Kevin Durant scored 44 points but his team lost their third straight game. Russell Westbrook was close to a triple-double (21 PTS, 11 REB, 9 AST) but missed 16 FG attempts, which doesn’t help fantasy owners. Serge Ibaka played less than 20 minutes; only his coach knows why. The Pacers are in a groove — Danny Granger led the way with 26 and Paul George had 16 rebounds from the backcourt. Roy Hibbert (21 PTS, 12 REB, 4 BLK) played
NYK @ IND: It took a tremendous fourth-quarter comeback led by Danny Granger (27) and Paul George (18) but the Pacers pulled this one out. Carmelo Anthony was heroic in defeat with 39 PTS and 10 REB; the Knicks need much better guard play than they got from Iman Shumpert (2-6, 5 PTS) and Baron Davis (2-8, 6 PTS) although J.R. Smith had 11 PTS, 9 REB and 4 AST before being ejected. Elsewhere SAS @ CLE: A ridiculously easy win as
You have to admire the Rockets. They came out fast, then had a horrible second quarter and could easily have given up. Instead, they won the second half by 17 points behind the unlikely Big Three of Goran Dragic (21), Luis Scola (18) and Marcus Camby (12 PTS, 11 REB.) Chicago, which hadn’t lost two in a row all season, got 24 from Luol Deng and 16 from Carlos Boozer, but their guards were disappointing. Richard Hamilton played 20 minutes
No, that horrific shooting night for Kobe Bryant (3-for-21) wasn’t an early April Fool’s joke and he did hit a late, clutch 3-pointer to prevent the Lakers from losing. Jarrett Jack had been solid all afternoon despite a sore ankle (18 PTS, 10 AST) but missed a huge layup near the end. I was bullish on Carl Landry, a surprise — and very late — scratch with a sore ankle. Jason Smith (17 PTS, 10 REB, 2 BLK) held his
BARCELONA — Next season, the Euroleague’s Top 16 phase will have two groups of eight instead of four groups of four. Keeping in line with the home-and-home format, that means each team will play 14 games instead of six. Some people are digging the switch. An additional eight games mean more Milos Teodosic sleepy-eyed step backs, a blitzkrieg of bombas from Juan Carlos Navarro and, God willing, more of Petr Samoylenko’s fantastic mullet. Others are less pumped. Having eight more games could
PHILADELPHIA – Highlight Performance: Kyle Lowry, Houston Rockets – Once again Kyle Lowry dominated a basketball game, last night’s victim being the Portland Trailblazers. Against Raymond Felton and his backcourt mates Lowry had 33 points on 13 – 26 field goal attempts, 4 free throws made and 3 three-pointers, as well as 8 rebounds and 9 assists (and a 2.25 Ast/TO ratio). He’s flirted with a triple-double numerous times this season; should only be a matter of time. Performance to Forget: Tyreke Evans, Sacramento