Jeremy
Lin knows everybody credited him for the Knicks’ seven straight wins,
so he takes the blame for their one-game losing streak. With famous fan
Spike Lee donning Lin’s high school jersey in the latest bout of
Linsanity, New York’s point guard sensation committed nine turnovers,
tied for the most in the NBA this season, in an 89-85 loss to the New
Orleans Hornets on Friday night. Lin scored 26 points, but his
turnovers nearly doubled his five assists, and the Knicks lost for the
first time with Lin as a starter, falling back below .500 at 15-16
heading into a matchup with the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks
on Sunday. Read more here.
James, Heat blast Cavaliers 111-87
His
latest homecoming over and the hatred subsided, LeBron James had more
to do. He greeted a fans standing behind the bench and personally
delivered his headband to a young admirer before heading to the locker
room. He left the floor he once owned, skipping down a carpeted runway
and slapping outstretched hands with every step. It was time to leave
for his new home. It was time to go back to Miami and run down an NBA
title. James scored 28 points in his third game back in Cleveland as a
visitor, Dwyane Wade added 22 and the Heat concluded a six-game road
trip with their fifth straight win, 111-87 over the Cavaliers, who
seemed intimidated by Miami’s mere presence. Read more here.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
February 11, 2012
Paul lifts Clippers over Sixers 78-77
With
some help from Blake Griffin, Chris Paul came up huge when the Los
Angeles Clippers needed it most. Paul had 24 points, including the
game-winning 17-footer with 3.2 seconds left, Griffin added 16 points
and 11 rebounds and the Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 78-77
on Friday. On the Clippers’ final possession, Paul sent a pass to
Griffin, but the ball bounced through his legs. Griffin went on the
floor, passed back to Paul, who somehow scored over the outstretched
arm of Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala who is one of the best defenders
in the league. “That almost turned out to be ugly,” Paul said. “I threw
the ball between Blake Griffin’s legs. I thought it would be a
turnover, so thank you Blake Griffin for diving for the ball. Without
him, we don’t win the game.” Read more here.
Lin scores 38 to lead Knicks over Lakers 92-85
Jeremy
Lin outplayed Kobe Bryant, ended the mighty Lakers’ dominance of the
Knicks and then tried to pretend it was just another game. Wrong. This
was the night that proved he’s no one-week wonder, that he’s got a real
NBA career ahead of him. After all, Kobe’s waiting for revenge next
season. Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week,
scoring a career-high 38 points and outdueling Bryant as New York held
off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night. Buried deep on the
bench a little more than a week ago, Lin led the Knicks to their fourth
straight win, tying their longest streak of the season. His two free
throws with 52 seconds left amid booming “MVP! MVP!” chants stopped the
Lakers’ final rally and allowed the undrafted Harvard product to pass
Carmelo Anthony for the highest-scoring game by a Knicks player this
season. Read more here.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
February 4, 2012
Heat use late run to top 76ers 99-79
With
LeBron James running the show, Miami ran the Sixers out of their
building. Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, and James had 19 points and 12
rebounds to lift the Miami Heat to a 99-79 win over the Philadelphia
76ers on Friday night. Needing a jumpstart in the fourth, James shifted
to point guard, sparking a dominant late run that put away the pesky
Sixers. James led a makeshift lineup that included Udonis Haslem and
Mike Miller to a 15-0 spurt in the quarter. It turned a tight one for
36 minutes into a comfortable victory and handed the Sixers just their
third home loss of the season. Wade used a pair of ferocious dunks
during the game-changing run that pushed the Sixers’ first sellout
crowd of the season toward the exits. Read more here.
Wolves overcome Morrow’s 42 to beat Nets 108-105
The
Minnesota Timberwolves almost never won away from home last season.
Now, they don’t seem eager to go back there. Luke Ridnour made the
tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:23 left, Nikola Pekovic scored a
career-high 27 points, and the Timberwolves beat the New Jersey Nets
108-105 on Friday night to surpass last season’s road victory total.
The Timberwolves overcame a career-high 42 points from Anthony Morrow,
whose eight 3-pointers in 11 attempts were the most in the NBA this
season. Kevin Love added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which
improved to 6-4 on the road and 11-12 overall. The Wolves, just 5-36 on
the road last season, have won three in a row away from home. Read more
here.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
February 3, 2012 - 2012 All-Star starters named
Two cities and three franchises accounted for six of the 10 players voted starters for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game,
announced Thursday. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James of the Miami Heat were
voted Eastern Conference starters for the Feb. 26 game at Amway Center
in Orlando. The Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum and the Clippers'
Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were voted starters in the West. Defending
NBA MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls was voted a starting guard
along with Wade in the East, with the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony joining
James at forward and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic at center. The
starters were chosen by fan balloting. Howard was the leading
vote-getter with 1.6 million votes. Read more here.
Source: espn.go.com
January 28, 2012
James, Wade lead Heat over Knicks, 99-89
The
New York Knicks, they were all about the 3's. The Miami Heat, they
welcomed back No. 3. LeBron James scored 31 points, Dwyane Wade—he of
that No. 3 jersey— scored 28 in his return from a sprained right ankle,
and the Heat topped the 3-point-obsessed Knicks 99-89 on Friday night.
Chris Bosh scored 13 points and James finished with eight rebounds and
seven assists for Miami, which plays host to Chicago on Sunday in a
rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals. “Real nice to be
back,” Wade said. “Felt great. Felt great.” Bill Walker scored 21
points for New York, which took 43 shots from 3-point range, the most
in the NBA this season and a total that had the Knicks flirting with
Dallas’ NBA record of 49 set in 1996. Read more here.
Thunder top Warriors 120-109 to start road trip
Kevin
Durant stood in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s locker room buttoning up a
blue-knit sweater atop his beige corduroy pants. Two spots over,
Russell Westbrook sat in a chair with his shirt off and ice under his
left leg, poking fun at Durant’s outfit. Then both took turns teasing
teammate James Harden for his sparkling, spiked black shoes. “See this
tension in the locker room?” Durant said, smiling at a small group of
reporters inside. While they might not be the best dressed, the Thunder
sure look every bit like the NBA’s top team. Durant had a season-high
37 points and 14 rebounds, Westbrook dazzled with 28 points and 11
assists and the Thunder started a critical road stretch with a 120-109
victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Read more here.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
January 21, 2012
Howard’s big night carries Magic past Lakers 92-80
If
Orlando center Dwight Howard is eventually traded to the Los Angeles
Lakers before season’s end, he will be joining a team the Magic
continue to dominate at the Amway Center. Playing their fourth game in
five nights, the Magic’s energy wasn’t always great Friday night, but
they came alive when it counted in a 92-80 win over the
Lakers—Orlando’s sixth victory in the last nine regular-season meetings
between the two. Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to
guide his team through a tough shooting performance. Jameer Nelson
added 17 points and nine assists, and J.J. Redick had 15 points as all
five starters reached double figures. Read more here.
Love hits 3 at buzzer, Timberwolves top Clippers
Now
that they are on their first three-game winning streak in almost two
years, Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves are enjoying the ride.
Love hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Ricky Rubio’s tying 3 with 20
seconds to play, lifting the Timberwolves to a pulsating 101-98 victory
over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. The Timberwolves, coming
off consecutive home wins over Sacramento and Detroit, have won three
straight for the first time since a four-game stretch from Jan. 29 to
Feb. 6, 2010. After that, they lost 29 of their final 31 games. “In the
last two games we’ve missed a ton of shots, but our defense has picked
up and we’ve executed down the stretch and we’ve given ourselves a
chance to win,” Love said. “So if we can continue to do that,
eventually our offense will pick up and we’ll be able to win a lot of
ballgames.” Read more here.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
January 14, 2012
Nuggets hand Heat third straight loss, 117-104
The
Denver Nuggets pressed the pace and then turned it up a notch in the
fourth quarter. And the Miami Heat couldn’t keep up, especially once
Dwyane Wade was injured. Ty Lawson scored 24 points in his return to
the lineup, and the Nuggets sent the Heat to their third straight loss
with a 117-104 victory on Friday night. “When they crashed our defense,
they got 3s and when we tried to stay home, they got layups,” said
LeBron James, whose 35 points led the Heat. “They just broke us down
too many times. They broke our defense down too many times and they
were able to pretty much get anything they wanted.” Nene added 17
points for the Nuggets, who won their 10th in a row against the Heat in
Denver. Rudy Fernandez and Al Harrington each had 15 points. Read more here.
