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

Phoenix Suns 123 Golden State Warriors 115

The Suns seem to have found the formula for winning with Shaq on the team. What they did on Thursday night was simple, yet effective. They just didn't play him. Instead, the Suns reverted to their former selves and spent all night running up and down the court with the Warriors, and it paid off with a win. Amare Stoudemire had 36 points and 11 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 21 points and 13 assists to lead Phoenix. "We're still in a training camp mode really for the rest of the year," Nash said, "but we're learning. I think we're getting more accustomed to playing both ways and how we can change on the fly and be comfortable and efficient." Baron Davis finished with 38 points for Golden State.

Washington Wizards 101 Cleveland Cavaliers 99

What a day for Caron Butler. Not only was it his 28th birthday on Thursday, but he got to play in his first game in over a month for the Wizards. Butler finished with 19 points with the Wizards, as all five of Washington's starters finished in double digits. "Swag at an all-time high," said Butler, sporting a sharp suit with a purple-and-white tie and matching handkerchief after the game. "Feeling good. Good win. Birthday. Going to go out with the team into the city and celebrate right now." LeBron James scored 25 points for Cleveland, but he missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game for Cleveland.

Sacramento Kings 96 Portland Trailblazers 85

It's hard to have a meaningless game between two Western Conference opponents, but it's going to happen once in a while, and Thursday night was once in a while. Ron Artest had 22 points to lead the Kings to a win, but no closer to a playoff berth. "I wanted to come out with energy and try to set the tone," said Artest, who had a season-high six steals. "This time of year you have to fight through fatigue, play hard, and see what happens."

The Basketball Diaries

Detroit Pistons 116 Chicago Bulls 109

So it's pretty clear that Jim Boylan has completely lost this team, right? There was the Tyrus Thomas suspension (Tyrus played 4 minutes on Sunday)from last week, then Aaron Gray (Aaron played 2) blew up at Jimmy over the weekend over playing time, and Chris Duhon flew to North Carolina to take in the UNC/Duke game on Saturday night without telling anybody. He then slept through the Bulls morning shootaround on Sunday and was benched. Still, it didn't seem to bother anybody as Duhon, Kirk Hinrich and others spent the closing minutes of the Bulls loss to the Pistons on Sunday laughing with each other on the bench. Without Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, and Adrian Griffin, the Bulls locker room is in need of a leader, and Jim Boylan sure as hell isn't it.

Phoenix Suns 94 San Antonio Spurs 87

Shaq finally pulled through for the Suns. The Diesel, who just turned 36 a few days ago, scored 14 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help Phoenix shake out of a slump and take down the red hot Spurs on Sunday afternoon. Shaq even elbowed a fan in the face while diving into the third row for a loose ball. Steve Nash also had 19 points and 14 assists, though he's not ready to say that this win really means anything. "There's a lot of teams with size in the West," Steve Nash said. "We added size, let alone a guy with championship experience. One win isn't going to say we're a finished product, but we're on our way, I think, to improving and getting to a place where we're going to feel confident once the playoffs come around."

Sacramento Kings 114 Los Angeles Lakers 113

With the Spurs loss earlier in the day, the Lakers had a perfect opportunity to put a little distance between themselves and San Antonio in the race for the #1 seed in the Western Conference. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Kobe Bryants 18-foot jumper in the closing seconds clanged off the rim, and the Lakers lost for only the 2nd time in their last 15 games. Beno Udrih hit the game winning free throws for the Kings, and led the team with 25 points and 10 assists.

Elsewhere...

• Sixers 119 Bucks 97
• Raptors 114 Sonics 106

The Basketball Diaries

Even the Grizzlies are embarrassed about losing to the Bulls

Chicago Bulls 112 Memphis Grizzlies 97

For one night at least, the Bulls played wonderful basketball. They built an early lead, and they held on to it the entire game. Drew Gooden had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Kirk Hinrich had 19 points and 12 assists, but they weren't the only guys to fill up the stat sheet. Lu had 21, Noc had 20, and Ben Gordon dropped in 16. Unfortunately, this all came against the Grizzlies, so it means absolutely nothing. Though it was nice to see Shannon Brown get some playing time in the last two minutes, making a sweet spin move in the lane and finishing it off.

Los Angeles Lakers 117 Sacramento Kings 105

The Lakers kept right on rolling along Tuesday night. Kobe Bryant followed up Sunday's 52 point performance with a paltry 35 point effort, but, somehow, the Lakers were able to pull off their 12th win in their last 13 games. "He really stepped it up, really took it to the hole, really took it personally," said Pau Gasol. "We know what he's capable of doing. I know he can take over games. He's so gifted athletically and skill-wise. He's got a tremendous passion inside him. The way he attacked tonight, it was the kind of effort we need every night." Gasol did what he could as well, adding 31 points, and 10 rebounds. I'm starting to agree with Jeff Van Gundy, who said that the Memphis Grizzlies should be voted league MVP this year for just giving him away.

Phoenix Suns 97 Portland Trail Blazers 92

The Suns have been struggling since trading for Shaq, and that's no surprise, but they were able to end a two-game losing streak against a team they've dominated for a while. Phoenix did all it could to blow a 23-point lead, but held off the Blazers to get their 7th straight win against them. Amare Stoudemire had 22 points, Steve Nash 19, and Grant Hill 18 to lead Phoenix. Shaq scored 6 points and had 13 rebounds. "I thought Shaq made his presence felt, especially in the first half. We used him the way we want to," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He's comfortable with that role."

Elsewhere...

• Warriors 135 Hawks 118
• Magic 102 Raptors 87
• Pistons 100 Sonics 97
• Bobcats 109 TWolves 89
• Spurs 81 Nets 70

The Basketball Diaries

Houston Rockets 94 Washington Wizards 68

See, Yao Ming was holding the Rockets back. The Rockets were able to win their 13th straight game only hours after learning that the face of the franchise and communists everywhere, Yao Ming, is out for the season with a broken foot. The 41-year old Dikembe "Who wants to sex" Mutombo started in Yao's place, and scored 4 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and blocked 4 shots. In other words, Houston better feed Tracy McGrady like crazy the rest of this season if they think they're going to have any chance of making the playoffs now. Which they won't.

Miami Heat 107 Sacramento Kings 86

The only bigger longshot in the NBA than the Rockets making the playoffs at this point is the Miami Heat winning a game. That never happ....what the? Holy shit! The Heat actually won a game. I guess that means the Rockets have a chance after all. (Just kidding.) The Heat's victory over the Kings on Tuesday night was their first in a month, snapping an 11-game losing streak. "I know we've had it in us," a visibly relieved Heat coach Pat Riley said. "I don't know where it's been. But tonight, we played extremely well. We just played a complete game for 48 minutes. I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony. I know what to do. I just don't know where to start." You know, it's weird. That's exactly what I was thinking too.

Golden State Warriors 105 Seattle Sonics 99

One of the team's poised to feast on the rotting corpse that is the Rockets playoff chances is the Warriors, and they did their job on Tuesday night. Monta Ellis had 30 points, Baron Davis had 20 points and 10 assists, and Austin Croshere (!?) scored 14 points to lead Golden State over the Sonics. Croshere has played like 3 minutes all season, yet there he was in the third quarter scoring all 14 of his points without missing a shot. "The last few years, my role has been to be ready, not knowing if you're going to get a DNP or play 27 minutes," Croshere said. "That's tough for younger players, but I've been doing it for a while now. ... It felt good to be out there. I didn't really do anything special. We've got four great scorers out there, so I was just reading the double-teams and getting to the basket." I didn't even know he was still alive.

Elsewhere...

