NBA Rookies put on a dunk showcase at their photo-shoot.

Here are the best of them.

Archie Goodwin of the Phoenix Suns throwing down a reverse between-the-legs dunk.

Tony Mitchell of the Detroit Pistons doing some nasty stuff.

And lastly, we have a Tim Hardway Jr. (NYK) to Tony Mitchell (DET) to Trey Burke (UTA) double alley-oop one handed slam. C-C-C-COMBO. 

The Round Up - April 9th, 2013.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

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 3rd, 2013.

Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty Images

There is only 2 weeks left in the regular season and as some of you might know, NBA basketball at this time is not the prettiest and last night was a good example of that. But I am still here and will recap them anyway.

Clipped Wings: After going off for 50 points on Tuesday night, Carmelo Anthony came up with a sub-par 40 points (17 of 27) and 5 rebounds performance against the Atlanta Hawks. J.R. Smith came off the bench for 19 points on 8 of 15 shooting to help push the Knicks to their 10th straight win, making it the longest streak in franchise history in 19 years. For the Hawks, it was Kyle Korver that took on all of the offensive responsibilities, going for 25 points (9 of 14), 6 of 10 from beyond the arc and 6 boards, while the rest of his teammates made little to zero impact in the 13 point loss.

Green All Over: In honor of Paul Pierce's first newborn, Prince Paul Pierce (no, seriously that is his name) who came out of his mother's womb with a chariot and everything on Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics celebrated Pierce's first day of fatherhood with a win over the visiting Detroit Pistons. Jeff Green led all scorers with 34 points on 13 of 19 shooting and 6 rebounds. Paul Pierce showed no signs of fatigue, adding 17 points and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes of play. Despite getting outscored by 30 points in the paint, the Celtics held their own from the perimeter, hitting 51 percent of their shots from the field, where as the Jose Calderon-less Pistons went for 37 percent. Greg Monroe had a team-high 24 points (11 of 22) and 17 rebounds in the losing effort. With this win, the Celtics have clinched playoff berth, but whether they be the 7th or 8th seed depends on the next couple of games.

In the Wild: The Minnesota Timberwolves' 3 point shooting is an actual thing now, they are still the worst in the league from long distance but they were hitting everything against the unfortunate Milwaukee Bucks, who just happened to be on the end of the rare shooting outbreaks from the Wolves. Ricky Rubio was as magnificent as his beautiful Spanish hair, doing a little bit of everything with 19 points (7 of 12), 5 of 6 from three, 12 assists and 8 steals in the victory. Nikola Pekovic ate the Milwaukee front court alive, eating his way to 27 points (11 of 14), and 8 boards. The other Euro player from the Bucks was pretty good too, Ersan Ilyasova scored a game-high 29 points on 12 of 21 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Jet Fueled: In the meeting of old friends, the Houston Rockets took gentle care of the Sacramento Kings, defeating them in every single quarter on the night of the Sacramento-Seattle meeting with Mr. David Stern. In their return to the line up after missing games due to injury and illness, James Harden and Chandler Parsons combined for 50 points (21 for Harden, 29 for Parsons) for the Rockets. The Kings' did not have the greatest time shooting the ball, going 34 for 87, 39 percent from the field in their 3rd straight loss at home.

A Few Notes: Still without Ty Lawson, the Denver Nuggets managed to clean off the Utah Jazz in the 17 point win on the road to make way for the Lakers for the 8th spot in the West. The Nuggets got help from just about everybody, with 7 players in double figures.

On an off night for the Philadelphia 76ers or specifically Jrue Holiday, the Charlotte Bobcats with some late game heroics from Gerald Henderson took advantage in their 18th win of the season. Jrue Holdiay was absolutely horrid, going for only 5 points on 2 of 24 shooting. 2 of 24 shooting, sorry I had to repeat it to make sure you knew what I was talking about. Gerald Henderson was the lone bright light in this game, he scored 4 critical points of his total 24 (10 of 18) late in this game to seal it for Charlotte.

Fantasy Shoutouts: The rookie all the way from Lithuania, Jonas Valaciunas went off for a career high 24 points on 4 of 7 shooting, and 16 of 18 from the charity stripe. He also nabbed 10 rebounds in the win over the Washington Wizards, which puts an end to their playoff contention.

