Sorry about how late these are coming in. The games tonight are starting in half an hour, but here’s what happened last night when everyone—including myself—was watching election coverage.

Home teams in CAPS.

CHICAGO BULLS 99 - Orlando Magic 93

Luol Deng had 23 points and Chicago came back strong from their loss to New Orleans at home on Saturday night. Aaron Afflalo led Orlando with 28. Chicago actually trailed after three quarters, but Deng, Taj and Nasty Nate Robinson helped the Bulls outscore Orlando 31-23 in the final quartrer for a win.

OKLAHOMA CITY 108 - Toronto Raptors 88

A 19-point halftime lead meant this game was never really in doubt. Westbrook led OKC with 19, but not a single starter played more than 30 minutes as they abused a Raptors team down Kyle Lowry (he sprained his right ankle and won’t play tonight against Dallas). One bright side for Toronto fans: Jonas Valanaciunas (whose name I’ll be able to spell soon), led Toronto in scoring with 18 points on 6/8 shooting from the floor with 6 rebounds in just 32 minutes.

DENVER NUGGETS 109 - Detroit Pistons 97

Iguodala led 6 Denver players in double-figues with 17. Greg Monroe was the lone bright spot for Detroit, scoring 27 points on 10/20 shooting. Denver took a lead by the end of the 1st quarter, and won every subsequent quarter until the game mercifully ended for Detroit, who is now 0-4. Denver is looking to rebound from a rough opening week of play where their much-heralded offense was pretty terrible. This was a good start.

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6 months ago

Scores from last night. Unfortunately, this will be a really quick edition because I’ve got some work to do, and an interview to conduct later. HAPPY ELECTION DAY!

New York Knicks 110 - PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 88

I already posted a little something about this game, but I’m still glowing today.

Minnesota Timberwolves 107 - BROOKLYN NETS 96

Nikola Pekovic had 21 for the ‘Wolves and Joe Johnson 19 for the Nets, but after being down 15 at halftime, the Timberwolves stormed back to outscore the Brooklyn Nets by 26 in the second half and give them their first lose in Brooklyn.

MIAMI HEAT 124 - Phoenix Suns 99

LeBron and Co. rolled and outscored Phoenix in every quarter. Shannon Brown led Phoenix with 18 off the bench, but LeBron James had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Wade poured in another 22 with 6 assists. This wasn’t even close.

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 103 - Utah Jazz 94

I watched the entirety of this first half, and Memphis won behind 22 points from my new favorite player, Marc Gasol. Gordon Hayward, after dropping 13 in the first half, added another 6 in the second half to pace 6 Jazz players in double figures with 19.

DALLAS MAVERICKS 114 - Portland Trail Blazers 91

OJ Mayo had another big game, scoring 32 points as the Mavericks cruised to a win. Aldridge and Wesley Matthews poured in 20 a piece for the Trail Blazers.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS 101 - Indiana Pacers 79

The Spurs’ Borg beginnings to the season continued at home as they wiped the floor with the Pacers. Gary Neal was 8/10 from the floor for 17 points to lead the Spurs, who don’t even look like they’re trying. George Hill had 15 to lead the Pacers.

SACRAMENTO KINGS 94 - Golden State Warriors 92

This one was awesome, depending on whom you ask. I caught the final quarter, when Sacramento’s lead continued to be cut, and Klay Thompson missed an open look to take the lead. Steph Curry struggled from the floor, but hit a late 3 to tie the game. Unfortunately, his 3-pointer as time expired went a little long, with another favorite, Chuck Hayes, rushing out to defend, and Curry trying to Reggie Miller leg kick to draw the foul. The refs didn’t bite, which is probably a good thing, since I’m pretty sure DeMarcus Cousins and Keith Smart would have punched them. The two of them were arguing back and forth throughout the 4th quarter, and Cousins’ perpetual scowl never left his face, even after Curry’s final shot bounced off the back of the iron. Dvde needs to enjoy the wins more. Cousins led the Kings with 23 and 15 boards plus 3 steals and 3 blocks. Klay Thompson had 22 to pace Golden State, and David Lee added another 20.

