This Was Extremely Gratifying

You know, Josh Howard has been having a really tough week. Not only are his Mavs on the verge of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year, but you can add to that the fact everybody is interested in the shocking "new" revelation that he smokes the sweet cheeba occasionally during the offseason. To make matters worse, he shot only 3-of-16 last night and heard boos from the home crowd (before they left early anyway).

Despite all this, he did do something to ensure that he will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Ha ha! I hate you, Tyson Chandler!

The Basketball Diaries - Boston Wins!!

Boston Celtics 77 Houston Rockets 72

It's been a terrible season for the Boston Celtics, what with the fact that they suck and the death of Dennis Johnson last week, so a road win in Houston has to be one of the highlights of their season. Boston blew up for 33 points in the fourth quarter after scoring only 44 points in the first three quarters to come back and beat a shorthanded Rockets team. Paul Pierce's 28 points and Al Jeffersons 16 and 17 led the Celtics to only their 14th win of the season.

Dallas Mavericks 110 Atlanta Hawks 87

The Mavericks won their 12th straight game for the third time this season, the first time in NBA history a team has done that. Dirk had 27 and Josh Howard scored 20 before spraining his ankle. Howard's x-rays were negative and he's listed as day to day.

Los Angeles Clippers 100 Charlotte Bobcats 93

The Clippers beat Charlotte on Monday night, but they lost Shaun Livingston for the season. Livingston dislocated the kneecap on his left leg in the first quarter. The injury is a little sickening to see, and in my opinion puts the Brian Butch video to shame. If you haven't seen it, and would like to decide for yourself, feel free. "I love that kid," teammate Cuttino Mobley said. "It's a tough thing to happen to him -- not only for the team, but also for our fans. He is really special."

Elsewhere...

• Sixers 89 Kings 82
• Knicks 99 Heat 93
• Spurs 107 Raptors 91
• Nuggets 111 Grizzlies 107
• Magic 94 Bulls 87
• Lakers 102 Jazz 94
• Sonics 97 Blazers 73

Two New All-Stars

Well it appears two injustices have now been corrected. Carmelo Anthony and Josh Howard will be going to the All-Star game after all.

The Denver Nuggets forward, the league's leading scorer, and the Dallas Mavericks' Josh Howard were both named by NBA commissioner David Stern as injury replacements to the Western Conference team. They will replace Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz for the Feb. 18 game in Las Vegas.

Josh Howard has been phenomenal for the Mavericks, and has deserved this all along. He's averaging 19.6 points and 7.3 rebounds a game for the NBA's best team.

Carmelo is also deserving of the selection, scoring 30.8 points a game, and if it hadn't been for that hit and run in MSG would have been on from the start.

There will likely be another player added to the roster pending Allen Iverson's ankle.

The Basketball Diaries - The Heat Hold On

Miami Heat 104 Indiana Pacers 101

The Heat nearly blew a 16-point lead, but some idiotic defense by the Pacers at the end of the game helped them escape with a win. The Pacers hit a three to get within 102-101 with 15 seconds left in the game, but when the Heat inbounded the ball to Dwyane Wade, they refused to foul him. Wade ran down the court and the Pacers just ran along side him. Of course, Wade for some reason attempted a layup with 4.3 seconds left. He was trying to draw a foul for no reason, when he could have just let the clock run out. Luckily for Wade, the shot dropped, and Indiana missed a last second three pointer that would have tied the game.

Dallas Mavericks 114 Los Angeles Lakers 95

Another day, another Dallas win. This game was never really in doubt as the Mavericks got some revenge against the Lakers, the only team to hand them a loss in the last six weeks. "That was pretty much all the motivation we needed," said Josh Howard. "We lost focus in the fourth quarter out there [in Los Angeles]. Tonight, we took it upon ourselves as a team, without coach even having to tell us, and played our game." Josh Howard had 29 points and 11 rebounds, while Dirk had 27 and 10 to lead Dallas to it's 19th win in their last 20 games.

The Basketball Diaries

Dallas Mavericks 97 Toronto Raptors 96

The Mavericks nearly got caught looking past the Raptors on Sunday. They played sloppy basketball against an inferior opponent, but were able to crawl back late and get the win. Josh Howards lay up with .9 seconds left won it for the Mavs. Howard finished with 14 points, and the Mavs were led by the German. Dirk finished with 38 points. You know who else won yesterday? The Bears. It was pretty cool, you shoulda been there.

Denver Nuggets 109 Portland Trail Blazers 93

Steve Blake has proven to be a pretty good pickup for the Nuggets so far. Sure, they lost his first game with the team against Houston, but Blake hit some big shots to keep them in it. Sunday, Blake scored 25 points against the team that traded him to Milwaukee in the offseason. Allen Iverson, who led the Nuggets with 32 points had some high praise for Blake afterward. "I'm not surprised because a good basketball player is a good basketball player and that's what he is," said Allen Iverson.

Elsewhere...

• Bears 27 Seahawks 24