NYK @ PHI: The unbeaten Knicks are apparently that much better than the 76ers, who they trounced for the second straight day. Carmelo Anthony (21 PTS, 7 REB) got a lot more help from Raymond Felton (16 PTS, 8 AST) and Ronnie Brewer (13 PTS, 10 REB) in the rematch. J.R. Smith (17 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK) has been superb off the bench. Ageless Rasheed Wallace looked pretty good in 13:33, with 10 points including two 3-pointers and a pair of blocks.
Trying to match up with Tyson Chandler (14 PTS, 6 REB) the Sixers started Kwame Brown at C and brought Lavoy Allen off the bench; neither was a factor. With Jason Richardson (ankle) unable to go, Dorell Wright (14 PTS, 9 REB) got the start. Nick Young, who shoots from everywhere, was 4-for-15 and the team shot 33.7% as a whole. They need Andrew Bynum (knee) healthy to have any chance against the other East contenders.
Other November 5 Games
MIN @ BRK: I was watching and can’t tell you exactly what happened, or how. Minnesota had lost by 19 the night before in Canada, so if anyone was going to collapse in the fourth quarter, it should have been them. The Nets so completely dominated the first half, they may have become complacent or overconfident. Whatever the reason, they were outhustled and outrebounded in the second half and blew a 22-point lead to lose by 11.
Kris Humphries was quiet again, and is killing his fantasy owners. Gerald Wallace (ankle) didn’t play; his replacement Keith Bogans (9 points in 14:34) and backup MarShon Brooks (11 PTS in 24:54) are no comparison to Crash defensively. Brook Lopez couldn’t handle an inspired Nikola Pekovic down the stretch. The T-Wolves got another great game from Andrei Kirilenko — 16 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST, 4 BLK — and his countryman Alexey Shved scored all 10 of his points in the fourth. Chase Budinger (16) was a spark off the bench; Brandon Roy, while better (6 PTS, 7 AST) than the previous night, looks like a shadow of his former self.
CLE @ LAC: For the third time in four games, Anderson Varejao (15 PTS, 15 REB, 3 STL, 1 BLK) was outstanding, but it was the Cleveland backcourt that was most responsible for this upset. Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 10 assists, while rookie Dion Waiters torched the Clippers with 28, including 7 of 11 from downtown. Rookie big man Tyler Zeller (15 PTS, 7 REB) looked good in 24 bench minutes and even the slumping C.J. Miles knocked down a few shots.
Blake Griffin, playing with a tender elbow, led his team with 20 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST and 3 BLK, while Chris Paul (17 PTS, 9 AST) was good, not great. Jamal Crawford stayed hot with four more 3-pointers, though he made four of the Clips’ 25 costly turnovers. DeAndre Jordan blocked five shots, grabbed six boards and scored 10 points, so we can’t pin the loss on him.