NBA Playoffs Weekend Round Up.

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New York Knicks 85 - Boston Celtics 78

The New York Knicks laid the pipe down on the Boston Celtics to take the first lead in a potential 7 game series. Carmelo Anthony was very much like his scoring champion self, going off for 36 points on 13 of 29 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and dishing his only assist of the afternoon to Kenyon Martin for the game sealing lay-up. The rest of his Knicks teammates weren't of much help with only three other players in double figures. But it wasn't necessarily their fault either, with Melo playing ISO for the majority of the game, the beautiful New York ball movement that initially got them here, wasn't in play. Fortunately, their opponents could not buy a shot either, going absolute zero in the second half, scoring only 8 points in the 4th quarter, to add to the 8 of 20 total turnovers they had in the final 12 minutes. It wasn't all bad though, Jeff Green did have a huge first half (26 on 8 of 15 shooting, and 7 rebounds), before fading to the background.

#PIPE

Denver Nuggets 97 - Golden State Warriors 95

The Nuggets defeated the visiting Warriors because we all predicted that 37 year old Andre Miller and his magical baby hair would come off the bench for 28 points on 11 of 15 shooting, 5 assists, and to score the game winning basket against their opponents, on that dust covered body of his, right? I mean, it only makes sense that the hunched back, back up point guard of Denver would use his rather large bottom to bully his defenders for 28 points. In all seriousness, the Nuggets played a great game, holding Stephen Curry to 7 of 20 shooting for 19 points and 9 assists is not easy. But you have to feel for the Warriors, losing David Lee at this stage to a tore right hip flexor does nothing good to their second round odds. Get well, soon, fellow lefty.

Brooklyn Nets 106 - Chicago Bulls 89

To sum this up quickly, the Brooklyn Nets scored 35 points in the second quarter on an incredible 80 percent shooting, while the Chicago Bulls finished the first half with only 35 points. The Nets had a 35 point lead by halftime and if you take a look at the final score, it clearly didn't get any better for the Bulls.

This .GIF is pretty much the current state of Chicago, and unless Joakim Noah gets healthy, this will end in five. That or Derrick Rose comes back, but that is highly unlikely to happen and even if it does, there are no guarantees.

Los Angeles Clippers 112 - Memphis Grizzlies 91

In the rematch of the two hated rivals that met in the first round of last year's playoffs, things, for the most part were close, at least it was until it got to the fourth quarter, where this happened.

Despite of their size, the Memphis Grizzlies got dominated on the glass, grabbing an embarrassing 23 boards compared to Clippers' 47. Chris Paul finished with a game-high 23 points (7 of 11), and 7 assists in the win. The Clippers out-shot Memphis 74 to 71, hitting 55 percent of their attempts, while their opponents shot 47 percent from the floor.

Indiana Pacers 107 - Atlanta Hawks 90

The Pacers won and the Hawks lost. So let's just leave it at that. I don't want to waste any words on the series that no one wanted and are subjected to watch Josh Smith throw up bricks after bricks from three point land. You wouldn't want to end up like this fella here, would you?

Anyway, Paul George went off for his second career playoff triple double to become the first Pacer since Mark Jackson in 1998 to do it. He had a game high 23 points on a poor 3 of 13 shooting, 11 boards and 12 assists in the victory.

San Antonio Spurs 91 - Los Angeles Lakers 79

Kobe is great on Twitter and all, but unless he is in uniform, the Lakers have no shot at beating the Spurs and this first game is enough to prove it. The Spurs, despite shooting a horrible 38 percent from the field won handily with a injured Tony Parker, who had 18 points on 21 shots and 8 assists. Manu's God Mode self was back, hitting 3 of 5 from beyond the arc for his 18 points. Tim Duncan added 17 and 10 in their first win of the series. Dwight Howard led his team with 20 points (8 of 12) and 15 boards. The Lakers played them close early, but the lack of depth and defense is not exactly the formula they need to get past the first round.

Miami Heat 110 - Miwaukee Bucks 87

As expected, the Miami Heat took care of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first game of what will be a very short series. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we should just advance the Heat to the next round. This is completely pointless, but here are some LeBron stats: 27 points on 9 of 11 shooting, including 8 of 9 from inside the paint. He also had 10 rebounds and 8 assists in 35 minutes to flirt with a triple double, because he can.

Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis combined for 48 points on 39 shots, with this loss, Brandon has only 5 more games to owe up to his ridiculous prediction that no one should really blame him for but we should anyway because it is hilarious.

Oklahoma City Thunder 120 - Houston Rockets 91

The Rockets shot 36 percent from the field. The Thunder shot 53 percent.
James Harden had 20 points on 19 shots. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 43 on 30 shots.
And these are James Harden's tears.

I know this one is a little late, and it looks kind of rushed, but I promise the next one would be better and not full of .GIFs. That is unless you want it to be. You can't see it, but I am winking at you right now. And totally not in the creepiest way possible.

The Round Up - April 9th, 2013.

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Oranges: The Washington Wizards have not won against the New York Knicks in the Madison Square Garden since 2006 and things didn't change last night, when Carmelo Anthony lit them up for 36 points (21 in the 3rd) on 13 of 21 shooting, 8 rebounds and 6 assists to extend their winning streak to 13. The Knicks could not miss a thing, shooting a ridiculous 56 percent from beyond the arc for a franchise record tying 20 three pointers to earn their first Atlantic Division title since 1994. John Wall of the Wizards had 33 points on 11 of 19 shooting in the 21 point loss.

Don't Call it a Comeback: Down 20 at the start of the 4th quarter, the Indiana Pacers, fueled by a late ejection of their coach, Frank Vogel, outscored the Cleveland Cavaliers 35 to 10 in the miraculous come back win at home. George Hill led the way with a team high 27 points on 9 of 15 shooting, 4 assists and 4 steals. Jeff Pendergraph didn't do much offensively, but he came off the bench with the biggest defensive play of the night, drawing a charge on a late Kyrie Irving drive in the final 16 seconds to help seal it for the Pacers. Kyrie finished with 29 points (10 of 20) and 7 assists in the beautifully executed tank job.

Cold Blooded: Kobe Bryant willed the Lakers to another seemingly impossible win for the Lakers, going off for 23 of his total 30 points (6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals) in the 4th quarter against the New Orleans Hornets. Pau Gasol was huge in this one, abusing rookie, Anthony Davis for 22 points (9 of 15), and 11 boards down in the block.

A Few Notes: LeBron James and the Dwyane Wade-less, Chris Bosh-less Miami Heat rolled past their potential first round match up of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks for a franchise record tying 61 wins. Fun fact, the Heat are 6-0 when LeBron plays without the other two superstars, so they are obviously useless. The reigning MVP finished with 28 points (11 of 16), 7 boards and 7 dimes, while Brandon Jennings led his team with 30 points on 10 of 16 shooting and 4 assists, as the only Buck in double figures.

The Golden State Warriors clinched playoff berth for the second time in 19 years in the win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. Klay Thompson was absolutely unstoppable, exploding for 25 points in the first half on 9 of 11 shooting, before cooling down with a total of 30 points (10 of 19) and 5 steals. Stephen Curry wasn't shy either, hitting 9 of 21 from the field for 24 points and 10 assists. Minnesota kept it close for the most part, but getting outscored by 15 in the second half, when you never had a lead in this game, makes it really hard to comeback.

