he turned it into a great game. He scored, he distributed the ball, he set up easy shots with great passes, he had steals by playing great defense and ran the offense like all teams want a point guard too. By the time the Mav’s had won their 50th game of the year, his line for the game, was astounding. Jet had 29 points, 15 assists, 2 steals and had even hit 6 of 11 from beyond the arc. One of his steals was a turning point late in the game that stopped the Magic and instead led to a Mav’s score that padded the lead to 103.

D.Nowitzki - 24 points 9 boards 7 assists 2 blocks 1 steal
J.Howard - 21 points 3 boards 2 assists
E.Dampier - 8 points 5 boards
D.Harris - 10 points 2 boards 2 assists

Mav’s shoot from the field - 53.5% Magic - 51.4%
Mav’s shoot 3 pointers - 42.9% Magic - 40%
Rebounds - Mav’s 32 Magic 33
Turnovers - Mav’s 9 Magic 10
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS - Magic 10 Mav’s 14

UP NEXT: Tuesday, Nets
=====================
SPURS 97 ROCKETS 74

The game wasn’t as close as the score indicates. The Rockets were NEVER really in this game. Want a few facts? Tony Parker didn’t even play but the Spurs guard position still got 20 points, 9 assists, 3 boards and 2 steals. Rockets turn the ball over 10 times in the first period. Rockets score 15 points in the first quarter to equal Tim Duncan’s scoring. Tracy McGrady scores 21 points in the first half and NONE in the 2nd half while only taking 3 shots. The Rockets still hadn’t scored 60 points by the end of the 3rd period. Rockets finish the game the way they started by scoring 15 points again. Even the Rockets mascot screwed up. While the game was going on with about 6 minutes left, the bear came out on the court with a siren. It wasn’t half-time, there was no time-out, no stoppage of play. The Ref’s had to shoo him of the court and he didn’t get to shoot any T-shirts into the stands.

As if the Spurs needed any help beating the Rockets, the Rockets had a shouting match with each other during a timeout in the first quarter. Later everyone wants to downplay the incident but it is a bad sign for a team that is hoping to get better when Yao Ming returns, this week.

On the other hand, the Spurs went out and did their job in a professional manner. The played defense, executed their offense and kept their poise. They played like a team, even without one of their starters and the bench played their part when given the chance.

High and Low lights:

Field goals - Spurs shoot 52% Rockets 38%
3 pointers - Spurs shoot 43% Rockets 30%
Rebounds - Spurs 36 Rockets 34
Turnovers - Spurs 13 Rockets 18
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS - Spurs - 27 Rockets 9
Free Throws - Spurs 86% Rockets 71%

Odd Stat: Duncan scores 26 points while playing only 27 minuets

UP NEXT: SPURS - Monday AT Clippers
UP NEXT: ROCKETS - Monday AT Cavaliers

Rockets 85 Cavaliers 91

The good news for the Rockets against the Cav’s was, Yao is back and playing. The bad news, Lebron James of the Cav’s played too.

Getting Yao back is big though and no ones expects him to play at the same level he was playing before his injury back in December. That could take 10 or 15 games if all goes according to plan. Still, he was able to play a solid 27 minutes, score 16 points, grab 11 boards and had 2 blocks. The rest of his line shows there is still more work to do. He was only 5 of 15 from the field and had 5 turnovers. At least his woes could be attributed to injury and lack of basketball conditioning. Not so with the rest of this team. This is a game they could and should have won. T-Mac scored 25, had 7 boards and 4 assists. In his 39 minutes, he only shot 10 of 32 from the field. Not just these two players but it seemed the whole team takes time off during the game and it seems to be a habit they are keeping. The Rockets only score 13 points in the 2nd period.

