For once, Miami didn’t give their opponents a big head start, and their 25th consecutive win was never in doubt. LeBron James (29 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST, 2 STL) made 12 of 15 shots, Dwyane Wade (19 PTS, 4 AST, 3 REB, 3 STL) helped out and the second unit outscored Detroit’s bench 35-13. Greg Monroe (23 PTS, 15 REB, 6 AST) was by far the best Piston; Kyle Singler (18 PTS, 8 REB) played well and Jose Calderon (18 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB, 2 STL) hit three triples, but committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers.
Kudos to “ElGuapo,” who ran away with the $100 first prize in last night’s Freeroll. I came 92nd out of 813 entries, a smaller-than-usual turnout due to the NCAA tournament distracting so many hoops fans. More details and my Saturday DraftStreet picks on Page 4.
Other Friday Results
NYK @ TOR: There didn’t appear to be much wrong with Carmelo Anthony — 37 PTS, 6 REB, 2 BLK in 43 minutes — but his anticipated battle with Rudy Gay never happened. Gay (4 PTS, 3 REB) left early with a recurrence of his sore back and will not appear in tonight’s rematch. Alan Anderson had the game of his life (35 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST) hitting six 3-pointers in his 36 minutes as the Raptors still made a game of it. I guessed completely wrong about rookie Jonas Valanciunas (10 PTS, 7 REB) dominating the older, smaller Kenyon Martin. K-Mart (19 PTS, 11 REB, 2 STL) swatted the youngster’s first shot and outworked him all night.
OKC @ ORL: It wasn’t the slaughter I expected, but the Thunder rolled to a confident win. Kevin Durant (25 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL, 2 BLK) and Russell Westbrook (19 PTS, 9 AST, 6 REB, 2 STL, 2 BLK) made sure of that. The Magic lost Arron Afflalo (6 PTS in 13 minutes) to a calf injury, so Beno Udrih (13 PTS, 5 AST, 3 REB, 2 STL) played 36 minutes and could be a good short-term add. Rookie Maurice Harkless (25 PTS, 9 REB, 4 STL, 4 BLK) continues to impress and Tobias Harris double-doubled (10 PTS, 15 REB) despite a miserable 3-17 shooting night that had something to do with Serge Ibaka (14 PTS, 13 REB, 5 BLK) playing strong defense.
MIL @ IND: Making the most of his third straight start, Tyler Hansbrough (22 PTS, 12 REB) led the Pacers to a laughably easy victory. Paul George (20 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST) was sharp and garbage time came very early, affecting everyone’s stats as third-stringers finished up. Monta Ellis (22 PTS, 6 AST, 3 REB) didn’t appear to be bothered as much by his sore wrist but Brandon Jennings (4 PTS, 3 AST, 2 REB) was horrible, missing 14 of 15 shots. J.J. Redick (2 PTS on 1-for-11 shooting) wasn’t much better and the Bucks, who finished the night at 30.7% from the floor, were completely destroyed in the third quarter.