Ballin': Blake Griffin Dunks, Bill Simmons Cheers
By Jason McIntyre
Chicago 106, LA Clippers 88: The Bulls kept Blake Griffin scoreless for the first 8 minutes of the third quarter, and pulled away to register an easy victory. Griffin: 32 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 0 turnovers … but 4-for-13 from the line. MVP candidate Derrick Rose scored 32. Griffin assaulting the rim, repeatedly, after the jump. If you’re like me, you’ll wonder why Kyle Korver – who has the vertical leap of a sumo wrestler – even bothered to jump.
Indiana 117, Cleveland 112: Twenty-two losses in a row for the Cavs, who travel to Memphis Friday looking for their first win since the ‘Nam. You’d think they would have beaten the Pacers – who turned the ball over 18 times – after attempting 44 foul shots (making 35), but they got beaten up badly on the offensive glass (16-6), and wasted a 3-point lead with 3:32 left. At least Alonzo Gee left fans with this highlight.
Dallas 113, New York 97: Great first quarter from the Knicks, but the rest was a disaster, and the Mavs have won six in a row. The Dallas bench scored 47 points, Dallas slaughtered New York on the glass (54-34), out-shot them from 3 (made 11-of-25), and put on a defensive clinic in the second half. Amare didn’t make a basket in the last two quarters.
Oklahoma City 104, New Orleans 93: Kevin Durant’s 43 points were more than enough against the injury-plagued Hornets. Chris Paul tweaked an ankle, Trevor Ariza sprained an ankle (and will be out indefinitely), and Emeka Okafor missed the game (oblique muscle). They’ll need to snap Marcus Thornton out of his sophomore slump and hope rookie Quincy Pondexter can provide a spark to fill Ariza’s void.
Phoenix 92, Milwaukee 77: Brandon Jennings has been back for three games, and he can’t find his shot (7-for-26). The Bucks – who have had major injury issues this season – were one of the league’s best stories last year. They’re 19-28 this year, which would be good for about 13th in the West, but has them 10th in the East, just 1.5 games back of the 8th seed. Milwaukee last won in Phoenix 1987. Somebody get Jack Sikma or Paul Pressey on the horn.
Joe Johnson with my favorite NBA highlight of last night, maybe this week. Sick move. Also, welcome to the NBA, Ed Davis.