12/22/10: Boston And San Antonio Extend Win Streaks.

The Boston Celtics shot under 40% and scored just 84 points, but that was enough to get their 14th win in a row.  There’s now another double-digit win streak in the league, too.  The Spurs picked up a much prettier victory–their 10th in a row–by beating the Nuggets 109-103.  There was also a note-worthy streak snapped: the Clippers went into their game against the Rockets with three straight victories, but were unable to make it four, even though Houston tried their best to blow it.

Random Observations:

  • Highlight Recap, Blake Griffin Edition: Ridonkulous alley-oopTwo-handed hammerSecond career three-pointerRetardedly difficult shot.
  • Highlight Recap, Everyone Else Edition: Ronny Turiaf denies Jeff GreenWes Johnson swats D-WillJR Smith “whirlybird off the glass”.  Eric Bledsoe SICK pass to DeAndre Jordan for a power slamJavale McGee swats the hell out of Derrick Rose, then pulls a pretend T.OShaq catches a lob from ‘QuisMore good stuff in the top 10.
  • The Celtics shot just 38.8% from the floor and only managed to score 84 points, but when the Sixers are in town that’s a recipe for a four-point victory.  Philly didn’t fare much better offensively than they did in their 45-point loss to the Bulls on Tuesday.  Fortunately for them, Boston didn’t shoot 64.5% like Chicago did.  The Celtics eeked this one out by hitting the offensive glass.  Boston had 12 offensive boards compared to just six for Philly (in addition to a 13-10 edge in TOs), which is how they were able to put up 15 more shots than the Sixers.  Ray Allen was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points… he was the only guy to break 20.  My step brother attended this game, and if he’s reading this I’d like to appologize to him on behalf of NBA basketball.  It’s not always this ugly, I swear.
  • Gary Neal scored 22 off the bench for the second game in a row to help the Spurs get a six-point win over the Nuggets.  Denver got Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen back in the lineup, but were without Carmelo Anthony due to a death in his family.  This was Martin’s first game of the season… he started at power forward, played 17 minutes, and scored eight points on 4-5.  I didn’t see this game, but from the highlights that I saw he appeared to be moving and jumping well, as he always has.  He had one dunk where he got up really quickly in traffic to throw it down hard.  San Antonio was on fire from long range in this one… they knocked down 12 of 28 threes.  The Nuggets led by two with three minutes remaining, but the Spurs went on an 9-0 run over the next two minutes or so while Denver missed five shots in a row.  Their struggle to get buckets down the stretch should come as no surprise, that’s normally Melo’s job.
  • The Rockets had a 12-point lead over the Clippers entering the fourth quarter, but they made a game of it by turning the ball over five times in the final period.  Led by Blake Griffin and his 17th consecutive double-double (24/18), the Clipps got as close as one point with 18 seconds left.  Kevin Martin then knocked down two freethrows which brought Houston’s lead back up to three.  Blake Griffin–who had already knocked down one clutch three pointer–had a pretty good look to tie the game, but rimmed it out.  Kevin Martin and Luis Scola did most of the scoring for Houston.  They combined for 50 points, more than half of the Rockets’ total.  DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 13 boards for Los Angeles.
  • Tracy McGrady responded to boos from Craptor fans by giving them his best effort of the season: 17 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists -To Craptors, From T-Mac.  Merry Christmas!  Charlie Villanueva, another former Craptor, also had a nice game with 18 points.  Richard Hamilton, who has recently been accused quitting on his team, was demoted to the bench… and responded by scoring a season-high 35 points.  All of this individual success translated to a 115-93 Pistons victory.  The Craptors actually out-shot Detroit in this game (52% to 51%).  Their edge was small, but still, how do you out-shoot the other team and lose by 22?  The Craptors decided to go with the “cough it up 23 times” method.  Worked like a charm.
  • The Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 122-98 win over the Thunder.  New York’s schedule has been tough lately: four of the last five teams they’ve played have records better than .500.  New York’s won two of those games, and had they not dropped one to Cleveland they would’ve been 3-2 in a stretch that included games against Miami, Denver, Boston, and of course Oklahoma City.  Anyway, the Thunder shot just 39% in the game… not exactly a recipe for success against an explosive offensive team like the Knicks.  New York had six players score in double figures.  Landry Fields grabbed 10 rebounds, upping his average to 7.5 per game (the league’s best for a guard).
  • The other games: Joe Johnson scored 23 as the Hawks beat the Cavs by 14.  Carlos Boozer put 30/10 on the Wizards while leading the Bulls to a seven-point victory.  Nick Young scored 20+ for the 5th game in a row.  The Brooklyn New Yorkers were abused on the glass and lost to the Hornets by 14.  Marcus Thornton, who has officially vacated the doghouse, dropped 18 off the bench.  Kevin Love did 25/19 and Super Cool Beas went for 24/10, but the T-Wolves still lost to the Jazz 112-107.  Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, and Deron Williams all scored 23+.

Quote of the Day: Emotional quote master Doug Collins on his Sixers…

“I couldn’t be more proud of them. Last night was such an aberration. Our guys compete every night, and for them to come out and play the Celtics like they did, they showed who they are. That’s who I know they are.”

Every time Doug Collins talks to reporters his words come out like they were scripted for a Remember-The-Titans-like emo sports movie. 

Photo of the Day: The most entertaining (and probably most athletic) event involving a Major League Baseball player since Pedro Martinez shoved that old guy…

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