Otherwise:

Rebounds - Rockets 58 Cav’s 47
Field goal shooting - Rockets 36% Cav’s 44%
Turnovers - Rockets 15 Cav’s 14
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS - Rockets 7 Cav’s 18

UP NEXT: Wednesday AT Celtics
============================
SPURS 88 Clippers 74

In a game of back-up point guards, the Spurs win again. Neither team had their starting point guard but the Spurs had Vaughn and Udrih and they contributed a total of 24 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. The Spurs defense held another team to 74 points (the 3rd in a row) and it is the 4th team in the last 5 games to be held under 75 points. It was a workman like job by the Spurs and once again the bench did it’s job to keep the win streak going. The streak is up to 9 games. Spurs have 5 guys in double figures and all 12 on the roster play.

T.Duncan - 9 points 12 boards
M.Ginobili - 16 points 8 boards 4 assists
B.Barry - 11 points 3 boards 3 assists
J.Vaughn - 1 points 4 boards 6 assists
M.Finley - 10 points 2 boards
B.Udrih - 14 points 2 boards 3 assists

Scoring, 1st 3 periods, Clippers, 16 points, 18 points 15 points
Spurs shoot 48% from the field and Clips shoot 37%
Rebounds - Spurs 43 Clippers 34
Turnovers - Spurs 19 Clippers 13
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS - Spurs 9 Clippers 27

UP NEXT: AT Blazers

Mav’s 102 Nets 89

The win streak is 16 games and after only 60 of the 82 games in the season, the Mav’s have clinched a playoff berth.

The Nets know they can score on anyone and they kept the game close. They probably also know the Mav’s own them as they lost for the 13th time in the last 14 games. The Mav’s though just had their usual game of score more points then the opponent and get the stops when you need them. Early in the game when they needed the stops. They got them and after a 14 point run by the nets, the Mav’s threw up the roadblocks and went on a 14 point run of their own. It set the tone for the 4th quarter when the nets went 6 minutes without scoring, missing nine straight shots.

The bench was huge again as the Mav’s had 7 players in double figures. They also won in just about every offensive category.

D.Nowitzki - 22 points 11 boards 5 assists
J.Terry - 24 points 3 boards 3 assists
J.Howard - 10 points 3 boards
E.Dampier - 12 points 14 boards
J.Stackhouse - 10 points 1 board 4 assists
D.Harris - 11 points 3 boards 3 assists
G.Buckner -10 points 2 boards

Rebounds - Mav’s 42 Nets 38
FG shooting - Mav’s 49% Nets 43%

UP NEXT: Sunday AT Lakers
=========================
Spurs 99 Trailblazers 94

The Spurs win streak in up to double digits at 10 games.

The blazers won the game, through 3 quarters and most of the 4th but got a lesson in how it is considered “unlucky” to be behind at the end of the game. It was “deja vu all over again” as Manu reprised his role as spoiler just like he did back in November when the Spurs last visited. This time he rained 3’s on the blazers to help the Spurs finally take and keep the lead to win the game. The blazers probably were reminded of the last time when he scored 18 points in 10 minutes. This time, after a huge dunk by Manu, they called a time out. After the time out, he hit a 3, the Spurs got the ball back and Manu hit another 3. After a turnover by the Trail Blazers, Udrih added another 3 and the Spurs took the lead and the win.

In the 4th period, the Spurs score 34 while holding the blazers to 20. This is even more startling when you realize that Parker played limited minutes and was removed from the game. Then Barry was knocked out of the game to get stitches to close the gash on his head.

T.Duncan - 24 points 8 boards
M.Ginobili - 23 points 4 boards
M.Finley - 23 points 3 boards 5 assists

FG shooting - Spurs 49% Blazers 50%
Rebounds - Spurs 34 Blazers 41
Turnovers - Spurs 9 Blazers 8
Points off Turnovers - Spurs 16 Blazers 8

ODD STAT: Blazers have 5 players in double figures Spurs have 3

UP NEXT: Thursday AT Kings

ROCKETS 111 Celtics 80

Last week against this team, the Rockets only scored 72 points and lost. This week they added a few more points to win easily and that’s whats important to the team. True, the Celtics have only won 17 games this season but the Rockets expect to be in the playoffs and now is the time to get ready. Even with Ming only playing 18 minutes because he dislocated a middle finger, the Rockets had 6 guys scoring in double figures. It was a much needed and complete turnaround from last week.

