Tonight’s TNT doubleaheader includes the league’s two best teams and a strong contingent of All-Star Weekend participants. In the first game (7 p.m. ET), the Miami Heat (26-7, .788) hosts the New York Knicks (17-17, .500), while the Los Angeles Lakers (20-13, .606) travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder (26-7, .788). Miami and Oklahoma City are tied for the league’s top record. This marks the second of three meetings between New York and Miami. Despite hitting a season high
Tonight’s best game: New York at Miami
Twitter and Facebook will be set ablaze Thursday night when Linsanity and the New York Knicks take their talents to South Beach, ending the first half of the NBA season with a nuclear-sized bang against the Miami Heat. “I’m not looking forward to the game like I woke up on Sunday and said I can’t wait for Thursday,” Heat star Dwyane Wade said. “It’s going to be great intensity, but it’s not the Finals or anything.” Maybe it is. Aftermarket courtside seats
Video: All-Star Weekend preview, but first Lin vs. Heat
// Before All-Star weekend arrives, there is one last test game for a couple of teams. It comes Thursday night when the Knicks visit the Heat in Miami, and it is a test in many ways. For New York, now with a full complement of healthy players and a level of depth that exceeds what they’ve had over the first half of the season, it is a chance to measure themselves against a Heat team that has been steamrolling through the
Stern says 2-3 candidates to buy Hornets soon
NBA commissioner David Stern said the field of potential buyers of the league-owned New Orleans Hornets as been whitted down to 2 or 3, and a sale could be imminent. “I’m optimistic and hopeful that we will complete the sale by the end of the month,” stern told USA Today in an intewview at NBA headquarters in Manhattan. “We’re talking with multiple perspective buyers, but we’re anticipating the ability to close by the end of the month,” Stern said. “We’ve had offers
The Bernucca List – Edition 13
Last week’s edition of The Bernucca List produced a handful of wrong guesses until reader Dashiell broke through with the right answer – former scoring champions who played for the Celtics. Get this: Throughout their illustrious history, the Celtics have never had a scoring champion. Unlucky edition 13 is below. The idea is to correctly identify the list with the proper parameters. First correct answer gets a mention in next week’s list. You can answer via the comments or Tweet me. The Bernucca
Heisler: Now for Dwight’s All-Star Gala/Swan Song?
All-Star Weekend in the Land of 1,000 Theme Parks, or be careful what you wish for, is upon us. As David Stern noted recently, the All-Star Game will withstand anything Dwight Howard has to say about bailing on the Magic and the host city, Orlando. “We’ll have the usual media experiences like the one I’m enduring now,” said Stern, “but the great thing is the game is going to start and then there’s going to be all this spectacular basketball playing, and
Fantasy Spin: Thursday Feb. 23
It wasn’t only Jeremy Lin (17 PTS, 9 AST) who made the difference as the Knicks trounced the Hawks. Carmelo Anthony added 15, Landry Fields 16 and J.R. Smith chipped in 5 REB and 5 STL to go with a dozen points. Atlanta, minus Joe Johnson, trailed 60-35 at halftime. Jeff Teague played well in 29 minutes and Willie Green got another start, but Marvin Williams was held scoreless. Around the Association The Warriors won in Phoenix for the first time in
In Atlantic, Knicks rising while others sinking
Anybody want the Atlantic Division? The Nets don’t want it. They would much rather have Dwight Howard, who paid a visit to “The Rock” on Wednesday night and got the full recruiting pitch. In Orlando’s 108-91 road victory over New Jersey, Howard provided a complete showcase with 20 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks. He also made just 2-of-10 free throws and dropped below 50 percent (184-of-373) for the season. Nets fans couldn’t care less about the incessant clanging. They cheered Howard, chanted