wayne-ellington-and-insanely-hot-girlfriendLarry Bird and cheerleader photo below courtesy of Blaze of Love.

Minnesota 90, LA Clippers 93: Mike Dunleavy made a move, and the Clippers won! Dunleavy swapped struggling Al Thornton out of the starting lineup and inserted Rasual Butler. The result: Clippers win! Nevermind that Butler shot 3-for-15. Chris Kaman received MVP chants. Eric Gordon had 17 for the Clippers, and that guy needs more shots; he could score 25 a night in this league. Rookie Wayne Ellington, he of the hot girlfriend, went 0-for-4.

New Orleans 111, New York 117: The Knicks got a win! They’re pretty much our favorite team - the first two NBA games we attended in the 80’s involved the Knicks and Lakers, so we gravitated toward them - but NY has no hope this season. When they sign two superstars in July? Big fun! In what will become a theme this season … frustrated Chris Paul had 32 points and 13 assists in a losing effort.

denver-nuggets-cheerleader-and-larry-birdHouston 113, Utah 96: The Rockets improved to 3-1 win a nice road win as eight players scored in double figures, including rookie Chase Budinger (17). Even though there are 78 games left on the schedule, ESPN’s John Hollinger means everyone “has to take the Rockets seriously.” Second best stat of the night (best is below): Shane Battier, +36. Whatever. Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Paul Millsap combined to shoot 7-for-28.

New Jersey 68, Charlotte 79: How do you shoot 32 percent from the field, turn the ball over 19 times, and only make 1-of-15 three-pointers and win? You play winless New Jersey, which scored just seven points in the third quarter and suffered through a 10 minute dry spell. Gerald Wallace scored 24 points and collected 20 rebounds. The Nets played without Devin Harris (groin) again, and Yi Jianlian got hurt (knee).

Memphis 116, Sacramento 127, OT: We would have opened with Beno Udrih’s game-tying layup with 1-second left, or maybe Kevin Martin’s 48 points, or perhaps even the sprained ankle that limited rookie Tyreke Evans to 24 minutes and three points. But instead, Allen Iverson’s postgame comments stole the show. He played for the first time this season, scoring 11 points in 17 minutes. “Go look at my resume and that will show you that I’m not a sixth man. I don’t think it has anything to do with me being selfish. It’s just who I am. I don’t want to change what gave me all the success that I’ve had since I’ve been in this league.” Nobody could have seen this one coming.