The Rockets scored at least 30 points in each quarter except the 4th when it was mostly garbage time for both teams. The Rockets only scored 18 but held the Celtics to 12.

T.McGrady -25 points 2 boards 9 assists
S.Battier -15 points 5 boards
Y.Ming - 11 points 5 boards
J.Howard -12 points 5 boards
R.Alston -14 points 3 boards 7 assists
C.Hayes -14 points 11 boards

Fast facts:
Rockets shoot 15 of 28 from beyond the arc, Celtics are 1 of 9
Rockets FG shooting 51% Celtics 36%
Turnovers Celtics 20 Rockets 18
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS -Houston 11 Boston 21
Rebounds Rockets 43 Celtics 39

Medical report:
Delonte West is having a precautionary CT-scan. He was diagnosed with a concussion.
Dikembe Mutumbo will have an MRI on his left knee.
Yao is just tough and will play with dislocated finger.

UP NEXT: Friday, Nets

Spurs 100, Kings 93

The Spurs win streak is up to 11 and the last 4 come while they are are on the road.

The Kings early strategy seemed to be, push the ball and run on the Spurs. Only problem was, the Spurs can run too and play transition defense. The Kings shots were contested and sometimes, they just shot themselves in the foot with misses on close in shots. But to be fair, some of them were wearing Bruce Bowen as a jersey. At the end of the 1st period, the Spurs had scored 25 and held the kings to 19. In the 2nd period, the kings outscored the Spurs, 25 to 23. The 3rd period cranked up and with some of the Spurs and kings in foul trouble, the pace slowed considerably with each team only scoring 17 points. The Spurs held a small lead by a 65 to 61 margin. In the 4th period, both teams found the range and the kings even took the lead as the teams finally scored into the 70’s. Then, Manu Ginobili got his wake up call and scored 16 of his 31 points (including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc) while the Spurs defense clamped down to get some turnovers and blocked shots. To Spurs fans, it is getting to be a familiar ending. To opponents, it becomes a sad reality.

T.Duncan - 16 points 13 boards 2 assists
T.Parker - 15 points 4 boards 5 assists
M.Ginobili - 31 points 5 boards 3 assists 4 steals
B.Bowen - 7 points 4 boards 2 assists
F.Oberto - 9 points 5 boards

Rebounds - Spurs 38 Kings 45
FG shooting - Spurs 43% Kings 48%
3’s shooting - Spurs make 8 of 20 Kings make 3 of 10
Turnovers - Spurs 9 Kings 19
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS - Spurs 16 Kings 20
Blocked shots - Spurs 6 Kings 2

UP NEXT: Saturday, Nets

Rockets 112 Nets 91

The Nets had a real chance to win this game until they tossed the ball up to start the game and then it was over. In 2 hours and 20 minutes, the Rockets displayed all the things a coach wants his to team to do better then the opponent. The Rockets shot better, (46% to 39%) rebounded, (47 to 38) played defense, (steals 6 to 4) (fewer fouls 20 to 27) and fewer turnovers. (10 to 13) Just for good measure, also shoot better from beyond the arc. (37% to 29%)

The only real drama was provided by Yao Ming, who played 29 minutes, in only his 3rd game back from major surgery on his knee. In his first game back, he was knocked down and lay crumpled on the hardwood while everyone held their collective breath. In his 2nd game back, he dislocated a finger and had to leave the game. In this game, he was hit in the thigh and suffered a deep muscle bruise. He left the game as a precaution but came back later. He isn’t fragile but the Rockets need him now and any injury is going to be checked out thoroughly.

