The Basketball Diaries

San Antonio Spurs 99 New Orleans Hornets 80 (Series tied 3-3)

Okay, so the playoffs have been incredibly predictable so far. Another home team won on Thursday night, as the home teams improved to 20-1 in the second round.

Manu Ginobili had 25 points, and Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds to help the Spurs hold off elimination. Well, for a few more days anyway. Unless the Spurs flip the script and pull off a road victory.

"That's what you want to have, an opportunity," said Tony Parker, who had 15 points. "That's why Game 6 was huge. We won the game and now we have an opportunity to win a game on the road."

The Hornets weren't helped out much by the officials, as both Chris Paul and David West picked up their 4th fouls early in the third quarter. Byron Scott left both in the game, but they were pretty limited on defense afterwards.

Though West didn't have to worry about foul trouble for long, as he left the game with back spasms. Luckily these teams will have two days off before game seven, so David will need all the treatment he can get on that back. If he can't go in game seven, that's a huge boost for San Antonio.

The Basketball Diaries

New Orleans Hornets 101 San Antonio Spurs 79 (Hornets lead 3-2)

The third quarter has been huge in this series, and that didn't change last night. As had happened in games one and two in New Orleans, the Spurs led at halftime, but the Hornets came out and took over in the third quarter. The Hornets outscored the Spurs 28-11 as San Antonio couldn't make a bucket to save their lives.

David West kept the Hornets alive in the first half, scoring half of their points with 22, and finished the game with 38 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Decent, I guess. Chris Paul had 22 points and 14 assists, and came alive in the second half after his teammates that didn't have the name West written on the back of their jerseys started sinking shots.

Tim Duncan, on the other hand, didn't have things so easy. He was only able to manage 10 points on 5-of-18 shooting, though Tony Parker did have 20, and Manu Ginobili finished with 18. The Spurs will probably go home and win game six, probably, but I'm not too sure they're going to be able to come back and win in New Orleans if they do.

Detroit Pistons 91 Orlando Magic 86 (Pistons win 4-1)

So the Pistons will be playing in their sixth straight Eastern Conference Finals after disposing of the Magic last night. The Pistons were without Chauncey Billups again on Tuesday night, but they seem to be doing just fine without him.

Rip Hamilton led the way on offense, scoring 31 points, and hit the clinching free throws at the end of the game. Tayshaun Prince didn't struggled from the field on offense, but his huge block of Hedo Turkoglu in the closing seconds more than made up for all his bricks.

The best news of all for the Pistons is that they'll now get to rest up while Boston and Cleveland keep pounding each other (same can be said for teams out west as well). I don't care who wins that series, the way those two teams are playing I don't think either will beat Detroit.

The Basketball Diaries

Utah Jazz 123 Los Angeles Lakers 115 OT (Series tied 2-2)

The Jazz tried to give this one away, as they blew a 12-point lead in the final minutes and let the game get to overtime, but from there the defense locked down Kobe and the Lakers. LA only made two field goals in overtime, and the Jazz sent the series back to Los Angeles tied.

Deron Williams had 29 points and 14 assists, Carlos Boozer had 14 and 12 boards, Mehmet Okur had 18 and 11, and Andrei Kirilenko had 15 and 5 blocks. He also played very good defense on Kobe, because even though Kobe finished with 33, he only made 13 of his 33 shots.

"No excuses for me. [Kirilenko] did a great job," Bryant said. "They did a terrific job. They did big plays when they needed to."

San Antonio Spurs 100 New Orleans Hornets 80 (Series tied 2-2)

This game was not as close as the score would lead you to believe.

San Antonio took a 13-point lead until halftime, and nearly had it up to 30 before going to the bench in the fourth quarter. Tim Duncan had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker chipped in with 21 more points of his own.

Of course, the real difference in this game was that the Spurs finally stopped letting all the Hornets not named Chris Paul kill them. They figured out that Paul is going to get his no matter what, and the key to beating New Orleans is to stop everybody else.

"We've got to play Game 5 the same way we approached Game 3 and 4," San Antonio's Manu Ginobili said. "That is going to be huge, so we don't have to have any satisfaction with what we just accomplished. We are the same way we started."

The Basketball Diaries

San Antonio Spurs 110 New Orleans Hornets 99 (Hornets lead 2-1)

Yep, so the Spurs are definitely too old and slow to stop the Hornets. Chris Paul had another great night for New Orleans, scoring 35 points and 9 assists, while David West had 23 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to push the Spurs to the brink of elimination.

