What you missed while contemplating that Elton John is now a father…
The Bobcats winning their first game under Paul Silas is our game of the night.
Mavericks 103, Thunder 93: Dirk Nowitzki went down in the second quarter — the Mavs are saying it is not serious but he is going to have an MRI anyway — however that didn’t slow Dallas. Shawn Marion scored 20 on 10 of 15 shooting in Dirk’s spot, and Jason Terry hit some key shots late. Their zone defense gave the Thunder some fits late.
Magic 104, Nets 88: Hedo Turkoglu looked terrible in the first couple of games after the trade to bring him back to Orlando, but he now has shot better than 50 percent three straight games and had 20 in this one.
Grizzlies 96, Raptors 85: Memphis won this game at the free throw line — their 28 attempts were twice what Toronto had. They got to the line because the Griz were more aggressive getting to the rim (learn that lesson kids — good things happen when you are aggressive).
Hawks 95, Bucks 80: Another day, another Hawks win over a below .500 team. Atlanta shot 55 percent in the first quarter compared to the Bucks 37, putting Atlanta up big early and they never looked back.
Timberwolves 113, Hornets 98: Just one of those nights for the Hornets — Chris Paul and David West (45 points between them) did their thing but everyone else was ice cold. Marcus Thornton was 3-11 missing shots he can hit. Meanwhile the Wolves were hitting shots easy and hard. Wesley Johnson was 6 of 8 from three for 24 points. Just that kind of night.
Rockets 100, Wizards 93: I don’t know who won the fight these two had but Andray Blatch brought his fight to the court with 17 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks. JaVale McGee on the other hand was 1-of-5 for 2 points. The Rockets won this one with 12-2 and 8-0 runs in the fourth quarter to come from behind.
Trail Blazers 96, Jazz 91: There was a time not so long ago where the Jazz were almost unbeatable at home. Those days are long gone, apparently. The Blazers did this without Marcus Camby who rolled his ankle and left the game, but tweeted afterwards that his ankle “should be good” and he “should be back soon.”
Clippers 100, Kings 99: Up three with 5 seconds left, the Clippers substituted in Ryan Gomes for defensive purposes — and with one second left he fouls Tyreke Evans who is in the process of shooting a three. So we have Evans with three free throws to send the game to overtime. Makes the first. Makes the second. Misses the third, DeMarcus Cousins had a shot at a tip in that missed, Evans grabbed that rebound and had a little 10-footer that missed. The Kings find another heartbreaking way to lose.
Warriors 110, Sixers 95: Monta Ellis can pass, too. He had 12 dimes on top of his 22 points.