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STAT SHEET STUFFER
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There are very few players at 6-10 that can handle the ball and find teammates as well as Lamar Odom can. He showed that versatility off Monday with 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Lakers earned a split of their season series with the Jazz with a 94-88 home win. L.O. added a steal and two blocks to fill out the statline.
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RICK KAMLA'S FANTASY TAKE
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"Due to the ankle injury suffered by Theo Ratliff, the Blazers needed Darius Miles to come back before the All-Star break, and Miles delivered 14 points and nine rebounds in a slump-busting win. Miles looked like Miles, so get him in your lineup at once."
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D-LEAGUE STAR OF THE NIGHT
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The Patriots took a tough loss on Monday, but you could hardly blame forward Kaniel Dickens for that. Dickens, who has spent time with the Los Angeles Clippers this season, scored 14 of his game-high 33 points in the final quarter but the visiting Arkansas RimRockers escaped Fayetteville with a 115-111 win. Dickens hit 12-of-16 from the floor, including 6-of-7 from downtown.
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GAME OF THE NIGHT
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In a back-and-forth affair, David West had just enough time to get one more shot. The Wizards led by 17 at halftime and by as many as 19 in the third quarter before the Hornets came all the way back and grabbed a late five-point lead. Gilbert Arenas scored the last two of his 43 points to leave his team just one behind, and after a mad scramble for the rebound, Antawn Jamison nailed a baseline jumper with just 0.5 seconds left that seemed to win it for the Wiz. But with a retort reminiscent of Derek Fisher's response to Tim Duncan in the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals, West hit a wide open top-of-the-key jumper as time expired for a rousing 97-96 win.
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QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
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"I've yet to see a team that doesn't go through a stretch of difficulty. This is ours. We just got to battle through."
-- Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, who had yet another strong game (23 points, 19 rebounds, six assists) in yet another Timberwolves loss, 98-94 to the Raptors. The Wolves have lost four straight and 7-of-8 this month.
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STORYLINES OF THE NIGHT
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 1. Nines Are Enough
The Spurs rolled into Cleveland a perfect 6-0 on their eight-game Rodeo Road Trip, winners of nine straight road games and nine straight overall. All that perfection came to an end under the soles of LeBron James' airborne sneakers. King James scored 26 of his 44 points after halftime as the Cavs pulled away and his spectacular slam put an
exclamation point on the 101-87 win.
 2. Let's Go Streaking
The Mavs must have been upset that their NBA season-high 13-game winning streak came to a close, because they punished their opponents on Monday. Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points to lead six in double digits as Dallas avoided its first back-to-back losses since Nov. 29-Dec. 1 and notched the first win of what it hopes will be a new streak, 100-72 over the visiting Knicks. The victory, coupled with San Antonio's loss, puts the Mavericks in a tie for the best record in the West, while the Knicks have now lost 10 straight games for the first time since the season before Patrick Ewing joined the team.
 3. Remember Me?
With a win, the Jazz would have matched a team record with three straight victories over the Lakers, but Kobe Bryant had something to say about that. Bryant missed the first two of that string, sitting out both halves of a home-and-home set in early January due to a suspension, and made sure that Utah knew it. Kobe hit just 6-of-20 shots and scored just 23 points, but made his mark on the other side of the ball. An All-Defensive Team selection for five straight years before being left off last year, Bryant came away with a career-high seven steals in L.A.'s 94-88 win.
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COOL/CLUTCH PERFORMANCE
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For the second straight game, Pau Gasol came up big down the stretch. The Spaniard's 23 points were punctuated with a buzzer-beating spinning floater to lift the Grizzlies to an 81-79 win over the Warriors. The first-time All-Star also added 13 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. On Saturday, Gasol scored eight of his 31 points in the final three-plus minutes of a dramatic win over the Lakers. The pair of victories marks the first time Memphis has won two straight in a full month.
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ROOKIE WATCH
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The Jalen Rose- Antonio Davis trade has definitely benefitted the Raptors, now 4-2 since the deal, more than it has the Knicks, who have lost all seven of their games since. The main beneficiary has been Charlie Villanueva, who has averaged 16 points in the first six starts of his career, including exactly that many on 7-of-12 shooting in Monday's 98-94 win in Minnesota, Toronto's third straight. "This young man has an unbeliveable amount of talent," coach Sam Mitchell said. "We have to continue to push him and he's got to learn how to push himself."
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SIXTH MAN OF THE NIGHT
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The Blazers had dropped the first four games of their seven-game road trip, including three straight by at least 32 points, so Darius Miles in a uniform must have been a sight for sore eyes. D-Miles saw his first action since Dec. 2 (right knee surgery) and made his first appearance off the bench this season a success with 14 points and nine rebounds in Portland's 91-83 win in Charlotte. "I think I gave everybody a good burst of energy after these losses," he said afterward.
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SCOREBOARD: Feb.13, 2006 |
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE
David West beats the horn for the win:
