What you missed while watching Airplane one more time in honor of Leslie Nielsen (RIP):
Pacers 95, Lakers 92: Indiana plays very good defense — and if you can do that to the Lakers you can thrown them off their game. Often, the result of that is Kobe Bryant tries to take over, and Sunday night Kobe took 33 shots, every other Laker starter combined took 37. When the ratio is something like that, the Lakers are usually in trouble. That and the Lakers’ 38.6 percent shooting. Kobe had a good third quarter, the Lakers played pretty good defense down the stretch, but the Pacers out played them and earned this one.
Knicks 125, Pistons 116 (2OT): There was a time in the second quarter of this game when Tracy McGrady reminded you of his old self. They guy who just found a way to make shots. It was a nice, brief trip back to a time that will not be again (not consistently). But credit the Knicks for grinding out the win —with four guys playing 50 plus minutes.
Atlanta 96, Raptors, 78: Against the soft defense of the Raptors the Hawks offense looked really pretty, with the kind of movement you’d hope to see from them. There was real balance in the attack. But the Hawks defense is what won this one,
Spurs 109, Hornets 95: Versatility of rosters matters in the NBA. The Hornets dominated the first half of this game and were up 17 at the break when the Spurs went small in the second half — Richard Jefferson at the four, Tim Duncan at center. The Hornets could not adjust. The Hornets offense could not adapt to exploit the smaller lineup, in fact it was the opposite. They struggled on offense, and the Spurs got into that faster pace they like this year, and the result was a comfortable win.
Jazz 109, Clippers 97: The Jazz shot 58.6 percent in this one, they really controlled the flow of play and the Clippers hung around for a half in large part because of their offensive rebounding. But there is a gap between these two teams.
Nets 98, Trailblazers 96: The Trail Blazers had one of those “team only” talks after the game. Their issues may be deeper than just what words can fix.
The Nets hung around in this one because the Blazers lack depth in the front court right now — when Marcus Camby sat Brook Lopez started to do what he wanted. Kris Humphries did what he could to impress girlfriend Kim Kardashian courtside. That kept it close. At the end, Devin Harris was taking over.
Rockets 99, Thunder 98: Kevin Durant has now missed two game winning shots in a row. That’s not to say Durant has problems under pressure — he doesn’t — it’s a reminder that this is why you don’t want to be in close games. Why the best teams have more blowout wins. Close games mean too much luck is needed to win.
Also, the Rockets grabbed the offensive rebound on 39 percent of their missed shots in this one.
Nuggets 138, Suns 133: Denver missed Chauncey Billups — he has had 25 points and eight rebounds. He hit key free throws down the stretch. The free throws mattered as Denver got 28 more trips to the line, 20 more points there. That decided the game.