Rose scores 25 on return, Bulls top Celtics 88-79
The
Chicago Bulls let a 20-point lead drop to one before Derrick Rose
decided to take control, sore toe and all. The NBA’s reigning MVP knew
he had to make the shot after Paul Pierce missed a jumper that would
have given the Boston Celtics their first lead. “That was my whole
mindset, just getting to the hole if I was close enough to shoot the
floater,” Rose said after the Bulls won 88-79 Friday night. “Just
making sure that I was aggressive.” He made the layup, the Celtics
missed their next shot, and Rose followed with two free throws.
Suddenly, the Bulls led 71-66 with 8:30 remaining and stayed in front
by at least five points the rest of the way. Rose had missed
Wednesday’s 78-64 win over the Washington Wizards with a sprained left
big toe. Read more here.
January 7, 2012
Anthony’s 3 helps Knicks keep Wizards winless
Carmelo
Anthony shook off the pain in his sore right hip long enough to keep
the Washington Wizards winless. Anthony made the go-ahead 3-pointer
with 15 seconds left as the New York Knicks avoided a late collapse to
beat the Wizards 99-96 on Friday night. Anthony scored 37 points
despite being hurt with about three minutes left when he was hit in the
back. He shot 16 of 33 from the floor, including the three-pointer
after Washington had taken the lead. “I was hurt. I was just praying it
went in. I wasn’t going to try to drive at all, I knew I didn’t have
any push off on my right leg,” Anthony said. The Knicks, who were
roundly criticized after allowing 118 points to Charlotte on Wednesday,
were entertaining and willing to tussle—and so were the Wizards. Read
more here.
Late spurt lifts Rose and Bulls over Magic, 97-83
At
times last season the Chicago Bulls were guilty of leaning on MVP point
guard Derrick Rose too much to help them pull out wins in close games.
If the way they closed out Friday night’s 97-83 victory over Orlando is
any indication, coach Tom Thibodeau’s team is well on the way to fixing
that problem. Rose and Luol Deng each scored 21 points and Chicago held
off a fourth-quarter surge by the Magic for its sixth straight victory.
Carlos Boozer added 20 points for Chicago, which led by as many as 17
before the lead was trimmed to three. The Bulls closed the game on a
17-6 run and hung on despite getting just four points from Rose in the
final 12 minutes. “Anything to win,” Rose said. “That was the whole
mindset. Just try to get out aggressive. Read more here.
December 30, 2011
Kobe scores 28, Lakers surge past Knicks in 4th
After
the Lakers roared away from the Knicks in the fourth quarter without
even a point from Kobe Bryant, he put his long-standing friendly
rivalry with Carmelo Anthony in perspective. “I enjoy going against
Melo, because I always win,” Bryant said with a grin. Although Bryant
was exaggerating about his head-to-head advantage over Anthony, he’s
absolutely right about Los Angeles’ rivalry with New York over the past
half-decade. Bryant scored 28 points in yet another dynamic performance
against the Knicks, and the Lakers relied on stiff defense to roll to
their ninth straight victory over New York, 99-82 Thursday night. Read
more here.
Durant leads Thunder past Mavericks 104-102
Kevin
Durant thought he might have just given away a victory and let the
Dallas Mavericks steal another one in heartbreaking fashion. Then he
found a way to take it right back. Durant scored 30 points and hit a
3-pointer at the final buzzer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a
104-102 win against Dallas on Thursday night in a rematch of last
season’s Western Conference finals. “As a kid, of course you dream
about hitting a game-winning shot in the NBA,” said Durant, who has hit
two other game-winners at the buzzer in his five seasons. “It’s a dream
come true.” The Thunder let Dallas wipe away a five-point deficit in
the final 46 seconds to go ahead on Vince Carter’s 3-pointer with 1.4
seconds remaining. Read more here.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
December 26, 2011
LeBron’s 37 lifts Heat past Mavs 105-94
While
Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks were on the court celebrating
the championship they won over LeBron James and Dwyane Wade last
season, the Miami Heat were gathered in another part of the building.
It wasn’t because they dreaded watching the ceremony, they insisted.
