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STAT SHEET STUFFER
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Jamaal Magloire ripped down a career-high 22 rebounds to help the Bucks topple the shorthanded Bobcats, 101-91, on Saturday. Magloire scored 13 points, handed out four assists and blocked a shot, as well. His presence inside also opened things up for Andrew Bogut, who put together one of his best performances this season, and Michael Redd, who notched 34 points.
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RICK KAMLA'S FANTASY TAKE
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With all the injuries facing the Bobcats, expect Primoz Brezec to pick up a lot of the slack for his banged up teammates. His 21-point, 11-rebound line Saturday could be a sign of things to come.
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D-LEAGUE STAR OF THE NIGHT
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Ramel Curry buried a jumper with 0.2 ticks left on the clock to lift the Austin Toros over the Albuquerque Thunderbirds on Saturday. Curry scored 17 points in the 108-106 victory.
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GAME OF THE NIGHT
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Steve Francis overcame a shaky 4-of-20 shooting night against the Kings and came up big when the Magic needed him most Saturday. His driving layup with 21 seconds left pulled Orlando even for the first time since early in the second quarter. The game would go to overtime after Brad Miller missed a long jumper at the buzzer. In the extra session, Stevie Franchise calmly sank 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, including a pair with 23 ticks left to give the Magic the lead for good. Two more freebees with 5.2 seconds remaining iced Orlando's 83-78 win, its sixth straight at home. In addition to Francis' heroics, Hedo Turkoglu burned his former team with 22 points and Dwight Howard banked yet another double-double.
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QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
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"He was terrific. He made his shots, and he's just a wonderful player. I think we were intimidated by him a great deal."
-- Utah coach Jerry Sloan's candid analysis of LeBron James' performance in the Jazz's 108-90 home loss.
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STORYLINES OF THE NIGHT
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 1. Crowning Achievement
LeBron James made sure the Cavaliers' season-long six-game losing streak never made it to seven, as he shook off an ailing knee and a season-low 14-point night against the Warriors Wednesday to drop 51 on the Jazz in an impressive 108-90 rout in Utah. "All I can say is wow," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He was really close (to not playing). He went and got X-rays today, had it looked at by the doctor, and it was down to the last buzzer." King James not only notched his third career 50-plus-point game, but also became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 5,000-point plateau.
 2. Hoosier-State Horrors No More
When the Bulls and Pacers tipped off in Indiana, Pacers fans must have felt pretty confident. After all, Indiana had beaten Chicago 17 straight times at home, a streak that dated back to its storied Mark Jackson-Rik Smits era and began with a three-game Market Square Arena sweep in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals. The slide continued in Conseco Fieldhouse, which opened in 1999, as the Bulls stood at 0-12 in the Pacers' new digs. But that all changed in Saturday's second half, as Chicago dominated the final 24 minutes and finally won in the Hoosier State, 101-89. Andres Nocioni led the Bulls with 20 points and Tyson Chandler added 15 and 14 rebounds.
  3. Rookie Showdown
Saturday's Madison Square Garden crowd was treated to a marquee rookie matchup as Chris Paul and Channing Frye - who rank first and second in our rookie rankings - squared off in the World's Most Famous Arena. Paul, as he has done several times this season, stole the show with a tremendous 27-point, 13-assist, seven-rebound performance that carried the Hornets to a 109-98 victory. Frye performed admirably off the bench, scoring a team-high 18 points and snatching seven boards.
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ROOKIE WATCH
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This year's No. 1 pick often gets lost in the rookie shuffle, but Andrew Bogut is quietly putting together a solid inaugural campaign. On Saturday, the Bucks big man scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and collected 10 rebounds. He also blocked a couple of Bobcats shots as the Bucks won at home, 101-91.
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SIXTH MAN OF THE NIGHT
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Donyell Marshall is making an early case for this season's Sixth Man Award. His argument became pretty convincing Saturday as he popped off the pine to score 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from downtown, in the Cavs' win in Utah. His five rebounds were a nice addition to the offensively potent performance that should not be lost in all the hooplah surrounding LeBron and his 51.
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SCOREBOARD: Jan. 21, 2006 |
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE
LeBron swoops through the lane and slams it down in Utah:
