Ballin': Gordon Hayward Had a Block Party in the Boston Garden*
By Jason McIntyre
New York 108, Orlando 86: The Knicks outscored the Magic 65-30 in the second and third quarters and won for the 9th time in 10 games. Who needs Lin and Amare when Novak hits four three-pointers (16 points), rookie Iman Shumpert makes four three’s (25 points) and Melo scores 25? At 26-25, the Knicks over over .500 for the first time since early January. They’re 8-1 under new coach Mike Woodson. With 15 games left, they’re 3.5 back of Atlanta for the 6tth seed, which they need to get to avoid the Bulls or Heat in the first round.
New Orleans 102, Golden State 87: The Warriors continue to tank, and Commish Stern can’t do a damn thing about it. We’ve got a mock draft coming today and Golden State needs to keep losing to get in the top 7 (currently 9th).
Denver 96, Toronto 105: The Raptors made 12 three-pointers and dealt a tough loss to the Nuggets, who fell into a 3-way tie with Utah and Houston for the 7th seed in the West. Two of those three teams will get in. Phoenix is looming, two games back; Minnesota is 2.5 out. JaVale McGee put Jose Calderon on a poster.
Boston 94, Utah 82: And … Boston’s tied for first in the Atlantic again. KG went for 23-10 and Rajon Rondo had 14 assists. The story of the night? Gordon Hayward’s block party. Love that guy. He loves Olive Garden.
Cleveland 75, Detroit 87: The Cavs flirted with a playoff berth in February, but they’ve lost five in a row (17-31) and have no shot at the postseason now. Detroit better be careful – they keep winning (18-32) and hurting their draft position.
* I know the Garden has a new corporate name. Don’t care. It’s always Boston Garden to me.