Y.Ming - 24 points 13 boards
T.McGrady -34 points 4 boards 5 assists
R.Alston - 12 points 5 boards 6 assists
L.Head - 10 points 3 boards
C.Hayes - 11 points 7 boards

UP NEXT: Sunday, Magic

Spurs 93 Nets 77

The win steak is now 12 and the Nets did all they could to help the Spurs win. How did the Nets help, you ask? How about your coach complains so much about the foul (or non foul) calls that he gets his two technicals and tossed by the refs. Jason Kidd did his part too by complaining about the fouls, getting two technicals as well and getting tossed. Not that anyone cares or remembers but since Kidd turned down the Spurs offer in 2003, the Spurs have beat the team he did choose, 8 times in a row. Mikki Moore, at least, knew to quit yapping when he got his technical so he could stay in the game. Of course the Spurs defense had a lot to do with winning the game too. By halftime, the Nets had only scored 33 points and by the end of the 3 period, only 52 points. They didn’t score over 20 in a quarter until the Spurs bench had been emptied in the 4th period. This was a win that was earned since none of the Spurs stars had huge nights but all played hard. The team shot 47% from the field, 44% from 3 points land, blocked 7 shots, with 10 steals.

T.Duncan - 17 points 13 boards 4 assists 4 blocks
T.Parker - 19 points 4 boards 6 assists
M.Ginobili - 12 points 3 boards 4 assists
B.Barry - 11 points 7 boards 2 assists

UP NEXT: Tuesday, Clippers

Mavericks 108, Lakers 72

The win streak is 17 games and this game wasn’t as close as the score indicates. The Mav’s hadn’t played a game in 4 days but the practices had been intense as Avery Johnson found some imagined or real deficiencies in his team. The Mav’s did look a little rusty early on and the lakers even led in scoring early on.

But the Mav’s got the wake up call, during a time out, as Johnson told them to get more aggressive. They did and the lakers started getting smaller and smaller in the Mav’s rear view mirror.

You may find this hard to believe but the game was all about defense and the lack of defense. The Mav’s played excellent defense with their feet and the lakers played defense with their hands. That is why the refs blew the whistle on the lakers more and also why the Mav’s had 12 steals to only 6 for the lakers. Yes Kobe still gets the, benefit of a doubt, calls but even that wasn’t enough to stop the Mav’s who were every where at once. There were times when the Mav’s were challenging the inbound pass or picking up the laker guards at mid-court to extend the perimeter defense or even going to a zone defense with a three two look. They rotated so quickly to cover the weak side that it looked like man to man coverage defense even when a guard was double-teamed.

In the end though, the defense made stops and no one is better at taking advantage of those transitions. It was a clinic put on by the Mav’s and the lakers were just the latest team to get the lesson. Since the Mav’s play again tonight, it was good to get the starters some bench time. No need to wear out those legs yet.

D.Nowitzki - 19 points 5 boards
J.Terry - 14 points 1 board 3 assists
J.Howard - 24 points 4 boards 2 assists
J.Stackhouse - 13 points
D.Harris - 10 points 4 boards 4 assists
A.Croshere - 13 points 8 boards

Rebounds - Mav’s 46 lakers 33
Turnovers - Mav’s 12 lakers 17
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS - Mav’s 29 Lakers 10

UP NEXT; AT Warriors
=====================
Rockets 103 Magic 92

The Rockets were looking to get on a roll now that Yao is back and rounding into playing form. Just call them “butter” because they were on a roll as the magic and their man-child, Dwight Howard, got rolled over by Ming and McGrady. The play was simple, get Yao the ball. He scored 37, with 7 boards, 3 assists and 4 blocks. When he wasn’t available, T-mac was so, he scored 19, dished out 10 assists with 3 boards and 2 steals. The tandem is why the Rockets shot 53% from the field and won handily. The magic can take some consolation from the fact they probably won’t be the only team to get treated this way by the resurgent Rockets.

The Suns tonight will be the real measuring stick for how far Yao and the Rockets have advanced.