Marson Brooks, in his second year also went off for his career high, going off for 27 points (12 of 16) and 7 dimes in the 18 point victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was a perfect 10 for 10 to start, so for Christ's sake, PJ, give the young man more minutes.

Kenneth Faried throws down the half court alley-oop pass from Andre Miller.

Is there something in the air in Denver that makes 50+ foot lob passes effortless that I should know about? Seriously, it's like whenever they come down to a lower altitude, their alley-oop game exponentially improves and then these things happen. The pass from Andre Miller is just all sorts of ridiculous, it took him exactly a second to turn around, face the court, one dribble and with a flick of his ancient, arthritic wrist, he hits the leaking Kenneth Faried from half court for the alley-oop finish. The execution of the whole play was just so perfect, that even the normally happy-go-lucky, excited about everything Manimal was bored. His face at the end of the dunk tells it all, dude was not remotely impressed. I don't know if it was the pass or Utah's defense, but I am guessing it's the latter.

Jeremy Evans travels far for the alley-oop finish.

He's not the 2012 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champ for no reason, but this is ridiculous.

Just look at how far he was away from the basket at the launch of Jamaal Tinsely's perfect pass.

Via: @MikePradaSBN

Here's a different angle.

Via: @talkhoops

GO GO GADGET ARMS.

The Round Up - March 25th, 2013.

Alex Brandon/AP Photo

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 22nd, 2013.

Mike Ehrmann/NBAE/Getty Images

Sorry guys, it's been a bad week. I know it's late, but it is better than never.

Torched: To the surprise of no one, the Miami Heat, trailing by 3 at halftime to the Detroit Pistons, would outscore their opponent 52 to 35 in the second half for their 25th straight win. Despite getting a season low 5 points from Chris Bosh, the Heat still won by 14 points on LeBron's career best field goal percentage tying performance. The reigning MVP had 29 points on 12 of 15 shooting, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Greg Monroe of the Pistons led his team with 23 points (10 of 19), 15 boards and 6 dimes, but got virtually no help from his teammates as they shot 41 percent from the field, while the men in white went 56 percent on their home floor.

Free Basketball: Up 3 after a pair of Tony Parker free throws to put the Spurs ahead with only 10 seconds left to play, the Jazz looked like they were going on the road with another loss on their schedule, but Marvin Williams had other ideas, hitting the game tying three to sent the game into overtime. Unfortunately for Utah, their luck would end there, as San Antonio doubles their points scored in overtime for Coach Popovich's 900th win, making him the second coach to ever do so with one team. Tim Duncan also reached historical mark of his own, surpassing Shaq on the all time rebounding list for the 13th most in NBA history. He had 19 points (4 of 13), 16 boards and 5 assists. Tony Parker returning after missing 8 games due to an ankle injury, went for 22 points (8 of 13) and 5 dimes. Mo Williams of the Jazz finished with a game-high 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting and 8 assists in their 8th straight road loss.

Oh Matt, that is definitely not the right way to get on SportsCenter.

Storms: The Oklahoma City Thunder held off a late run by the Orlando Magic to send them off with a 6th straight loss. Arron Affalo left this game in 13 minutes of play after suffering a hamstring injury, and was later confirmed to be out for the rest of the season. In his place, Moe Harkless stepped up for a career night going off for 25 points (11 of 18), and 9 rebounds. But it was no match for the combined efforts of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, as the duo went for 25 points and 8 boards; and 19 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists respectively.

Trios: Josh Smith's 24 points (9 of 21), and 10 rebounds. Al Horford's 15 points (7 of 18), 17 boards and 5 assists. Jeff Teague's 21 (8 of 11), and 7 dimes were not enough to best the Portland Trail Blazer's own trio on Friday night. LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points on 20 shots and 13 boards. Damian Lillard went for 22 on 8 of 16 shooting (4 of 5 from three) and Wesley Matthews added 28 points (10 of 18), hitting 5 of his 7 threes attempted in the Blazers' second win of their east coast road trip.

