The Bucks used the hack-a-ShaqHaywood strategy down the stretch to end what was the longest streak of victories in the league. When I saw that the Mavs lost I figured DeShawn Stevenson must’ve been out with an injury, but apparently he played about 15 minutes. Re-evaluating my entire view on the league, BRB.
Random Observations:
- Highlight Recap: Brandon Jennings wrap-around pass to Andrew Bogut. Tony Allen swats a jumper. Rudy Gay swats Marcus Camby. CJ Miles hits Jeremy Evans for a dunk. Jeremy Evans drives and dunks. Josh McBob slams one down. LeBron spins around, falls away, and hits a shot from behind the backboard to beat the shotclock buzzer… no big deal. D-Wade weaves through the D and hammers it.
- Down by three with about seven minutes remaining, the Bucks decided to intentionally foul Brendan Haywood a couple times. He went to the line and bricked four in a row, kick-starting a 14-0 Bucks run. Ersan Ilyasova knocked down a corner three to give the Bucks a nine-point lead with three and a half minutes to go. The Mavs would cut it to two and even get a shot to tie the game, but Dirk Nowitzki front-rimmed a fading jumper in the lane and the Bucks took the game 103-99. Andrew Bogut had 21/14, and Brandon Jennings was the leading scorer for Milwaukee with 23. Dirk Nowitzki had 30/7 for Dallas.
- The Jazz got physical with the Warriors and scored 50 points in the paint on their way to a 13-point victory. The game got pretty chippy, particularly in the fourth quarter. Monta Ellis appeared to be upset by the fact that he was yet to attempt a freethrow, and when he was fouled hard by Deron Williams, the two exhanged some words. Monta was clearly flustered and clanked both FTs, but it never escalated into anything more than trash talk. Deron Williams dropped 30/10, but Utah’s bench may have been equally as important. CJ Miles came in and contributed 20 points and rookie Jeremy Evans had nine in nine minutes… I believe all four of his buckets were dunks. Utah’s bench accounted for 36 points total. Golden State shot just 39.5% from the floor and failed to score 100 for the third game in a row.
- My “Looked Good On Paper Crew” nickname for Wade/Bosh/Bron’s gotta go now, because they’re looking damn good on the court at this point. Last night they beat up on the Hornets 96-84 for their 9th consecutive victory. The crew formerly known as L.G.O.P. scored 75 of the Heat’s 96 points. The game was actually close until the Heat went on an 18-2 run in the third that turned it into a blowout. After starting the season 8-0, the Hornets have dropped five of their last six and fallen to 14-10.
- The other games: Derrick Rose turned and ankle and hit the deck head first late in last night’s game against the Pacers, but he returned to the game on both occasions and led the Bulls to a 19-point victory. Rose had 17 points and 12 assists on the night. His new friend Carlos Boozer went for 22/18. Z-Bo put 25/20 on one of his former teams (Blazers) as Memphis beat Portland by 13. OJ Mayo had 14 points off the bench… that’s a great game for him these days.
Quote of the Day: Tony Allen on winning basketball games…
“It ain’t Chinese algebra.”
That’s good, Tony. If it was Chinese algebra I have a funny feeling your career would be in another field.
Photo of the Day: I wish this one was better quality, but I’m going to use it anyway…
I love how the background is a blur. It depicts Monta’s amazing speed.
“Josh McBob slams one down” haha nice one