The Round Up - March 17th, 2013.

Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

Wild Buck: Before the start of the second half, the Milwaukee Bucks were down by 10 points and had only 44 in the first. But that all changed when Monta Ellis, the human fire cracker, blew up for 25 of his 39 points (13 of 22) in the 45 point Milwaukee fourth quarter that pushed the Orlando Magic out of winning distance.

Here is the damaged caused by the man that has it all:

Via: @nbastats

Ellis wasn't alone in the scoring department, his front court partner, Brandon Jennings went for 15 points and 14 assists. Their resident Turkish man, Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points and 11 boards. The Magic on the other hand, got quite of a contribution from their rookie, Moe Harkless. He had a career high 23 points (9 of 17) and 9 rebounds.

Here's is the video evidence:

The Pack: In the return of Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko, the Minnesota Wolves, with their most able-bodied squad of the past 2 weeks took on New Orleans Hornets at the Target Center. Derrick Williams erupted for a career high 28 points (9 of 16) and 7 rebounds. Down 4 with less than 50 seconds to play, the Wolves would do the impossible and go on a 6-0 run to end the game. The Hornets had a shot to win the game in the final seconds, but Eric Gordon's attempt would get denied by Andrei Kirilenko. *Sad Trombone*

Flame Trails: In the place where the winning streak that is tied for the second longest in NBA history all started, the Miami Heat would improve to 22 straight with the victory over the Toronto Raptors. Despite getting out-rebounded 51 to 26, the Heat would go 58 percent from the field, hitting everything in sight, so rebounding opportunities would be quite limited. Dwayne Wade notched his career 4000th assist with his 24 points (10 of 15) and 9 assists performance. His better half, LeBron James had 22 points (6 of 12), 12 boards and 8 assists. The Raptors played the defending champs pretty well all through out 3 quarters and headed to fourth down only three, with the score at 76 to 73. But the Raptors are the Raptors and the Heat are still the Heat, so naturally, Miami would outscore them 32 to 18 in the fourth as they go on the road in pursuit for 23rd in Boston. Rudy Gay led all Raptors with 27 points on 11 of 20 shooting and 8 rebounds.

Shooter's Stroke: The Golden State Warriors secured the 6th spot in the West in this win against the Houston Rockets. Both teams struggled early with putting the orange ball into the hoop, but it was Houston that had it worst, shooting a season low 20 percent in the first half. The Warriors, of course used it to their advantage to build a lead that their opponents would eventually fail to comeback from. James Harden and Jeremy Lin had 21 points each in the losing effort. While Golden State's Stephen Curry go off for 29 points (12 of 22) and 11 assists. Klay Thompson chipped in for 26 on 10 of 18.

Storm The Town: Russell Westbrook set Dallas on fire last night, as the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard lit up the Mavericks on 13 of 23 shooting for 35 points, 6 rebounds and 6 dimes. Kevin Durant wasn't too bad himself exploding for 19 of his total 31 points (10 of 19) in the fourth quarter in the win. However, it was neither of the superstars that would put the game away for the Thunder. That job belonged to Thabo Sefolosha, who hits the dagger from thirteen feet out to the Mavs out of their misery. Dirk Nowitzski had 23 points (8 of 10) and 7 rebounds.

A Few Notes: Still without Tyson Chandler (stiff neck) and Carmelo Anthony (knee), the New York Knicks drops fourth straight in their West Coast road trip, losing each game by an average of 20 points, including this loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon. The Knicks shot 36 percent from the field, could not buy a bucket, while the Clippers went 45 percent all around, led by Chris Paul's 20 points (6 of 12), 4 rebounds and 8 dimes.

In their second game without Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers goes on to defeat the Sacramento Kings  on 43 points from the bench, which is comprised of only two players. Antawn Jamison went off for a game-high 27 points on 8 of 14 shooting (5 of 8 from three), and 9 boards. Steve Blake added another 16 points (6 of 11), 5 rebounds and 8 assists. On top of this silliness, Metta World Peace led all Lakers starts with 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting. In this new bizarro world that we live in, Isiah Thomas got 26 points on 20 shots and 6 assists for the Kings.

