After having trouble on the road, the Miami Heat have predictably stepped up at home to help erase some bad karma. The team has an astounding home record of 23-2 and a win tonight would match the best home winning streak in franchise history with 18 consecutive victories. LeBron James and the Miami Heat look to extend their overall winning streak to three straight games as they host the visiting Memphis Grizzlies in Friday’s best game. This is the first and only meeting
The Bernucca List – Edition 19
Reader Daniel put an end to a two-list losing streak, correctly solving last week’s Bernucca List with the answer of “leading scorers on the losing team in the Finals.” The list actually comprised the last 10 players to turn the trick. So congrats to Daniel as we move on to this week’s list, which is comprehensive but not complete as the research was somewhat time-consuming. See if you can find the common thread among the players listed below. If you think you
Grizzlies win in OKC; Bulls lose at home to Rockets
You won’t read this sentence too many times: The Oklahoma City Thunder lost at home, and so did the Chicago Bulls. And you haven’t read this sentence in more than a year: The Bulls have now lost consecutive games. While Kentucky predictably won the NCAA championship Monday night, it was a different story in the NBA. The two best teams lost, both at home, and the playoff races got even tighter. Fasten your seat belts, because this is shaping up as a wild
Tonight’s best game: Memphis at Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies are both jockeying for playoff position with little room for error. Saturday’s best game will test each team’s mettle as they try to prove they belong in the postseason. So far the Bucks have been pretty convincing. Milwaukee has won nine of its last 12 games and averaged 108 points over its last 10. In Monta Ellis’ first game with the Bucks on March 16th, Milwaukee set a season high with 120 points in a win over
News, Notes, and Rumors from around the NBA: March 26, 2012.
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
Tonight’s best game: Memphis at L.A. Clippers
Two teams separated by percentage points jostle for playoff position Saturday when the banged-up L.A. Clippers host the finally healthy Memphis Grizzlies at the Staples Center. The outcome of this game is huge. Memphis (25-20) and the Clippers (26-21) are fourth and fifth respectively in the tight Western Conference playoff race, but just half a game ahead of 9th seeded Denver. The Clips have lost three straight games for the first time this season, falling three-and-a-half games behind the Pacific Division leading Lakers
Fantasy Spin: Wednesday March 21
Chris Bosh is on a roll. His 29 points on 12-16 shooting, plus 8 REB and a couple of STL, led the Heat to an exciting, come-from-behind win over the inspired Suns. LeBron James was shaken up twice but stayed in the game and finished with 20. Though Dexter Pittman got his first start because Joel Anthony has a sore ankle, he played less than 14 minutes while Udonis Haslem (15 & 9) got most of the work. Grant Hill led
Fantasy Spin: Monday March 19
The kids are alright. We could have guessed Enes Kanter (17 & 8 in 23 min.) would play well off the bench as Derrick Favors (12 & 10) got the tough start vs. Andrew Bynum (33 & 11 with 2 BLK). Another Jazz rookie to watch is Alec Burks (17 PTS in 19 min.) but the story of this shocker was a miserable 3-20 shooting night by Kobe Bryant, with seven turnovers. Starting PG Steve Blake went scoreless; backup Ramon