Don't Call it a Comeback: In the return of Kobe Bryant (ankle) and Pau Gasol (foot), the Los Angeles Lakers would blow a 18 point lead in the second half to make way for a Washington Wizards comeback victory. The Lakers was just sloppy on both ends of the floor, giving the ball away 17 times, leading to 21 Wizards' points. The turning point of this game was the third quarter, where Washington (without two of their starters) outscored the the men in gold 31 to 17. Trevor Ariza was huge off the bench, exploding for 25 points on 7 of 12 shooting from behind the arc. He was left wide open through out the entire game, with Kobe never once making the correct rotation to prevent the shot. John Wall chipped in with 24 points (9 of 19), 6 rebounds and 16 assists. Dwight Howard had 20 points (8 of 9) and 15 rebounds, while Kobe Bryant shot 8 of 18 from the field for 21 points and 11 assists in the loss.

Fantasy Shoutouts: In his second game after draining his knee, Carmelo Anthony looked a lot more like Carmelo Anthony, going for a game-high 37 points on 14 of 31 shooting and 6 boards in the win over the Toronto Raptors. Raptor's Alan Anderson came off the bench for a career high 35 points (11 of 18) and 6 rebounds, but his effort alone was unable slow the Knicks down, as they shot 54 percent in the Air Canada Center. Rudy Gay left this game in 14 minutes play with a back injury.

Highlights

Left on a Island: Paul George catches the Milwaukee Bucks sleeping and yams one on the league leader of blocked shots.

Fancy: The Spanish are really good at adding totally unnecessary theatrics to an easy pass, but we love it.

The Round Up - March 18th, 2013.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

Making History: The Miami Heat came back from a 17 point deficit, against the Boston Celtics for their first win in the TD Garden since 2007. With this victory, Miami would improve to the second longest winning streak in NBA history with 23, only 10 short of tying the all time record. LeBron Jame destroyed everything in his path, going for 37 points on 16 of 29 shooting, 7 boards and 12 assists. As for the Celtics, it was Jeff Green that stepped in for the absent Kevin Garnett (flu) with a career high 43 points (14 of 21) and 7 rebounds. But he would go scoreless in the final minutes, while the reigning MVP, went for 13 points in the 4th, including the dagger to seal the win.

Upset: It's the Charlotte Bobcat, so when ever they win, it is an upset no matter who they were against. The victim last night, were the Washington Wizards. Gerald Henderson led all Cats with a game-high 27 points on 8 of 16 shooting and 8 assists. John Wall of the Wizards went for 25 points (8 of 17), and 5 assists in the losing effort.

Cold Tip: The Denver Nuggets outscored the Chicago Bulls bench 71 to 17 to extend their winning streak to a franchise record 12th straight. Wilson Chandler was huge off the bench for Denver, going off for 35 points (13 of 21), and 9 boards. For the Bulls, it was little Nate Robinson that carried the offensive load, erupting for 34 points (13 of 22) and 7 assists, including the game-tying three pointer to force overtime. In the extra period, with only 16 seconds to spare, it was Andre Iguodala that delivered the knockout three pointer that would eventually win the game for the Nuggets. Chicago did have 7 seconds to make something happen, but a Joakim Noah tip-in off of a Marco Bellinelli miss, which at first glanced looked to be good, was called off later in the review for offensive interference. Here is the play in question. The problem wasn't really about the tip-in but more so about how the referees handled the situation, as Kosta Koufas pulled off the exact same play earlier but was never called. Noah finished with 14 points (7 of 10), 12 boards, 6 assists and 7 blocks in the controversial losing effort.

STRRREEETCHH.

Tick-Tock: Down 4, with only 13 seconds remaining on the clock, Blazers' rookie, Damian Lillard, who had 27 points (10 of 20), 7 boards and 7 dimes, hits a quick three to cut the lead to one. Destined to play the foul game to decide the winner, Thaddeus Young of the Philadelphia 76ers would turn the ball over to give the visiting Portland team, one last shot to win it all in the last 7 seconds. Unfortunately, LaMarcus Aldridge would come up short on the 16 footer for the win, He had 32 points (13 of 28), and 14 rebounds for his 32nd double double of the season. Jrue Holiday led his team with 27 points on 11 of 21 shooting, 8 rebounds and 6 assists to make it really difficult for the league to decide the winner of the Most Improved Player Award.

Notes: Vince Carter scored his 22,000th point in the victory over the Atlanta Hawks, to become the 28th player in NBA history to achieve such a feat.

