When Josh Smith is in the right frame of mind, meaning attack the basket and not settling for perimeter shots, the Atlanta Hawks are a difficult team to beat. In fact, when Smith scores at least 20 points, the team is undefeated. They improved to 11-0 in such situations as Smith scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder — the team with the NBA’s best record coming into the game — 97-90 Saturday night. It was an
The Rockets have struggled offensively out of the gates after the All-Star break. Facing the Nuggets at home may just be the cure they needed, because Denver is the worst defensive road team in the league. The Houston Rockets (21-15) look to regain their offensive form against the Denver Nuggets (19-17) as both teams fight for playoff positioning in the Western Conference in Friday’s game of the night. The odds favor Houston (the line is 3.5) as they sit 15-4 at home this
The only place Kevin Durant had never won in his career was the Amway Center. He can finally cross that off on his to-do list. The Thunder put an end to the long road drought — they hadn’t won in Orlando in eight years — by staging a big comeback behind Durant to win 105-102 and pushed their winning streak to seven games. Russell Westbrook went off for 29 points and 10 assists, only his second double-digit assist effort this season. Dwight Howard took
Kevin Durant has won in every building in the NBA in his career except one: the Amway Center. Durant and the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (28-7) put their six-game winning streak on the line as they visit Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic (23-13) in Thursday’s best game, airing on TNT. The Thunder last won in Orlando in March 2004, when they were still wearing the Seattle Supersonics uniforms and Durant was 16 years old. Although you’d never guess after watching him put
Two juggernauts will collide in Wednesday night’s best NBA game when Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls (28-8) visit Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs (24-10). They are currently ranked third and fourth, respectively, in Heisler’s Power Rankings. Finally ending their annual rodeo road trip with an 8-1 record, The Spurs start a seven-game homestand over the next two weeks. They hope to continue a dominant stretch as they have won 12 of their past 13 games. The Bulls have won
It’s amazing how much of a difference one season can make. At this time last year, the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves were the laughingstocks of the Western Conference. Now, the Clippers are contenders and the Timberwolves are fighting for a playoff berth. Coming off their All-Star appearances, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin – the two best power forwards in the game – go head to head for the second time this season as the Timberwolves (17-17) visits the Clippers
The story of Jeremy Lin has been that of a fairy tale, an unscripted movie, since he took over the reins of the Knicks some three weeks ago. Capturing the hearts of basketball fans around the globe, he answered all questions and exceeded all expectations one big game after another, be it Kobe Bryant or the NBA champs. On Thursday, Lin faced LeBron James and the suffocating defense of the Miami Heat. The best team in the league came prepared to
Two weeks ago, Linsanity all began when Mike D’Antoni pointed down to the end of the bench, told Jeremy Lin to take his warmups off and go give it a shot against an unsuspecting Deron Williams. A comeback victory ensued, Lin was named the Knicks’ starter for the next game, and we really don’t need to rehash all the details of the phenomenon that captured the attention of every NBA fan from President Barack Obama on down. An All-Star, and a player