Tony Parker seemingly answered every basket by Chris Paul with one of his own, and joined Manu Ginobili with 31 points on the night. The key difference in this game for San Antonio was that, while they still weren't able to really stop Paul, the role players hit their shots. Bruce Bowen had 12 points, all on three-pointers, and Michael Finley finished with 11 point of his own.

The Hornets, meanwhile, didn't get much from anybody but CP3 and David West. Peja Stojakovic only had 8 points, while Tyson Chandler was the only other Hornet in double digits with 12.

Boston Celtics 89 Cleveland Cavaliers 73 (Celtics lead 2-0)

I'm guessing that after this game was over, LeBron James showered as quickly as he could, and ran to the airport. Anything to get the hell out of Boston. James struggled from the field again on Thursday, going only 6-of-24 from the field. That brings him to 8-of-42 in the series.

Despite his horrible shooting, LeBron did manage to score more points than anybody on the Celtics, with 21, but I doubt that's of much consolation. Paul Pierce had 19, Ray Allen 16, and Kevin Garnett 13, but it was enough for Boston to get a pretty easy victory.

Still, given the way Boston played on the road in the last series, there's no way you can say that the Cavs are done in this series. Plus, you gotta figure LeBron's shots will start falling at some point. They have to, right?

The Basketball Diaries

New Orleans Hornets 102 San Antonio Spurs 84 (Hornets lead 2-0)

After the first game of this series, Spurs coach Greg Popovich wasn't very happy with his team's performance on defense against New Orleans' David West. So on Monday night he came up with a gameplan to help minimize West's contributions. The good news was that it worked, as West was held to 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting. The bad news is the Spurs were so worried about West that Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic ran wild on them. CP3 finished with 30 points and 12 assists while Peja had 25 thanks to his 5-of-7 shooting behind the arc. Now, over the next few days you're going to hear a lot about how the Spurs are old and washed up, and just can't hang with the Hornets. Don't buy it. These teams have played 6 times now this season, and the home team has won each game. With all of the Hornets wins coming in the blowout variety. Don't be shocked if this series flips on it's head when they get back to San Antonio.

Detroit Pistons 100 Orlando Magic 93 (Pistons lead series 2-0)

This game turned on a pretty controversial play at the end of the 3rd quarter. After the Magic caught fire from the three-point line to get back into the game, Detroit had the ball with 5.1 left in the quarter. As they inbounded the ball, the clock stopped at 4.8 seconds, and the game kept playing as nobody noticed and Chauncey Billups hit a three. For some reason, it counted. A closer, TIMED, look showed that Billups didn't get the shot off until after 5.2 seconds, so it wouldn't have counted had the clock actually not "malfunctioned." Now, I know the Pistons won by 7, so if you took those three points away, they'd still win, but it doesn't work that way. This was a two-point game in the final minutes that only grew to seven thanks to the free throws at the end of the game. Take away those three points from the Pistons at the end of the third, and it's Orlando protecting a lead in the final minutes, not Detroit.

The Basketball Diaries

New Orleans Hornets 99 Dallas Mavericks 94 (Hornets win series 4-1)

For the second straight year, the Dallas Mavericks have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, as Chris Paul and the Hornets finished them off in New Orleans on Tuesday night. Paul finished with a triple-double, scoring 24 points, 15 assists, and 11 rebounds. A lot of those assists went to David West who had 25, Jannero Pargo who had 17, and Tyson fucking Chandler who had 10 points and 14 rebounds. "A lot of people may be surprised with how this thing turned out, but we're not too surprised," West said. "Coach has a lot to do with that, his mentality. It's a trickle-down effect. We go out and we pride ourselves on competing." That coach is Byron Scott who earlier in the day won the NBA's Coach of the Year award. As for the Mavericks, who knows where this is going to lead. I wouldn't be surprised if Avery Johnson is looking for another job next season.

San Antonio Spurs 92 Phoenix Suns 87 (Spurs win series 4-1)

Suns general manager took a pretty big risk when he traded for Shaq, a move I never thought made any sense, but the reason he did it was to beat the Spurs. Well, it didn't work. The Spurs knocked the Suns out of the post-season for the second straight year. Tony Parker had 31 points, Tim Duncan had 29 and 17 boards, while nobody else on the Spurs roster managed more than 8 points. It didn't matter though. The Spurs move on to the next round where they'll be facing the Hornets in what should be a very entertaining series. As for the Suns, you have to wonder whether it's time to blow it up. I'm not sure what Shaq's plans are, but I'm willing to bet the Suns wouldn't mind if he just retired. I don't think Mike D'Antoni will get fired because he didn't make the trade for Shaq.

Detroit Pistons 98 Philadelphia 76ers 81 (Pistons lead series 3-1)

Something told me that the Pistons weren't going to come out in game 5 with the same lackadaisical demeanor they showed in game 1 of this series, and I was right. Yeah, me! They jumped out to a 14-point lead after the first quarter, and never relented. Chauncey Billups had 21, Rip Hamilton had 20, and Rasheed Wallace had 19 to lead Detroit. "We knew Game 6 was going to be an elimination game either way it went," Billups said. "We wanted to be on the upper hand of that."

Houston Rockets 95 Utah Jazz 69 (Jazz lead series 3-2)

Everything the Rockets hadn't been doing in the first four games of this series, they did last night, as they handled the Jazz rather easily to stave off elimination for a few more days at least. Tracy McGrady had 29 points, Luis Scola had 18 and 12 rebounds, and Rafer Alston scored 14 to extend the series back to Utah. The odds are still in Utah's favor considering they've only lost 5 times all season at home, but two of those losses came to these Rockets, so I guess you never really know. "We're in a great situation," McGrady said. "We know we can win in Utah because we've done it before." Yes, you're one loss away from having your season end, and you have to do it in the toughest place for a road team to win. What a great situation.

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

Cleveland Cavaliers 100 Washington Wizards 97 (Cleveland leads 3-1)

It's unfortunate that this series probably only has one game left in it, because really, it's been one of the more entertaining matchups this postseason. It all started with the trash talk about LeBron from the Wizards, then Brendan Haywood sent LeBron flying into the crowd, and now even Jay-Z has gotten involved with a diss record on DeShawn Stevenson. Which I'm guessing will be the highlight of Stevenson's career. "He's worth $500 million, and he's writing songs about me," Stevenson said before tipoff. "What does that say about DeShawn Stevenson? Ballin'!" Yes, ballin all the way to another first round exit. LeBron scored 34 points to lead the Cavs, but it was Delonte West who hit the game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds that helped Cleveland place their foot on Washington's throat.

Phoenix Suns 105 San Antonio Spurs 86 (San Antonio leads 3-1)

The Suns came out on fire on Sunday, and maintained the intensity all day as they blew the Spurs out at home to stay alive. Unfortunately, they waited until the series was already over before they started playing. Boris Diaw had a huge day for the Suns, scoring 20 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and handing out 8 assists as Frenchmen continue to dominate this series. Which is an odd thing to say because usually the only thing the French dominate at is getting their ass kicked in wars.

New Orleans Hornets 97 Dallas Mavericks 84 (New Orleans lead 3-1)

The Mavericks started this game where they left off in game 3, but New Orleans' bench took things over in the 2nd quarter to get the Hornets back into the game, and once they took the lead they didn't give it up. David West had 24 points and 9 rebounds, while Chris Paul had 16 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds to help put the Mavericks on the brink of elimination. As a side note, Mavs fans suck. After Jason Kidd got ejected in the 4th quarter for a flagrant foul on Jannero Pargo, the Hornets had a 19-point lead, but there were still 6 minutes left in the game. That didn't stop Mavs "fans" from filing out of the arena in droves. It's hard enough to come back from that kind of deficit, but it's a lot harder when your home crowd just gives up on you and leaves. I mean, it's not like there were any high school football games going on.

Detroit Pistons 93 Philadelphia 76ers 84 (Series tied 2-2)

During the first half it looked like the Sixers were going to do the impossible: go up 3-1 on the mighty Pistons. Then at halftime the Pistons remembered they were the Pistons and realized there's no effin way they should be losing to the Sixers. They came out of the locker room and absolutely dominated in the second half, turning a 10-point deficit into a 9-point victory. Even though the series is still tied at 2, Philly's only chance to win this thing was if they won on Sunday night, and I think it's safe to say Detroit's going to take this one now.

The Basketball Diaries

Spurs 102 Suns 96 (Spurs lead 2-0)

This game lacked the same excitement of the double-overtime thriller in game one, but in the end the result was the same. It also featured the Suns blowing another double-digit first half lead, as the Spurs outscored the Suns 27-11 in the third quarter. Tony Parker finished with 32 points and 7 assists to lead the Spurs, while Tim Duncan had 18 points and 17 rebounds, including a monster dunk to help end a 10-0 run the Suns went on late to get back into the game. Oh, and Manu Ginobili had another ho-hum 29 points off the bench. Still, even though the Spurs now have a commanding 2-0 lead in this series, I full expect the Suns to take the next two in Phoenix, which is fine with me. I'll take as many games between these two teams as I can get.