Before the weirdest ending in the history of NBA basketball happened, Phoenix Suns' Luis Scola had 28 points (12 of 20) and 8 rebounds against his former team. James Harden, on the other hand, had 30 points on 8 of 20 shooting, 6 boards and 6 assists until that weird thing happened, and he somehow ended up with 33 on 9 of 21.

Fantasy Shoutouts: Rebounding machine, Reggie Evans of the Brooklyn Nets, who displays strong resemblance to actual ogres, grabbed 24 rebounds, 3 short of tying the Nets' franchise record of 27, to go with his 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting. His teammate, Brook Lopez added 29 points (13 of 22) and 11 boards in the victory over the 38 percent shooting Philadelphia 76ers.

Chicago Bulls' sophomore, Jimmy Butler had a career night, going off for a career high 28 points on 10 of 12 shooting and 7 rebounds in one of those rare Toronto Raptors' close wins.

Highlights:

Boom: Russell Westbrook is more athletic than you.

The Round Up - April 5th, 2013.

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This is going to be a quick one, games weren't all that great yesterday, thought the schedule would be better today, but then I opened up ESPN. Anyways, here are the recaps.

Apple Man: After going off for 50 points on Tuesday and then 40 points on Wednesday, Carmelo Anthony took a day off before following both performances with 41 points on 17 of 28 shooting and 14 rebounds on Friday night in the win over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks. In the last three games, Melo, not only tied the Knicks franchise record with 3 straight 40+ point games (previously held by future Hall of Famer, Bernard King), he also became the first player since Michael Jordan to score 40 plus and shoot 60 percent in 3 straight since 1991. J.R. Smith came off the bench for 30 points (11 of 22) and 10 rebounds to extend the New York winning streak to 11. The Bucks had them early, but after the third quarter, the game was a whole different story. Who knew letting your opponents drop 42 right out of half time can cost you the lead?

Dynamic Duo: Against the top ranked Indiana defense, the Oklahoma City Thunder and their second best offense, stormed their opponents out of the gym with a 22 point win. Everything was calm and close until the Thunder decided to score 25 points in the 4th quarter, while holding the Pacers to only 8. Kevin Durant scored 15 of those 25 points to finish with a game-high 34 points (13 of 21) and 9 rebounds. Russell Westbrook added 24 points on 24 shots, 7 boards and 9 assists. For those who care, Kevin Durant is still the current leading scorer in the NBA, but only by a small margin. Trailing close behind is Carmelo, who played 14 games less than the reigning scoring champ.

Walking Canes: In a game that should have never aired on ESPN or any other national network, Mike Miller took us back to the Jurassic period (Get it? It's because he's old and Jurassic Park 3D was released this week, perfect timing. This is not a plug by the way, I wish I could tell you that I got paid for that, but no. Apparently, the guys at Universal Studios were out of budget, at least that is what they told me.), with 26 points, 7 of 11 from the land of triceratops, and 5 rebounds to lead the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Ray Allen-less Miami Heat to a win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Reptilians: The Toronto Raptors won an actual close game, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on a Ricky Rubio free throw miss that could have tied the game. Super efficient shooters, Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan combined for 51 points on a total of 46 shots. Real life caveman, Nikola Pekovic of the Wolves arrived on Earth too early, his 24 points (6 of 12) and 8 rebounds was just not enough to fend off the giant red lizards.

Don't Call It A Comeback: The Golden State Warriors fought back from 18 down to defeat the Phoenix Suns. Stephen Curry shot a poor 6 of 15 from the field for 18 points, but he did most of his damage in the other highly underrated faucet of his game with 15 assists. The Suns wasted a rare 61 percent team shooting performance and a career high 32 points (11 of 13) from Goran Dragic in their 8th straight loss.

8th Seed Struggle: The Lakers (vs. Grizzlies) and Jazz (vs. Hornets) both won yesterday, which means that they are now tied in the win column, but Utah falls behind in the the race with one more loss on their record (due to more games played).

Fantasy Shoutouts: Without Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett , the Boston Celtics would fall to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tristan Thompson had 29 points on 10 of 17 shooting and 17 boards to finally put an end to their 10 game losing streak.

The Chicago Bulls escapes another one without 5 of their guys in the victory over the Orlando Magic. It wasn't pretty, but Beno Udrih did score 27 points (10 of 17), to go with his 5 boards and 7 dimes in the place of Jameer Nelson.

In the 18 point win against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Houston Rockets outscored their opponents in every single quarter, getting a combined effort of 55 points from James Harden (33) and Jeremy Lin (22). For the Blazers, only LaMarcus Aldridge showed up to work, going off for 32 points (12 of 19) and 13 rebounds to lead the NBA with seven games of at least 30 points and 10 boards.

The Round Up - March 25th, 2013.

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Breakthrough: The Memphis Grizzlies, without their giant cuddly Marc Gasol bear in the middle, witnessed the first player in this season to drop 40+ points on them since Westbrook in the 2011 playoffs. And that player was none other than John Wall, who answered every single critic with a career high 47 points on 13 of 22 shooting, 7 rebounds and 8 assists to power the injury riddled Wizards (missing 6 of their players) to their sixth straight win. Emeka Okafor contirbuted to the effort with 21 points (9 of 15) and 9 boards of his own, to take full advantage of the porous Grizzlies's defense. Mike Conley scored a team-high 23 points on 7 of 14 shooting, and dished out 7 assists for Memphis.

Sting: The Denver Nuggets were just one win short of the most consecutive wins in franchise history (including ABA) and without Ty Lawson again last night, they would fail to complete the feat in the loss to the New Orleans Hornets. Down 21 at half, Denver could not get anything going offensively, shooting 38 percent from the field to comeback from the largest halftime deficit of the season. Danilo Gallinari had 24 points on 5 of 12 shooting (4 of 6 from three). The Hornets got a surprise contribution from 27 year old rookie, Brian Roberts, who stepped in place of the injured Greivis Vazquez (ankle) to deliver a career high 18 assists to go with his 13 points. Ryan Anderson added 23 points on 22 shots off the bench.

Flame Trails: While one streak falls, the other would cease to falter, as the Miami Heat captures their 27th straight win in the 14 point victory over the Orlando Magic. This wasn't much of contest, aside from the 28 points both teams put up in the 1st quarter, the Heat outscored the Magic in every period for the rest of the game. LeBron James had another near triple double, going off for 24 points on 9 of 16 shooting, 9 boards and 11 dimes in the absence of Dwyane Wade. Jameer Nelson of the Magic exploded for a game-high 27 points (9 of 20) and 12 assists in the losing effort. Orlando have now lost 7 straight games.

Gear Shift: On Stephen Curry's bum ankle, the Golden State Warriors held off a late Los Angeles Lakers charge in the W. The Lakers dug themselves into a hole early, allowing a 23 point lead to the Warriors at the half. Against the broken perimeter defense of the Lakers, the back court of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had the time of their life, going for 25 points (9 of 24), 7 boards and 9 assists; and 22 points (8 of 18) respectively. David Lee chipped in with an additional 23 points (9 of 15) and 12 rebounds. But as the Lakers do nowadays, they would make a late push in the second half, scoring 63 points to only lose by a slightly more respectable 6 points. Kobe Bryant had 36 points (11 of 27) and 8 boards, while his fellow draft mate, Steve Nash went for 21 points on 19 shots, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

A Few Notes: The shorthanded Indiana Pacers fought off the undermanned Atlanta Hawks in the win at home on Monday night. The Pacers had a 24 point lead in the opening minutes of the 4th quarter, but would draw a blank in the next 11 minutes, getting outscored 31 to 15, which was still not enough from the Hawks to overcome the deficit that they have put themselves in earlier. Josh Smith led all scorers with 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting, 4 assists and 4 steals.