• Magic 102 Nets 92
• Bucks 105 Cavs 102
• TWolves 111 Jazz 100
• Suns 127 Grizzlies 113
• Lakers 96 Blazers 83

The Basketball Diaries

Phoenix Suns 114 Milwaukee Bucks 105

It's important for teams to remember that if you gameplan to stop Amare Stoudemire, or any other member of the Suns, Steve Nash is still capable of putting up points. He doesn't just pass. Nash had a season-high 37 points for Phoenix on Tuesday night, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter as the Suns beat Milwaukee. Nash also didn't forget to help out his teammates, handing out 10 assists along the way. "That's not my goal at the start of the night, but it definitely feels great to make shots," he said. "I'd much rather have a bunch of assists and have everyone be on the score sheet."

Sacramento Kings 128 New Jersey Nets 94

Tuesday night was the first time this season that the Sacramento Kings had their three stars on the court at the same time. It didn't take the trio very long to get back into rhythm, as the Kings handed out their biggest whooping in over two years with their 34-point victory over the Nets. "We were hitting on all cylinders tonight," Mike Bibby said after his first home game of the season. "Everything was rolling for us. We got the layups, we got the rebounds, we outrebounded them, we were shooting the ball well. Everything went well for us."

The Basketball Diaries

Washington Wizards 88 Boston Celtics 83

There's panic in the streets of Boston, for the mighty Celtics have lost two in row, both to the Wizards. The once amazing 30-4 Celtics are now just a mediocre 30-6. How will this effect the Patriots this weekend? Will Tom Brady be able to sense the Chargers pass rush if he's too busy worrying about what's wrong with the Celtics? I doubt it. Caron Butler had 21 points and Antawn Jamison had 20 and 10 to lead Washington. "Our eyes are on winning a championship," Butler said. "Hopefully we get Gilbert back by March and when he comes back we will be even more dangerous."

Los Angeles Lakers 123 Seattle Sonics 121 OT

How were the Lakers going to respond to losing Andrew Bynum for 8 weeks? Like you didn't know? Kobe Bryant scored a season high 48 points, including the game-winner with 4.3 seconds left in overtime. Kobe scored the last six Lakers points in the overtime, and you can probably expect to see a lot more 40 point performances with Bynum out. "This is a tough one," a tired looking Bryant said. "Tonight was one of those nights where I kind of had to read the mood of the team. Us kind of being a little deflated with [Bynum] going down, being a back-to-back, coming in on the road, it was one of those things where I just kind of wanted to be a lot more assertive."

Sacramento Kings 122 Dallas Mavericks 120

Monday night was only Kevin Martin's second game back after missing the last six weeks, but he didn't look very rusty. Martin scored 39 points to help the Kings end Dallas' 7-game win streak Monday night in Sacramento. Though it was John Salmons' game-winning drive with 2.4 seconds left that sealed the deal. "For me it's just basketball," Martin said. "I always felt like I could come back and play. It was just a matter of where my wind was. I told coach, 'I can only give you 28 minutes a night right now.' He said, 'As long as they're good.'"

Elsewhere...

• Bobcats 119 Nuggets 116
• Blazers 99 Nets 73
• Spurs 89 Sixers 82
• Jazz 98 Bucks 87

The Basketball Diaries

Chicago Bulls 94 Sacramento Kings 93 (Sat.)

The Bulls were able to sneak away with a victory on Saturday night at the United Center, thanks to a Ben Wallace free throw and then a Ben Wallace block on Brad Miller. And while it was nice that the Bulls actually beat the Kings for once, Sactown had won 15 of the previous 16 meetings, this win actually served to further drive home the point that the Bulls just aren't that good. I know they were without Luol Deng, but there's no way the Bulls should have had this much trouble with a Kings team that was without it's three best players(Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin, Ron Artest).

Cleveland Cavaliers 93 Toronto Raptors 90

LeBron James and the Cavs looked pretty damn mediocre for the first three quarters of action on Sunday, but then James took things over in the fourth quarter to lead Cleveland to a nice road win over the Raptors. LeBron scored 24 of his 39 points in the final quarter, to lead the Cavs on a rally from a 13-point deficit. "In the fourth quarter, he was amazing," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "He just took the game over and put us on his back. What a tremendous, tremendous performance."