Hornets 127 Mavericks 103 (Hornets lead 2-0)

You know, in my preview for this series I really thought that the Hornets inexperience in the postseason was going to kill them. Well, I'm an idiot, because somehow, after tauting Chris Paul all season, I somehow assumed he would just start to suck. Yeah, he's not going to do that anytime soon. Paul dominated the Mavs for a second straight game, consistently making Dallas' attempts to trap him futile. CP3 finished with 32 points and 17 assists and just carved the Mavericks up. "Sitting there watching Chris really develop into the best point guard in this league, it's amazing to watch how he's really risen his game to another level," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "But that's what great players do. He's definitely one of the best on this league right now." Though I should mention Paul wasn't the only performer on the Hornets, as David West finished with 27 points and Peja Stojakovic had 22.

Magic 104 Raptors 103 (Magic lead 2-0)

How about that Dwight Howard? After putting up a 20-20 in game one of this series, he only managed to score 29 points and 20 rebounds as he helped the Magic narrowly escape with a victory over the Raptors on Tuesday night. With the consecutive 20-20 performances, Howard becomes only the 4th player in NBA history to do that in the postseason. The other four? A couple of scrubs named Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett. "It was tough to come back and try to play the same way I played the first game. But one of the things [coach Stan Van Gundy] has put in my head, and [Magic assistant Patrick Ewing], is just trying to play as dominant as I could on both ends of the floor. Since the last game, the only thing on my mind, when I go to sleep, when I wake up, at the gym with the guys, is to dominate." The only thing on my mind in those situations? Adorable puppies.

NBA Playoff Previews: New Orleans vs. Dallas

With the NBA playoffs beginning on Saturday, that means Foul Balls is allowed to start enjoying basketball again. So throughout the day today, I will be previewing each of the eight first round matchups.

Why You Should Watch This Series: Oh man, there are a million reasons to watch them, and half of those have something to do with Chris Paul. Not to mention there's the matchup of the greatest point guard of the future (Paul) against the greatest point guard of the past, Jason Kidd. Plus, after taking a lot longer than expected, the Mavericks have finally adapted to playing alongside Kidd, and they've been playing well lately.

Why New Orleans Will Win This Series: Because Chris Paul is freaking awesome, and they'd all like to prove that this season was not a fluke. The Hornets stood atop the Western Conference for most of the season before losing the top spot in the final week, yet they hardly got any credit for it during the year. If they take out the Mavs in the first round, they'll finally get that respect.

Why Dallas Will Win This Series: I know it's a cliche, but experience really does play a large part in playoff basketball. This Mavericks team is a few years removed from the NBA Finals, and they're playoff tested. The team they're playing against are not. Plus, it seems as if there's no pressure on the Mavs this season as nobody expects them to win anymore, which could make a big difference in how well Dirk plays.

Who Will Win This Series: Dallas 4-3. I'd like the Hornets to win this series just to ensure another round of getting to watch Chris Paul play, but I think the Mavs' experience and all around more balanced play will win it for them in the end. They split the four games they played during the regular season, with the home team winning each game, but I think Dallas can steal a game in New Orleans.

The Basketball Diaries

Los Angeles Lakers 124 Sacramento Kings 101

If the Lakers won this game it would clinch home-court advantage for them in the playoffs, and apparently the Maloof brothers are taking heavy action against the Lakers at the Palms, because the Kings sat everybody on their team that could have helped them win this game. Kobe finished with 20 points, and Pau Gasol had 22 as the Lakers cruised to a victory. The last time the Lakers had home-court advantage? That would be in 2000, which not coincidentally led to the first of three straight NBA championships.

New Orleans Hornets 114 Los Angeles Clippers 92

While the Lakers win ended any hopes the Hornets may have had for home-court in the playoffs, their victory over the Clippers did serve a purpose as it clinched the Southwest Division. It's the first division title in the 20-year history of the Hornets, be it in Charlotte or now in Nawlins. "A lot of people had us not even getting in the playoffs," New Orleans center Tyson Chandler said. "I don't think any of us believed that. We all believed that we're one of the better teams in the conference. If you win this division it says a lot about the team because this is the best division in basketball." Oh, go to hell, Tyson. You had nothing to do with it. If it weren't for Chris Paul you'd still be an absolute waste of cap space. (In case you were wondering if the years since Tyson left Chicago have helped ease my hatred for him, they haven't.)

Detroit Pistons 115 Minnesota Timberwolves 103

Sticking with the clinching theme, the Pistons victory over the Wolves on Tuesday night assured them of the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. Not that they were ever really in any danger of losing it to begin with, but I guess it's a big deal. Congratulations, fellas. "That's nice to have, but I don't think it is critical," Saunders said. "With the 2-3-2 format, I don't know how much it even means." Well, way to piss on the parade, Flip.