The Utah Jazz held the Philadelphia 76ers to 39 percent shooting from the field in the win to finally snap their 4 game losing streak. The Jazz haven't had much success since the trade deadline going 4-12 including this win, which puts them only one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the 8th spot. I guess no one wants to go to the playoffs.

The Round Up - March 23rd, 2013.

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Point Guard Wars: This game between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers were close for the most part, until Chris Paul decided to go into God mode in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of his total 29 points (and 11 assists) in the final two minutes to carry his team over the Nets. His fellow 2005 draft mate, Deron Williams, who was picked ahead of Chris Paul, had 18 points (6 of 16) and 9 assists. Brook Lopez added another 18 points on 9 of 14 shooting. If you were wondering where Blake Griffin was, he was kept inside Reggie Evan's beard the entire time. Reggie completely removed any substantial impact that Blake was capable of, holding him to only 11 points on 11 shots and 7 boards.

What?!

Carnivorous Bears: The Marc Gasol-less Memphis Grizzlies had a 21 point lead on the Boston Celtics, early in the 4th quarter. But then weird things happened and the Celtics second unit erupted for a 21-4 run to cut the the deficit to 4. Unfortunately, for them, that was as close as would get as they drop their 4th straight, all without Kevin Garnett. Boston are now only 1.5 games ahead of Milwaukee and is clinging on to the 7th seed for dear life. Paul Pierce had a team-high 26 points (10 of 17) and 6 rebounds. Meanwhile, Jerryd Bayless of the Grizzlies came off the bench for 30 points on 11 of 20 shooting in the win.

Defense: When the Indiana Pacers play against the Chicago Bulls, things usually get really ugly and last night was not an exception. Both teams shot under 43 percent from the field, with the team shooting the best percentage coming out on top. Luol Deng had 20 points (7 of 14) and 7 rebounds in the Bulls' win. Carlos Boozer added 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting and 10 boards. Indiana got little to no help from their bench, shooting a horrendous 39 percent as the team, with Paul George in the lead with 23 points (9 of 20) and 11 rebounds.

A Few Notes: In the absence of Ty Lawon (heel), the Denver Nuggets were still able to extend their winning streak to 15 in the near escape from the Sacramento Kings. Kenneth Faried led the way with 17 points (7 of 12) and 9 rebounds. His teammates were no slouches either, with everyone scoring at least two points for Denver. King's DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points (10 of 16) and 15 boards in the losing effort.

Fantasy Shoutouts: Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Bobcats had a game-high 25 points (10 of 20) and 4 steals, in the one point loss to the Detroit Pistons. It was Charlie Villanueva who hits the game winning lay up with 15 seconds remaining. The Bobcats had two opportunities down the stretch to win it, but Kemba Walker's jumper would fall short and Josh McRobert's put back attempt on an offensive rebound would get blocked by Rodney Stuckey.

Carmelo Anthony went off for 28 points on 9 of 19 shooting and 8 boards in the second of the back to back games against the Toronto Raptors. J.R. Smith came off the bench for 25 points (9 of 16) and 5 rebounds in the 26 point victory over the league's only team in Canada.

Stephen Curry found his shooting stroke again in this win over the Washington Wizards. He had 35 points on  13 of 18 shooting (6 of 10 from three) and 8 dimes. But like everything else in life, all good things would eventually come to an end, as the point guard rolls his ankle in the fourth quarter and never returned. However, it did help the Warriors, that John Wall would later get ejected in the same quarter after going nutzo on Klay Thompson with threats and stuff.

The Round Up - March 19th, 2013.

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Gold Rush: The Denver Nuggets dominated the paint in the win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, outscoring the Western Conference Champions 72 to 50. It was an unusual night for the Thunder as the third best 3 point shooting team in the NBA go 4 of 25 (16 percent) from beyond the arc. Kevin Durant led the way with 34 points (10 of 23), 7 rebounds and 5 assists. His partner, Russell Westbrook had 25 points on 10 of 21 shooting and 6 dimes in the loss. For Denver, it was Ty Lawson that comes up big again, going off for 25 points on 8 of 13 shooting. The first half of his season might not have been pretty, but he is blooming at the right time for the Nuggets. On his 37th birthday, Andre Miller did not break a knee, he instead came off the bench for 20 points (6 of 11), 7 boards and 9 assists. Fun fact, Denver, including this win, have now won season series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, and Los Angeles Clippers. Of course this doesn't mean anything in the playoffs, but you never know. They might just be primed for a deep run if they can get home court before the end of the regular season.

Retina Damage: In this display of how not to play basketball, well, at least fun basketball, the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic began the game with a combined 26 field goal percentage and held each other to 19 and 12 points respectively in the first quarter. From then on things would get worst, mostly for the Magic, as they finish with a point total of 73 points on 32 percent shooting and had only two players in double figures. Indiana out-rebounded Orlando by 21 for the 22 point win. Paul George had a game-high 19 points (7 of 14) and 5 boards.

California Love: The Sacramento Kings outscored the Los Angeles Clippers 38 to 18 in the final quarter to comeback for the win at home. Marcus Thornton came off the bench for 25 points on 7 of 14 shooting. DeMarcus Cousins chipped in for 17 points (6 of 10) and 11 rebounds. With this loss, the Clippers drop from the 3rd in the West to fifth, giving way to the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets in the battle for home court advantage. Blake Griffin had 26 points (11 of 14) and 5 boards.

Fear the Deer: Back court duo of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings have picked up their play since the signing of J.J. Redick and the results don't lie. Ever since they acquired the former Duke product, the Milwaukee Bucks have only lost 5 games of their last 13, while they were 26-27 prior to the signing. Monta Ellis did a little bit of everything last night, going for 21 points (8 of 18), 9 boards, 8 dimes, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Brandon Jennings added 24 points on 20 shots and 7 assists in the win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite hitting 13 threes at 50 percent, the Blazers just could get any contribution from other players not named LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews. Matthews led all scorers with 28 points on 10 of 20 shooting (7 of 11 from three). LaMarcus Aldridge (21 points 15 boards) joins David Lee and LeBron James as one of the three players with five straight 20 point, 10 rebound games this year.

The Round Up - March 16th, 2013.

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Veteran Game: It just doesn't matter what father time does anymore, Tim Duncan, at the age of 36, is having none of it, going off for 30 points on 13 of 19 shooting, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks in the victory over the younger Cleveland Cavaliers. Spurs' sophomore, Kawhi Leonard added 24 points (8 of 16) and 13 boards to take off the offensive pressure on the rest of team in Tony Parker's absence. The Cavs, still without Kyrie Irving, shot 51 percent from the field compared to their opponents' 58. Wayne Ellington came of the bench for a team-high 21 points on 4 of 7 from the three. Cleveland just did not have an answer for the Spurs' big, as they get pounded inside (it is totally not what you are thinking) to lose the battle in the paint, 62 to 46.

ALL MANU EVERYTHING.

Jazz and Blues: In the quest for a playoff spot, the Utah Jazz came out with a huge win over the Memphis Grizzlies to be only half a game behind the Los Angeles Lakers. Up by 5 before heading into the third quarter, the Memphis Grizzlies would suddenly forget how to put the basketball into the elevated orange ring thing, to go 2 for 16 from the field for 9 points, 15 less than what the Jazz put up during the stretch of their opponents' offensive struggle. The Grizzlies would never quite recover from the hole they dug themselves into, as they watch Gordon Hayward, who led his team with 17 points (5 of 10) and 8 boards, sink the three point dagger in the in the final 17 seconds to seal the game. Zach Randolph of the Grizzles finished with 19 points (7 of 11) and 9 rebounds.