S.Battier - 12 boards 8 boards 4 blocks
J.Howard - 14 points 5 boards
R.Alston - 5 points 8 assists

UP NEXT: AT Suns

Mavericks 100 Warriors 117

Mav’s coach Avery Johnson, “We just didn’t have it tonight.” “We got out played, out hustled, out concentrated and our guys are really professional, they don’t have many nights like this. We’ll bounce back.”

Do you think the old coach of the Mavericks really wanted to lose to his old team and do you think the teacher wanted to beat his one time student? Well, No and Yes! It was the young warriors that came out strong, aggressive and ready to play. The Mav’s looked like they were playing in a time delay as they couldn’t ever seem to really catch up to the guys running by them. The Warriors shot an amazing 57% for the game but that isn’t too hard to do when so many of your shots are 3 feet or less from the basket.

The Mav’s never really seemed to find a way to stop the motion offense so the win streak is over in one of the most unlikely places. A team with a 29 and 36 won/loss record beats a team with a record of 30 wins and 1 loss when they score 100 points. The Warriors are last in the league in points allowed at a shade over 107. Oh well, this streak is over but that is ok because this team of Mavericks only have 1 goal for this season. The Championship.

UP NEXT: Wednesday, Suns
======================
Rockets 82 Suns 103

Yes, the Suns play defense as Yao Ming discovered and if you live by your outside shooters, then you will die with them too. Yao saw a constant double team and was ineffective. It was time for someone to make the Suns pay by hitting the open outside shot. No one did and the game was lost. The Rockets offense couldn’t/wouldn’t be bailed out by the defense so the Suns did a run and gun and in 2 hours, the hurt was done. Even Phoenix head coach Mike D’Antoni getting ejected for arguing with officials didn’t spark the Rockets.

Sad facts:

Rebounds - Suns 50 Rockets 36
FG shooting - Rockets 38% Suns 50%
3 points shooting - Rockets 26% Suns 60%

Y.Ming - 10 points 8 boards
T.McGrady - 19 points 7 boards 4 assists
J.Howard - 14 points 3 boards
L.Head - 12 points 1 board 4 assists
C.Hayes - 13 points 10 boards

UP NEXT: Wednesday, Clippers

Spurs 93 Clippers 84

The win streak is up to 13 games so what did the coach have to say?  Popovich said, The Spurs’ execution was poor. Their focus? “Poor.” Attention to detail? “Poor.” “We blew an opportunity to progress and get better.” Uh… coach, you do know you won the game, right? I understand his point, the Spurs and Mavericks, have only 1 goal. A Championship. Win streaks are things the fans enjoy, and I do. But, when you usually beat a team by an average of 20 points, this close of a game means you could do better and that is what the coach is talking about.

The Spurs were inconsistent at times and allowed the Clips to hang around. An injury riddled team can be a trap and that is what almost caught the Spurs. The clips were allowed to shoot 49% from the field and have 5 players in double figures. Spurs blocked zero shots while the Clips had 8. The Spurs did win the turnover battle by a slim margin and rebounded better but the difference maker was points off turnovers where the Spurs had an 22 to 12 edge.

T.Duncan - 19 points 9 boards
T.Parker - 25 points 5 boards 4 assists
M.Ginobili - 16 points 7 boards 2 assists
M.Finley - 13 points 4 boards

UP NEXT: Thursday AT Bucks

Mavericks 127 Suns 129 Double O.T.

The Mav’s losing streak is at 2 games. Cue the music for all the doom and gloom to come. Yes, this was a game the Mav’s could have won in regulation but this was also one of the few teams who has talent to match up with the Mav’s and plays at the same level as the Mav’s and there was no quit in them.

Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki are good friends. They are also considered the only two, real, league MVP candidates. They are the reason their teams are at the top with the two best records in the NBA. During the game, they went at each other hard and led their teams the same way. It is what made this a great game for the fans. One play illustrated the importance of the game and the competitive drive in both.  Nash had the ball and heading for the paint. In his way, rose up Nowitzki. Nash knows Nowitzki is going to use his height advantage to block any shot. Nowitzki comes at Nash, Nash rises up to shoot and gives Nowitzki a forearm push back with his non-shooting arm. Dirk is knocked back and Nash gets an open close up look at the basket. The Refs are blind or they swallowed their whistles. Nash scores and they go the other way. The wily veteran gets away it and the game goes on. No friendship gets in the way of winning. No hard feeling on Dirks part either because when the Mav’s get the ball and the suns end up having to switch on defense, Nash ends up guarding Nowitzki and Dirk immediately turns, shoots and scores over the smaller Nash. The ball goes the other way.

That is how the entire game went and the atmosphere was like a playoff game. I am not sure too much can be made out of who won or lost this game. It could have gone either way numerous times but big time players made big time plays and time finally ran out on one team and they get a 2 point loss. Yes, the Mav’s had some injuries and another player had to leave the game but neither have the Mav’s filled the open spot on their 15 man roster. So, no excuses and these two teams will meet again in April.

D.Nowitzki - 30 points 16 boards
J.Terry - 27 points 5 boards
J.Howard - 19 points 9 boards
E.Dampier - 8 points 11 boards
J.Stackhouse - 33 points

FG shooting - Mav’s 45% Suns 55%
Rebounds - Mav’s 55 Suns 38
Block shots - Mav’s 3 Suns 8

UP NEXT: Friday, Celtics
========================
Rockets 109 Clippers 105

Early on it looked like it was going to be an easy night for the Rockets as they ended the 1st period with a 31 to 18 point lead. The shots were falling and the clips couldn’t catch up. Then Elton Brand exploded all over them on the way to almost single handedly carry the Clippers to victory. Yet it was the defense that stepped up at the end and caused missed shots, turnovers and rebounded. The Rockets escaped with the win but not before they lost huge leads and let the clippers come back. These lapses will make them an early round loser in the playoffs.

The Rockets were able to shoot 50% in Field Goals and hit 22 of 27 free throws. They also split the scoring duties as 5 players were in double figures.

Y.Ming - 14 points 6 boards
T.McGrady - 21 points 3 boards 9 assists
J.Howard - 13 points 2 boards
R.Alston - 20 points 5 boards 7 assists
C.Hayes - 16 points 6 boards

UP NEXT: Friday AT Raptors

Spurs 90 Bucks 101

Apparently all the Bucks winning problems were related to the old and recently fired coach because these Bucks, under new coach Larry Krystkowiak, can beat the Spurs easily. The Buck now have a 24 and 41 record.

Coach Popovich said:  “They were more aggressive; they exhibited more passion and desire for the game than we did, from bottom to top”. “It was a really poor showing on our part, and a lot of it had to do with the energy and aggressiveness Milwaukee displayed.”

Tim Duncan (13 points and 13 rebounds) missed seven of his 12 shots and also clanged five consecutive free throws in the 4th quarter. Ginobili misfired on eight of his 10 shots, Tony Parker (15 points and eight assists) went 6 for 15 before being benched for Beno Udrih midway through the fourth quarter. The rest of the recipe for losing…

Field goal shooting - Spurs 43% Bucks 53%
3 points shooting - Spurs 38% Bucks 44%
Free throws - Spurs hit 18 of 28, Bucks hit 15 of 18
Rebounds - Spurs 26 Bucks 46

UP NEXT: Saturday, Celtics

Rockets 114, Raptors 100

Toronto leads the Atlantic Division with a 36 and 30 record. They just couldn’t find a way to lead the Rockets as the Big 3 displayed their talents along with a big time contribution from the Rocket bench. Having beaten the Rockets last time, when they didn’t have Ming, the Raptors knew this game was different. Now when they doubled Ming, the guards and other outside shooters made them pay for the double coverage. With Hayes (playing 28 min.) also doing a lot of the defending, on Raptors leading scorer Bosh, Ming (playing 33 min.) was fresh enough to still be strong at the end of the game. Ming and Hays combined, at the center position, for 31 points and 20 rebounds with 4 assists.

