Stephen Curry/GSW was unstoppable and led the Warriors to a win over a full-strength Heat squad in Miami. The Philadelphia 76ers continued to impress with another road win on the strength of great games from Thaddeus Young/PHI and Evan Turner/PHI. Carmelo Anthony/NYK returned and to everyone’s surprise the Knicks bested the Spurs. In the nightcap, Portland blasted the Bobcats by 30 points. Tonight the action begins at 7 PM EST with the Raptors visiting the Wizards and continues through to
On the first night of NBA action in 2014, the Philadelphia 76ers continued to surprise as they handed the Nuggets a loss in Denver. Evan Turner/PHI, Thaddeus Young/PHI, Spencer Hawes/PHI and rookie of the year frontrunner Michael Carter-Williams/PHI have formed an effective core, while James Anderson/PHI and Lavoy Allen/PHI have contributed with efficient minutes off the bench. The Sixers roll into Sacramento tonight and have to overcome a home and fatigue disadvantage against dynamic duo DeMarcus Cousins/SAC and Isaiah Thomas/SAC.
Happy New Year to all! Ten unlucky teams will have to rouse themselves after last night’s festivities and do battle on the hardwood. Yesterday, the Hawks rallied to beat the Celtics on the continued heroic play by Paul Millsap/ATL. James Harden/HOU rebounded from a poor outing, but the Rockets fell to the visiting Kings. The Spurs and Pacers registered expected wins, and the Raptors won a defensive battle over the Bulls. In the feature matchup, LaMarcus Aldridge/POR and Damian Lillard/POR led
As I anticipated yesterday, home court advantage wasn’t enough for the Pistons, as John Wall/WAS and Trevor Ariza/WAS led the Wizards to a road win. I also wondered if Portland’s impressive run was nearing an end, and what should happen but they lose their second straight game. Kevin Love/MIN had another solid game but it wasn’t enough to beat the visiting Mavericks. A hobbled LeBron James/MIA led the Heat to another road win, this time over the Nuggets. In the
Arron Afflalo/ORL was a questionable start against the Hawks, but he played and played well. Victor Oladipo/ORL has settled into the sixth man role and his contribution helped Orlando beat Atlanta. In Cleveland, Stephen Curry/GSW dueled Kyrie Irving/CLE and the Warriors won in overtime. The Thunder got enough production out of the supporting cast to support Kevin Durant’s/OKC brilliance and easily handle the Rockets. Despite the best efforts of DeMarcus Cousins/SAC and Isaiah Thomas/SAC, the Spurs defended their home court with
LeBron James/MIA sat out the Heat-Blazers confrontation, but Miami gutted out a 108-107 win. The Clippers beat the visiting Jazz despite being held to less than 100 points. The Suns cruised to a victory over the Sixers, while the Nuggets were no match for the Grizzlies. Kevin Love/MIN continued to roll and the Timberwolves had no trouble with the “current” worst team in the league, the Milwaukee Bucks. In the early game, Cleveland lost to Boston, with Andrew Bynum/CLE absent.
I was curious to see how the Thunder would react to the news of the loss of Russell Westbrook/OKC for the next few weeks. The Bobcats did their best, but could not stop Kevin Durant/OKC once he found his outside shot. Durant is the best I’ve even seen at making short range shots after driving to the hoop. When his outside jumper is working no defense can stop him. In the nightcap, Stephen Curry/GSW almost had a triple-double in the
In contrast to two days ago, all four games played last night were decided in the final minutes. Two of them went to overtime. In the other games, teams that had played the night before won against teams playing on extra rest. The Spurs kept their noses in front against the Mavericks, using their balanced attack to good effect. The Rockets looked like they were going down in flames to the Grizzlies, but when Dwight Howard/HOU got in foul trouble,