Engines: Blazers' rookie, Damian Lillard's 8 game streak with 20+ points, came to an end last night, as his team hold off a late run by the Detroit Pistons in the Portland victory. Lillard had an off night, going 3 of 12 from the field for 14 points and 7 dimes. But he didn't to worry about the offense much, as his power forward, LaMarcus Aldridge go off for 31 points (13 of 21), and 12 rebounds to join LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the elusive players club with 1,300 points and 500 rebounds this season. The Pistons, on the other side, had Rodney Stuckey, who scored a season high 32 points on 23 shots in the losing effort.

Bearded American: Guys, Spencer Hawes did something last night that no one thought Spencer Hawes would be able to do. The once proud owner of a mullet went off a near quardruple double with 18 points, 8 assists, and a career high 16 rebounds and 5 blocks in the Philadelphia 76ers win. (Let me put this into a perspective for those who are wondering what is so spectacular about that particular line. No NBA player, other than Hakeen Olajuwon came close to those numbers in a game since 1990 and no Sixer has ever came close to it, since Charles Barkley in 1986.) Jrue Holiday chipped in for a game-high 27 points on 12 of 25 shooting and 12 assists to solidify his candidacy for the most improved player award. The Pacers finally got their Roy Hibbert break out game, as the center finally ends his scoring slump with 25 points on a not so efficient 26 shots and 10 boards in the tough loss. Indiana did not have a fun time shooting the ball on this night, hitting only 39 percent of their shots, while their opponents lit it up with 49 from the field and 46 behind it.

A Few Notes: Without Kevin Garnett (rest), the Boston Celtics took on the Charlotte Bobcats to win their 11th straight home game, the longest streak since 2009. This was the first game in about 3 weeks, where all Boston starters were in double figures.

Fantasy Shoutout: Martell Webster erupted for a career high 34 points on 10 of 18 shooting. He went 7 for 10 from the beyond the arc, to make this his franchise record breaking 5th game with at least 4 three pointers made and dished out 5 assists along the way in the 22 point win over the Phoenix Suns.

The Round Up - March 15th, 2013.

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Rocket Fuel: Down 20 points early in the third quarter, the Houston Rocket fought back from a 15 turnover first half to take down the Minnesota Timberwolves on a 69 to 43 run in the second half. The run, powered by James Harden's 37 points on 8 of 16 shooting (5 of 10 from three), 7 rebounds and 8 assists, had more than just one energy source. His back court partner, Jeremy Lin erupted for an additional 24 points (8 of 15), 8 dimes and 4 steals to complete the comeback. Minnesota still without Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic, Andrei Kirilenko, had to rely on Derrick Williams's 19 points (7 of 14), which as you could tell from the result, was not nearly enough.

Mamba-less Pack: Fueled by the courage displayed by Kobe Bryant in his 12 minutes of scoreless and meaningless play in the first quarter on a severely sprained ankle, the Lakers would rally to defeat the Indiana Pacers on the road. Dwight Howard had 20 points (7 of 17), 12 rebounds and a surprising even amount of contribution across the board from his teammates, who went off for 13 of 26 from the beyond the arc. Indiana was less fortunate, getting absolutely no help from anyone on offense besides George Hill and Paul George, who had 27 points (11 of 19) and 20 points on 20 shots respectively.

Wild Fire: The Miami Heat won again, which means they have now won 21 games in a row, making this the third longest winning streak in NBA history. LeBron James finished with 28 points on 12 of 24 shooting, 10 rebounds and 7 dimes. Chris Bosh went off for another 28 points (12 of 16) and 7 boards in the victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, who never really stood a chance, despite getting a 26 point (10 of 20) and 17 rebound effort from Ersan Ilyasova.

Tropical Storm: After leading by as much as 27 points in the game, the Oklahoma City Thunder would allow the Orlando Magic to crawl back within 4 points in the final 5 minutes. But that would be as close as the Magic would get as the Thunder would hold off the impending attack for their 7th straight win at home. Kevin Durant had 26 points on 8 of 15 shooting and 9 rebounds, including a few jumpers in the 4th quarter that put this game out of reach. Russell Westbrook added 23 points on 19 shots, 6 rebounds and 6 dimes. For Orlando, it was Jameer Nelson that carried the bulk of the offense, going for 26 points (10 of 22) and 7 assists.

Fantasy Shoutout: John Wall went off for 29 points on 12 of 15 shooting and 9 assists to lead his Washington Wizards to victory against the New Orleans Hornets.

Rudy Gay had 28 points (11 of 16) to tear up the visiting Charlotte Bobcats by 14 points in the Raptors' win. The Cats did not have the greatest night shooting the ball, hitting only 33 percent of their shots compared to the Raps' 49 from the field.

A Few Notes: Following their 42 point loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, it was the Chicago Bulls, that did the stomping of their opponents on Friday, as they defeat the Golden State Warriors by 18 points. Luol Deng led the way with 26 points (9 of 16) and 6 boards. Carlos Boozer chipped in with 21 points (9 of 17), 9 rebounds and 5 assists. The Bulls held Stephen Curry to only 2 of 13 from the field and 0 of 5 from the three to snap the point guard's 53 game streak with at least a three pointer made in each.

In the battle between the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies for the third seed in the West, it was youth and speed that came out on top. With this win, Denver extends their winning streak at home to 15 and 11 overall. This game also marks their 48th straight time in this season, where they have outscored their opponents in the paint, including the 50 to 36 point advantage they had on the Grizzlies. For the most part, this game was close, until Denver went on a scoring tear in the 4th, going off for 29 points, which works out to be exactly 15 points more than their opponents. Kosta Koufas, who has been great through out the entire winning streak, had 18 points (7 of 9) and a career-high 16 rebounds, while Zach Randolph of the Grizzlies went for 18 points (6 of 14) and 18 boards in the losing effort.

The Round Up - March 13th, 2013.

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Stay Cookin': Blah, blah, blah...The Miami Heat becomes the 4th team in the NBA to win 20 straight games in the regular season, to tie the third longest streak in league history in this victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. LeBron James went off for 27 points (8 of 19), 7 rebounds and 8 assists. His teammate, Dwyane Wade added 21 on 7 of 14 shooting and 8 boards, including a late tip in, to give the Heat a 3 point lead in less than 30 seconds to play. Spencer Hawes had a chance to cut it to one, but missed the lay-up on a well executed play. Philly had another go at it after Dorrell Wright hits a three in the corner to slash the deficit to 2, but with time running out, they had to play the foul game, which as you could tell from the result, did not go in their favor.

Yawn.

Sorrows: The Atlanta Hawks without Josh Smith, Jeff Teague and Zaza Pachulia came out on top in the final minutes to send the Lakers on the road with the loss. Despite Kobe going off for 20 of his total 31 points (10 of 31) in the third, the lack of touches among his teammates may have cost them the game. Al Horford of the Hawks kept the game close with 14 points (7 of 12), 14 rebounds and got 46 points worth of help from the ATL bench. The Lakers had multiple opportunities to win this game down the stretch but they would end up missing a few game changing layups. So Kobe did what Kobe does, he bailed out his team with a three that would cut the deficit down to 1. Unfortunately, the Mamba would miss the game-tying shot, where he severely sprains his ankle on the foot of Dahntay Jones upon landing. He will be out indefinitely.

Statement: The New Memphis Grizzlies gets their 6th straight, in this win against the Los Angeles Clippers. Memphis headed into half time with a two point, but came out to hold their opponents to only 33 points in the entire second half for the 11 point victory. Marc Gasol led the way with 21 points (10 of 14) and 5 steals. Not so newly acquired veteran, Tayshaun Prince scored his 10,000th point with his 18 points and 6 rebounds. Chris Paul also scored his 10,000th point in this game, becoming the 4th youngest in NBA history to achieve such a feat and have 5,000 assists in his career. He finished with 24 points (7 of 12) and 9 assists.

Spells: The Washington Wizards shot exactly 50 percent from the field and beyond the arc to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks at home. John Wall had 23 points (10 of 19), 6 boards and 10 assists. Martell Webster chipped in for 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting. The Bucks, down by 20 points in early the third, went on a 28 to 7 run to close it with a 3 point lead. But they would fail to keep the pressure on the Wizards, putting only 15 points in the 4th. Monta Ellis scored a game-high 26 points (12 of 19) and dished out 8 dimes.

Blow Outs: The NBA is not a place where talent is evenly distributed among teams, so sometimes we get nights like this, where 6 of the 12 games, will, well result in a blow out. Which, by definition is one team destroying the other by a large margin of points. And to save you time, I will just quickly list them out.

In Carmelo Anthony's return to the Pepsi Center in Denver, the Nuggets, as the generous host they are, handed a 23 points loss to the New York Knicks. Ex-Knickerbocker, Wilson Chandler, who was part of the package deal for Melo, led all scorers with 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting. With this win, Denver extends their winning streak to 10 and 14 straight at home. To add to New York's recent injury bug, Tyson Chandler left this game in the second quarter with a left knee contusion aftercolliding with Corey Brewer and it is uncertain when he will return. Carmelo also left this game with knee pain but did so later, and plans to drain his knee in New York. He will probably be out for at least a week. In older news, Amare has to go under knee surgery, which means he will be out for the rest of the season.

The DeMarcus Cousins-less Sacramento Kings did not hold anything back in the 121-79 beat down against the Chicago Bulls. Tyreke Evans had a game-high 26 points (11 of 13), 5 boards and 7 assists in the massacre. The Bulls shot less than 10 percent from the downtown, hitting only 2 out of their 21 attempts. Blood was everywhere.

The Oklahoma City Thunder sent the Utah Jazz home with a 23 point loss. Kevin Durant had 23 points (7 of 13), 10 boards and an unsightly 8 turnovers. While his wild partner, Russell Westbrook went for 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 7 rebounds and 9 dimes. Utah have now lost 2 of their last 8 games.

Donatas Motiejunas of the Houston Rockets goes off for a career high 19 points (7 of 12) and 5 rebounds in the 30 point win over the Phoenix Suns.

With news of Andrea Bargnani being out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury, you would think the Raptors would be much better off without their Black Hole, but Toronto has more than one of them. As their supposedly franchise savior, Rudy Gay shoots 7 for 19 from the field for 19 points and 7 assists in the 24 point Boston win. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett both made history in the same night of the Celtics' 10th straight home win. Pierce passed Charles Barkley for 20th on the all time scoring list and Allen Iverson for the tenth most free throws made. KG passed Jerry West for 15th on the NBA all-time scoring list.

Fantasy Shoutouts: Roy Hibbert scored a season-high 27 points on 12 of 15 shooting and grabbed 12 boards in the victory over the still very injury depleted Minnesota Timberwolves. The Pacers completely dominated inside, outscoring their opponent 52 to 24 in the paint. Ricky Rubio, coming off the triple double on Tuesday, went for 21 points (6 of 14), 6 rebounds and 10 assists in the losing effort.

Led by Stephen Curry's 31 points on 11 of 17 shooting (5 of 7 from three) and 8 assists, the Warriors took down the shorthanded Detroit Pistons on a 57 percent shooting night from the field. David Lee added 20 points (9 of 13), 15 boards and 5 dimes for his NBA leading 43rd double double of the season and 24th 20+ point and 10+ rebound game.

The Round Up - March 10th, 2013.

Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images

Annihilation Nation: Led by Chris Paul's 20 points (9 of 12) and 14 dimes, the Los Angeles Clippers destroyed the visiting Detroit Pistons by a margin of 32 points with ease. The Pistons, after witnessing the death of Brandon Knight, were never the same, as they returned in the second half without any answers on either side of the floor. Blake Griffin racked up 22 points and snagged 8 rebounds in just 21 minutes of play. He also crossed some dudes up.

Rolling Thunder: The Oklahoma City Thunder have won 5 straight in the victory over the Boston Celtics. The C's kept it close for the most parts of this game, but OKC held them to 14 points in the 4th quarter and only 34 points in the second half on 25 percent shooting to come out on top. Kevin Durant led the way with 23 points (6 of 16), and 11 boards. Russell Westbrook added 15 on 5 of 11 shooting. It was all Paul Pierce for the men in green, as he goes for 20 points (6 of 12), 4 rebounds and 6 assists to end Boston's 5 game winning streak.

L.A. Quest: With the win against the injury depleted Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon, the Lakers have clinched the eighth spot and still has an opportunity to move up in the seeding if they can continue to win. The Bulls struggled to hit anything from the field, shooting 37 percent. While the Lakers hit their shots at a 45 percent clip. Kobe Bryant has returned to Earth with 19 points (7 of 16), 7 rebounds and 9 dimes. Dwight Howard dominated the glass with 21 boards to go with his 16 points (8 of 14).

Hive Buzz: Down 2 with 15 seconds left to play, Damian Lillard hits a huge three to give his Portland Trail Blazers, a one point lead in the remaining 11 seconds. But to their demise, Ryan Anderson of the Hornets would come up even bigger, completing a game winning three point play to snap a three game losing streak. Lillard would end up with 20 points (9 of 16) and 8 assists, while Anderson finishes with 20 points (7 of 15) and 13 rebounds.

Antler Attack: In the absence of Ersan Illyasova and Larry Sanders, the shorthanded Bucks made a late run to pull out with the victory against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings had it going early with DeMarcus Cousins going for 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting and 10 boards before getting ejected for a flagrant elbow to the head of Mike Dunleavy Jr. Without their scoring punch, Sacramento had no defense to fall back on, as they watch the Bucks creep from behind to take the W. Monta Ellis had 29 points on 24 shots and 9 assists.

A Few Notes: The Miami Heat improves to 18 in a row in the assassination of the Indiana Pacers to become the 9th team in NBA history to accomplish such a feat. In a special game like this, of course you would expect a big game from the Big 3, but nope. It was Mario Chlamers that scored a game-high 26 points, shot 5 of 6 from fown town and snagged 7 boards. Chris Bosh chipped in for 24 points, Dwyane added another 23. David West of the Pacers had 24 points on 7 of 10 shooting and 5 rebounds in the loss.

The Raptors without Rudy Gay, came back from 17 down to take out the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cav's' star, Kyrie Irving left the game in the third quarter after suffering a left shoulder contusion in the collision with Jonas Valaciunas. Amir Johnson stepped up for 17 points (8 of 19), and 16 boards in the place of Rudy. With a one point lead in less than 20 seconds to play, Kyle Lowry hits the toughest 2 points of his total 15 to seal the win. He also finished with 9 rebounds and 5 dimes.

K-L-O-E.