They were simply getting ready to show everyone why they are favored to
win it all this season. LeBron James helped the Heat to leads of as
much as 35 points over the defending NBA champs. James and Wade led a
series of scoring waves that put Miami ahead by 35 points midway
through the third quarter, the lead peaking when James soared to the
rim and tipped an alley-oop pass to Wade so he could have the dunk
instead. Read more here.
Chris Paul, Clips beat Warriors 105-86 in opener
Blake
Griffin offered up a reminder for all those expecting an immediate
transformation now that Chris Paul is part of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Not every game is going to be just alley-oop left and right,” Griffin
said. Griffin, CP3 and Co. are far from a finished product. They
certainly showed signs of the talented team this can be on both ends of
the floor. Paul had 20 points and nine assists in his highly
anticipated debut, Griffin added 22 points and seven rebounds and the
Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors 105-86 on Sunday night to spoil
Mark Jackson’s opener as a first-time coach. Read more here.
Bulls rally to stun Lakers on Rose’s winner
Kobe
Bryant has already been on the journey Derrick Rose is starting. Even
after the reigning MVP hit the shot that ruined the Los Angeles Lakers’
opener, Bryant said he still roots for his young friend. Bryant might
not have the same immediate warmth toward Luol Deng, who spent the
final minute causing most of Kobe’s problems and securing the Chicago
Bulls’ impressive comeback. Rose scored 22 points and hit a go-ahead
floater in the lane with 4.8 seconds to play, and the Bulls rallied
from an 11-point deficit in the final 3:44 for an 88-87 victory Sunday.
Read more here.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
Preseason news
November 26th, 2011 - NBA season saved by tentative agreement?
As we already wrote here, NBA season could start
right at the Christmas day, December 25. According to news coming from
United States, it seems that both sides finally agreed tentative
agreement about terms, and all fans could expect to watch their
favorite sport since Christmas. It seems that Santa Claus will fulfill
one of the biggest wishes of NBA fans across the globe. After a more
than 15 hours meeting, it is possible that lockout is close to the end.
I am saying possible, because I still believe that we should wait for
official confirmation in next day or two. Read more here.
November 24th, 2011 - Santa Claus will bring NBA for Christmas?
According to some news form United States, there is
a possibility that NBA season could start for Christmas, December 25.
As they stated next 72 hours are crucial in negotiations between
players union and club owners. If this happen, NBA teams will play 66
games in NBA season 2011/12. If negotiations fail again Court in
Minnesota will take care of this problem. For me, it seems that both
sides just waiting for this, expecting that they will win in this
process. Read more here.
November 18th, 2011 - NBA players to invade Europe
As you guys already know several NBA players already
play in Europe. But according to latest news about NBA lockout and some
rumors from United States and Europe, very soon many NBA players could
be pointed to Europe. We will just mention few players according to
current rumors. Probably the most interesting information or better say
rumor is that Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc would like to join FC
Barcelona Regal. Already superb roster of Spain team could be
reinforced with two extraordinary players, native from Spain. Read more
here.
November 14th, 2011 - NBA players rejected offer
I may say as expected, NBA players Union rejected
offer or better say ultimatum form David Stern and club owners. It
seems that all this saga will finish someday, but on court. Derek
Fisher, president of NBA players association said that this decision
was unanimous. As you probably know last offer from David Stern was
50-50, and it was unacceptable for players. Read more here.
November 13th, 2011 - Kevin Durant in Europe?
Kevin Durant refuses to be at the NBA players Union
meeting scheduled for Monday, November 14. Durant also stated that
offer is not good for NBA players: “This is not what we wanted. This is
not good deal and I don’t see why we should accept it, especially so
late.” If those negotiations fail again in next week, Durant said that
he might sign a contract with one of European teams. One of the best
NBA players already got offers from Valencia and Maccabi Electra. There
are also rumors that one German team is also interested. Read more here.
November 7th, 2011 - NBA Lockout, deal on Wednesday?
Even if opinions are pretty divided not only between
players and NBA club owners, but also between Basketball fans around
the world, NBA Lockout saga might be finished on Wednesday, or maybe
not? Funny guy called David Stern said that it is not ultimatum as he
offered 51% to players and expect that they accept it on new meeting on
Wednesday. He also said that if players don’t accept this offer: “they
would get a deal that would guarantee them just 47 percent of BRI and
call for a flex salary cap.” Not ultimatum, huh??? Read more here.