San Antonio Spurs 88 Los Angeles Clippers 82

The Spurs finally started to resemble the defending champions on Sunday thanks to the return of Manu Ginobili to the lineup. Ginobili scored 23 points in his return, while Tony Parker had 26 and Tim Duncan had 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead San Antonio to victory. Ginobili's return is big because after starting out the season 17-3, they're only 6-6 in their last 12 as they've battled through injuries. "He's our finisher. He's our attacker and he just adds another dimension to our team, especially down the stretch," Duncan said. "When plays don't work or things aren't working exactly right, someone like that can break down a defense."He's a great guy to make things happen and find open shots for people. And we missed that the last few games."

Elsewhere...

• Wizards 108 Sonics 86
• Mavs 101 TWolves 78
• Grizzlies 101 Heat 94
• Bucks 93 Bobcats 89
• Nuggets 109 Sixers 96
• Lakers 112 Pacers 96

The Basketball Diaries

Los Angeles Lakers 103 Chicago Bulls 91

You know, you would think that if you hold Kobe Bryant to 18 points on 7-of-19 shooting, and Sasha Vujacic leads the Lakers in scoring, you probably beat the Lakers. But these are the Bulls, and the Bulls cannot finish games to save their lives. Nine of Vujacic's 19 points came in the fourth quarter, and Lamar Odom's 17 points and 16 rebounds didn't hurt LA's case either. Luol Deng had 26 points for the Bulls, but he also committed some of the stupid turnovers that plagued the Bulls all night on Tuesday.

Toronto Raptors 80 Los Angeles Clippers 77

Not many of the shots the Raptors took on Tuesday night actually went in, but luckily they took enough shots to outscore the Clippers anyway. Toronto shot only 37% from the field on Tuesday, but they played strong defense and took care of the ball. (You listening, Bulls?) Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 24 points, and he also set the franchise record for rebounds in his career with 2,847. "I just wanted to make fast, quick moves to the basket," Bosh said. "My shot wasn't falling, so I just wanted to be aggressive going to the basket and try to draw some fouls. As the leader of this team I knew I had to step it up in the second half and just play better and be more aggressive."

Sacramento Kings 106 New Jersey Nets 101

The injury to Kevin Martin a few weeks ago wasn't the best thing that could happen to the Kings and their playoff hopes this season. Though Martin's injury has been great for John Salmons. Salmons has picked up his scoring since Martin went down, and he had a career high 31 points on Tuesday night to lead Sacramento to only it's second road win of the season. Still, it was his assist to Francisco Garcia, who then nailed a three pointer, with 15 seconds left that finished the Nets off. "My teammates got the ball to me and gave me the chance to go one-on-one and I got a lot of good chances," Salmons said. "This team has three All-Stars and we knew that it was going to be tough to come in here and beat them. It's definitely a quality win. This is going to be a good road trip after not winning a road game all season."

The Basketball Diaries

Phoenix Suns 121 Indiana Pacers 117

Amare Stoudemire went and had himself a night in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Stoudemire scored 42 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and helped the Suns finish off the Pacers. Phoenix blew a 15-point lead in the 4th quarter, and trailed Indiana 117-115 with a little over a minute left before Steve Nash hit a three pointer that gave Phoenix a lead they never gave back. "It was just a relief that we could make the plays down the stretch and get the stops when it counted, but not a very gratifying win," Nash said. Nash finished with 18 points and 17 assists. Jermaine O'Neal led Indiana with 30 points and 11 rebounds.

