Wild Buck: Before the start of the second half, the Milwaukee Bucks were down by 10 points and had only 44 in the first. But that all changed when Monta Ellis, the human fire cracker, blew up for 25 of his 39 points (13 of 22) in the 45 point Milwaukee fourth quarter that pushed the Orlando Magic out of winning distance.
Here is the damaged caused by the man that has it all:
Ellis wasn’t alone in the scoring department, his front court partner, Brandon Jennings went for 15 points and 14 assists. Their resident Turkish man, Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points and 11 boards. The Magic on the other hand, got quite of a contribution from their rookie, Moe Harkless. He had a career high 23 points (9 of 17) and 9 rebounds.
Here’s is the video evidence:
The Pack: In the return of Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko, the Minnesota Wolves, with their most able-bodied squad of the past 2 weeks took on New Orleans Hornets at the Target Center. Derrick Williams erupted for a career high 28 points (9 of 16) and 7 rebounds. Down 4 with less than 50 seconds to play, the Wolves would do the impossible and go on a 6-0 run to end the game. The Hornets had a shot to win the game in the final seconds, but Eric Gordon’s attempt would get denied by Andrei Kirilenko. *Sad Trombone*
Flame Trails: In the place where the winning streak that is tied for the second longest in NBA history all started, the Miami Heat would improve to 22 straight with the victory over the Toronto Raptors. Despite getting out-rebounded 51 to 26, the Heat would go 58 percent from the field, hitting everything in sight, so rebounding opportunities would be quite limited. Dwayne Wade notched his career 4000th assist with his 24 points (10 of 15) and 9 assists performance. His better half, LeBron James had 22 points (6 of 12), 12 boards and 8 assists. The Raptors played the defending champs pretty well all through out 3 quarters and headed to fourth down only three, with the score at 76 to 73. But the Raptors are the Raptors and the Heat are still the Heat, so naturally, Miami would outscore them 32 to 18 in the fourth as they go on the road in pursuit for 23rd in Boston. Rudy Gay led all Raptors with 27 points on 11 of 20 shooting and 8 rebounds.
Shooter’s Stroke: The Golden State Warriors secured the 6th spot in the West in this win against the Houston Rockets. Both teams struggled early with putting the orange ball into the hoop, but it was Houston that had it worst, shooting a season low 20 percent in the first half. The Warriors, of course used it to their advantage to build a lead that their opponents would eventually fail to comeback from. James Harden and Jeremy Lin had 21 points each in the losing effort. While Golden State’s Stephen Curry go off for 29 points (12 of 22) and 11 assists. Klay Thompson chipped in for 26 on 10 of 18.
Storm The Town: Russell Westbrook set Dallas on fire last night, as the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard lit up the Mavericks on 13 of 23 shooting for 35 points, 6 rebounds and 6 dimes. Kevin Durant wasn’t too bad himself exploding for 19 of his total 31 points (10 of 19) in the fourth quarter in the win. However, it was neither of the superstars that would put the game away for the Thunder. That job belonged to Thabo Sefolosha, who hits the dagger from thirteen feet out to the Mavs out of their misery. Dirk Nowitzski had 23 points (8 of 10) and 7 rebounds.
A Few Notes: Still without Tyson Chandler (stiff neck) and Carmelo Anthony (knee), the New York Knicks drops fourth straight in their West Coast road trip, losing each game by an average of 20 points, including this loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon. The Knicks shot 36 percent from the field, could not buy a bucket, while the Clippers went 45 percent all around, led by Chris Paul’s 20 points (6 of 12), 4 rebounds and 8 dimes.
In their second game without Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers goes on to defeat the Sacramento Kings on 43 points from the bench, which is comprised of only two players. Antawn Jamison went off for a game-high 27 points on 8 of 14 shooting (5 of 8 from three), and 9 boards. Steve Blake added another 16 points (6 of 11), 5 rebounds and 8 assists. On top of this silliness, Metta World Peace led all Lakers starts with 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting. In this new bizarro world that we live in, Isiah Thomas got 26 points on 20 shots and 6 assists for the Kings.
Fantasy Shoutout: To the Atlanta Hawks duo of Al Horford and Josh Smith. Horford had 22 points (11 of 21), 11 rebounds and 4 steals. While his back court mate, Smith went for 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting, 7 boards and 5 assists in the win over the Brooklyn Nets. Jeff Teague, who returned for the first time since his injury, came off the bench for a career high 15 assists and added another 11 to the Hawks’ final score.
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