Fantasy Shoutouts: Vince Carter turned the clock back with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting and 9 boards in the Dallas victory over the miserable Minnesota Timberwolves, who has now lost 8 of their last 9 games and remains the worst three point shooting team in the league.

In his return to Philadelphia, Nikola Vucevic went for 14 points (7 of 13) and 17 rebounds to show his former team what they missed out on. His fellow Orlando Magic teammate, Jameer Nelson had 24 points (9 of 17), 5 rebounds and 10 assists in the win. Sixers' Thaddeus Young led his team with 26 points (13 of 17), 12 boards and 5 steals.

The Round Up - March 6th, 2013.

Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

Don't Call it a Comeback: The New Orleans Hornets had 67 points in the first half, shot 57 percent from the field and even had a comfortable 25 point lead at one point against the Los Angeles Lakers, but everything fell apart in the 4th quarter. Up 18 heading into the last period, the Hornets did not expect much of a fight from the Lakers. If only they knew how wrong they were. For next 12 minutes, the men in purple held their opponents to only 9 points, while they go off for 33. 18 of which belonged to none other than Kobe Bryant, who once again willed his team to victory with 42 points (14 of 21), 7 boards and 12 assists. The Hornets could not find a bucket at all, going scoreless for the last 6 minutes (0 of 12 from the field). Dwight Howard (20 points and 15 rebounds) came up with a huge block late that led to a Kobe breakaway dunk, to complete a 20 to nothing run by the Lakers to end the game.

The Lakers weren't the only ones that fought back from a huge deficit last night. The Memphis Grizzlies, down 17 points in the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers came back to take the win without their All-Star, Zach Randolph (left ankle sprain). Marc Gasol led the charge with a game high 23 points (10 of 17) and 12 rebounds. Mike Conley added 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting and handed out 6 dimes. Blazers' rookie, Damian Lillard scored a team-high 20 points (8 of 16) in the losing effort.

Green Machine: Kevin Garnett passed Wes Unseld for 10th all-time on the NBA rebounding list with his 10 boards and 18 points (7 of 10) in the victory over the Indiana Pacers. Indiana started off hot with Roy Hibbert going off for 12 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter, but dude would go scoreless in the rest of the game, as he watches his team shoot a horrendous 36 percent from the field. Boston, who shot a little better at 41 percent, executed a brilliant play in the final seconds to end the game on a 11-0 run.

Intrastate Battle: The Miami Heat fought off a 20 point comeback from the Orlando Magic to extend their winning streak to 16 games. The Big 3 combined for a total of 67 of Heat's 97 points. Dwyane Wade had 24 points (10 of 16) and 6 rebounds. While LeBron James went for 26 points (7 of 14),  including the game winning drive to crush the souls of the Magic. In his second game against Miami in this season, Nikola Vucevic got his second 20 and 20 game, scoring 25 points on 11 of 16 shooting and grabbing 21 boards to test the size deficit theory.

A Few Notes: The Charlotte Bobcats have dropped 8 straight games with the loss to the Brooklyn Nets last night. The Cats had a 10 point lead in the first half, but would come out of the second, empty handed, as the Nets held them to only 9 points in the third. Outscoring them 56 to 25 in the second half. Deron Williams has looked great since the All-Star break. He finished with 20 points (7 of 12) and 9 rebounds.

Klay Thompson knocked down the go ahead three in the remaining 15 seconds to seal the game against the Sacramento Kings. Things weren't exactly pretty, down at the Oracle Arena, as both teams shot under 40 percent from the field in the 87-83 Golden State win.

Dirk Nowitzki went for a perfect 3 of 3 from the field for 7 points in the 4th quarter to get the W for his Dallas Mavericks against the Houston Rockets in the Texas Showdown. The German sniper shot 9 of 16 for 22 points and snagged 5 rebounds in the process. Shawn Marion chipped in another 22 points. The Rockets had two chances to tie/win the game down the stretch, but James Harden failed to connect on both attempts. The Beard ended up with 28 points on 5 of 17 shooting and 9 assists. Chandler Parson helped him out with 23 points, going 5 of 8 from three.

The Cleveland Cavaliers outscored the Utah Jazz in the final quarter, 36 to 25 to defeat their opponents at home. Kyrie Irving put on an one man show late, going off for 11 of his total 20 points (7 of 20) to drag his team to another rare victory. The Jazz desperately needed this game to cushion off the Lakers from their 8th seed. But without Al Jefferson, and much help, Gordon Hayward's 25 points (8 of 17) and 7 assists was not enough. The Jazz have won only one of their last 5 games since the trade deadline. Is this an omen?

Fantasy Shoutouts: These two Atlanta Hawks have been on roll as of late. Jeff Teague had 27 points on 10 of 15 shooting and 11 dimes in the win over the Philadelphia 76ers, while Al Horford added 21 points (10 of 17), 12 boards and 6 assists.

In the point trading convention between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons, Raymond Felton led all scorers with 26 points (10 of 15), 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Amare Stoudemire came off the bench for a season-high 22 points (8 of 12) and 9 boards. Jose Calderon of the Pistons, was in a sharing mood. Dishing out 16 assists to go with his 10 points in the loss to the Melo-less (knee) Knicks.

Blake Griffin went off for his third career triple double against Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. The high flying time traveler had 23 points (9 of 14), 11 rebounds and a career high 11 dimes in the win. Jamal Crawford threw more than just a between the legs pass, he got 25 points on 11 of 16 shooting in just 26 minutes of play. The Clippers also dunked a lot.

Highlights

Yawn: ZZZzzzzz.

The Round Up - March 3rd, 2013.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

Engulfed in Flames: The Miami Heat haven't lost a game since February 1st, as they improve to a franchise record breaking 14 straight wins, in the victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday morning. LeBron James led the charge with 29 points on 12 of 23 shooting, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and a breakaway dunk to ice the game. Dwyane Wade added 20 points (8 of 16), 8 boards and 8 assists. After trailing by 14 points in the first half, the Heat came out of the break to outscore the Knicks 54 (46 of which belonged to the Big 3) to 34 in the second to defeat New York. Carmelo Anthony had 32 points (9 of 19), while Jason Kidd came off the bench to hit 4 of his 5 three point attempts for 14 points.

Storm The House: Up by as much as 19 points on the Los Angeles Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder that once looked likely to blowout their conference rival, would let up in the final two quarters to allow the Clippers to creep within reach for a scare. Kevin Durant had 35 points (10 of 25), and 9 rebounds. Russell Westbrook went off for 29 points (11 of 20), 6 rebounds and 10 dimes. With less than 2 minutes to play, Clippers would get their first lead of the game, but the Thunder would prove to be too much, as they pile on the lead, which they topped off with a Russell Westbrook jumper to ice the game. Chris Paul finished with 26 points on 21 shots, 6 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals. Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford scored 20 points each in the Clipper's third straight loss to the Thunder of the season.

Power Surge: The Indiana Pacers moved to second place in the East with the win against the shorthanded Chicago Bulls. The Bulls, who were without Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson, could not execute late in the game, as they watch Indiana's David West go off for 31 points (11 of 18) and 7 rebounds. George Hill got 21 points on a perfect 6 of 6 from the field, 6 boards and 5 dimes. Jimmy Butler of the Bulls came off the bench for a career high 20 points, to score a three pointer to cut the Indiana lead to 3 in the last 26 seconds.  The Bulls would get two more chances to tie the game, but would fail on both, resulting in this reaction from their Coach.

