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13 |
March 1, 2006
Golden State's Jason Richardson almost sat out Wednesday's game against the Magic because of a sprained ankle. After torching Orlando for 25 points in the Warriors 98-94 victory, Orlando probably wishes he did. Richardson dropped in 16 points in the fourth quarter, including 11 in the final two minutes. For his efforts, Richardson earned 13 Nestlé Crunch points.
Richardson heated up late:
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11 |
March 2, 2006
Flip Murray -- acquired last week in a trade with the Sonics -- is already coming through in big spots for his new team, scoring seven points in the final minute of the fourth quarter Thursday against the Bulls. After Cleveland let a 25-point lead disappear, Murray put his squad back on top with a layup at the 1:03 mark and banked another layin just 50 seconds later to pull them within one. After Chicago regained a two-point edge, LeBron James found Murray in the right corner, where he buried a trey to give the Cavs a 92-91 win that halted a five-game skid. For his heroics, Murray notched 11 Nestlé Crunch points.
Murray flips home the win:
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11 |
March 3, 2006
In a battle between two of the best shooters in the NBA, Seattle's Ray Allen made more baskets, while Detroit's Richard Hamilton knocked down more important ones. Hamilton drained three crucial jumpers in the final 55 seconds as the Pistons squeaked past the Sonics, 98-96, on Friday. Rip's first basket in the final minute put Detroit up two. With the Pistons trailing by a point, he made a trey with 28 seconds left. The guard saved his best shot for last, draining the game winner with 0.2 left to play. For his efforts, Hamilton earned 11 Nestlé Crunch points.
Hamilton nails a trio of jumpers:
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10 |
March 4, 2006
With Dwyane Wade sidelined with a wrist injury and Shaquille O'Neal having fouled out, the Miami Heat needed someone to elevate their play down the stretch as they battled back against Atlanta. Derek Anderson answered the call, helping Miami rally for a 95-93 win over the visiting Hawks on Saturday. His fadeaway jumper with 33.9 seconds left pulled the Heat into a 93-93 tie. As the game entered the final seconds, Anderson corralled a loose ball following Udonis Haslem's missed shot and fed a wide-open Alonzo Mourning for the game-winning dunk with 1.8 ticks remaining. Anderson racked up 10 total Nestlé Crunch points.
Anderson comes up with two big plays:
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10 |
March 5, 2006
Defending MVP Steve Nash did a little bit of everything down the stretch to help the Suns wrap up a 115-107 victory at Dallas on Sunday. The former Maverick delivered a reverse layup around Dirk Nowitzki with 1:15 to play, pushing Phoenix's lead to 109-104. He set up Shawn Marion's layup with 43 ticks remaining for a 111-107 advantage and then iced the game in the closing seconds. He grabbed a rebound of Nowitzki's miss, was fouled immediately and connected on two free throws with 11 seconds to go. The point guard finished the game with 25 points, 11 assists and a fitting 10 Nestlé Crunch points as his late efforts secured the 10th straight victory for the Suns.
Nash diversifies as Suns hold on:
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16 |
March 6, 2006
Shaquille O'Neal turned 34 on Monday and he had plenty to celebrate by the time the game was over. With Dwyane Wade sidelined for the second straight game (wrist), the Heat looked for Shaq often down the stretch and he delivered 14 of his season-high 35 points in the fourth quarter, helping Miami rally to force overtime against the Bobcats. O'Neal kept rolling in the extra session, scoring all eight Miami points en route to a 106-105 victory in Charlotte. Shaq tied the game three times in OT before putting the Heat on top for good on a jam with 42 seconds to play. O'Neal, who also grabbed 12 boards, notched 16 Nestlé Crunch points on his big night.
Shaq blows out candles on win:
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12 |
March 7, 2006
Dallas, at 46-13, hosted 19-40 Portland on Tuesday. It sounded like a mismatch on paper, yet the Mavericks found themselves locked in a struggle with the Trail Blazers all night. Enter ace in the hole Jerry Stackhouse. Stack scored 15 in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer from the left corner with 41 seconds left that finally gave Dallas some breathing room at 86-81. He sealed the Mavs' 93-87 victory by hitting 5-of-6 from the line en route to earning 12 Nestlé Crunch Time points.