The best news was the Rockets scoring 35 1st period points while holding the Raptors to 18 because the Raptors scored 35 in the 2nd period but the Rockets continued to score with 27 points and a comfortable lead. Rockets only turned the ball over 11 times, hit 10 3’s while shooting 14 of 19 from the free throw line. Rockets also out rebound the Raptors by a 47 to 33 margin.

Y.Ming - 23 points 12 boards
T.McGrady - 24 points 5 boards 7 assists
S.Battier - 8 points 5 boards
J.Howard - 10 points 6 boards
R.Alston - 23 points 8 boards 9 assists - fouled out
L.Head - 9 points 5 assists
C.Hayes - 8 points 8 boards

UP NEXT: Sunday AT 76’ers
==========================
Mavericks 106 Celtics 101

Maybe the game, so close to St. Paddys Day, was meant to be a victory for the guys with the shamrock on it’s uniform. Unless, a guy named Nowitzki had something to say about it. Dirk scored 19 of his 30 points in the last period to halt what looked like a continuation of the Mav’s losing streak. He went 5 for 5 from the field and hit all 9 of his shots from the line. He also contributed 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots. The Mav’s needed all of it and more to pull this game out.

Luckily, the got more from Josh Howard in the form of another 30 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots. It also helped when the Mav’s finally were able to slow the Celtic offense down and only allow 16 points in the 3rd period because the Celtics came back, scored 31 points in the 4th while the Mav’s were scoring 37.

It would have been easy to say, Greg Buckner is sidelined indefinitely with a sprained left knee and Devean George is missing the game due to a sprained right knee, but the Mav’s didn’t.  Again, it was fundamentals to win the game. Mav’s had 39 rebounds to 36 for the Celtics. Mav’s hit 30 of 32 free throws while the Celtics were 19 of 22. The Mav’s block 9 shots while the Celtics had 2.

J.Terry - 16 points 3 assists
J.Stackhouse - 11 points
D.Harris - 9 points 4 boards 3 assists

UP NEXT: Sunday AT Pistons

Spurs 85 Celtics 91

The Spurs had some bad luck against the shamrock wearing Celtics on Saint Patrick’s day. Their bad luck was named, Pierce, Jefferson and West. Another slow start doomed them to play catch up and it must have taken the life out of them as the Spurs only score 15 points in the 1st period while the Celtics were scoring 29. Just looking at the numbers, it may seem like this game was a good one and very close but the reality is, the Spurs played terrible most of the game and just aren’t playing well period. Tim Duncan is one of the best on the spurs so it is ironic that he is also part of the problem when they lose. He makes great contributions but when it is time to make those free throws with the game on the line, he just can’t do it. He was 8 of 14 from the line but the misses were huge in the 4th with the game on the line. He had 4 turnovers, again at critical times. He is the Spurs superstar so amid all his other impressive stats, these numbers won’t look that bad but the truth is, when they needed him, he didn’t deliver.

But that was true for a lot of Spurs in this and other recent games. How else do you explain shooting 1 of 17 from beyond the arc? If you want to figure it out, it is about 6%. Spurs field goal percentage when you only hit 28 of 75 shots?, 37%. Amidst other numbers, it won’t show but the Spurs aren’t playing well right now. When a team has to keep coming from behind to win, something is wrong. Right now, the Spurs are having to come from way back against teams like the Celtics, who have the 2nd worst record in the NBA.

T.Duncan - 20 points 16 boards 7 blocks
T.Parker - 30 points 4 boards 4 assists
M.Ginobili - 8 points 4 boards 6 assists
B.Bowen - 2 points
B.Barry - 3 points
F.Oberto - 6 points
M.Finley - 10 points 5 boards

Rebounds - Spurs 39 Celtics 46

UP NEXT: Wednesday, Pacers