Via: @cjzero

I think Thibs maybe a little mad.

Young Guns: Chandler Parsons of the Houston Rockets exploded for a career-high 32 points on 12 of 13 shooting, and 6 of 7 from downtown, to become the first player since Larry Bird in 1986 to shoot 92 percent from the field and score at least 30 points (with a minimum of 6 three pointers attempted). This was his shot chart.

Via: @nbastats

James Harden and Jeremy Lin chipped in for 21 points each in victory against the Dallas Mavericks.

On The Tracks: The Los Angeles Lakers finally reached the .500 mark with the win over the Atlanta Hawks. Despite turning the ball over 21 times, the Lakers were able fight off their opponents for the win in the closing seconds. Down 1 with 26 seconds remaining, Kobe Bryant, who led all scorers with 34 points on 13 of 27 shooting, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, drove to the rim to hit the game winning lay up. Al Horford of the Hawks, scored a team-high 24 points and snagged 5 boards.

A Few Notes: Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies played pretty well in the 26 point win against the Orlando Magic, he finished with 12 points (5 of 6), 5 boards and 11 dimes to become the first center since 2008 to dish out 11 assists.

It was all John Wall in the last minute of the contest between the Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards. After hitting two free throws to put his team on top, Wall would make a huge defensive play down the stretch, blocking Evan Turner's jumper, and then following it with a 20 foot dagger to seal the win for the Wizards. Rookie Bradley Beal suffered a sprain ankle late in the fourth quarter, he is listed as day-to-day.

The Charlotte Bobcats are still a depressing bunch, falling into their 6th straight lost, after a 39 point ass-whooping from the Sacramento Kings.

A Tony Parker-less San Antonio Spurs demolished the Detroit Pistons by 39 points. Tim Duncan had 16 points (7 of 14), 11 boards, 6 assists and 5 blocks to make up for his All-Star point guard's absence, who is out for 4 weeks to recover from a grade 2 ankle sprain.

Highlights

Erased: Blake, administrative officer of Gryffindor rejects Nick Collison's application letter.

Routine: Booooooooring.

The Round Up - February 28th, 2013.

Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

Wild Thing: After blessing us with a great Wednesday night of NBA games, the Basketball Gods decided to punish us with a game between the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers on National TV. The results weren't exactly the insult to basketball, that we expected. We actually got a pretty good one man show from Joakim Noah. The bunhead led the Bulls with his third career triple-double on a game-high 23 points (8 of 12), 21 rebounds and 11 blocks to send the Philadelphia 76ers home with a 7 game losing streak. Noah becomes the first player since 1998 to record at least 20 points, 20 boards and 10 blocks in a game and is the first ever to do it while shooting at least 65 percent from the field. Carlos Boozer added 21 points (5 of 13) and 12 rebounds. On the other side, Jrue Holiday scored 22 points on 19 shots. Spencer Hawes chipped in for 20 points on 18 shots and 15 boards for the Sixers.

Joakim Noah will have none of yourself silly shot attempts.

Point Gawd: The Indiana Pacers minus Roy Hibbert took on the Los Angeles Clippers last night and got dominated inside without their big man in the middle. David West had a team-high 22 points (5 of 14) and 6 rebounds. Paul George got 20 points on 18 shots and 5 assists. The Clippers made a huge push in the third, where Blake Griffin scored 10 of his 18 points to take the lead, which they would eventually hold on to before the buzzer sounds. Griffin finished with 7 of 10 shooting from the field and grabbed 14 rebounds. Indiana made a late 11-0 run in the final minutes, but Point Gawd, Chris Paul descended on to the court to score 3 clutch baskets to extend the lead after every deficit cut. The Clippers point guard registered 29 points on 11 of 18 shooting, 6 rebounds and 8 assists to hand the Pacers' their first home loss since December 7th.

What is the point of fouling Blake Griffin? Do yourself a favor and just get out of the way.

The Chase: Only 2 wins away from .500, the Los Angeles Lakers entered the Staples Center last night to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves to get one step closer to their mission. And it got a lot easier when Wolves' center, Nikola Pekovic left the game with a left abdominal strain in 9 minutes of play. Ricky Rubio did everything he could with 13 points (5 of 11), 8 rebounds and 13 assists (9 of which were accomplished in 14 minutes of the first half) in a game where Minnesota never led. J.J. Barea came off the bench for 20 points (8 of 14), and 5 assists. A determined Kobe went off for 22 points n the first half, finishing the game with a total 33 points (13 of 22), 5 rebounds and 5 assists. With his two steals on the night, Kobe stole his career 18,000th basketball, becoming the 15th player in NBA history to do so. The Lakers connected on half of their three pointers, knocking down 16 of their 32 attempts to defeat Minnesota for the 21st straight time.

Classic Ricky.

Kobe is a product of German Engineering. Thank you, science.

The Round Up - February 26th, 2013.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Late to the Throne: To everyone's surprise, the Sacramento Kings took the reigning NBA Champions, Miami Heat, to a thrilling double overtime before heading on the road with the inevitable loss. DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with his 26th double-double of the season, grabbing 15 boards and scoring 24 points (10 of 17), 2 of which, forced the first overtime. Marcus Thornton exploded off the bench for 36 points, on 8 of 12 shooting from beyond the arc, and 3 assists. In the second overtime, LeBron James went full super hero mode, going off for 11 of Heat's 17 points in the extended period to finish with a total of 40 points (14 of 23), 8 rebounds, and a career-high 16 assists. Becoming the first player in NBA history since Kareem in 1983 to shoot at least 64 percent (minimum of 200 shots) from the field in a calender month. Dwyane Wade added 39 points on 19 of 28 shooting, 8 rebounds and 7 dimes.

Chippy: Things got a little out of hand down at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana when the Golden State Warriors came to visit. Stephen Curry went off for 23 of his game-high 38 points in the first half. He shot 14 of 20 from the field and missed only 3 of his 10 attempts from the three. Despite the big game from their point guard, the Warriors would come up short in the end due to a lack of production from other players. Indiana's David West had 28 points (12 of 16) and 7 rebounds. Paul George chipped in for 21 points (9 of 17) and 11 boards.

Brawl: Because of course, David Lee, Roy Hibbert and Stephen Curry are the toughest dudes in the league.

Broken Horns: The Cleveland Cavaliers snapped their 11 game losing streak to the Chicago Bulls in the 101-98 win. The Cavs, without Kyrie Trving, depended on Dion Waiters's 25 points (10 of 16) and Shaun Livingston's 15 points (6 of 11). Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng of the Bulls combined for over half of Chicago's points with 53 total, unfortunately no one else but Kirk Hinrich on the team scored in double figures to be of any help.

Slow Motion: Despite not having a single fast break point last night against the New Orleans Hornets, the Brooklyn Nets still left New Orleans Arena with the W. Deron Williams got a game-high 33 points (10 of 21) and 8 assists, while Brook Lopez goes for 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. The Hornets didn't do that well in the fast break points column either, scoring only 9 points in transition. Greivis Vazquez had 20 points on 20 shots, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in his team's third loss in four games.

German Monster: Dirk Nowitzski has returned to form as of late, he had 21 points (8 of 16), and 20 rebounds in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks, who shot a horrendous 6 of 21 in the first quarter, turned it up in the remaining periods to finish with a game-low 42 percent from the field. Monta Ellis led the charge with 22 points on an inefficient (as usual) 8 of 17 shooting, 9 assists and 6 steals.

