LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews scored 28 a piece as the Blazers picked up a 13-point victory over the Clippers. The Clipps, who came in hot with wins in 11 of their last 15, disappointed in this one. Portland is one of the teams they have to pass if they want that 8th playoff spot, so this is almost like two losses for LA. Two of their next three are against Golden State and Houston, two other teams they need to leapfrog, so they better step it up.
Random Observations:
- Highlight Recap: I’ve been waiting like 30 minutes for someone to upload the top five to youtube so I can hit submit on this post. I’m tired of waiting, and I want to post this now… so… there were only three games, just watch all the highlights: CHI/DAL, CHA/PHI, POR/LAC.
- As the headline states, LaMarcus Aldridge dropped 28 and led his Blazers to a 103-98 win over the suddenly formidable Clippers. Forget the 28 points, though… LMA played some of the best defense I’ve seen on Blake Griffin all season long. The Lakers gave Griff some problems a few days back, but he got buckets when his team needed them, whereas in this one he never got his offense going at all, unless it happened after I passed out with like eight minutes left. Based on the final score and his 6-17 shooting I’d say nothing changed. I saw Aldridge strip him a few times and give him trouble with his finishes around the basket, which was impressive. The guy still did 20/18, but he’s just that good… he can do 20/18 and not have a great game. I guess that sums up the marquee matchup, now for the game. This one went down in pretty basic fashion: The Blazers took the lead during a 32-point second quarter and cruised the rest of the way. It’s awfully hard to lose when you shoot 56.4 percent and only turn the ball over seven times. The Clipps shot 11 percent worse and doubled that TO total. Eric Gordon knocked down a career-high seven triples on his way to 35 points. So much for a sore finger. Wes Matthews dropped his 28 on 10-18, and Rudy Fernandez pitched in with 17 off the bench.
- Derrick Rose continues to build one helluva case for that MVP trophy. What? But he needed 28 shots to get 26 points… how’s that an MVP-calibre game? Well let me explain. First of all, the final score was 82-77. Both teams shot in the mid-30s. After Rose, Chicago’s next highest scorer was Kurt Thomas with nine points. With his team in a 14-point hole entering the fourth quarter, Derrick had no choice but to force the issue. He scored 10 of the Bulls’ 26 in the final period, including the jumper that put them up three with under a minute to go. Dallas never scored again. So yeah, he took 28 shots to get 26 points, but his agressiveness is the reason his squad came back to win the game. Luol Deng wasn’t about to get it done, he went 3-13. Carlos Boozer still isn’t playing, so Rose doesn’t have much help. What’s he supposed to do, feed Taj Gibson and Keith Bogans when he’s not hitting? Nah, he stayed agressive through his struggles and dragged his team to a victory. That’s what confident stars do. One other note on this game: I didn’t think Dirk looked right. He appeared to be a bit hobbled at times. He never moves too quickly, but tonight he seemed especially slow to me. I’m thinking that knee isn’t 100 percent. He struggled with his shot again, going just 6-16 from the field.
- DJ Augustin knocked down four of four clutch freethrows in the final 11 seconds to help the Bobcats fend off the Sixers 100-97. The four freebies were icing on the cake for Augustin, who dropped a career-high 31 points to go along with eight assists. Nazr Mohammed came through with some much needed bench production. He was the next highest scorer for the ‘Cats with 15 on 7-12. Most everyone else was laying bricks. Thad Young led the Sixers with 21 in just 29 minutes off the bench.
- Injury note: Tyrus Thomas is out up to two months with a torn meniscus. Freaking knee injuries, who doesn’t have one these days? Ty was on my fantasy squad, too. I swear I end up with the guy every year and it never ends up working out.
Quote of the Day: Derrick Rose sums up the Mavs/Bulls game in one sentence…
“Everything that went on in that game was kind of terrible.”
Photo of the Day: Gerald Wallace prepares to send Iggy’s layup into next week…