October 29th, 2011 - No deal in NBA talks
In last two days many
American media announced that significant progress was made in talks
between NBA players and clubs. There were possibility that those last
talks could finally stop NBA lockout. Unfortunately for NBA and luckily
for European Basketball, talks failed again. According to NBA
commissioner David Stern, all games for November are canceled. That
means that no games will be played before December, possibly. Read more
here.
Jeremy
Lin knows everybody credited him for the Knicks’ seven straight wins,
so he takes the blame for their one-game losing streak. With famous fan
Spike Lee donning Lin’s high school jersey in the latest bout of
Linsanity, New York’s point guard sensation committed nine turnovers,
tied for the most in the NBA this season, in an 89-85 loss to the New
Orleans Hornets on Friday night. Lin scored 26 points, but his
turnovers nearly doubled his five assists, and the Knicks lost for the
first time with Lin as a starter, falling back below .500 at 15-16
heading into a matchup with the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks
on Sunday. Read more 
His
latest homecoming over and the hatred subsided, LeBron James had more
to do. He greeted a fans standing behind the bench and personally
delivered his headband to a young admirer before heading to the locker
room. He left the floor he once owned, skipping down a carpeted runway
and slapping outstretched hands with every step. It was time to leave
for his new home. It was time to go back to Miami and run down an NBA
title. James scored 28 points in his third game back in Cleveland as a
visitor, Dwyane Wade added 22 and the Heat concluded a six-game road
trip with their fifth straight win, 111-87 over the Cavaliers, who
seemed intimidated by Miami’s mere presence. Read more 
With
some help from Blake Griffin, Chris Paul came up huge when the Los
Angeles Clippers needed it most. Paul had 24 points, including the
game-winning 17-footer with 3.2 seconds left, Griffin added 16 points
and 11 rebounds and the Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 78-77
on Friday. On the Clippers’ final possession, Paul sent a pass to
Griffin, but the ball bounced through his legs. Griffin went on the
floor, passed back to Paul, who somehow scored over the outstretched
arm of Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala who is one of the best defenders
in the league. “That almost turned out to be ugly,” Paul said. “I threw
the ball between Blake Griffin’s legs. I thought it would be a
turnover, so thank you Blake Griffin for diving for the ball. Without
him, we don’t win the game.” Read more 
Jeremy
Lin outplayed Kobe Bryant, ended the mighty Lakers’ dominance of the
Knicks and then tried to pretend it was just another game. Wrong. This
was the night that proved he’s no one-week wonder, that he’s got a real
NBA career ahead of him. After all, Kobe’s waiting for revenge next
season. Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week,
With
LeBron James running the show, Miami ran the Sixers out of their
building. Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, and James had 19 points and 12
rebounds to lift the Miami Heat to a 99-79 win over the Philadelphia
76ers on Friday night. Needing a jumpstart in the fourth, James shifted
to point guard, sparking a dominant late run that put away the pesky
Sixers. James led a makeshift lineup that included Udonis Haslem and
Mike Miller to a 15-0 spurt in the quarter. It turned a tight one for
36 minutes into a comfortable victory and handed the Sixers just their
third home loss of the season. Wade used a pair of ferocious dunks
during the game-changing run that pushed the Sixers’ first sellout
crowd of the season toward the exits. Read more 
The
Minnesota Timberwolves almost never won away from home last season.
Now, they don’t seem eager to go back there. Luke Ridnour made the
tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:23 left, Nikola Pekovic scored a
career-high 27 points, and the Timberwolves beat the New Jersey Nets
108-105 on Friday night to surpass last season’s road victory total.
The Timberwolves overcame a career-high 42 points from Anthony Morrow,
whose eight 3-pointers in 11 attempts were the most in the NBA this
season. Kevin Love added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which
improved to 6-4 on the road and 11-12 overall. The Wolves, just 5-36 on
the road last season, have won three in a row away from home. Read more
Two cities and three franchises accounted for six of the 10 players voted 
The
New York Knicks, they were all about the 3's. The Miami Heat, they
welcomed back No. 3. LeBron James scored 31 points, Dwyane Wade—he of
that No. 3 jersey— scored 28 in his return from a sprained right ankle,
and the Heat topped the 3-point-obsessed Knicks 99-89 on Friday night.