Fantasy Shoutout: To the Atlanta Hawks duo of Al Horford and Josh Smith. Horford had 22 points (11 of 21), 11 rebounds and 4 steals. While his back court mate, Smith went for 21 points on 9 of 14 shooting, 7 boards and 5 assists in the win over the Brooklyn Nets. Jeff Teague, who returned for the first time since his injury, came off the bench for a career high 15 assists and added another 11 to the Hawks' final score.

The Round Up - March 4th, 2013.

Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

Buckcourt Duo: In the fight for the permanent 8th seed in their respective conference, the Milwaukee Bucks' backcourt duo triumphs over Utah Jazz's front court duo of Paul Millsap (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Derrick Favors (23 points, 15 rebounds), who stepped in for the injured Al Jefferson. Monta Ellis had the best game of his season, going off for 34 points on 15 of 21 shooting, including clutch baskets down the stretch to get his team into the playoffs. Following his 19 assists performance on Saturday, Brandon Jennings exploded for 20 points (8 of 14), and dished out a just as impressive 17 assists. Jennings, down 3 with 13 seconds left on the clocks hits a tough three pointer to force over time. Enes Kanter had an opportunity win the game for the Jazz  but he would miss at point blank range. Utah has gotten 0 points and little to no production from three of their starters for the second time in 5 games. It might be about time for some line up changes.

Of course, Brandon Jenning will shoot the tougher shot, and hit it. It is only natural.

Don't Call it a Comeback: Down 22 mid way through the second quarter, the New York Knicks were a sure bet to lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers after Carmelo Anthony left the game with a knee injury late in the first half. But, who are we kidding, the Cavs are still Cavs and they would get outscored 72 to 45 by the Knicks after their superstar trips over himself. With no one near double figures in the New York starting line up, they relied on Amare Stoudemire's 22 (10 of 15), and 6 boards off the bench. Kyrie Irving, who missed the last 3 games with a knee injury, returned for the first time last night. The Sophomore had 22 points (9 of 20), 5 rebounds and 6 dimes. Marreese Speights went off for a game-high 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting and 8 rebounds. Down three with less than a second to go, Kyrie had a chance to tie the game, but he would get blocked by Tyson Chandler, who may or may not have bribed the refs in the win.

Steve Novak was excited.

Via: @cjzero

The Orlando Magic came back from a 17 point deficit against the New Orleans Hornets to win one on the road. Arron Affalo led his team with 26 points (10 of 20), 5 boards and 5 assists. Hornets rookie, Anthony Davis had a pretty good game, going for 17 points (6 of 13), 15 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Scorged: It was not LeBron James, but Dwyane Wade  that carved up the Minnesota defense for 32 points (15 of 23), 7 rebounds and 10 assists. LeBron chipped in for 20 points on 9 of 16 shooting and 10 boards to extend the Heat's winning streak to 15. They have won every game in the streak by an average margin of 12 points. Despite forcing their opponent into 24 turnovers, the Timberwolves could not hit anything, shooting 38 percent from the field. Derrick Williams scored team-high 25 on 22 shots and snagged 10 boards in their sixth straight loss.

For those who are interested, here is the full Ray Allen and J.J. Barea scuffle (NSFW language, if you can lip read).

Gun Show: Up by 7 before heading into the 4th quarter of the no defense exhibition between the Raptors and Warriors, everything looked good for Toronto. That was until they crumbled in the 4th, going 0 for 9 from three to allow the Dubs to score 42 points in the quarter, which were 14 more than the Raptors, to send the only NBA team in Canada on the road with a 5th straight loss. Andrea Bargnani had his best game since his elbow injury, going for 26 points (8 of 18) and 7 boards. Rudy Gay added another 26 points, shooting yet another inefficient 10 of 22 from the field. Amir Johnson on the other hand, went for a perfect 10 of 10, in his 23 points and 15 rebounds performance off the bench. For the Warriors, David Lee got himself 29 points (12 of 21), 11 boards and 5 dimes. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson dropped 26 and 22 points respectively.

A Few Notes: Denver improves to league best 26-3 at home in the win against the Atlanta Hawks at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets outscored the Hawks 70 to 42 in paint. Corey Brewer came off the bench for a game-high 22 points, hitting 11 of his 20 shots. Josh Smith scored his 10,000th point, while his teammate, Al Horford got 18 points (9 of 16) and 13 rebounds to end their 6 game road trip.

The least Javale McGee possession of Javale McGee's career. Everything is downhill from here.

Seven Trail Blazers scored double figures as Portland hand the Charlotte Bobcats, their's 7th straight loss. LaMarcus Aldridge  led the way with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Rookie, Damina Lillard went for 20 points and 7 dimes.

Monta Ellis spins around Enes Kanter for the 360 reverse lay-up.

An actual full 360 around a 7 footer? Monta Ellis, you really do have it all. Not everyone can put up a rare 71 percent shooting night for 34 points in the game that secures a 8th spot in the playoffs for the winning team. I guess we can totally forget that you still shooting 40 percent from the field this season. Good job, though.

Check Out Marquis Daniel's Secret Party Van.

On the outside it looks like any ordinary gigantic van, but on the inside it is surprisingly not as crazy as I thought it would be. It's basically a small RV. At least it can fit NBA sized people, unlike that Buick Shaq is trying to sell us. You are not fooling anyone.

Monta Ellis believes he is as good as Dwyane Wade.

To be honest, Dwyane Wade is clearly better than you. He has more wins, 2 championships, All Star credentials, and is actually necessary for Miami's success. You on the other hand, is a cancer (see: Golden State Warriors' success after his trade). Your terrible shot selection and inability to make your teammates better (hindering the growth of a young team) was the reason you were moved.

If that is what you mean by being in the same category as Dwyane Wade, then Monta you really do have it all (wrong).

Notes: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Chicago Bulls [11/26/12]

Milwaukee Bucks 93 - Chicago Bulls 92

The Good:

Bucks: The Milwaukee bench combined for a total of 56 points. Despite the early season disappointment, Ersan Ilyasova led the second unit with 18 points. The group was completely unstoppable in the fourth quarter, they outscored the Chicago starters 30 to 12 for the comeback victory. On the other end, they contested every single shot, the Bulls even helped them by turning the ball over and giving them countless second chance opportunities.

Bulls: Richard Hamilton scored a season high 30 points and abused Monta Ellis with his size. Defensively, Chicago was great in the first 3 quarters, but the ambush from the Milwaukee bench took it apart.

The Bad:

Bucks: The starting back court of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings could not hit a shot, they were smuggled by the Bulls defense, denied of any opportunity for easy buckets. The half court execution was terrible through out the game, transition and second chance points kept this team in it. Scott Skiles did not put in any effort to make defensive adjustments on Richard Hamiltion. He kept Monta on him and refused to offer any help, luckily his bench bailed him out.

Bulls: They blew a 27 point lead. Tom Thibodeau probably tore up his larynx and destroyed the entire Bulls team emotionally. The team basically chilled out and allowed the Bucks to take control. The defense collapsed, the offense dried up like water in the Sahara and the energy disappeared. Chiacgo was down 1 with 10 seconds to go, Beno Udrih just missed two free throws for the 3 point lead and guess what? Milwaukee got the ball back. No matter, because Mike Dunleavy threw it away in the next 3 seconds, but the Bulls come out of the timeout with a pathetic play, a contested 15 footer from Rip that bounced off to the left.

Game Over.

R.I.P. to the Bench Mob.


Oh, and I will do the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets game later, because Canada decidedly to not show this game on tv and league pass blacked it out. The best thing was that the Canada actually aired curling from last year instead, and here I thought the absence of hockey would mean more NBA. Jokes on me.