Sacramento Kings 117 Utah Jazz 107

Basketball is a pretty simple game really. Generally, while playing, you don't want to give up 43 points in the 4th quarter to your opponent. You don't win very often when that happens, and the Jazz were reminded of that simple fact on Tuesday night. John Salmons took the game over for Sacramento after the Kings lost their leading scorer, Kevin Martin, at the end of the third quarter. Salmons scored 13 straight points for the Kings to give Sacto a lead they wouldn't relinquish. "Five or six times in a row I went right to him and he made something happen," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "You put him in the spots where he can play and he can usually make it happen." The win is nice for the Kings, but they're going to be without Kevin Martin for the next month as he suffered a sprained groin.

Elsewhere...

• Pistons 106 Hawks 95
• Nets 100 Cavs 79
• Lakers 116 TWolves 95
• Bucks 87 Clippers 78

The Basketball Diaries

Denver Nuggets 112 Chicago Bulls 91

It sure is fun watching this team get blown out by somebody every other night. Something tells me that if Joakim Noah continues to lead the Bulls in scoring like he did on Tuesday night, the Bulls are going to lose a lot more games. Noah had 16 points to lead the Bulls, while Carmelo Anthony scored 18 in the first half and finished the game with 26 to lead Denver. Without Luol Deng for a second straight game, the Bulls needed Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich to step up and deliver big games, but instead the two combined for 20 points on 8-of-27 shooting. With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, the thing I'm most thankful for is that I don't have to watch the Bulls again until Saturday.

Los Angeles Lakers 134 Indiana Pacers 114

Kobe wanted to come to Chicago originally so that he could be on a good team, and now that we're nearly a month into the season, the Lakers sit at 7-3 and are light years ahead of the Bulls right now. Kobe scored 32 points on Tuesday night to lead the Lakers, but it wasn't a one man show. In fact, the Lakers took this game over while Bryant sat on the bench at the start of the 4th quarter. Jordan Farmar had a career high 18 points, and Andrew Bynum had 17 and 10 as the Lakers scored at least 30 points in every quarter. "It feels great," he said. "Everybody's contributing. When we have games like tonight, particularly when we're on the road, that's when everybody gains confidence and really starts finding their groove."

Phoenix Suns 100 Sacramento Kings 98

The Kings rallied in the 4th quarter to have a chance to win the game late, but Amare Stoudemire blocked John Salmons' three-point attempt with a second left to win the game for Phoenix. Stoudemire finished the night with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa had 22, Grant Hill had 19, and Steve Nash had 14 points along with 12 assists for the Suns. Ron Artest scored a season high 33 points and grabbed 12 boards for the Kings, but in the end it just wasn't enough.

Elsewhere...

• Spurs 95 Hawks 83
• Bucks 111 Cavs 107
• Wizards 116 Sixers 101
• Warriors 108 Knicks 82
• Mavs 105 Raptors 99

The Basketball Diaries

For a second there, I confused Chris Duhon for a white girl in Colorado

Los Angeles Lakers 106 Chicago Bulls 78

Another weekend, another 30-point loss for the Bulls. Only 24 hours after making me think that maybe they'd figured things out, the Bulls got worked by the Lakers on Sunday night. Kobe could be heard muttering afterward, "What the fuck was I thinking?" In the Bulls defense, they were without Luol Deng on Sunday night, but I don't think his presence would have made much of a difference. What, with the Bulls being outscored 61-32 in the second half, and getting killed on the boards 51-38 and all. Also not very helpful? The Lakers made ten more free throws (26) than the Bulls attempted (16). That's what happens when you continually settle for outside jump shots and miss them. If you would have told me the Bulls would hold Kobe to 18 points on 6-for-16 shooting before the game, I'd have taken it. Unfortunately, there actually is more to this Lakers team than Bryant.