Jerry Stacks the deck from the arc:
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12 |
March 8, 2006
It's a cliché to say that the Sixers couldn't handle The Truth on Wednesday, but it's also a fact - Paul Pierce would not be denied down the stretch. After hitting a buzzer beater the night before to beat the Wizards, Pierce entered the world of clutch again as he hit a 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining in the fourth quarter to bring the Celtics within two, 99-97. Less than a minute later, with 27 ticks left, he hit another trifecta to give Boston the lead for good, 100-99. He sealed the C's 104-101 victory by grabbing a defensive rebound on Philly's ensuing possession and later hitting two free throws in earning 12 Nestlé Crunch Time points.
P.P. is a PTPer:
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10 |
March 9, 2006
The Denver Nuggets wanted to get their seven-game road trip off to a good start Thursday in Philadelphia. Thanks largely to some late-game heroics from Carmelo Anthony, they did. Denver opened the fourth quarter down seven, but scored 13 straight points, with 'Melo contributing five, to take an 85-79 lead. The Sixers erased a five-point deficit to forge a 93-93 tie with 2:07 remaining, but Anthony put Denver ahead to stay when he drove the lane for a reverse layup with 18.9 seconds left. After teammates DerMarr Johnson and Marcus Camby blocked potential game-tying shots, Anthony grabbed a loose ball and sealed the Nuggets' 97-93 victory by sinking a pair of free throws with four seconds to play. For his efforts, Carmelo earned 10 Nestlé Crunch Time points.
'Melo to the rescue:
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8 |
March 10, 2006
Smush Parker made sure the Lakers ended their recent struggles against the Spurs. Losers of seven straight in this series coming in, L.A. used a big second-quarter push to build a double-digit lead and held off a late San Antonio run to hang on for the win. Smush was the better Parker on the court, outplaying Spurs' All-Star Tony with 18 points and a nice assist on a lob to Kwame Brown to extend the lead to a dozen with 1:47 left. Then with just over a minute on the clock, Parker picked off a pass for his third steal and was fouled, hitting two free throws for his final points in a 100-92 win. Smush notched eight Nestlé Crunch Time points.
Smush seals the deal:
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13 |
March 11, 2006
Hedo Turkoglu and the Magic just came off their most lopsided victory this year against Cleveland, and wanted to keep things rolling against the visting Warriors. After Golden State battled back to slice a 19-point deficit to four with 1:29 left to play, Turkoglu took matters into his own hands. With 1:09 remaining, Turkoglu took a pass from Jameer Nelson and drained a clutch three-pointer. He followed that by corraling a rebound and firing an outlet pass the length of court to Keyon Dooling for a breakaway dunk. After a Golden State miss, Turkoglu grabbed another board with 28.6 seconds left and upon being fouled, calmly sank two from the charity stripe for a 103-92 win. Turkoglu totaled a game-high 21 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, a season-high eight assists and 13 Nestlé Crunch Time points.
Turk goes to work :
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12 |
March 12, 2006
With the Mavericks making a late run on the Kings, Sacramento turned to Kenny Thomas and the seven-year veteran delivered. Thomas picked up the assist on a Brad Miller bucket for a 79-74 lead with 1:39 to go and then scored more points in the final minute than he had in the game's first 47. Thomas kept giving Sacramento a cushion, pushing the lead to 81-77 on a jumper with 56 seconds to play and to 83-80 on another jumper with just 29 ticks remaining. He then sealed the game with a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining for a five-point lead and the Kings held on for an 85-80 win. He finished the night with 10 points, six boards and 12 Nestlé Crunch Time points.
Thomas heats up late:
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9 |
March 13, 2006
This late in the season, every win is that much bigger when you're battling for a playoff spot. Milwaukee, currently No. 8 in the East, struggled in the fourth quarter Monday vs. Atlanta, but got some key plays from veteran Joe Smith to notch an 88-87 home win. After the Hawks came back from 17 down late in the third to pull ahead as Crunch Time began, Smith's jumper with 1:26 left put the Bucks up for good. He added two free throws with 46.5 seconds left and grabbed the rebound off the Hawks' last-second shot. Smith earned nine Nestlé Crunch Time points in all.
Mr. Smith goes to town for Milwaukee:
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