Having watched the first ever game between the Knicks and the [Brooklyn] Nets in its entirety, I must admit that I enjoyed the atmosphere at Barclays Center. On TV, it sounded a lot like a high-school rivalry game. Both teams were audibly cheered upon scoring and every single free-throw resulted in a mixture of booing and applause, no matter the result. While I’m sure the Nets weren’t thrilled with the number of Knicks fans in attendance… it made the game more enjoyable from the perspective of a neutral observer.
Let it be known that Reggie Evans and Jerry Stackhouse were present at the original battle of the boroughs. As Brooklyn and Manhattan fought tooth and nail down the stretch of a contest that took 53 minutes to be decided, Evans’ 14 rebounds and Stack’s 14 points were contributions that proved equally crucial to those of any headlining performer. Reggie’s most impressive stretch came during the second quarter, when he corralled six consecutive rebounds (if you credit him for the team rebound he created) that led to four second-chance points. As for Jerry, he simply knocked down a three per quarter (save for the first). He finished with a total of four — each of them from the corner — including the shot that put Brooklyn ahead for good. His 14 points are the most he’d scored in over two and a half years (Stackhouse has literally been a TV analyst since the last time he had such a game), and his 22 minutes made it his longest stint of the season.
Minus Joe Johnson and Raymond Felton, all the usual suspects showed up to ball. Carmelo Anthony, despite some of the most dogged defense you’ll ever see from Gerald Wallace, dropped a game-high 35 on 11-25 from the floor. Deron Williams continued to struggle with his jump shot (6-17), but he commandeered a winning attack to the tune of 16 points and 14 assists. Brook Lopez proved himself a reliable source of offense down the stretch, scoring 10 of his team-high 22 in overtime. Though he was unable to contain the energetic Tyson Chandler, who went off for 28 points and 10 rebounds, Lopez did make a concerted effort to hit the glass himself, leading to a season-high 11 boards that helped to neutralize Chandler’s impact. Gerald Wallace missed a few bunnies, but he threw in 16 points to go along with the aforementioned defensive effort led to Carmelo Anthony committing as many turnovers (2) as he had field goals in the fourth quarter and overtime (though I must say, both Wallace and Reggie Evans should expect to find flopping reprimands in their mailboxes).
As for Joe Johnson and Ray Felton, they combined to shoot 6-31. Felton took some horrid shots down the stretch (including a hilariously-sad, late-fourth-quarter floater that sunk approximately three feet before it reached the rim), but with Jason Kidd unavailable the Knicks had no one else to turn to at point guard. Johnson was simply non-existent, but the impact of Jerry Stackhouse helped to make up for that. The Nets’ bench really was the difference in this game — their 30 points more than doubled the 13 scored by JR Smith, Rasheed Wallace, and Steve Novak. I imagine Mike Woodson is sorely disappointed with Smith, who has been so great this season but reverted to some of his old, questionable habits as he shot 2-7 from the floor.
The 96-89 Brooklyn triumph puts both teams at 9-4. By virtue of the tie-breaker — this game — the Nets are currently the best team in New York. Isn’t this fun?! Andray Blatche certainly thinks so…
NBA titles: Wizards 1, Nets 0. Just saying.
Led by the struggling Ersan Ilyasova, the Bucks bench put together a 31-4 run to bring Milwaukee back from down 27 in Chicago to take a 93-92 W. Ilyasova, who had 19 double-doubles last season but hasn’t recorded a single one since being signed to a $40 million contract extension, did not finish with a double-double, but did get his offensive game going. Ersan posted a season-high 18 points on 8-14, including his sixth three-pointer of the season (22.2%) as well as a make on his only free throw (46.7%). He scored seven consecutive Buck points in the last five minutes and 14 of his 18 came in the final 13 minutes. He scored important baskets inside and out, all the while playing more efficiently than he has all year (prior to this game Ilyasova was yet to finish with more points than shots). Playing such an important role in an inspirational comeback victory ought to serve as a solid confidence booster for Ersan, who absolutely needed game like this to combat the frustration he’s been facing.
Against the Hornets, Caron Butler made 6 — count ‘em, SIX three-pointers… in the third quarter. He made NINE in the game, three short of the NBA record belonging to Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall. Still, the Clippers lost both the third quarter and the game to a Davis-less Hornets squad that hadn’t won in its last seven tries. Greivis Vasquez and Ryan Anderson, who combined to score 42 points, had the answer to Butler’s long-range shooting. Vasquez and Anderson nailed 10 triples of their own, and they didn’t miss five in a row when it mattered most. That’s what the Clippers did. Having fought all the way back from down double digits in the fourth, the Clipps elected to settle for five consecutive three-point attempts with over a minute left in what had become a six-point game. Had the Clippers chosen not to take any of those five threes they would’ve finished 18-32 from three (56.25%). Had Matt Barnes completely refrained from shooting they would’ve done even better (18-29, 62.06%). And they may STILL have lost. Shout-out to Blake Griffin and his career low of four points.
Something remarkable about Caron Butler’s 33-point, 9-three performance: he was basically wide open the whole f@cking time, even during the third quarter when he was hitting everything. And when I say wide open, I mean WIDE open. Like no one really even closing out on a couple of occasions.
I understand that Caron Butler isn’t exactly Ray Allen, but this dude has 5, 6, 7, 8 three-pointers… and he’s not even being forced to work to get open? That’s unacceptable, Al-Farouq Aminu.
The Charlotte Bobcats amassed 69 points in a 45-point loss to Oklahoma City, but don’t be fooled — they caught fire in garbage time. The Bobkittens made just eight shots in the first half, leaving them down by 40 (the biggest halftime deficit since 1991, fifth biggest in the shot clock era). To make matters more humiliating (if that’s even possible), they had just 24 points. In the end, not even a 45-point second half could save them from complete and utter devastation as they suffered the worst loss in franchise history (yes, worse than any of their losses from the worst season of all-time). As you might expect, the box score is worth your time. Outside of the +/- section, my favorite part is the line of Hasheem Thabeet. Look, a double-double! His first one ever, and it only took a little more than three years!
Russell Westbrook initially elected to be merciful…
…but eventually came to the conclusion that rubbing it in is much more entertaining.
The Denver Nuggets have fallen to 8-7 after a come-from-ahead loss to the Utah Jazz. With a chance to force overtime, Ty Lawson failed to locate a shot as time expired in the 103-105 defeat. It was a fitting way for this particular game to conclude as neither team played very well down the stretch. The officials made the game difficult to play and watch by calling 17 fouls in the fourth quarter. Derrick Favors’ 19 points off the bench included 3 of 4 free-throw shooting in the final minute. Kenneth Faried was equally active with 21 points and 9 boards. Jamaal Tinsley’s 15 points were his most in three calendar years.
Box Score Observations: Make the Wizards 0-12. They lost to the Spurs by 26 as Tiago Splitter (15/12/7) fell just three assists shy of a triple-double. There was another Charlie Villanueva sighting in Detroit; CV scored 10 off the bench in a 108-101 Piston victory over the Blazers. Damian Lillard shot 4-18, but he’s a rookie so it’s excusable. Kyle Singler had a 16/10 double-double. Anderson Varejao racked up another 22 rebounds, but the Cavs fell to the Grizzlies 84-78. Alonzo Gee had a thunderous putback dunk in crunch time that did not make the game highlights (sorry, I’m unable to Youtube it). Rip Hamilton dropped 30 in Chicago’s loss to Milwaukee. Carlos Boozer (19/11) put up his third double-double in as many games.
Highlight Recap: I’m way late with this post today, so here’s the top 10…