Pain and Sorrow: Please take a moment now and honor the efforts of these teams. I will be thinking about you guys when I break down into tears, watching the last episode of Boy Meets World. The Bobcats put up a valiant effort in the 22 point loss to the LA Clippers. Gerald Henderson and Blake Griffin both led their respective teams with 24 points each. Don't forget about the Sixers, as they fall to the Orlando Magic by 14 points. And the Timberwolves, who were once promising, but has taken a step back with an injury riddled roster in their loss to the Phoenix Suns, the worst team in the west.

Fancy: Ricky Rubio is not he only one that can spice up their passes.

Highlights

Hang Time: Still unfair.

Lob City: The Clippers has removed all the just about every magical aspect about the alley-oop. This was not what the Flint Tropics envisioned when they created the play.

The Round Up - February 20th, 2013.

Stats Rundown

David Liam Kyle/NBAE/Getty Images

Buzz Kill: Once again, Kyrie Irving had to drag his deadweight of a team to another rare victory. The All-Star sophomore went off for 20 of his total 35 points in the 4th quarter to take down the New Orleans Hornets. Irving shot 59 percent from the field, grabbed 5 boards and handed out 7 assists to "improve" the Cavs to a 17-37 record.

Frenemy: In the third reunion between ex-teammates, James Harden led his Houston Rockets over the Oklahoma City Thunder. In their last 2 meetings, the Rockets have lost both games to the Thunder by a margin of 20+ points. However history did not repeat itself last night, as the Beard explodes for a career high 46 points on 14 of 19 shooting (7 of 8 from three), 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Jeremy Lin added 29 points (12 of 22), 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Kevin Durant finished with a second career triple double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Russell Westbrook chipped in 28 points (8 of 20), 10 boards and 8 dimes.

Man on Fire: James Harden gets buckets.

Montenegrin Monster: Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves had 27 points on 9 of 16 shooting and 18 rebounds in the victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers have now lost 7 of their last 8 road games. They are 1-8 on the road in the month of January and February.

Early Pace: The Indiana Pacers are now 4-1 against the top 2 teams of the East (Miami and NY) with this win against the New York Knicks. The Pacers got off to an early start, scoring a ridiculous 72 points in the first half. Paul George paved the way with 27 points (11 of 19) and 8 rebounds. The Knicks never once took the lead in this game. Carmelo's shooting slump continues as the leading man scores 15 points on 21 shots.

It is save to say that Mike Woodson wasn't too pleased with his team's effort. (Via: @TheKnicksWall)

Blocklyn: After a thrilling overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks looked to exact revenge on their home floor last night. Larry Sanders threw his 4th straight block party, rejecting 5 shots to go with his 13 rebounds and 12 points. Brandon Jenning led the way with 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting, and 11 assists. Despite giving up a 9-0 run in the last minute, the Nets somehow managed to hang to their lead to defeat the Bucks for a second consecutive time. Deron Williams scored team-high 23 points and dished out 8 assists.

Singed Feathers: Down 10 at the start of the 4th quarter, the Miami Heat went on a 40-17 point run in the last 12 minutes to comeback for a 13 point victory over the Atlanta Hawks. LeBron James's 24 points (8 of 15), 6 rebounds and 11 assists (8 of which were dished out in the 4th) snaps his 7 straight 30+ point game streak. Al Horford of the Hawks shot for 12 of 15 from the field for a game-high 27 points and also snagged 9 boards.

Historic Rivalry: The Los Angeles Lakers pulverized the Boston Celtics at home in first game since Jerry Buss's death. It was memorable night for Steve Nash, who passed Magic Johnson for 4th in the NBA for the most assists in history. Dwight Howard had 24 points (10 of 13) and 12 rebounds. On the Celtic's side, after going off for 23 points in the first half, Paul Pierce was rendered to only 3 points for the rest of the game.

Worst Dressed: Looks like Walt and Dwight decided to match, while Dwyane Wade cuts off the circulation in his lower body with his skinny camo pants.

Highlights

Condiment Hustle: OJ Mayo does not give up on plays.

Wild Garbage Time: Sam Who?

Bonus link: Fan heckles Kevin Garnett.

The Round Up - February 13th, 2013.

Stats Rundown

If you wanted to catch replays of the basketball games last night, save yourself the trouble and forget Wednesday even happened. Because basketball did not happen, only a lot of ugly was shown on League Pass.

Retina Damage: The ugliest game of the night goes to the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics. The men in green won 71 to 66, making the total score of this game, the lowest of yesterday's schedule. Neither team cracked 40 points by half time and no one was in double figures until the 4th. Chicago and Boston score 13 points and 8 points respectively in the third quarter and every player finished with less than 15 points.

This wasn't the only game. In the 36 point loss to the New Orleans Hornets, the Portland Trail Blazers shot 32 percent from the field and only managed to put up 26 points in the first half. The Blazers would fail to even crack 20 points in any of the quarters. Their 44 points at the end of third, broke the NBA record for the fewest points in the shot clock era.

Flipping the Script: In amidst of the low-scoring games, the Clippers came to the rescue with 46 points in first quarter. LA would finished with 69 points at the break, which is more than Portland's final score and ties the Bulls total. Blake Griffin scored 20 points on 6 of 10 shooting to go with his 11 boards and 5 dimes. The Rockets, without James Harden were no match for the deeper Clippers team, as they finish their road trip with another loss.

Double Trouble: Josh Smith and Al Hordford is one of the most formidable back court combinations of the NBA when they are efficient. J-Smoove got a game-high 30 points (13 of 20), 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Al Horford dropped 26 points (11 of 16), took down 12 rebounds and dished out 5 dimes.

Rookie Watch: Anthony Davis went off 21 points on 10 of 17 shooting and 11 rebounds as he triumphs over his ROY award rival. The brow finally snapped his slump, where he combined for 19 points in the last 4 games.

Two First Names: In the win over the Charlotte Bobcats, Paul George got his first career triple double with 23 points (8 of 17), 12 rebounds and 12 assists. I am sensing a pattern here. If your career is still missing a triple double in your records, just get yourself prepared for the Bobcats. James Harden already got one from them. It is a limited offer, so don't hesitate, act now.

Elite: Still without out Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili, the San Antonio Spurs were still able to sneak one out in Cleveland. Tony Parker took the usual role of the floor general to get 24 points (8 of 14), 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Cleveland's rookie, Dion Waiters led the Cavs with a team-high 20 points (8 of 15), 6 boards and scored what could have been the go ahead basket (on a steal), if he didn't suffer a defensive lapse in the last seconds and left Kawhi Leonard wide open for the game winning corner three.

Raining Day: The Brooklyn Nets lit up the Barclays Center last night, hitting 16 of their 27 three point attempts. Brook Lopez had 23 points and 8 rebounds. Joe Johnson put in 26 points (10 of 19) and 9 assists, While C.J. Watson, in the place of Deron Williams added 25 points, 5 of 7 from the three and 6 assists. Only Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets scored more than 15 points, the tiny man got 26 points (8 of 11), 5 for 5 from three and 9 assists in the loss.

Vinsane: It is kind of hard to believe this actually happened. Vince Carter, in his 19th season in the league, has finally passed Larry Bird on the NBA all time scoring list. The bald headed man finished with 26 points on 9 of 15 shooting, and 5 rebounds in the victory over the Sacramento Kings. DeMarcus Cousins led his team with 23 points (8 of 12), and 13 boards.

Highlights

Miles High: I refuse to believe that Matt Bonner got dunked, it is impossible.

Reverse: Tyson opted to throw it down backwards.