Neither the Heat nor the Lakers have been overly impressive against top teams this season, but one of them had to win last night. The Lakers did an excellent job of making me look intelligent in their 88-94 loss. As I predicted yesterday afternoon, Kobe Bryant did not have an efficient night. He took 21 shots and made just 8. Ron Artest certainly wasn’t torched by LeBron James, but he did try to force some offense as he attempted 11 shots. Derek Fisher wasn’t tooled on by Chalmers or Bibby, but the two of them did knock down five of eight triples. When Derek left them, they connected… and Fisher didn’t make up for it on the other end with his six points on two of five. So, major media outlets, contact me at admin@nba247365.com…
Random Observations:
- Highlight Recap:
- Chris Bosh complained about his lack of touches in the post after Miami’s fifth consecutive loss. Well he got his touches last night, and he used them to lead his team to a much-needed six-point win. Bosh scored 24 points on 10-17 shooting in his most productive offensive showing in nine games. He out-played Pau Gasol, who needed 16 shots to reach 20 points, and led the Heat on the glass with nine boards. Do I think Miami’s problems are solved? Just get the ball to Chris Bosh and everything will work itself out? Hell no! But the man did put his money where his mouth is, and he deserves credit for stepping up. Dwyane Wade couldn’t find his shot early, but he closed out the game well with eight points on 4-5. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, came out of the gate hot but cooled off as the night went on. He finished up the game with two misses and a turnover (which should’ve been called a foul, but wasn’t). I didn’t really feel like either team played up to their potential in this game. Andrew Bynum had a slow fist half, although he did pick it up and finish with 13/12. Most of the Lakers not named Kobe Bryant had quiet nights, and Kobe had an average game at best. I didn’t like Miami’s shot selection at times. I felt that both Dwyane and LeBron took a few too many jumpers, and I thought they each missed some shots that they normally make. That being said, this was a huge win for the Heat. They needed a boost in confidence desperately, and putting an end to an end to LA’s eight-game win streak will provide that.
- Riding a wave of three consecutive wins, the Knicks took their show on the road and got trounced in Dallas (109-127). New York played lazy defense from the start, gave up 41 points in the second quarter, and trailed by 26 in the third. They made a bit of a run and cut that 26-point edge in half, but they were never able to whittle it down to single digits. Shawn Marion got a start at small forward and put in good work with 22 points and eight boards. Dirk Nowitzki was the team’s leading scorer with 23, and Jason Terry contributed 21 off the bench. Amare Stoudemire led the Knicks with 36, but he picked up his 16th techinical of the season in the process. Unless the T is quickly rescinded by the league office he will have to sit out their next game. Anyway, Dallas set season highs for points in a quarter (41), half (72), and game (127) in this one. Mike D’Antoni blamed the defensive dud on fatigue: “It’s one of those things, and we were just tired at the start.”
- The Nuggets stretched a six point lead to ten with a pair of steals in the final 10 seconds of the first half and never looked back as they beat the Suns 116-97. Never again would the Suns get it down to single digits, and the Nuggets would lead by as many as 24. Nene led Denver with 22 on 9-12, Ty Lawsome scored 20 points while distributing 11 assists, and the bench totalled 45. Denver out-scored Phoenix 66-42 in the paint, 33-10 on the break, and 32-23 off of turnovers. This was George Karl’s first win in Phoenix since 1997 when he coached Seattle.
Quote of the Day: Phil Jackson on Miami’s style of play…
“I’m not a fan of the Xbox games or whatever those games are when you play 1-on-1.”
Well…………. it’s beaten you twice this year. Just sayin’.
Photo of the Day:
