By Mike Weilamann
January 29, 2008: SCOREBOARD | IN FOCUS GALLERY | AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE
PHOTO OF THE NIGHT
Grant Hill rejects Marvin Williams for one of the Suns' franchise-record 19 blocks in Tuesday's win over the Hawks. The blocks were also a league high this season. Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"Maybe it will distract us from losing. That's my theory. Maybe it'll take some pressure off the team and just be like 'Hey, you know what? Let's just go play basketball and have some fun out there.' Maybe it will distract us from losing all these damn games."-- Nets forward Richard Jefferson speaking about the Jason Kidd trade talk before Tuesday's win over Milwaukee at IZOD Center.
THE DAY'S TOP VIDEO
Tuesday's top play: Anthony Parker's 3-point prayer is answered.
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NBA.COM'S FANTASY TAKE
The astute fantasy owner is not afraid to cast his line into the waters of doubt. If you are in need of some backcourt help, it might make sense to take a flier on New Jersey’s Marcus Williams. With all of the Jason Kidd trade talk -- even Larry Brown is weighing in on it -- someone would inherit the point duties for the Nets. That someone is Williams. He won't approach triple-double numbers with regularity like Kidd, but he might be good for say 12 points, a handful of dimes and perhaps a steal or two. Fantasy Index
SHOOTING STUDS
Chris Bosh, Raptors108-104 loss at Wizards
37 pts, 11-22 FG, 14-18 FT
Manu Ginobili, Spurs
88-85 loss at Sonics
29 pts, 10-17 FG, 4-6 3-pt FG, 5-8 FT
Mike Dunleavy, Pacers
110-104 loss vs. Pistons
25 pts, 9-15 FG, 4-4 3-pt FG, 3-3 FT
STAT SHEET STUFFER
It would have taken a triple-team to stop Yao Ming on Tuesday. Yao was simply unstoppable down the stretch as he posted 36 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Rockets held on to beat the Warriors in an entertaining matchup at Toyota Center. Yao averaged only 13 points in the first two meetings with the Warriors as the Rockets lost both by double-digits. An 85 percent foul shooter, Yao was 14-of-15 from the line.
SHOOTING DUDS
Paul Pierce, Celtics117-87 win at Heat
7 pts, 2-9 FG, 1-4 3-pt FG
Dwyane Wade, Heat
117-87 loss vs. Celtics
7 pts, 1-9 FG, 0-1 3-pt FG
Joe Johnson, Hawks
125-92 loss at Suns
9 pts, 3-14 FG, 0-2 3-pt FG
SIMPLE MATH: CELTICS GOOD MINUS TWO OF THREE
The Celtics leaned on their ‘Big Three’ again in Tuesday’s laugher over the struggling Heat. No, not that three. Boston leaned on a new trio of Leon Powe, Tony Allen and Rajon Rondo. To borrow a line from the movie Major League: Who are these guys? Powe led the way with a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds, Rondo matched a career high with 23 points and Allen had 20. To make a 30-point loss even more disturbing for the Heat is the fact that both Kevin Garnett (abdominal strain) and Ray Allen (flu) missed the game, while Paul Pierce was virtually invisible with seven points on 2-of-9 shooting in a little over 28 minutes. Dwyane Wade also struggled with seven points on 1-of-9 shooting. The Heat were hoping to turn the corner after snapping their 15-game skid on Saturday against the Pacers. They better turn the page on this one and fast.
WELCOME TO 2008: SONICS LOWER BOOM ON SPURS
The worst stretch in Seattle SuperSonics history ended in thrilling fashion on Tuesday. An 88-85 win over the Tony Parker-less Spurs was almost worth the wait. Kevin Durant led the way with 26 points, calmly sinking the go-ahead jumper with 32 seconds left to help snap a brutal 14-game skid with the team’s first win of 2008 and first since beating the Timberwolves on Dec. 29. The Spurs’ struggles at KeyArena continue as they have lost nine of 11 in the Emerald City. Perhaps the most impressive thing in Seattle’s victory was the fact that they hardly resembled a team that had lost 14 straight. Kurt Thomas also came up big in the win, hitting two big consecutive shots and grabbing a key rebound in the closing minute to help preserve the win. He also set a screen to free Durant on the game-winner. Luke Ridnour also sank some clutch free throws down the stretch.
ROOKIE WATCH
Kevin Durant raised his level of play in Tuesday’s upset of the defending champion Spurs. The former University of Texas star poured in 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, in addition to calmly sinking the eventual winning jumper with 32 seconds remaining. It was very apparent early on that Durant was on his game. He buried three shots in the first 3:13 en route to 11 first-quarter points. He also posted seven rebounds and five assists. … Luis Scola posted 10 points in the Rockets’ home win over the Warriors. … Acie Law had eight points and four assists in the Hawks’ loss to the Suns.
COOL/CLUTCH PERFORMANCE
There were plenty of candidates here in the Wizards’ OT thriller against the Raptors. Andray Blatche gets the nod for his 19 points and eight rebounds in filling in for the injured Caron Butler (hip). Blatche was making just his second start of the season. Give Antawn Jamison some love for his 24 points and 20 rebounds and for making life a lot easier for Blatche. It was only Washington's fifth victory in 21 games without Butler over the past two seasons. Toronto’s Anthony Parker also rates as a candidate after hitting an improbable off-balance trey at the buzzer to force OT.
D-LEAGUE STAR OF THE NIGHT
The Los Angeles D-Fenders certainly enjoy playing the Utah Flash. Sean Banks poured in 23 points as L.A. made it back-to-back wins over Utah with Tuesday’s 106-85 victory at STAPLES Center. On Sunday, the D-Fenders prevailed 95-71. Even the return of Morris Almond could not help the Flash (13-13) avoid dropping to .500 for the first time since Dec. 15. Almond had 20 points in Tuesday’s loss. It was the 15th time in 25 games this season that Banks, on assignment from the New Orleans Hornets, led the D-Fenders in scoring. He had 24 and 11 rebounds in Sunday’s win.
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