By Michael Levine

March 4, 2007: SCOREBOARD | PHOTO GALLERY | AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE

PHOTO OF THE NIGHT
Michael Redd (52 points) and the Bucks were beaten by Ben Gordon (48) and the Bulls. G. Dineen/NBAE/Getty
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"It was odd because I can sit here and tell you I probably could have scored more than 34 tonight. There was a lot of easy shots that I missed."
-- Seattle's Ray Allen, who missed just one game with an ankle injury that was supposedly season-threatening, and returned with 34 points in the Sonics' 96-89 home win over Charlotte.
NBA.COM FANTASY TAKE
The Jazz easily defeated the Hornets, and Deron Williams had a lot to do with it, but Chris Paul won the statistical battle with his fellow super sophomore point guard. Paul had 14 points, 13 dimes and three steals to Williams' 20, six and one, and also lost just one turnover to Williams' four. Take solace, CP3 fans.
SHOOTING STUDS
Michael Redd, Bucks
126-121 OT loss vs. Bulls
52 pts, 18-32 FG, 8-13 3-pt FG

Ben Gordon, Bulls
126-121 OT win at Bucks
48 pts, 18-32 FG, 6-12 3-pt FG, 6-7 FT

Ricky Davis, Wolves
124-117 2OT loss at Celtics
35 pts, 12-20 FG, 4-6 3-pt FG, 7-7 FT




STAT SHEET STUFFERS
Two of the NBA's best combined for an uncommon feat Sunday. Kevin Garnett added 14 rebounds and 10 assists to 33 points, the second-highest total among his 16 triple-doubles, but his Wolves fell in Boston in double OT. Jason Kidd set a career-high with 10 triple-dips in one season with an 11-point, 14-board, 14-dime job that gave him 85 lifetime, but N.J. lost in Philly. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time that two players with trip-dubs lost on the same day was Jan. 28, 2004, when KG and Ray Allen went down.
SHOOTING DUDS
Vince Carter, Nets
99-86 loss at 76ers
4-20 FG, 0-0 FT, 9 pts

Matt Barnes, Warriors
107-106 loss at Wizards
3-10 FG, 1-6 3-pt FG, 7 pts

Raymond Felton, Bobcats
96-89 loss at Sonics
3-9 FG, 0-4 3-pt FG, 10 pts




BATTLE BY THE LAKE
The Bulls were down by 18 points in the fourth quarter and were facing a red-hot opponent: Michael Redd had just scored 24 of what would become 52 points during Milwaukee's 36-26 third period. Thank goodness for Ben Gordon. The diminuitive BG poured in 20 points in the fourth and four more in overtime to finish with a career-best 48 in Chicago's dramatic 126-121 road win. The 100 combined points made Redd and Gordon just the eighth tandem to reach the century mark together in the last 30 years. Both players shot 18-for-32 from the floor. It was the second time this season that Redd has tallied more than 50 in a defeat - he scored a franchise-record 57 in a November loss to Utah.
  • Video: Watch Ben Gordon's scorching performance
  • HELP ON THE WAY?
    It's hard enough to beat the Suns under any circumstances, and missing one of your best players in a trip to the desert makes the task nearly impossible. In their first game without Lamar Odom, the Lakers hung tough but ultimately came up short in a 99-94 defeat in Phoenix. The Suns added to their impressive numbers behind 23 points and 10 assists from Steve Nash. With Odom sidelined indefinitely with a torn labrum and Luke Walton, his small forward understudy, still out with ankle woes, the possibility of a comeback by 41-year-old Scottie Pippen could become enticing for L.A. Comfort with Phil Jackson and the triangle offense and a willingness to defer to a Michael Jordan-esque Kobe Bryant make the idea plausible. Stranger things have happened in Tinseltown...
    COOL/CLUTCH PERFORMANCE
    With 2.9 seconds left and his Wizards trailing the visiting Warriors by two, Gilbert Arenas drove the lane and did not appear to get a shot off before time expired. But a whistle blew just after the horn sounded, and the refs used instant replay to determine that Mickael Pietrus' foul on Arenas occured with 0.1 on the clock. Don Nelson, who stormed the court to argue the decision, was called for a technical foul that gave Agent Zero three attempts from the line instead of two. Gil calmly sank all three to finish with 32 points on 12-for-12 from the charity stripe in a 107-106 matinee win over his former team. "He just knew he was going to make his free throws. They didn't touch no rim, bottom of the net, so he did what he was supposed to do," said Al Harrington, who had nailed two freebies on the other end to set up the wild finish.
    SIXTH MEN OF THE NIGHT
    For much of the season, the inexperienced Randy Foye, imported Mike James and international Marko Jaric have battled for Minnesota's point guard time. Meanwhile, Troy Hudson has been largely a forgotten man. On Sunday, Hudson made his first start since 2004-05, played more minutes (46) than he had since before joining the Wolves, and responded with season highs of 26 points and eight assists, plus hit a late 3-pointer to force overtime. But Ryan Gomes was a more traditional sixth man, popping off the pine to play more than 52 minutes and rack up 21 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three steals for Boston. Former reserve Delonte West added a career-high 31 points, and the streaking Celtics prevailed after two extra frames, 124-117 at home.
    ROOKIE WATCH
    Washington native and former Gonzaga University star Adam Morrison made his lone rookie visit to his hometown state mildly successful. The No. 3 pick showed some of the outside touch that made him a legend just 280 miles away in Spokane, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in front of the friends and family in attendance on Sunday. He also came off of a curl for a surprisingly strong two-handed fourth-quarter flush, and ended up with 17 points and five assists, but his Bobcats fell to 0-4 on their road trip with a 96-89 setback to the Sonics. Charlotte has stops at the first-place Jazz and Suns left on its Western odyssey.
    D-LEAGUE STAR OF THE NIGHT
    There is no basketball skill quite as fundamental as foul shooting. Pooh Jeter showed that even the most basic tasks can be extremely important on Sunday by hitting 7-of-8 from the line in the final 25 seconds as his 14ers held on to beat the visiting Skyforce, 98-97. Jeter had 14 points and nine assists, and teammate Louis Amundson tallied 13 points and 13 rebounds, including eight boards on the offensive end.