| 04 March 2009
Superman vs. Superman. That's how this game was billed as Shaq versus Dwight Howard to see if the old Superman was ready to pass the torch to the new Superman. It should have been billed as Rashard Lewis versus Jason Richardson as the two put on a scoring display with Shaq vs Dwight as the side story. O'Neal was physical early with Dwight Howard and got him into early foul trouble but Dwight's young legs were too much for Shaq to keep up with in the second half and the matchup ended up being just about even. Shaq finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks to go against Dwight's 21 points, eight rebounds, and 1 block. Both centers combined for nine turnovers and eight fouls. The billing of the two abnormally large men lost all credibility and fervor when Shaq flopped after a Howard spin move. For shame, Shaquille. For shame. Rashard Lewis led the Magic with 29 points and Jason Richardson led the Suns with 27 points.
Charlotte Bobcats 96, Chicago Bulls 80 in Charlotte -
I can't be convinced otherwise that assuming health, the Charlotte Bobcats will be in the playoffs this season as the eighth seed in the East. This was a much more important game than two teams that are a combined 16 games under .500 would normally play. Since the Eastern Conference is still by far the weakest conference in the NBA (don't give me the crap about them catching up to the West), these teams are in the thick of the playoff race and need every game through the rest of the season to fight and claw for that final position in the East. And when teams in this race face each other, it doubles the importance of becoming a team that receives economic relief by getting playoff revenue. The Bobcats used great defensive efforts and rotation (Larry Brown staples) to frustrate the Bulls into sub-40% shooting from the field. This game turned into a matter of who could hit shots with most of the numbers across the board even throughout the game and the Bobcats simply made more shots. Raja Bell and Raymond Felton scored 18 points a piece to lead the Bobs.
Detroit Pistons 100, Denver Nuggets 95 in Detroit -
Chauncey Billups returned to the city that made him a household name in NBA homes and was clearly motivated to give the Pistons another reason to regret the trade. And that's exactly what he did until the last few minutes of the game when the Pistons signature moments of the Chauncey Billups' days were able to beat out a Nuggets team that was missing Carmelo Anthony due to a team-imposed one-game suspension. Renaldo Balkman went up for a lay-up to cut the lead to 91-88. Unforunately, for Renaldo and the rest of the Denver squad, Tayshaun Prince was there to block the lay-up and the Pistons came down on the other end and received an eventual Rasheed Wallace three to push the game to an eight-point advantage for Detroit. This five-point swing ultimately ended up being the moment in the game when the Pistons took hold of the game to fend off Chauncey's return (34 points, 11-18 shooting). For more about the ovation received by Chauncey from the Detroit crowd, head over to Both Teams Played Hard. And check out the new digs while you're there. It looks superb.
New Jersey Nets 99, Milwaukee Bucks 95 in Milwaukee -
This is another one of those big games for the rest of this season that could be the difference between one of the teams getting playoff revenue and the other not getting a mini postseason bailout. The Nets would normally be stuck in a loss if Devin Harris and Vince Carter combined to shoot 8-34 from the field. But Brook Lopez stepped up to score 24 points to go with his 12 rebounds and Jarvis Hayes, Keyon Dooling, and Ryan Anderson all scored double figures off the bench to help the Nets steal a big road win. The Nets took control of the game late by dropping 38 points on the Bucks in the fourth quarter. Those three top bench contributors scored 22 of the 38 fourth quarter points for the Nets including 10 points from Dooling. Charlie Villanueva (the antithesis of Quincy Douby) scored 24 points for the Bucks and Richard Jefferson made 12 free throws to overcome a tough shooting night but the Bucks simply couldn't stop New Jersey from getting to the line in the fourth quarter.
Golden State Warriors 118, Minnesota Timberwolves 94 in Minneapolis -
When I turned on this game, Kevin Love just made a shot around the basket and the Wolves were up 5-0. I answered a phone call from MVN mogul Cory Humes, went upstairs because AT&T doesn't want me to have cell phone reception at the entry level of my house, and discussed interweb things for a short while. When I came back down, Jermareo Davidson (yes, THAT Jermareo Davidson) made a jump shot to put the Warriors up 53-23. That's the kind of season it's been for the Wolves. Whenever it seems like something will start out well and Minnesota gets a little bit of momentum in their favor, they completely wet the bed and give up any chance of success this season. It doesn't really matter who did what in this game unless you're a family member of the good people or own them on your fantasy team. Just know that when halftime hit and the score was 66-37, it didn't even phase me. It's just life as a Wolves fan this season.
Houston Rockets 107, Toronto Raptors 97 in Toronto -
On nights in which Shawn Marion, Chris Bosh, and Andrea Bargnani combine for 68 points, the Raptors are going to be extremely hard to beat. Unless the rest of the team combines for 29 points on 13-42 shooting and they give up 44 bench points to a Houston Rockets team that shot 50% from the field. Luis Scola and Yao Ming each scored 20 points and combined for 17 rebounds and Carl Landry scored 22 points off the bench on just nine shots to help the Rockets win for the 39th time this year. The Raptors showed very little fight and in the words of Shaq "quit" against the Suns the other night. Last night, they didn't seem much more aggressive as they attempted just nine free throw attempts for the game. By comparison, Carl Landry attempted eight on his own.
Indiana Pacers 117, Sacramento Kings 109 in Sacramento -
The Indiana Pacers are still fighting for their playoff lives every night even without Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger. And facing a team like the Sacramento Kings makes that fight much easier on nights when you have to keep up with the winning teams from your playoff race. Arco Arena used to be a guaranteed loss for opposing teams and since the big blowup of the winning franchise, it's turned into a decently competitive and yet fairly winnable game at the Big Gas Pump. The Pacers rode 26 points from Jarrett Jack and 23 points from Troy Murphy to overcome 20 points off the bench from Rashad McCants (Kings fans, trust me when I say that he's just sucking you in before he pisses you off) and 21 points from Kevin Martin who overcame a 3-14 shooting performance with 14-14 from the free throw line. The Pacers made 11 of their 21 threes against the worst defensive three-point team in the league. Travis Diener scored 18 points off the bench by making five of his six threes.
Los Angeles Lakers 99, Memphis Grizzlies 89 in Los Angeles -
Kobe Bryant made a long-range two-point shot with less than a minute to go in the third quarter to give the Lakers a nine-point lead that was extended to an 11-point lead as the Grizzlies and Lakers went into the fourth quarter. It gave Kobe 31 points in just 30 minutes of play and no need for any type of fourth quarter production when the Lakers started the final period with a 12-2 run that gave L.A. a 21-point lead. Kobe didn't participate in fourth quarter activities as the Lakers ended their two-game skid. Lamar Odom had a terrible shooting game by making just one of his eight shots but made up for it with 13 rebounds, eight assists, and six blocked shots. The Grizzlies received just 18 points from their bench that was trumped by the Lakers bench scoring 32 but a lot of that was due to the fourth quarter in which Lakers starters didn't see a whole lot of time.
Kobe Bryant's 31 points in 30 minutes came on 12-23 shooting. It was a very efficient scoring game but Kobe detractors will try to point out his 1-5 three-point shooting, two assists, and/or paltry six free throw attempts as the reason that he's actually the anti-christ that has come to tear this world from the heavens and take it into the depths of hell where you're forced to care about The Bachelor as you listen to boy bands and continually watch the scene from About Schmidt where Kathy Bates bears all. Personally, I think it's time to get over the Kobe hate.
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