Elsewhere...

• Magic 121 Hawks 105
• Nets 112 Hornets 108 OT
• Blazers 113 Grizzlies 91

The Basketball Diaries

Orlando Magic 115 Chicago Bulls 83

Does it matter?

New Orleans Hornets 122 Minnesota Timberwolves 90

A day after only being able to manage 66 points against the Jazz, the Hornets nearly doubled their output on Wednesday night in a victory over Minnesota. Hell, they scored 41 points in the third quarter alone. Chris Paul had 19 points and 16 assists, Peja Stojakovic had 24, and David West had 22. "We've got to come out early in the game and impose our will. I think about that going into every game, and I think that starts with me." Paul said. "Defensively and offensively it starts with me and I got to start doing a better job." The best news for New Orleans is that this win gave them a two-game lead over the Spurs, Lakers, and Rockets with only 4 games to go.

Phoenix Suns 96 San Antonio Spurs 79

And the reason the Hornets now have that two-game cushion is because they lost to the Suns on Wednesday night. Amare Stoudemire had 21 points, Steve Nash had 12 points and 10 assists, and Shaq scored 16 and pulled down 9 rebounds as the Suns grabbed a big victory in San Antonio. "Anytime you come here it's a good win," Steve Nash said. "But we're also still fighting for seeding. It gives us another possibility as far as seeding goes."

Elsewhere...

• Cavs 104 Nets 83
• Sixers 101 Pistons 94
• Wizards 109 Celtics 95
• Raptors 111 Bucks 93
• Knicks 109 Bobcats 107
• Rockets 103 Sonics 80
  

The Basketball Diaries

Miami Heat 95 Chicago Bulls 88

Weren't these two teams battling each other in the playoffs last season? Wasn't that 4-0 sweep by the Bulls supposed to be what helped catapult them to Eastern Conference power status? My how far they've fallen. The following sentence is a complete microcosm of this Bulls season: Some guy named Kasib Powell (Who!?) was just recalled from the D-League for this game, and he led the Heat with 18 points and was a driving force in their win on Tuesday night. That's right, the Bulls can't even stop D-Leaguers. The good news is that this loss eliminates the Bulls from the playoffs mathematically, so you can now allow yourself to stop paying attention. If you are still watching this team I urge you to stop, there are plenty of other things you can do that are much better for your health. Have you ever thought about starting to smoke? Maybe you want to shoot heroin or speed (hell, why not both?) into your eyeballs? And these are just a few options, really, the world is your oyster.

Utah Jazz 77 New Orleans Hornets 66

It wasn't the kind of game you'd expect between these two teams, but I don't think the Jazz are complaining since the victory clinched their second consecutive Northwest Division title. Mehmet Okur led the Jazz with 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Jazz in what was a defensive struggle to say the least. Hell, the 22 points doesn't seem like that much, but they still accounted for 29% of his team's points. "I feel really good right now," said Okur. "I try to stay active on the boards, grab every rebound out there, start the game with a couple easy baskets, then I step back. I've really got my confidence." Deron Williams also had 16 assists (his team made only 35 field goals, so Deron had a hand in 46% of his team's baskets) but more importantly he continued his dominance over Chris Paul by holding CP to only 4 points and 9 assists.

Denver Nuggets 117 Los Angeles Clippers 99

Wow, something is definitely wrong in Denver because the Nuggets scored less than 135 points on Tuesday night. I know they won and everything, but still, they should be worried. Carmelo had 36 points, while Allen Iverson had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists as the Nuggs snapped a two-game losing streak. Marcus Camby also had a big night with 13 points and 18 rebounds. Unfortunately for Denver, the Warriors won as well so they weren't able to seperate themselves in the race for the final playoff spot, and both teams remain tied at 47-31.

Elsewhere...

• Pacers 112 Hawks 98
• Bobcats 121 TWolves 119
• Knicks 98 Pistons 94
• Celtics 107 Bucks 104 OT
• Suns 127 Grizzlies 113
• Mavs 99 Sonics 83
• Blazers 112 Lakers 103
• Warriors 140 Kings 132

The Basketball Diaries

New Orleans Hornets 108 Golden State Warriors 96

I understand the reasons for it, but it still amuses me that while everyone talks about how the Spurs, Lakers, Suns, or Jazz will win the West, everybody keeps ignoring the fact that the Hornets still have the best record in the conference. It's not a new phenomenon, either, as they've been on top, and stayed on top for a while. They're one of only two teams in the West that have a winning record against the playoff contenders (Utah being the other team) and they have Chris Paul, who's awesome. Paul had a triple-double(16 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds) on Sunday to lead the Hornets to a win over the Warriors. For Golden State, the loss knocked them out of the playoff picture temporarily, but if Denver lost in Seattle they'd be tied again. So what did Denver do?

