Ballin': Clippers Provide Ample Highlights (Again) in Win at Utah
By Jason McIntyre
Utah 105, LA Clippers 107: Chris Paul (34 points, 11 assists) got his first assist less than five seconds into the game. It was this lob to Blake Griffin right off the opening tap …
… but that wasn’t all for Griffin (31 points, 14 rebounds). He swatted Gordon Hayward’s layup attempt …
… and also flushed another alley-oop while being fouled. Wait for the “are you kidding me?” from the announcer.
DeAndre Jordan got into the act as well.
Chicago 82, Philadelphia 98: In a battle of Eastern Conference heavyweights, the 76ers punished the Bulls in the third quarter (26-11) and rolled to victory. Andre Iguodala got flashy in the open floor. The top five teams in the East – Philly, Chicago, Indiana, Miami, Atlanta – all have six losses.
Miami 97, Milwaukee 105: Even without Andrew Bogut, you can’t just roll into Milwaukee and expect to win. Kobe lost there Saturday, and LeBron (40-8-5) and Wade (23-8-6) wasted a 17-point first quarter lead and were blitzed in the second half, mostly by Brandon Jennings and his 31 points. LeBron actually outscored the Bucks in the first quarter, 24-23. Here’s video of all 40 of LeBron’s points.
Indiana 109, Minnesota 99: Danny Granger yelled, “we don’t need no stinkin’ scorer” and then dropped 36 on the Wolves. Ricky Rubio: 10 points, six assists, four rebounds but he was thoroughly outplayed by Darren Collison (20 points, nine assists, six rebounds).
Oklahoma City 95, Dallas 86: In a rematch of the Western Conference finals, Russell Westbrook scored 33 points and a frustrated Rick Carlisle was booted after picking up a second technical for kicking a ball into the stands.
Boston 100, Toronto 64: Jeff Goodman said the Kentucky starting five would have beaten the Raptors’ starting five last night. Here’s who the Raptors started: DeMar DeRozan, Jose Calderon, Aaron Gray, Ed Davis and James Johnson. Yuck. Kentucky’s starting group (aligning the matchups): Kidd-Gilchrist, Teague, Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb. I think the Raptors win, but it wouldn’t be a rout. Calderon’s advantage over Teague would be a massive advantage. I’d be curious to see how Davis handled a big NBA body like Gray. Don’t think Lamb could check Johnson, but he’d have to because DeRozan would punish him.
Orlando 109, Washington 103: Dwight Howard (23 points, 18 rebounds) dunked on JaVale McGee. That would be the end of this, except John Wall had arguably his worst game as a pro – 1-of-12, 2 points. He did have 10 assists and seven rebounds, though. How do the Wizards lose a game in which they make 12-of-23 3-pointers? They only attempted nine foul shots. Orlando shot 30-of-39 from the line (Howard was a much-improved 11-of-16).