// I had a phone conversation with Rick Adelman earlier this season in which he stressed the importance of the Minnesota Timberwolves making it out of the month of March with some semblance of a shot at making a late push for the playoffs. Well, April is almost here, the Timberwolves are still within striking distance of .500, and if they could somehow string together a four-game winning streak (they haven’t had one all season, although they have had four three-game
Blake Griffin was a human highlight film with 27 points, 14 REB, 5 AST and a trio of emphatic dunks in the fourth to seal the deal as the Clippers have now won three straight by double-digit margins. Chris Paul (15 & 15) played Robin to Griffin’s Batman while the Suns were short of superheroes. Marcin Gortat had 23, but elder statesman Steve Nash missed all four of his shots and the venerable Grant Hill (knee) didn’t play. Other Stuff MIN @ CHA: Kevin
Every time it looks like the Minnesota Timberwolves are no longer part of the Western Conference playoff race, Kevin Love takes over a game, leads them to a win and keeps them in the hunt. The Wolves have no right chasing a postseason berth. They were 100 games under .500 over the last two seasons. Their prized rookie point lived up to the hype, then went down with a torn ACL. Their center, a double-double revelation in his own right, also
The Cavs scored 75 points, which was tied for season-low. Tayshaun Prince scored 29 points. Tristan Thompson had 11 rebounds. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Knicks outscored the Magic by 35 over the 2nd and 3rd quarters on the way to a 108-86 win. It is the 2nd largest 2nd and 3rd quarter point differential by the Knicks in franchise history. Iman Shumpert led the Knicks in scoring with 25 points. Jose Calderon had 10+ assists for the 4th straight game. Andrew Bargiani and Ty
All it took was for me to speculate here that something “must be wrong” with Monta Ellis, and he finally had a huge night — 33 points and 8 assists — to lead the Bucks to a much-needed win. Brandon Jennings added 18 and Drew Gooden (16 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) was solid. Ekpe Udoh played well in place of Ersan Ilyasova, who sat out with back spasms. For Atlanta, Josh Smith stuffed the scoresheet with 30 PTS, 18
Johnson, Durant Earn Weekly Honors The Atlanta Hawks’ Joe Johnson and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played March 19-25. Johnson led the Hawks to a 4-1 week with averages of 23.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Johnson hit game-tying three-pointers vs. Cleveland on March 21 and Utah on March 25, as well as the game-winning three-pointer at Washington on March 24. Durant’s 29.5 ppg
You have to wonder what criteria the NBA is using to determine its Players of the Week. Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, who averaged 33.5 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from 3-point range, somehow did not win Western Conference Player of the Week honors announced Monday. That honor went to Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant, whose numbers were 29.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting under 50 percent (42-of-86)
Four overtime periods is not how you want to finish your third game in three nights. The exhausted Hawks never quit. Joe Johnson played over 55 minutes en route to 37 points and Zaza Pachulia was terrific, with 15 points and 20 rebounds. For Utah, seven players scored in double figures, led by Al Jefferson (28 & 17) and Paul Millsap (25 & 13) but somebody had to lose this very exciting contest. Elsewhere DEN @ MIN: Kevin Love was tremendous again,