Seattle Sonics 151 Denver Nuggets 147 2OT

They lost! To Seattle! I could go into details on how many points were scored by whom, but damn man, look at that score. Everybody had 20 points. Was there a new rule enforced before the game that said teams were only allowed to use three players on defense? Kevin Durant led Seattle with 37 points, 8 boards, and 9 assists to spoil the efforts of Carmelo Anthony(38 points, 11 rebounds) and Allen Iverson (26 points, 13 assists). For Denver right now, every game is a must win, but losing to Seattle is an especially big blow. Especially to start a 4-game road trip that has stops in Oakland and Utah.

Dallas Mavericks 105 Phoenix Suns 98

The Mavs are good all of a sudden. Not only are they finally beating good teams, but they're doing it on the road. Dallas overcame a 13-point deficit in the 4th quarter by outscoring the Suns 27-9 in the final period. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 32 points, and the Mavs look like, well, the Mavs again. "Every team we'd played so far we were right there, on the road or at home," Nowitzki said. "So it feels great to get finally over the hump. I think everybody in the locker room was pretty hyped up that we had finally pulled this one out. Hopefully this could build some momentum."

Elsewhere...

• Pacers 105 Bucks 97
• Pistons 91 Heat 75
• Spurs 72 Blazers 65
• Grizzlies 113 TWolves 101
• Knicks 100 Magic 90
• Lakers 114 Kings 92
• Rockets 105 Clippers 79

The Basketball Diaries

Dallas Mavericks 111 Golden State Warriors 86

Stop the presses! The Mavericks have beaten a team with a winning record! Dirk Nowitzki returned to the lineup after missing the last four games with a high ankle sprain, and scored 18 points to help the Mavs get a big victory in the Western Conference playoff race. Though Dirk's return was nice for Dallas, it was probably the 31 points from Jason Terry that helped more than anything. The Warriors, meanwhile, now find themselves on the outside of the playoffs looking in, as they trail the Nuggets by a game for the eighth and final spot.

New Orleans Hornets 106 Miami Heat 77

One sign that the Hornets are a good team is that they win every game that they're supposed to. Sure, they've suffered a few losses in Detroit, Boston, and Houston, but they take care of business everywhere else. For a lot of young teams in New Orleans' position, Wednesday night's game against the Heat would have been a trap game. Not for New Orleans. The Hornets started and finished strong, outscoring the Heat 58-25 in the 1st and 4th quarters. Tyson Chandler didn't miss a single shot, and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, David West had 22 points, and some guy named Chris Paul had 14 points and 10 assists.

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 127 Raptors 120 OT
• Celtics 92 Pacers 77
• Bucks 110 Wizards 109
• Cavs 118 Bobcats 114
• Grizzlies 130 Knicks 114
• Jazz 117 TWolves 100
• Clippers 102 Sonics 84
• Lakers 104 Blazers 91

The Basketball Diaries

Philadelphia 76ers 121 Chicago Bulls 99

Seriously, do any of you out there really think the Bulls have any shot at still making the playoffs? I know they beat the Hawks on Tuesday night, but you can't honestly believe they're going to magically stop sucking do you? If you do, it's obvious you didn't see last night's game. The Bulls got blown out of the gate by the streaking Sixers, and never recovered. A couple of hours later they laid shattered on the floor. Actually, that's not true. They would actually have to give a shit for that to happen. Instead they all went out for ice cream afterwards. Aaron Gray bought for everybody, what a guy.

Boston Celtics 117 Phoenix Suns 97

I have to admit, I was kind of excited about this game. The Celtics are the Celtics, and the Suns finally seem to have adjusted to having Shaq on the team. So I figured this game was going to be very entertaining, and it was, but only if you are a Celtics fan. For the second straight game, the Suns lost to an Eastern Conference powerhouse as Kevin Garnett scored 30 points and Paul Pierce had 27 as Boston relatively coasted through the game. "I couldn't have imagined it a year ago," Pierce said, thinking back to the seven-for-one trade that bought Garnett out of Minnesota over the summer. "The whole face of the Celtics turned around when the trade happened with this guy. Everyone talks about MVP, and they talk about numbers, but this guy has changed the whole culture around here."

