Ballin': Danny Green's Dagger Beats the Lakers
By Jason McIntyre
LA Lakers 82, San Antonio 84: Danny Green’s dagger in Kobe’s eye beat the Lakers. Kobe, who gave his “approval” to hire Mike D’Antoni, did score 28 points, but here’s your bizarre stat of the game – Dwight Howard took nine shots in 40 minutes; Metta World Peace took 14 in 36 minutes. LA played without starting PG Steve Nash and backup PG Steve Blake (ab strain). Darius Morris, a 2nd year player from Michigan, got the start.
Toronto 74, Indiana 72: Jose Calderon had a triple double (13 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), and the Raptors hung on for the win despite scoring just five points in the 4th quarter. The Pacers, so far, really miss Danny Granger. Last five games: 72, 89 (vs. Washington), 94, 86, 79. They’re 3-5 and I’m not sure it’s going to get better.
Charlotte 92, Washington 76: The No. 2 pick in the draft, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, had a fantastic game – 15 points, eight rebounds in only 27 minutes. The Bobcats are 3-3! The Wizards, despite being winless (0-6) at least have one excuse – John Wall is still out. Washington rookie Brad Beal: 1-for-11 shooting and he’s off to a slow start (34 percent shooting).
Portland 103, Sacramento 86: The Blazers made 14 three-pointers, the Kings made one, and Damian Lillard scored 22 points. What has become of Tyreke Evans? He was the 4th overall pick in 2009 and his numbers have gone downhill, fast. Through eight games, he’s averaging just 11.3 ppg, shooting 38 percent from the field, and an embarrassing 9 percent (!) on three-pointers.
New York 99, Orlando 89: The Knicks are 5-0! First time since Patrick Ewing and John Starks toiled in the Garden! Only undefeated team in the NBA! Last night, they won it with aggressive 2nd half defense. Oh, the Magic, who lost by 39 to Brooklyn last week, suck. Note: five games of the NBA regular season is the equivalent of one game in the NFL regular season. This is a long season. Please remain calm, New York fans.