ponedjeljak, 27.12.2010.
NBA Daily Report: Monday, December 27th
NBA TV TOP 10 PLAYS OF THE DAY: DECEMBER 27TH
SUNDAY'S GAME NOTES
Griffin, Gordon lead Clippers over Suns - Squirming on the Clippers’ bench for the final 2:52 while the Phoenix Suns sliced a 10-point deficit to one was a gut-wrenching experience for rookie Blake Griffin, who wasn’t able to exhale until Eric Gordon made a game-saving steal in the final minute. Griffin had 28 points and 12 rebounds for his 18th straight double-double before fouling out for the second time this season, and the Clippers nearly blew an 18-point advantage before beating Phoenix 108-103 on Sunday to end a streak of nine straight losses to the Suns... Gordon scored 24 points and Baron Davis added 15 points and nine assists to complement Griffin’s 24th double-double of the season. Newly acquired Mickael Pietrus scored a season-high 25 points for Phoenix. Steve Nash finished with 21 points and 15 assists on “Boxing Day,” which is a national holiday in his native Canada. Grant Hill had 19 points and seven rebounds while guarding Griffin, and even got under his skin on more than one occasion.
Beasley’s basket gives Timberwolves 97-98 win - Michael Beasley was happy with his winning shot. He was happier with his game-saving defensive play. Beasley scored on a driving layup with 5.9 seconds left to give Minnesota a 97-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night, snapping the Timberwolves’ losing streak at seven... “It was extra sweet to do it on the defensive end,” said Beasley, who had 28 points. “I forced him into a bad shot and we got the win.” Jamison, who led Cleveland with 24 points, thought he was fouled and said Beasley told him after the play that he had indeed fouled him... Luke Ridnour scored 23 points to help Minnesota improve to 7-24. Love added 16, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and had 18 rebounds for his NBA-leading 26th double-double. Anthony Parker had 21 and Mo Williams added 17 for the Cavaliers. Trailing 62-57 midway through the third quarter, the Cavaliers pulled ahead on a 31-12 run to take an 88-74 lead with 8:07 to play. Jawad Williams hit three 3-pointers and J.J. Hickson scored five points during the run.
Boozer leads Bulls past Pistons in overtime -The Chicago Bulls almost gave away a game Sunday night. In the end, though, the two best players on the floor made the difference. Carlos Boozer had 31 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick Rose added 23 points and 12 rebounds and the Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons 92-95 in overtime... Tayshaun Prince led a balanced Detroit attack with 17 points. Tracy McGrady and Hamilton both finished with 15 as Kuester chose to go with them over starters Villanueva and Ben Gordon for most of the fourth quarter and overtime.
Gay scores 30 points in Grizzlies’ win over Pacers - The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Indiana Pacers inside and outside. Rudy Gay scored 30 points, Zach Randolph had 18 points and 16 rebounds and the Grizzlies snapped a three-game losing streak with a 90-104 victory over the Pacers Sunday night... O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol added 17 points each for Memphis. The Grizzlies improved to 5-11 on the road and 13-17 overall... Danny Granger led the Pacers with 29 points and five rebounds. Roy Hibbert had 14 points and Mike Dunleavy added 10 for Indiana (13-15), which missed an opportunity to climb back to .500 and was denied its fourth set of back-to-back victories. The Pacers were coming off a 94-93 home victory over New Orleans on Monday night.
Paul leads Hornets past Hawks - Chris Paul had just four points as the New Orleans Hornets fell behind the Atlanta Hawks by nine points at halftime... Paul proceeded to score 13 of his 22 points in the third quarter and New Orleans outscored Atlanta 28-16 on its way to a 93-86 victory Sunday night. Paul was 10 of 17 from the field and also had eight assists. “That was just Chris Paul being Chris Paul,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. Hornets forward David West scored 18 points, Emeka Okafor had 14 points and 15 rebounds, Trevor Ariza added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Jack had 10 points. Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 23 points, Marvin Williams had 18, Josh Smith added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Parker, Spurs beat short-handed Wizards - Tony Parker and the NBA-leading San Antonio Spurs pushed aside the short-handed Washington Wizards before turning their attention to the Los Angeles Lakers. Parker had 20 points, 14 assists and six rebounds to help the Spurs beat the Wizards 94-80 on Sunday night... Manu Ginobili had 21 points and George Hill added 11 to help the Spurs improve to 24-6 and rebound from a 123-101 loss to Orlando on Thursday night that snapped their winning streak at 11. The league leaders in 3-point percentage, San Antonio shot 10 of 24 from long range... Rashard Lewis, acquired last week from Orlando, had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Washington, playing without suspended forwards Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee. They were suspended for one game for conduct detrimental to the team.
Holiday, Young rally 76ers past Nuggets, 89-95 - The Denver Nuggets are making a strong argument to keep Carmelo Anthony. Jrue Holiday had 22 points, Thaddeus Young added 20 and the Philadelphia 76ers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Anthony-less Denver Nuggets 89-95 on Sunday night. Elton Brand had 16 points and 17 rebounds and Jodie Meeks scored 17 points for the 76ers... The Nuggets led by 12 after the first quarter but the 76ers shot 50 percent in the second quarter to close the gap. They pulled within one twice and trailed 46-43 at halftime. Billups had 24 points and Afflalo and Ty Lawson added 14 each for the Nuggets. Chris Andersen and J.R. Smith also each had 11 rebounds for Denver.
MONDAY'S NOTES
Portland Trail Blazers: Brandon Roy’s knee issue is becoming a major problem. Roy won’t join the team on its upcoming road trip marking six consecutive games that he has sat out.
Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle will not be on the bench when his club visits Oklahoma City following minor knee surgery. Dwane Casey will take care of practice and act as head coach for the game. The Mavs have won four straight after dropping a game to the Bucks earlier this month.
Memphis Grizzlies: changes may be on the way for the Memphis Grizzlies. The club’s coach Lionel Hollins isn’t happy with his team’s versatility and speculation is that the Grizzlies are looking to make some moves and then dip into the free agent market heavily in the offseason. The Grizzlies have lost three straight heading into Monday’s game against Indiana.