New Orleans Hornets 100 Cleveland Cavaliers 99

Chris Paul has long referred to his teammate David West as the "17-foot Assassin." If the Cavaliers didn't know why he does that, they found out on Wednesday night. Paul dished off his 20th assist of the night to West, and David drained a 17-footer with .6 seconds left to give the Hornets a road victory in Cleveland. "We knew we were going to have a chance to get the ball to Chris Paul and let him create," Scott said. "We knew we were going to get a good look at it. If we got the shot, we didn't want to leave a lot of time on the clock. It was .6 when David nailed it. It worked to perfection."

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 115 Bucks 96
• Raptors 89 Pistons 82
• Nets 124 Pacers 117
• Knicks 103 Heat 96 OT
• Rockets 97 TWolves 86
• Spurs 97 Clippers 88
• Wizards 104 Sonics 99
• Kings 107 Grizzlies 106 OT
• Bobcats 108 Lakers 95

The Basketball Diaries

New Orleans Hornets 108 Chicago Bulls 97

So how do the Bulls respond after blowing an 18-point lead during a 40-point 4th quarter against the Sixers on Friday night? By blowing an 11-point lead against the Hornets, of course! Chris Paul literally carved the Bulls up during the 4th quarter as the Hornets outscored the Bulls 33-13 in the final frame. Paul finished the game with 37 points and 13 assists. "It was all Chris Paul," said Tyson Chandler, who finished with eight points. "The little man was all over the floor. It was incredible. It's one of the best performances I've seen from him yet. He, at least to me, made his bid [Monday night] to consider him the MVP." Ben Gordon scored 31 points for the Bulls, but he was guarding Chris Paul, so he gave up more than he got. Only 16 games to go.

Boston Celtics 93 San Antonio Spurs 91

The Celtics have played well against the West all season, but you have to figure a three-game road trip through Texas against the Spurs, Rockets, and Mavs isn't going to be easy. Even for them. It sure didn't look easy on Monday night as the Spurs jumped out to a 22-point lead in the first half as Boston played it's 2nd straight game without Ray Allen. The Celtics fought back though, led by Paul Pierce's 22 points, Rajon Rondo's 20, Sam Cassell's 17, and Kevin Garnett's 21. "A lot of teams may have buckled," said Rajon Rondo, who scored 20 points for the Celtics. "But we knew we had to execute. Continue to get stops on defense and we knew the game would change for us, and it did." Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 32, but the Spurs have lost 6 of their last 7 games, and have fallen to 6th place out West.

Orlando Magic 104 Cleveland Cavaliers 90

The Magic buried the Cavaliers in a three-point barrage on Monday night. The Magic converted on 14 of their 32 3-point attempts to help overcome a bad shooting night everywhere else, led by Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu who drained three each. Lewis finished with 21 and Turkoglu 18. Of course, the reason those guys were open is one Dwight Howard, who didn't make any 3-pointers of his own, but did manage to finish with 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic. "The main focus is to get the ball inside to Dwight," Lewis said. "Obviously he demands so much attention and they can't guard him 1-on-1. They try to clog the paint and they leave us wide open out on the wing, so we take what they give us." LeBron finished with 30 points for Cleveland, but the rest of his team still sucks, so they lost.

Elsewhere...

• Pacers 110 Knicks 98
• Hawks 105 Wizards 96
• TWolves 99 Clippers 90
• Grizzlies 98 Bobcats 80
• Jazz 96 Raptors 79

The Basketball Diaries

Houston Rockets 83 Atlanta Hawks 75

The Rockets have now won 20 in a row, and are now only the 3rd team in NBA history to do so. The 70-71 Bucks did it, and the 71-72 Lakers won 31 in a row before losing. To give you an idea about how impressive a 20 game win streak is, the Knicks, Heat, Sonics, Grizzlies, and Timberwolves don't have 20 wins this season. The Rockets got off to a sluggish start on Wednesday night, but Tracy McGrady scored 21 of his 28 points in the 2nd half to help Houston shake off the pesky Hawks. "It may be the ugliest thing we've done, but it might have been the best one," Houston coach Rick Adelman said, "the way we fought through it."

New Orleans Hornets 100 San Antonio Spurs 75

I know that with the strong competition in the West, the Spurs are going to lose every once in a while, but it's the very rare occasion when they get blown out like they did on Wednesday. The Hornets held the Spurs to eight points in the 4th quarter. Eight. David West returned to the Hornets lineup for the first time in three games, and he scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Chris Paul did what Chris Paul does, and scored 26 points and handed out 17 assists. If only he played in a market other than New Orleans so he could be truly appreciated for how good he is.

