Amar’e Stoudemire is an afterthought, and Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler are hurt. So meet the new “Big Three” of the New York Knicks – Jeremy Lin, J.R. Smith and Steve Novak. The trio combined to lead the Knicks to a nationally televised 104-97 victory over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, their eight win in nine games. Remember the calls for coach Mike D’Antoni’s job and the blind hope that Baron Davis and his balky back would be the season’s savior?
The New York Knicks host the Dallas Mavericks in Sunday’s best NBA game as Tyson Chandler faces his former team for the first time since winning the championship and the Mavericks put Jeremy Lin’s ballhandling to the test. Lin had nine turnovers – matching a league season high – in his first loss as a starter, Friday’s 89-85 home setback to the lowly New Orleans Hornets. Winning had allowed people to overlook Lin’s ballhandling, but he has 29 turnovers in his
BARCELONA — Joel Freeland could be a Portland Trailblazer next year after all. Reports surfaced last week that the 25-year-old British power forward and Trail Blazers draftee (30th overall in 2006) had signed an extension with Unicaja Malaga of Spain, lending serious doubt to his NBA future. After a 75-65 loss to Banca Civica Sevilla in the Copa del Rey, Joel Freeland said those reports were untrue. “We’ve always been talking since day one but there’s no agreement at this point,” said Freeland. When
There is a school of thought that after a slow start, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks are starting to figure things out. There also is a school of thought that after a quick start, the Philadelphia 76ers are coming back to the pack. Both of those notions will be tested when the Mavericks visit the 76ers in Friday’s best NBA game. The Mavericks (19-11) have matched a season high with five straight wins, and there’s not a bad one in the bunch.
Let’s check in on last year’s Finals participants, shall we? There was quite a game in Dallas, where the Mavericks were trying to extend their winning streak and the Clippers were trying to complete a spiffy 5-1 road trip. The night began and ended with Caron Butler. Butler spent last season with the Mavericks. He began as their starting small forward and helped Dallas to a 24-8 start before suffering a torn patellar tendon that cost him the rest of the season.
LeBron James tied a career-high Monday by shooting 76.2 percent (16-21 FG) , matching a similar shooting performance he had against the Hawks last season (16-21 FG, 3/18/11). Even Though James picked on almost everyone defending him, he did the bulk of his work against Carlos Delfino, scoring 15 of his game-high 35 points against him. Caron Butler, in his return to Dallas, scored a season-high 23 points, and just missed hitting the go ahead three with less than 5 seconds
For a six-game board, there are some pretty good games on League Pass on Monday night. The Miami Heat go to Milwaukee to try to solve the Bucks, who have beaten them twice this season. The top two rebounders square off with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic host Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves. And there is the car-crash quality of the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the Charlotte Bobcats, who have lost 14 straight games. But the best game should be Blake
Last June, the Dallas Mavericks were on top of the basketball world, while the Minnesota Timberwolves were at rock bottom. Less than eight months later, the teams are separated by two games in the standings, and it’s hard to tell which club is better. The Mavericks (15-11) and Wolves (13-13) meet for the third time this season in Friday’s best NBA game. Minnesota has won the first two, easily handling the defending champions. If the Wolves win again, they will be one