Cleveland Cavaliers 108 - LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 101

This one was somehow more exciting than Kings-Warriors; Pacific Coast games are the best because no one is up, and I can sit in my bed and just take it all in* without worrying about work or responsibilities or clipping video. This was a doozy, punctuated by some NBA Jam on fire shooting from Syracuse rookie, Dion Waiters, an annoyed Chris Paul taking over in the 4th, and a shot from Kyrie Irving that was as much a proclamation as a 3-pointer. He was proclaiming: “I am Kyrie Irving, and there isn’t a guard alive I’m afraid of, so be leery any time I’m on the court.”

Irving’s shot was all the more remarkable when you realize he finished 8/23 from the field—not exactly setting the world on fire. Waiters led the Cavs with 28, and Blake had 20 for Los Angeles.

I hope you vote today!!!!!

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6 months ago

Scores from Sunday, as the weekend ends on a bright note.

As always, home teams in CAPS.

NEW YORK KNICKS 100 - Philadelphia 76ers 84

The battle for Atlantic Division primacy kicked off Sunday afternoon in front of a still frazzled and storm-struck crowd at MSG. Unlike the Miami blow-out, Carmelo Anthony didn’t need 28 shots to connect on 10 field goals. This time he only needed 18, which is a good sign. Any time he’s approaching the 30-shot mark, the Knicks chances have to drop significantly.

‘Melo was pretty smooth during this spin-move for the bucket.

The Knicks again came out on fire from long-range, connecting on 5 3-pointers in the first quarter. They only had 6 for the rest of the game, but they still managed to connect on 40% of their attempts 11/27, and took a 14 point lead into half. Philly came out in the third quarter and got four points back largely with the help of Jrue Holiday and his 27 points and 5/6 shooting from the three-point line. Thaddeus Young, that gawky leftie, also chipped in with 16 points on 7/14 from the field. But it was obvious they missed their franchise center, Andrew Bynum.

Besides ‘Melo, J.R. Smith had 20 off the bench, and Jason Kidd added 12 points and 6 assists. Tyson Chandler’s knee is supposed to be OK, but he’s only averaging 22.5 minutes per game in the Knicks’ two home wins this season, and I worry about the Knicks’ future if their bulwark down low isn’t healthy.

After Evan Turner hit a 3 in the fourth quarter to cut the Knicks lead to 90-79, Rasheed motherf__kin’ Wallace subbed in. After a couple ‘Melo free throws, Wallace got the ball in the low post. Yes Indeedy, Ra-‘Sheedy, showed ”ya’ll how post players really need to play old-school basketball.”

You know thing are going well when Rasheed Wallace, and his lumbering, out-of-shape frame, is capable of scoring in the first two games for the Knicks this season.

ORLANDO MAGIC 115 - Phoenix Suns 94

I watched a little bit of this game, and with Jameer Nelson on th bench with a strained right hamstring, I thought Dragic would have a bigger game. Even though he tossed in 12 points and 8 assists, rookie E’twaun Moore, from Purdue (big ups to my Moms’ family in West Lafayette), had 15 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals, to fill-in nicely for Nelson. Dragic needs to take these opportunities against second string starters to show why he’s a legit playmaker in this league and a top 15 point guard.

Aaron Afflalo and Glen Davis each had 22 for Orlando as they rolled in the second half, out-scoring Orlando 40-20 in the third quarter and 29-18 in the fourth. Luis Scola, as sneaky a big man as there is in the game today, had 24 on 10/19 shooting, and Beasley, who is not so sneaky, also had 22 in the loss.

Atlanta Hawks 105 - OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 94

Welp, it’s not just the Lakers who have run in to trouble early in the season. After pulling ahead in the second quarter, Oklahoma City fell apart in the second half and lost by 11. Al Horford was in beast mode, and it reminds Hawk fans what they missed last season. Jeff Teague showing everyone—why he should start at point over Devin Harris—was 7 for 12 from the floor scoring 16 points to go with 5 assists, 3 steals, rebounds and turnovers. He also limited Russell Westbrook to another subpar shooting night, 5/18, and Atlanta overcame Josh Smith’s ankle sprain for the victory.