Fantasy Shoutouts: Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors exploded for 30 points on 10 of 19 shooting (7 of 9 from three) and 11 rebounds in the 21 point win over the New Orleans Hornets. His teammate, David Lee chipped in for 20 points (7 of 9) and 11 boards, as the Warriors go above 50 percent from the field and beyond it.

In the 37 point slaughter of the Detroit Pistons, Deron Williams led the Brooklyn Nets with 31 points on 10 of 18 shooting (4 of 8 from three) and 5 assists to look like his All-Star self again.

Highlights

New Generation: It is a sad day, when your student gets the better of you in your former home. Not a good look.

Style Points: Marc Gasol doesn't need his eyes to throw a perfect lob pass for Tony Allen.

Marc Gasol uses his shoe to knock the ball out of Derrick Favors's hands.

Marc Gasol is so much better at basketball than you that even when he tries to intentionally whack a guy with his shoe, he still manages to strip the ball clean before the said shoe hits Favors in the mid section. Now how he actually got the his shoe back in the first place to commit such a foul, is beyond me. By the looks of the video, Tony Allen still had the shoe in his hand at the 9:19 mark, but Gasol already has it returned to his hands by 9:17, what is this tomfoolery?

Via: @cjzero

The Round Up - March 16th, 2013.

D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images

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 11th, 2013.

D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images

Top Dogs: In the battle for the best record in the west, the San Antonio Spurs trumps the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second time this season. After being down 10 in the first quarter, the Spurs would surge back to outscore the Thunder 83 to 61 in the rest of the game. In the absence of Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter stepped up for 21 points (9 of 11) and 10 boards. Danny Green added 16 points and 5 assists, including the corner three to ice the game. OKC made 19 costly turnovers that led to 25 of their opponents points to remove this game from their reach early. Kevin Durant led his team with 26 points (7 of 13), 6 rebounds and 5 dimes, while Russell Westbrook went for one of "those nights," shooting 11 of 27 for 25 points, to go with his 6 boards and 6 assists.

MoTownPhilly: On the night, where Deron Williams scores his 10,000th point, his team would fall to the Philadelphia 76ers due to a lack of bench help. Deron Williams is looking more like his former All-Star self in the month of March, going off  for 27 points on 10 of 19 shooting, 6 boards and 13 assists. His back court mate, Joe Johnson got 20 points (8 of 11) and 6 dimes. Spencer Hawes, the unlikely hero of the Sixers, surprised everyone with 24 points (10 of 15), 10 rebounds, 7 assists and a really thick beard that hides his entire neck. Philly had one of their best shooting nights of the season, hitting over 52 percent of their shots from the field and beyond it.

Playoff Race: With the win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, the Utah Jazz reinserts themselves into the eighth spot, once again booting the Lakers off the playoff picture. In his fourth game back from a thumb injury, Mo Williams scored a game-high 20 points and dished out 6 assists. Bad news for the Pistons, who were already without Andre Drummond (back), they will lose Brandon Knight to a sprained ankle, as the sophomore's season woes continue.

Chilled: The Denver Nuggets dominated the Phoenix Suns inside for their 9th straight victory. The Nuggets led by Kosta Koufos 22 points (10 of 11) and 10 boards, went off for 74 points in the painted area, exactly 42 more than their opponents. Ty Lawson chipped in for 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting and 6 assists. The Suns remain horrible and will have a lot of work to do in the summer, if they want to move on from this embarrassment of a season.

Cookin': The injury depleted and ancient New York Knicks had no answer for the Golden State Warriors last night, as their opponent outscored them in every quarter, while shooting 55 percent from downtown. Melo, who returned for the first time since his knee injury, looked horrible, going for 14 points on 15 shots. Without Amare in the lineup due to another knee surgery, the New York bench came up rather empty. Stephen Curry followed his 54 points against the Knicks in February, with only 26 points (9 of 18), 6 of 10 from three and 6 rebounds. David Lee held down the front court with 21 points, 10 boards and 8 assists to hold the Knicks to their lowest scoring game since 2007.

This picture by @JADubin5 summed up the night perfectly:

The Round Up - March 9th, 2013.

Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images

Wild Rush: In Monta Ellis's return to Oakland, it was Brandon Jennings that exploded for 31 points (10 of 16), 6 of 11 from beyond the arc and 10 assists in the win over the Golden State Warriors. Monta Ellis wasn't too bad himself, going for 26 points (10 of 19), 5 boards and 5 dimes against his former teammates. The shooting woes of the Warriors continued on Saturday night, as their leading man, Stephen Curry shot 7 of 18 for 16 points and 10 assists. Carl Landry added a more efficient 7 of 10 shooting for his 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Seed Fights: It wasn't pretty, but the Phoenix Suns held on to defeat the Houston Rockets to help their rivals, the Lakers, to get a step closer to clinch playoff berth. Jared Dudley left the bench to put up 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting and 7 assists. Goran Dragic chipped for another 18 points (6 of 13). Following his 3 of 17 shooting night on Friday, James Harden went 11 of 17 from the field for 38 points, 8 assists and a sightly 8 turnovers. The Rockets will have a chance to get their revenge as they take on the Suns in Houston for a rematch tonight.

I have to post this again!

A Few Notes: The Utah Jazz without Paul Millsap, had Al Jefferson back for his first game since his injury, but nothing went their way against the New York Knicks last night. Utah shot an abysmal 39 percent from the field, with no one in the starting line up in double figures. The Knicks, still without Melo, got their scoring punch from J.R. Smith, who went off for 24 points (10 of 18) and 6 rebounds, while his fellow bench mate, Steve Novak shoot 5 of 10 from three for 20 points in the win.

The Memphis Grizzlies have won their 12 of their last 13 games with this victory over the New Orleans Hornets. Mike Conley led the charge with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting, and 8 assists. Hornets rookie, Anthony Davis scored a team-high 20 points on 20 shots and snagged 18 points in the losing effort.

Fantasy Shoutouts: In the game no one should ever watch, the Washington Washington destroyed the Charlotte Bobcats 104 to 87. Kemba Walker of Cats had 29 points (11 of 25), 6 assists and 4 steals. Wizards' Trevor Ariza came off the bench for 26 points, 7 of 11 from the field and 10 boards. Yes, this is real.

The Denver Nuggets took out the injury depleted Minnesota Timberwolves last night. Ty Lawson led the way with a game-high 32 points (12 of 17), and a perfect 4 of 4 from downtown to get Denver, their 13th straight win at home.

Benny the Bull recreates Jeremy Evan's portrait dunk.

I told you he was the coolest.

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.

The Round Up - February 25th, 2013.

Stats Rundown

Carlos Osorio/AP Photo

Under-appreciated: It is about time that Al Horford gets some love. He has been solid all season for the Hawks, and is averaging a career high in just about every statistical category. The Florida product went off for 23 points on 10 of 13 shooting, a career high 22 rebounds to go along with his gigantic ears in the win against the Detroit Pistons. Josh Smith chipped in for another 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. For the Pistons, Rodney Stuckey, who has struggled all season in a misplaced role, got 22 points (10 of 17) and 5 rebounds. Jonas Jerebko came off the bench for 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting and 6 boards.

Retina Damage: It was all sorts of ugly down at the Air Canada Center, as the Washington Wizards took on the Toronto Raptors for the second time of the season. If you tuned in, you would have caught a night of horrendous shooting and glorious misplays from both teams. The Wizards shot a vomit inducing 42 percent from the field, while the Raptors shot an even worst 37 percent. There were a total of 34 turnovers in this game, and only 2 Raptors scored in the double digits. DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 25 points on 9 of 17 shooting, and 4 rebounds. Kyle Lowry added 18 points on 17 shots and if you were wondering about Rudy Gay, well, he shot a career low 1 of 10 from the field for 7 points, not the most efficient night for the swing man. The rookie, Bradley Beal of the Wiz led his team with 20 points (8 of 13) and 6 rebounds in Washington's 3rd straight victory.

Truth: The Boston Celtics maybe old and riddled with injuries, but they will always find a way to fight back. After allowing Alec Burks of the Utah Jazz to tie the game in the closing seconds to force overtime, Paul Pierce goes off for 7 straight points (a solo 7-0 run) to give Boston the win. Avery Bradley brought more than just his defense last night, helping himself to 18 points (8 of 12) and 5 rebounds in Salt Lake City. Gordon Hayward led the second unit with 26 points (7 of 16) in Utah's 4th loss in their last 5 home games, which is rare.

Fun fact - Paul Pierce is a perfect 2 for 2 when his shorts gets pulled down.

NBA JAM: Just when you thought the Lakers were starting to get back on track, they go ahead and lose to the Denver Nuggets. The score might say 119 to 108 in favor to the Nuggets, but it was certainly not all that close. Denver had their way on offense for the entire game. To put this into a perspective for those of you that missed the game, imagine if you were playing NBA JAM against someone who has never played before and you were able to keep one of your players "on fire" for the whole game because your opponent can't stop you. It was kind of like that. Denver scored 78 points in the PAINT and a season high 33 fast break points. Wilson Chandler stepped up in place of the injured Danilo Gallinari, going for 23 points on 10 of 18 shooting. Ty Lawson had 22 points (8 of 19) and 8 assists. Kobe did kobe things at the Pepsi Center, he scored 29 points (12 of 23), snagged 6 rebounds, and dished out 9 dimes to go with his clenched jaw.

The Lakers are not going to have a fun time watching any footage from this game in their next film session. But they don't really need to watch it, as with all their games, it comes down to defense, which they still don't know how to play.

The Round Up - February 23rd, 2013.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE

More Blowouts: In a 7 game scheduled Saturday, 4 games turned out to be blowouts. The Miami Heat improves to 10-1 in the month of February, in the win over the Philadelphia 76ers. LeBron James, despite scoring only 5 point in the first half, would come out the second to finish with a triple double of 16 points (7 of 12), 10 rebounds and 11 assists. This is only LeBron's second sub 20 point game of the season, and he got triple doubles in both of them . In the place of his NBA debut, Dwyane Wade scores his career 16,000th point in Philly to go with his 33 points (14 of 18) and 6 rebounds. Jrue Holiday of the Sixers led the way with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

FROLO: Andrew Bynum's hair will never cease to amuse us all (Via: @noamschiller).

After defeating the Pistons by 32 points on Friday night, the Indiana Pacers followed their performance with a 22 point win against Detroit in the back to back rematch. The Pistons were held under double digits until 2 minutes into the second quarter, as the Pacers extends their winning streak to 4. Danny Granger returned from his knee injury for his first game of the season. The Indiana swing man shot 1 of 10 for 2 points in 19 minutes of play.

In the showdown between two of the worst teams in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers took down the Orlando Magic 118 to 94. Marreese Speights scored a game high 18 points on 4 of 8 shots and grabbed 8 boards. The Magic coughed up 15 turnovers that paved way for 21 of their opponents's points.

The Denver Nuggets snapped their 4 game road losing streak with the win in Charlotte. Ty Lawson had 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Kemba Walker led all Bobcats with 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting and 5 assists.

Transition Monster: Andre Miller will never throw a bad pass.

Don't Call it a Comeback: The Washington Wizards over came a 17 point deficit to defeat the Houston Rockets. Rookie, Bradley Beal went off for 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. James Harden got 27 points (10 of 23), and 6 dimes. The Rockets were once again close to breaking another 3 point record, they had 19 threes in the loss, which is just one short from the 20 threes, the Nuggets had last season in their loss.

Band of Feathers: Down 1 with 10 seconds left to go, Al Horford backs Larry Sanders into the post to hit the game winner against the Milwaukee Bucks. Horford finished with 23 points (11 of 22) and 11 boards for the Hawks. Jeff Teague added another 23 points and 9 assists. For Milwaukee, Ersan Illyasova scored a team high 19 points (9 of 15) and snagged 9 rebounds.

Salt Lake Ruins: Paul Millsap got off to an early start, going for 15 of his total 19 points in the first. Three of the Jazz starters, failed to register a single point, combining for 0-9 from the field. Caron Butler of the Clippers had 21 points on 7 of 13 shooting. Blake Griffin chipped in for 18 points and 7 rebounds in the victory.

Highlights

Mullet Bro: Spencer Hawes use all 2 inches of his vertical to block LeBron James.

Denied: Bradley Beal prevents 2 points from a 7 foot center.

Blake Griffin hangs in the air for the layup and the foul.

This is insane. He jumped from a good 7 feet in the paint (meaning there is about 8 more feet to travel), hung in the air long enough to go up, pull back, stiff arm Paul Millsap and go under to finish the lay up just before landing. How are we the same species? I can pull off a 360-through-the-legs dunk on my 7 foot nerf hoop, but I don't think I can even re-enact that without landing on my face. Life is unfair.

