What you missed while checking out the Cheezsculpture at South By Southwest…
The Heat returning the beat down favor to the Spurs was our game of the night.
Nets 88, Celtics 79: When the winning team shoots 39.7 percent, you got yourself one ugly game. The first half the Nets shot 32 percent, the Celtics had an offensive efficiency of 88.4 (points per 100 possessions) and it was just not good. But the Nets shot 57 percent in the third quarter, opened a lead and were able to hold on. Brook Lopez had 20, Kris Humphries had 16 points, 15 boards as the Nets were the dominant team inside.
Boston tends to look old on the second night of back-to-backs (and they are in a tough little stretch). Rajon Rondo struggled and when Doc Rivers was asked why he said “because he’s human.” So that rules out my assist-generating robot theory.
Thunder, 116 Wizards 89: Kendrick Perkins made his debut with the Thunder and their defense looked great, holding the Wizards to 39.4 percent shooting (0-9 from three) and 89 points in a fast paced game. If it wasn’t the Wizards, maybe Thunder fans could get excited about that. They shouldn’t about this, wait until they prove it against better teams. Kevin Durant had 32 points on 16 shots.
Nuggets 114, Hornets 103: When Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton were on the court together for the first three quarters, Denver was +21 (they were -4 in the garbage time late). That combo won the game as the Hornets could not stop them. Chris Paul was the best point guard in this game (27 points) but the Nuggets backcourt dominated this one.
Grizzlies 105, Clippers 89: Zach Randolph dominated his old team, and he dominated Blake Griffin, dropping in 30 while helping hold Griffin to 4-of-10 shooting. This one was over early.
Jazz 112, Sixers 107 (OT): Utah was up 8 with three minutes to go, then Andre Iguodala put up a fast 7 points and (with a Lou Williams jumper thrown in) the Sixers had a lead. It was nip and tuck the rest of the way, then the score tied Iggy missed a contested elbow jumper to win it at the buzzer and the game went to overtime. There Andrei Kirilenko took over with seven points and some quality defense in the paint in the extra time.
Rockets 95, Suns 93: No Steve Nash or Canning Frye, so credit the Suns for really fighting to make it close at the end. The Rockets had controlled this thing from the start and it was Josh Childress and Vince Carter who made the Suns push to make it close. Aaron Brooks clearly wanted to rub it in the face of his old team, but he struggled and finished shooting 1-of-9 and chipped in as many turnovers as assists).
Lakers 97, Magic 84: Andrew Bynum’s defense and rebounding were the key here — the Lakers didn’t shoot that well (43.8 percent overall) but they got the offensive rebound on 30 percent of their misses and Bynum had 9 offensive boards. Bynum also altered and changed a lot of shots in the paint and finished with 18 boards. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 boards, so it’s not like Bynum shut him down, but Howard had 9 turnovers on the season as he struggled to recognize where the double was coming from. The Magic turned the ball over on 21.2 percent of their possessions. Basically the Lakers cruised and looked like contenders.
Kings 129, Warriors 119: Lightening fast pace in this one — 105 possessions — and very little transition defense being played. That worked for Marcus Thornton, who dropped 42. The Kings took control with a 19-0 run in the first quarter and never really looked back, leading big the rest of the way. Second chance points also big for the Kings.