Durant, in the loss was 7/17 from the field for 23 points to go with 12 boards; he also got dunked on by Jeff Teague, as you can see from the gif above. Pretty sure if the Thunder lose again, the whispering about the flubbed Harden trade will increase to a normal speaking voice. Also, Durant is third in the league in rebounding after three games. Just something to keep in mind; he’s crashing the glass with abandon.

TORONTO RAPTORS 105 - Minnesota Timberwolves 86

Huzzah for Canada, my brother from another mother (I grew up in Rochester, NY, which is basically Canada, since it’s just across Lake Ontario, and I spent a lot of time in high school visiting Niagara, because of Sundowners). The Raptors, and their Lithuanian big man, Jonas Valanciunas, fill me with joy, as does their new point guard, Kyle “How could you think I’m worse than Jeremy Lin AND Goran Dragic” Lowry. Lowry was 8/10 from the field, 2/3 from beyond the arc, 4/4 from the line, and added 5 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals with only a couple turnovers. DeMar DeRozan had 22 as well, and Alan Anderson added 18 off the bench as the Raptors led throughout.

About the only bright side for a ‘Wolves team that really needs Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio to come back, was Nikola Pekovic and Andreis Kirilenko. Combined they were 12/18 from the field for 32 points.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS 108 - Detroit Pistons 79

The Lakers finally got a win, against the lowly Pistons (actually, not that low if Stuckey could shoot better, and Monroe shot more). Dwight Howard was his dunking, put-backing best, going 12/14 from the field, and 4/9 from the free throw line. Sigh. Metta also shot well, going 7/11 from the field as the Lakers opened up the game with a 34-13 first quarter advantage they never relinquished.

The really weird move of the game was Mike Brown’s decision to insert Kobe, and his achy knees/ankle, plus Dwight and his surgically repaired back, into the game in the fourth quarter with the score at 88-64 and just 8:55 remaining. Maybe #FireMikeBrown isn’t as annoying and shortsighted as I thought.

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6 months ago

Scores from Saturday night, which was my eighth night stuck outside Brooklyn. Today, I finally made it back. As a reward, each of these games only gets a sentence.

Home teams in CAPS.

BROOKLYN NETS 107 - Toronto Raptors 100

Brook Lopez, a contemptible rebounder (he only had 6 last night), scored 29 points to help the Brooklyn Nets overcome Toronto and Kyle Lowry’s 28 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds, in their opening game at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center; Jay-Z and Beyonce looked on from midcourt.

Boston Celtics 89 - WASHINGTON WIZARDS 86

Rondo with 12 and 12, but Pierce dropped 27 and KG 15 as Boston jumped out to a 26-12 first quarter lead and held on for their first victory.

Golden State Warriors 114 - LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 110

Carl Landry outplays Blake Griffin…by a lot.

INDIANA PACERS 102 - Sacramento Kings 92 in 2 OT

Indiana holds on for the exciting win, but Chuck Hayes’ defense on David West gave Tom Thibodeau an erection.

MIAMI HEAT 119 - Denver Nuggets 116

Ray Allen hit the game-winning shot, which ended up as a 4-point play, and the Nuggets couldn’t answer with a 3 of their own (Iggy hit a big shot to tie the score with 14 seconds remaining).

New Orleans Hornets 89 - CHICAGO BULLS 82

Even without Anthony Davis, the Hornets beat the Bulls in Chicago behind 18 points from PG Greivis Vasquez.

Portland Trail Blazers 95 - HOUSTON ROCKETS 85

James Harden finally cools down at home, LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lilliard keep racking up the points and the Blazers rebound from the night before.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS 110 - Utah Jazz 100

Danny Green hit a few 3’s, but Duncan is still close to an automatic double-double most nights.

DALLAS MAVERICKS 126 - Charlotte Bobcats 99

Vince Carter looked 24 again, and the Bobcats were due for a letdown after winning their opener last night.

MILWAUKEE BUCKS 105 - Cleveland Cavaliers 102

Yes, Greg Jennings hit the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired with Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao all over him at the top of the circle,

But it was Mike Dunleavy Jr’s 10/12 night shooting that actually won it for Milwaukee.

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6 months ago