What you missed while adopting your girlfriend as your daughter…..
Bulls 105, Knicks 102: Are there moral victories for the Knicks?
They played hard on offense, they attacked the rim, moved the ball at key points and looked pretty good against one of the best defensive teams in the league. But this is the Knicks, a good offense is balanced with poor play at the other end of the floor — the Bulls shot 53 percent for the game and got a lot of good looks.
It was a shootout, like we expected of Knicks games this season. New York put in the effort, but things like 11 turnovers in the second quarter gave Chicago a lead it never relinquished, even when the game got close. Amare Stoudemire had 34 points, his first over 30 this season. Derrick Rose had 32 points and 13 assists, putting on a real show at the Garden.
Grizzlies 96, Hawks 77: Sometimes it is the first game home from a road trip where everything catches up with a team — the Hawks went 4-1 on a road trip but looked like their legs were tired in this one. Memphis took advantage, grabbing control late in the first half and never looking back. Rudy Gay had 21 and the Grizzlies got a quality win. They should thank the schedule maker for it.
Spurs 93, Hornets 81: The Spurs are beasts at home, especially when vintage Tim Duncan shows up and scores 19 points on 8 shots. The Hornets hung tough until the fourth quarter, when the Spurs started the quarter on an 11-2 run to pull away. Tiago Splitter (16 points) and Tony Parker (18) keyed the winning rally.
Kings 95, Trail Blazers 92: LaMarcus Aldridge looked like the All-Star he should be in the first half with 19 points (he finished with 28 and 14 boards) and the Blazers were in control. Then Sacramento started doubling him and daring any other Blazer to beat them and, Portland shot 25 percent in the third quarter and 38 percent in the fourth. Meanwhile Tyreke Evans looked like his rookie self late with some punishing, physical drives to the rim.
Warriors 119, Jazz 101: Utah was without its top three rotation guards (Devin Harris, Raja Bell and Earl Watson all injured) against a guard-oriented team. Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry combined for 62 points on 74.3 percent shooting, and that’s pretty much your ballgame. Utah kept it close until the end of the third quarter, when Golden State pulled away. David Lee also had 23 in this game. Marcus Thornton had 13 second half points on his way to a team-high 20. Portland is now 3-9 on the road.
Nuggets 112, Clippers 91: On paper this should have been an interesting rematch of a Clipper win last week… except for the part where the Clippers were in Utah the night before and played this game like they were tired and at altitude. Doesn’t matter, the Nuggets will take it. Denver pulled away in the second half and never looked back. Ty Lawson had 18 for the Nuggets.