Chris Bosh scored 13 points and James finished with eight rebounds and
seven assists for Miami, which plays host to Chicago on Sunday in a
rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals. “Real nice to be
back,” Wade said. “Felt great. Felt great.” Bill Walker scored 21
points for New York, which took 43 shots from 3-point range, the most
in the NBA this season and a total that had the Knicks flirting with
Dallas’ NBA record of 49 set in 1996. Read more 
Kevin
Durant stood in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s locker room buttoning up a
blue-knit sweater atop his beige corduroy pants. Two spots over,
Russell Westbrook sat in a chair with his shirt off and ice under his
left leg, poking fun at Durant’s outfit. Then both took turns teasing
teammate James Harden for his sparkling, spiked black shoes. “See this
tension in the locker room?” Durant said, smiling at a small group of
reporters inside. While they might not be the best dressed, the Thunder
sure look every bit like the NBA’s top team. Durant had a season-high
37 points and 14 rebounds, Westbrook dazzled with 28 points and 11
assists and the Thunder started a critical road stretch with a 120-109
victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Read more 
If
Orlando center Dwight Howard is eventually traded to the Los Angeles
Lakers before season’s end, he will be joining a team the Magic
continue to dominate at the Amway Center. Playing their fourth game in
five nights, the Magic’s energy wasn’t always great Friday night, but
they came alive when it counted in a 92-80 win over the
Lakers—Orlando’s sixth victory in the last nine regular-season meetings
between the two. Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to
guide his team through a tough shooting performance. Jameer Nelson
added 17 points and nine assists, and J.J. Redick had 15 points as all
five starters reached double figures. Read more 
Now
that they are on their first three-game winning streak in almost two
years, Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves are enjoying the ride.
Love hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Ricky Rubio’s tying 3 with 20
seconds to play, lifting the Timberwolves to a pulsating 101-98 victory
over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. The Timberwolves, coming
off consecutive home wins over Sacramento and Detroit, have won three
straight for the first time since a four-game stretch from Jan. 29 to
Feb. 6, 2010. After that, they lost 29 of their final 31 games. “In the
last two games we’ve missed a ton of shots, but our defense has picked
up and we’ve executed down the stretch and we’ve given ourselves a
chance to win,” Love said. “So if we can continue to do that,
eventually our offense will pick up and we’ll be able to win a lot of
ballgames.” Read more 
The
Denver Nuggets pressed the pace and then turned it up a notch in the
fourth quarter. And the Miami Heat couldn’t keep up, especially once
Dwyane Wade was injured. Ty Lawson scored 24 points in his return to
the lineup, and the Nuggets sent the Heat to their third straight loss
with a 117-104 victory on Friday night. “When they crashed our defense,
they got 3s and when we tried to stay home, they got layups,” said
LeBron James, whose 35 points led the Heat. “They just broke us down
too many times. They broke our defense down too many times and they
were able to pretty much get anything they wanted.” Nene added 17
points for the Nuggets, who won their 10th in a row against the Heat in
Denver. Rudy Fernandez and Al Harrington each had 15 points. Read more 
The
Chicago Bulls let a 20-point lead drop to one before Derrick Rose
decided to take control, sore toe and all. The NBA’s reigning MVP knew
he had to make the shot after Paul Pierce missed a jumper that would
have given the Boston Celtics their first lead. “That was my whole
mindset, just getting to the hole if I was close enough to shoot the
floater,” Rose said after the Bulls won 88-79 Friday night. “Just
making sure that I was aggressive.” He made the layup, the Celtics
missed their next shot, and Rose followed with two free throws.