Russell Westbrook trolls another reporter in his post game interview.

Via: @talkhoops

After a loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, Russell Westbrook stood in his locker room to answer a few questions from the media. Everything started off well, questions were answered as they were intended and Russell didn't express any displeasure during the course of the interview. That was until, one reporter asked him whether the Thunder lost this game or the Jazz won this game," and Russell had a few words for him.

Russell did not do anything wrong, he can refuse to answer any question, but the n-bomb at the end was totally unnecessarily funny. In his defense, if you are actually not on his side, the question asked was a common vague question that bait players to say certain things to make a headline. It is unfair and if Coach Pop was there, I swear he would have slapped the bejeezus out of the reporter dude.

The Round Up - February 12th, 2013.

Stats Rundown

Closer: Do you remember when the Raptors would always get into close games and lose by a single basket? Well, since they have added Rudy Gay, they don't that a problem anymore, at least not as often. In the absence of Andre Iguodala, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, the Denver Nuggets would fall to the Toronto Raptors, thanks to the late game heroics of Rudy Gay. Rudy finished with 17 points on 6 of 14 shooting and 4 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan led his team with 22 points (8 of 18) and 8 rebounds. This game was not just a two man effort, John Lucas III came off the bench to hit 4 of his 5 threes in the fourth quarter. He and Alan Anderson combined for 22 of the Rap's 27 4th quarter points. Ty Lawson put up a valiant effort of 29 points (12 of 20) and 9 assists, he had an opportunity to win the game for Denver, but his floater with fall short.

Savior: Rudy Gay will have his way.

 

Makin' History: In his last 6 games, LeBron James have scored at least 30 points in each contest and shot 72 percent from the field. Of his total 92 shot attempts, 54 of which were inside the paint and he converted 46 of them. These numbers make him the first player in the NBA to score at least 30 points at 60 percent (or more) in a 6 game stretch. Yesterday, against the Portland Trail Blazers, he had 30 points on 11 of 15 shooting and 9 assists in the victory. Chris Bosh added 32 points (13 of 16) and 11 rebounds. While Dwyane Wade went for 24 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

Legend in the Making: This man will finish as one of the top 2 greatest players in the NBA.

 

The Blazers played a great game, they started off hot, but were not able to keep it up in the fourth. Allowing your opponents to go on a 18-5 run to end the game isn't likely going to help you win games. The future Rookie of the Year, Damian Lillard scored a game high 33 points (10 of 18), LaMarcus Aldridge stepped in for 29 points (13 of 20) and 5 rebounds.

Bear Hug: The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Sacramento Kings on Marc Gasol's 24 points (8 of 13) and 12 rebounds. Tony Allen, yea you read it right, Tony Allen chipped in for 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting and 8 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins had 23 points (8 of 15), 7 rebounds and 5 steals in the Kings' 5th straight loss on the road.

Jam Up: Tony Allen can do more than just defense.

 

BIG men game: The bigs of the Jazz bullied the Thunder inside all night. Al Jefferson, took away of OKC's lunches with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Kevin Durant countered with 33 points on 11 of 16 shooting, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, but his resistance was futile in the loss.

Serge Protector: Ibaka will allow none of your weak lay up attempts.

 

Sick Joke: Someone please tell me that this isn't true. In the Lakers' victory over the Phoenix Suns, Kobe Bryant only scored 4 points and had 9 assists. He did not attempt a single field goal in the first half and was actually able to live with himself. Who is this guy? And why are you messing with Kobe. I mean, his first and only field goal make was in the last 2 minutes of the game, what in the world is going on?

Outplayed: After the Rockets dropped 140 points in their last match up, the Warriors were looking for some revenge at home. However things didn't work out to their favor. James Harden went off for just another night of 27 points (7 of 22), 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Chandler Parsons helped with 21 points (9 of 15), 8 rebounds and 9 assists. The duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 49 points on 40 attempts (Klay shot 9 of 21 from the field).

Extra: Ivan Johnson has his own big head, Terrence Ross's dunk was pretty cool, Kobe was a fish in his past life and Dwight Howard finally took off his silly head band.