nedjelja, 26.12.2010.
NBA DAILY REPORT: Sunday, December 26th 2010
TOP TEN NBA DUNKS OF THE WEEK
SATURDAY'S GAME RECAPS
LeBron has triple-double, Heat rout Lakers - LeBron James and Kobe Bryant ran their mouths while they jogged downcourt, not quite making eye contact during an unpleasant conversation in the closing minutes. “Just asked him what he got for Christmas,” James said. Although the two superstars wouldn’t reveal what angry words they exchanged, it wasn’t tough to pick out a few statements Saturday. While Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers got a disturbing first look at the Miami Heat, LeBron got the last word at Staples Center yet again. James had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while hitting a season-high five 3-pointers, and the Heat thrived on the holiday stage in a 80-96 victory... Chris Bosh had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 18 points on a sore knee and the Heat won for the 14th time in 15 games while flustering the two-time defending champions into a terrible offensive performance, starting with Los Angeles’ 14-point first quarter.
Christmas surprise: Knicks win one with defense, beat Bulls - Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton each scored 20 points, and the Knicks limited the Chicago Bulls to two baskets in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, pulling away for a 103-95 victory Saturday. Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari added 15 apiece for the Knicks, the NBA’s highest-scoring team but 28th in defense. Yet it’s been hard to tell lately they struggle on that end, as they held Oklahoma City to 98 points on Wednesday and followed by blocking 10 shots and coming up with 12 steals in this one. Stoudemire anchored the defensive effort, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking six shots. Rookie Landry Fields finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who improved to 21-25 on Christmas. Felton had 12 assists and Chandler also grabbed 10 boards... Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 19 rebounds for the Bulls, who lost for just the second time in 11 games... Derrick Rose had 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Bulls, but also committed seven turnovers.
Magic top Boston to snap Celtics’ streak - Brandon Bass scored 21 points, Hedo Turkoglu had 15 and the Orlando Magic ended the Boston Celtics’ winning streak at 14 games with an 86-78 victory Saturday for back-to-back wins against the NBA’s best. A Magic team that had dropped eight of nine games and orchestrated two blockbuster trades suddenly looks awfully scary in the Eastern Conference after a pair of victories over Boston and San Antonio... Jameer Nelson (12 points) and J.J. Redick (10 points) each made a jumper in the final minutes to help Orlando rally from 12 points down in the second half to cap another big come back. The Magic also ended San Antonio’s winning streak at 10 games Thursday night. Kevin Garnett had 22 points, and Paul Pierce added 18, but injuries finally caught up with the Celtics against the team they beat last season in the East finals. Boston hadn’t lost since Nov. 21 at Toronto.
Durant scores 44 points, Thunder beat Nuggets - Kevin Durant, the NBA’s scoring leader, had a season-high 44 points, including 21 in the third quarter, and the Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 114-106 on Saturday night in the first Christmas Day game in the Thunder’s three-season tenure in Oklahoma City. Durant raised his average to 28.1 points and topped his previous season high of 34, blow past the latter by the five-minute mark of the third quarter en route to his first 40-point game of the season—after having eight of them last season. He finished 14 of 20 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range... Denver played for the second straight game without star Carmelo Anthony following his sister’s death Wednesday. Chauncey Billups led the Nuggets—who shot 52.9 percent from the field—with 30 points, and Nene had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Billups, who missed three games earlier this month because of a partially torn ligament in his right wrist, left the locker room Saturday night with ice on the wrist.
Ellis leads Warriors past Blazers 109-102 - Monta Ellis scored 39 points and the Golden State Warriors scored 11 straight points to erase a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-102 on Saturday night in their first Christmas home game. David Lee added 21 points, and Dorell Wright scored five of his 16 during the decisive spurt to help the Warriors win back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 8-10.
SUNDAY'S NOTES
Key stat: 0 – Times in NBA history that teams that have played on Christmas Day have met in a rematch in the NBA Finals in June. A Dec. 25 game has been an NBA tradition dating back to the 1940s, and oddly enough this trend holds true all the way over the course of seven decades. So those dreaming of a Lakers-Heat championship round? Keep dreaming.
Quote of the night: "It was just a basketball play, where things are going to get physical. He's a big man, that's what he's supposed to do. It's just basketball. I'd get tired if I kept on driving to the hole too, if that was someone else." – Bulls guard Derrick Rose on getting knocked to the ground several times by Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire.
