There was another 9 games today, let’s check out all the action:
Orlando 91, New Jersey 90: The Magic should really be winning games by a lot more than this, even if it was on the road. It’s New Jersey; they only won 12 games last year. Even though I like their new guys, they’re still no that much better than they were. Devin Harris led the almost-upset with 26/6/8, while Brook Lopez added 23. Dwight had a double-double, 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Utah 96, Charlotte 95: Utah come from behind to win a game for the fifth time in a row, this time overcoming a 16-point deficit to defeat the Bobcats, and this is just getting ridiculous. Very even game, with both teams shooting 35-79 from the floor (Utah had the edge in free throws, 22-17). The Jazz had 5 guys score in double-figures and recorded 22 assists on their 35 field goals. Nazr Mohammed had a huge game with 22 points and 20 rebounds.
Toronto 100, Miami 109: Yeah. The Heat should have won this game. Then again, the Magic should have defeated the Raptors too, but that’s why they throw the ball up, I guess. Wade led with 31, on 11-16 from the floor and 9-14 from the line (while only attempting 1 three, which he missed). LeBron had 23 points and 11 assists, but shot just 8-21 from the floor. For the Raps, Bargs had 22, but he needed 23 shots, while DeMar DeRozan had a much more efficient 21, on 7-12 from the field and 7-11 at the line. Also, Julian Wright got 20 minutes off the bench and managed to chuck 10 shots to end up with 4 points, which isn’t that great.
Indiana 99, Cleveland 85: Danny Granger had 34 on 13-21, 5-8 and 3-3, and that’s about the only interesting thing that happened.
Washington 96, Chicago 103: Wizards fans, do you want the bad news or the bad news? The bad news is that your team dropped this one to fall to 2-6 on the season. The bad news is that John Wall left the game after spraining his left foot. Chicago was really solid, three guys scoring 20 points and earning 34 trips to the line, compared to just 8 attempts for Washington. One plus for the Wiz was Gilbert dropping 30 points, hitting 7-10 threes and shooting 11-22, 7-10 and 1-2, to go with 6 boards and 4 assists.
Portland 87, New Orleans 107: The Hornets remain undefeated, putting the beatdown on the Blazers to improve to 8-0 for the season. 7 guys in double-figures for New Orleans, with CP’s 13 assists probably having a lot to do with that. Brandon Roy struggled, 1-7 for 2 points, and had to leave halfway through the third with what appeared to be a sore knee; the Blazers just can’t catch a break regarding injuries (no pun intended).
Boston 116, Memphis 110 OT: Rajon Rondo had 17 assists in this game, and he’s averaging 15.1 assists per game on the season. The Cs just keep doing their thing, Pierce had 28 and KG added 18/9 as the veteran squad pulled out the win. Rudy Gay led Memphis with 22, while Randolph added 21/11. Also, what’s up with O.J. Mayo this season?
Philadelphia 93, San Antonio 116: With the 23 point victory, the Spurs improve their record to 7-1, but will anyone notice?
Golden State 72, Milwaukee 79: The Warriors and Bucks combined to shoot just 34% in the game, so there were a fair few rebounds available. And seeing as how the Dubs are a terrible rebounding team (David Lee sat this one out), the Milwaukee guys grabbed a heap of boards. Bogut had 17, Mbah a Moute had 12, Jennings had 11 and Gooden had 10 as the Bucks out-rebounded the Warriors 58-42. With the victory, the Bucks improve to 5-5, winning 4 of their past 5 games.
Thanks for reading.
Daniel Cooper's NBA thoughts 