Suddenly, the Bulls led 71-66 with 8:30 remaining and stayed in front
by at least five points the rest of the way. Rose had missed
Wednesday’s 78-64 win over the Washington Wizards with a sprained left
big toe. Read more 
Carmelo
Anthony shook off the pain in his sore right hip long enough to keep
the Washington Wizards winless. Anthony made the go-ahead 3-pointer
with 15 seconds left as the New York Knicks avoided a late collapse to
beat the Wizards 99-96 on Friday night. Anthony scored 37 points
despite being hurt with about three minutes left when he was hit in the
back. He shot 16 of 33 from the floor, including the three-pointer
after Washington had taken the lead. “I was hurt. I was just praying it
went in. I wasn’t going to try to drive at all, I knew I didn’t have
any push off on my right leg,” Anthony said. The Knicks, who were
roundly criticized after allowing 118 points to Charlotte on Wednesday,
were entertaining and willing to tussle—and so were the Wizards. Read
more 
At
times last season the Chicago Bulls were guilty of leaning on MVP point
guard Derrick Rose too much to help them pull out wins in close games.
If the way they closed out Friday night’s 97-83 victory over Orlando is
any indication, coach Tom Thibodeau’s team is well on the way to fixing
that problem. Rose and Luol Deng each scored 21 points and Chicago held
off a fourth-quarter surge by the Magic for its sixth straight victory.
Carlos Boozer added 20 points for Chicago, which led by as many as 17
before the lead was trimmed to three. The Bulls closed the game on a
17-6 run and hung on despite getting just four points from Rose in the
final 12 minutes. “Anything to win,” Rose said. “That was the whole
mindset. Just try to get out aggressive. Read more 
After
the Lakers roared away from the Knicks in the fourth quarter without
even a point from Kobe Bryant, he put his long-standing friendly
rivalry with Carmelo Anthony in perspective. “I enjoy going against
Melo, because I always win,” Bryant said with a grin. Although Bryant
was exaggerating about his head-to-head advantage over Anthony, he’s
absolutely right about Los Angeles’ rivalry with New York over the past
half-decade. Bryant scored 28 points in yet another dynamic performance
against the Knicks, and the Lakers relied on stiff defense to roll to
their ninth straight victory over New York, 99-82 Thursday night. Read
more 
Kevin
Durant thought he might have just given away a victory and let the
Dallas Mavericks steal another one in heartbreaking fashion. Then he
found a way to take it right back. Durant scored 30 points and hit a
3-pointer at the final buzzer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a
104-102 win against Dallas on Thursday night in a rematch of last
season’s Western Conference finals. “As a kid, of course you dream
about hitting a game-winning shot in the NBA,” said Durant, who has hit
two other game-winners at the buzzer in his five seasons. “It’s a dream
come true.” The Thunder let Dallas wipe away a five-point deficit in
the final 46 seconds to go ahead on Vince Carter’s 3-pointer with 1.4
seconds remaining. Read more 
While
Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks were on the court celebrating
the championship they won over LeBron James and Dwyane Wade last
season, the Miami Heat were gathered in another part of the building.
It wasn’t because they dreaded watching the ceremony, they insisted.
They were simply getting ready to show everyone why they are favored to
win it all this season. LeBron James helped the Heat to leads of as
much as 35 points over the defending NBA champs. James and Wade led a
series of scoring waves that put Miami ahead by 35 points midway
through the third quarter, the lead peaking when James soared to the
rim and tipped an alley-oop pass to Wade so he could have the dunk
instead. Read more 
Blake
Griffin offered up a reminder for all those expecting an immediate
transformation now that Chris Paul is part of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Not every game is going to be just alley-oop left and right,” Griffin
said. Griffin, CP3 and Co. are far from a finished product. They
certainly showed signs of the talented team this can be on both ends of
the floor. Paul had 20 points and nine assists in his highly
anticipated debut, Griffin added 22 points and seven rebounds and the
Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors 105-86 on Sunday night to spoil
Mark Jackson’s opener as a first-time coach. Read more 
Kobe
Bryant has already been on the journey Derrick Rose is starting. Even
after the reigning MVP hit the shot that ruined the Los Angeles Lakers’
opener, Bryant said he still roots for his young friend. Bryant might
not have the same immediate warmth toward Luol Deng, who spent the
final minute causing most of Kobe’s problems and securing the Chicago
Bulls’ impressive comeback. Rose scored 22 points and hit a go-ahead
floater in the lane with 4.8 seconds to play, and the Bulls rallied
from an 11-point deficit in the final 3:44 for an 88-87 victory Sunday.
Read more 
