Call it motivational, maybe even inspirational. On a severely sprained ankle, Kobe Bryant actually started and played 12 minutes, though he was scoreless and spent the rest of the game as a self-appointed assistant coach. Dwight Howard (20 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 4 BLK) was a force, Steve Nash (15 PTS, 9 AST, 4 REB) played well and Metta World Peace (19 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL) raised his game, but it was the Lakers’ bench that made the difference. Steve Blake (18 PTS, 7 AST, 6 REB, 4 STL) made five 3-pointers and Antawn Jamison (17 PTS, 7 REB) hit four triples. Indiana shot just 37% and clearly, their perimeter defense wasn’t great. Roy Hibbert (7 PTS, 10 REB) was no match for Howard and David West (8 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST) was fairly quiet, so a 27-point night from George Hill went to waste. Paul George (20 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL) helped in the counting stats but missed 14 of 20 shots.
Congratulations to “grease7” who won the $100 first prize in last night’s Sheridan Hoops Freeroll at DraftStreet An all-time record 1,260 teams took part. Details on Page 4.
Other Friday Results
MIA @ MIL: 21 down, who knows how many to go? The Heat escaped a scare when Dwyane Wade took a blow to the head, but he passed concussion tests and returned to finish with 20 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. LeBron James had a fairly typical line for him, brilliant for anyone else — 28 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST — and Chris Bosh (23 PTS, 7 REB, 2 BLK) hit two 3-pointers. Ersan Ilyasova (26 PTS, 17 REB) was great for Milwaukee, but Monta Ellis (7 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB) couldn’t solve Miami’s defense and it was a frustrating night for Larry Sanders (6 PTS, 10 REB) who got ejected for arguing a foul call.
CHA @ TOR: Showing no hint of a sore back, Rudy Gay (28 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST) hit 11 of 16 shots to lead an easy victory. Amir Johnson (12 PTS, 21 REB, 2 STL, 3 BLK) was terrific and with Kyle Lowry (7 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL) in foul trouble, Sebastian Telfair (11 PTS, 5 AST) got to play 21 minutes. Gerald Henderson (22 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 3 STL) and Kemba Walker (20 PTS, 4 AST, 4 REB, 3 STL) are solid fantasy players, but Ben Gordon (10 PTS) was off-target, missing 12 of his 16 shots.
NOH @ WAS: In perhaps his best game of the season, John Wall (29 PTS, 9 AST, 4 REB, 2 STL) was 12-for-15 with three triples and seems very comfortable setting a breakneck pace. Martell Webster (18 PTS, 4 REB) added four 3-pointers and Trevor Booker grabbed 13 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. Greivis Vasquez (18 PTS, 9 AST, 8 REB) played well for the visitors and Eric Gordon had 20 points, but Anthony Davis (16 PTS, 7 REB) was in foul trouble all evening and played just 16 minutes.