By Chris Bernucca
February 19, 2008: SCOREBOARD | IN FOCUS GALLERY | AROUND THE ASSOCIATION
ARCHIVE
PHOTO OF THE NIGHT
In his first game wearing his new duds, point guard Mike
Bibby was a dud, scoring just five points on 1-of-5 shooting Tuesday night as the
Atlanta Hawks absorbed a 122-93 road beating from
the Los Angeles Lakers. Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
"I don't like to come in here and try to take over.
Just like your basic karate movie where the young guys come to the old guys with beards
who have them do weird stuff to get to the other side. That's who I am, the old guy with a
long beard."-- Suns center Shaquille O'Neal on his role with his new team, which begins Wednesday night.
THE DAY'S TOP VIDEO
Tuesday's top play: Paul
Pierce brings down the hammer.
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NBA.COM'S FANTASY TAKE
In Living the Fantasy,
NBA TV's Rick Kamla feels the New Jersey Nets will make the playoffs despite trading Jason Kidd.
That seems a stretch - the late-season playoff pushes by the Nets in 2005 and 2007 were
singlehandedly directed by Kidd - but this is certain: Devin Harris owners will see an
increase in his numbers across the board. Harris was playing 30 minutes per game in
Dallas, a figure that should rise. Over the last 29 games, expect four to five 20-10 games
from Harris, which
is four to five more than he had in Dallas this season. Also check out NBA.com's Fantasy Index
SHOOTING STUDS
Deron Williams, Jazz119-109 win vs. Warriors
29 pts, 10-14 FG, 7-8 FT
Earl Watson, SuperSonics
108-101 win vs. Grizzlies
26 pts, 11-13 FG, 2-2 3-pt FG
David Lee, Knicks
113-100 win (OT) at Wizards
19 pts, 7-8 FG, 5-5 FT
STAT SHEET STUFFER
Those who say Marcus Camby is the most
indispensable player on the Denver Nuggets can point to Tuesday's 124-118 home win over
the Boston Celtics to further their argument. The "Camby Man" just missed his second
triple-double of the season with 11 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks. Camby also had
three assists, three steals and threw in his third 3-pointer of the season.
SHOOTING DUDS
Gerald Wallace, Bobcats85-65 loss at Spurs
4 pts, 0-9 FG
Emeka Okafor, Bobcats
85-65 loss at Spurs
2 pts, 1-9 FG
Jarrett Jack, Trail Blazers
105-94 loss vs. Kings
9 pts, 2-11 FG, 0-4 3-pt FG
STREAKING STRICTLY PROHIBITED
Four teams took extended winning streaks into Tuesday's action, but only the Houston
Rockets were able to avoid being stopped
cold. The Rockets survived awful shooting by superstars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady - who
combined to go 9-of-38 from the field - in a 93-85 victory at
Cleveland. The win extended Houston's overall and road winning streaks to nine; the
Rockets haven't lost away from home since January 2 at Boston. The other three teams
weren't
as lucky. The Detroit Pistons saw their 10-game run come to
an end with a 103-85 home beating at
the hands of Orlando. The Philadelphia 76ers had a season-high five-game winning streak
stopped with a 104-88 loss at
Minnesota. And the Boston Celtics had their five-game skein - and 17-game unbeaten run vs.
the West - squelched by a 124-118 loss at Denver.
AFTER THE BIG EASY, HARD TIMES
Having been to 10 All-Star Weekends - including gatherings in Los Angeles, New York and
Las Vegas - we can unequivocally say this: It's one big party. Which may go a long way toward
explaining the lingering effects several All-Stars seemed to be experiencing when the
games that count resumed Tuesday night. In
addition to the "Yow!"
by Yao, Portland's Brandon Roy was considerably off
the mark in a home loss
to Sacramento, as was Detroit's usually dynamic duo of Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace in a somewhat telling
home loss to Orlando.
In the same game, the Magic
somehow survived a rare double-single by Dwight Howard, who may have been the
prematurely anointed as the Man of
Steel. Meanwhile, the Spurs didn't
need any help from Tim Duncan, who shot
like he was playing
for the other team.
ROOKIE WATCH
One of the reasons the Rockets have rattled off 10 victories in a row is the play of
rookie Luis Scola. With superstar
teammates Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady struggling Tuesday in Cleveland, Scola collected 15
points and eight boards in a 93-85 road win. In his
last 10 games, the wily Argentine is averaging 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds.
SIXTH MAN OF THE NIGHT
A season ago, Ime Udoka started 75 games
for Portland - and watched the playoffs on TV. Now with the Spurs, Udoka comes off the
bench - and may be doing so well into June. The two-way forward gave San Antonio a boost
in Tuesday's 85-65 win
over Charlotte with 12 points and 10 rebounds, adding five assists to his first
double-double of the season.
D-LEAGUE STAR OF THE NIGHT
Elton
Brown may be taking up permanent residence in this box. The All-Star forward of the
Colorado 14ers had 30 points and 14 rebounds in Tuesday's 138-131
double-overtime home win over Rio Grande Valley, Colorado's fourth straight triumph.
It was the sixth consecutive double-double for Brown, who is averaging 21.7 points and
13.2 rebounds during that stretch.
