4 OT’s in ONE NIGHT!!!

Dirk’s 37pts & Kidd’s Triple Double Overpower Hawks

This was definitely a game of runs, beginning with the Mavs ending the 1st quarter 29-19 after going on a 16-1 run.  The Hawks however came alive in the 2nd ending the half tied up at 50 a piece.  They kept it up in the 3rd outscoring the Mavs 26-15.  The 4th quarter is where the magic happened especially for veteran Jason Kidd.  Kidd had nine points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal in the final 4:53, adding to his monster triple double of 19 pts,16 reb, and 17 asts.  It was Kidd’s first triple double of the season but the 104th of his overall career.  Kidd was also set off by a brief encounter with Hawks’ coach Mike Woodson.  Woodson was on the court as Kidd was dribbling and coming down, Kidd bumped into him and gave him a little push off the court.  After a brief argument, Woodson was given a technical foul and Kidd was given the boost he needed.  Nowitzki shot the freethrow, and a 3 from Kidd gave the Mavs the lead, but a shot from Smith tied the game at 99 and sent them into overtime.  The Hawks missed their first 8 shots in overtime and it was pretty much all Mavs.  Nowitzki finished out with an amazing 37pts, 9rebs, and 4asts.  Joe Johnson hit 27pts, 10asts, and5rebs in the Hawks 111-103 loss to the Mavericks.

Rare Game Winner From Lee Gives Knicks Win

The depleted Washington Wizards team gave the struggling New York Knicks quite a game.  After a  blocked shot by Chandler the game went into overtime tied at 112.  As a Knick fan, this looked like it was going to be another heartbreaker.  After missing numerous missed freethrows, Harrington finally hit an important 2 giving the Knicks a 116-113 lead with 12 seconds left in overtime.  Then a staggering 3pointer from Nick Young tied the game at 116 with 6.4 seconds left.  In came David Lee; Lee was a last-minute all-star pick after the absence of Allen Iverson.  Lee hit a layup with 1.6seconds left on the clock giving the Knicks the 118-116 win over the Wizards, snapping an 8 game losing streak.  Lee finished with 25pts and 16rebs.  Adding to the Knick win early on was McGrady with 23pts.  The top performer for the night however was Al Harrington who has actually seen less playing time since the addition of McGrady.  Harrington ended the night with 37pts, 7rebs, and 4asts.  The new go to guy since the trades of Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison is Andray Blatche, Blatche checked in with 26pts, 18rebs, and 6asts in the loss.

Williams and King James Back At It To Defeat Raptors

Despite the absence of star Chris Bosh (out with left ankle injury) the Raptors still gave the team with #1 record a run for their money; however it wasn’t enough to get a win over the unstoppable Mo Williams and Lebron James.  Mo who was out with a shoulder injury is finally back to himself after hitting 4 three-pointers in a game against the Celtics,  He also came alive last night hitting 2 back to back 3pointers in the beginning of OT, adding to his 6 total and 22pts of the night.  Also checking in for the Cavs is the newly acquired Jamison with 22pts, 11rebs; giving him his first 20+ game in the 5 games since he’s joined the team.  Of course top performer for the night was Lebron James with 36pts, 9asts, and 6rebs.  Hedo Turkoglu’s 3pointer and dunk gave the Raptors the lead, but 2 layups from James sent it into overtime.  Turkoglu was later fouled out and finished with 18pts.  Andrea Bargnani and Jarrett Jack eached each scored 24 points in the 126-118 loss to the Cavs.

Rose’s 33pts Give Bulls Win Over Blazers

In an amazing night of basketball the Bulls and Blazers gave us the 4th overtime game of the night.  The game was somewhat shakey for the Bulls, but they were able to pull it off behind Derrick Rose’s game high of 33points.  Surprisingly Rose was scoreless in overtime, but Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah were all able to come through.  Hinrich had 17pts, Deng clocked in with 23pts 7rebs, and Noah added 11rebs to the mix.  It still was a valiant effort by the Blazers with LeMarcus Aldridge scoring a season high 32pts and 7rebs.  Brandon Roy added 23pts and Marcus Camby added 9pts 11rebs after returning from injury.  The Bulls won 115-111 giving them their sixth win in seven games since the All-Star break

Wizards-Mavs Trade Deal Complete

The Washington Wizards have completed a 7 player trade deal with the Dallas Mavericks.  Wizards trade Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to the Mavericks for Drew Gooden, Josh Howard, Quinton Ross and James Singleton.  The acquisitions of Butler and Haywood are a big boost for the rising Mavericks.  All-Star Caron Butler has a great scoring ability averaging 16.9 points and 6.7 rebounds in 47 games this season, he will take the spot of Howard.  Haywood a rim-protecting defensive force, comes just in time to fill the void of the injured Mavs center Eric Dampier.  The Mavs acquire athleticism, defense, and scoring factors.  The Wizards on the other end gain payroll and luxury-tax relief.  The Wizards are looking to rebuilding their franchise.  Though Howard has gone through turmoil with the Mavs amidst injury and drugs, there were good times during his 431 games.  Howard was an All-Star in 2007, when he averaged 18.9 points in 70 games. He had his best season in 2007-08, when he averaged 19.9 points.  There is hope for a new beginning for him with the Wizards.  The trade seems all around smart to me and I wish both teams good luck.