Philadelphia 76ers 83 Detroit Pistons 82

The way things are set up in the East right now, this is likely going to be a 1st round matchup in the playoffs. Something tells me the results will be different once playoff time comes around. Detroit came out sluggish, fell behind by double-digits early, and couldn't fight their way out of it. Even though the Sixers didn't score a point in the final 2:27 of the game. Chauncey Billups shot as time expired clanged off the rim and the Sixers escaped with a victory. "I tried to rock and get [Rodney Carney] off-balance, but they came at me with the double-team," Billups said. "I didn't think there was enough time to get the ball to anyone else, so I had to shoot it. I got a pretty good look, but that's not the shot I want to take in that situation."

Elsewhere...

• Magic 110 Clippers 88
• Celtics 111 Sonics 82
• Knicks 91 Heat 88
• Nets 104 Cavs 99
• Jazz 114 Bucks 110
• Mavs 118 Bobcats 93
• Nuggets 108 Grizzlies 86
• Warriors 117 Raptors 106

The Basketball Diaries

Utah Jazz 116 Dallas Mavericks 110

The Utah Jazz were on a roller coaster ride on Monday night. The Jazz blew a 21- point lead before going on a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter to complete their 16th straight home victory. Deron Williams had 17 points and 20 assists to lead the Jazz. "Everybody right know is fighting for their lives and fighting for a playoff spot. It was a fun game to be a part of," said Deron Williams. "I wish we would have held on to that lead. We let that slip away. We knew they were going to make a run, but we should have put them away a little earlier." Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 28, and Mehmet Okur had 20. Josh Howard led the Mavs with 25 while Dirk Nowitzki scored 23, but the Mavs fell to 4-4 since acquiring Jason Kidd.

New Orleans Hornets 100 New York Knicks 88

The Hornets had a little too much trouble with the Knicks before Chris Paul helped his team finish the game on a 10-0 run, and get out of Madison Square Garden with a victory. Paul finished the game with 27 points, 19 of which came in the second half, and had 8 assists and 5 rebounds. He's so good that even Isiah Thomas noticed. "As I said before the game, he's great. He's just as good in person as he is when you watch him on tape," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "I thought Nate in the first half did a good job in terms of applying pressure and trying to keep up with him, and then he got in foul trouble and I thought that took away some of his aggressiveness."

Philadelphia 76ers 106 Los Angeles Clippers 80

Yeah, because you really care about anything that happened in this game. Long story short, Philly outscored the Clippers over a regulated span of 48 minutes.

The Basketball Diaries

Chicago Bulls 113 Indiana Pacers 107

On Tuesday the Bulls were supposed to have a day off, but instead they chose to hold practice since newcomers Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes hadn't had a chance to practice with the team since coming over from Cleveland. It made a bit of a difference. Hughes scored 29 points, while Gooden had 10 points and 15 rebounds as the Bulls got their first win since shipping Ben Wallace to Cleveland Hughes and Gooden joined the team. "Our chemistry is starting to come together a little bit," Chicago coach Jim Boylan said. "There's a lot of things that go into changing a team ... but at the end of the day, it's basketball and they do what they do out there."

Boston Celtics 92 Cleveland Cavaliers 87

Well, the Cavs traded for Ben Wallace and Wally Sczerbiak because they thought it would give them a better chance against the Celtics and Pistons in the East. Their first chance to prove it came on Wednesday night, and if early returns are to be believed, the trade did nothing for them. Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 22 points to lead the Celtics. LeBron scored 24 points for the Cavs, but did so on 7/24 shooting from the field. "When you have an off-shooting night like this, it's tough to pull a game out," said James. "Especially against the best team in the league." I like to call it The Ben Wallace Effect.

New Orleans Hornets 120 Phoenix Suns 103

If I'm a Hornets fan, I'm hoping my team gets a first round matchup with the Suns in the playoffs. The Hornets and Suns faced each other for the fourth time this season on Wednesday night, and for the fourth time this season the Hornets sent the Suns home with a loss. Chris Paul had 25 points and 15 assists to help shake New Orleans out of a three-game losing streak. "We match up with them pretty well," said Hornets forward David West, who scored 27 points. "C.P. and our guards have an advantage over their guards with their speed and ability to get up and down the floor. ... It just happens that Phoenix is one of those teams that we feel confident against." The Suns are now 2-3 since trading for Shaq.

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 123 Kings 117
• Sixers 101 Magic 89
• Raptors 107 TWolves 85
• Knicks 113 Bobcats 89
• Jazz 103 Pistons 95
• Nuggets 138 Sonics 96
• Blazers 82 Clippers 80