Orlando Magic 104 Boston Celtics 102

And the Boston Celtics' dreams of an 82-0 season have been vanquished to the furthest reaches of hell! Which is probably a very good thing, because after the Patriots 56-10 anal raping of the Bills last night, Boston's getting a bit full of itself. (Actually, that's a lie. Boston's always been full of itself.) The Magic did have a 20-point lead in this game, but the Celtics were able to fight back and make a game of it. Unfortunately, Paul Pierce's last second jumper missed and the Magic escaped with a victory. "We're not perfect," said Kevin Garnett, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds. "We didn't think we were going to go 82-0. But we are a team of character. We do play hard. We do play together -- just not perfect." Dwight Howard led the Magic with 26 points.

Sacramento Kings 105 Detroit Pistons 95

I haven't been paying that close of attention because of the Bulls, but the Pistons are playing pretty average basketball so far this season, aren't they? Their loss on Sunday night drops them to 6-4 on the season, which isn't bad or anything, but I expected Detroit to be better. I mean giving up 23 points to Beno Udrih? Who the hell is Beno Udrih!? I don't even know how to pronounce his name. Yet he does have two championship rings after spending the last three years buried on San Antonio's bench. As you'd expect, Beno is very pleased that he left behind the nightmare of winning championships for the personal glory of being pretty decent on a crap team. "I chose this team because I knew I would get an opportunity to play; I didn't get that in San Antonio," said Udrih. "Playing regular minutes has helped my confidence. In San Antonio I never knew how much I would play. I won't come out here if I miss one or two shots in a row."

Elsewhere...

• Warriors 106 Raptors 100
  

The Basketball Diaries

Denver Nuggets 122 Cleveland Cavaliers 100

Whenever the Nuggets and Cavs meet LeBron and Carmelo are going to get all the attention, but on Monday night it was Allen Iverson and J.R. Smith stole the show last night. Iverson dropped 37 on Cleveland, while J.R. Smith added 29 to lead the Nuggets past LeBron and the Cavs. "They didn't steal my spotlight," said Anthony, who had 22 points and nine rebounds. "They did what they were supposed to do. They took advantage of the defense that they threw at us." That Carmelo is so defensive. LeBron scored 27 points to lead Cleveland, but the Nuggets shut down the rest of the Cavs, and when you do that they're easily beaten.

New Orleans Hornets 84 New Jersey Nets 82

The Hornets were able to overcome an 11-point deficit late thanks to the play of their point guard, Chris Paul. Paul finished the game with 27 points, 7 assists, and 6 boards, and also made the game-winning layup with 2.6 seconds left. Tyson Chandler also chipped in for the Hornets with 14 points and 12 rebounds. "I don't know how we won the game," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "These are the type of games last year we probably would have lost. It tells a lot about the resiliency we have on this team. Chris Paul wasn't having one of his best nights in terms of taking care of the ball but man, did he come up with a big steal after turning it over." Richard Jefferson led New Jersey with 32 points, and Jason Kidd had 14 points and 10 assists, but the Vince Carter-less Nets just didn't have enough to hold the Hornets off.

Utah Jazz 117 Sacramento Kings 93

The Jazz won their fourth game in a row to improve to 6-2 on the season, but of course, it wasn't good enough for Jerry Sloan. "Well, you've got to look at who we were playing tonight. They've got three of their best players who didn't suit up," Sloan said. "They were short-handed and I don't think it was anything to do cartwheels about." I love Jerry Sloan, the man is one of the most underrated coaches in NBA history, but damn does he need a hug. Carlos Boozer led Utah with 32 points and 10 rebounds, giving him seven double-doubles in only eight games.

The Basketball Diaries-Nuggets Keep Rolling

Denver Nuggets 115 Utah Jazz 106

The Nuggets have now won seven games in a row and they're picking a nice time of the season to get their act together. Carmelo had 31, and The Answer dropped in 21 points and 12 dimes. "What I'm happy about is we're just approaching every game the same way," Iverson said. "We won six games in a row, but we didn't care about that. We was concerned about this game here tonight."

San Antonio Spurs 109 Sacramento Kings 100

I was talking to a friend the other day about basketball and he told me he had a darkhorse in the Western Conference. I figured he'd say the Nuggets or something, but he told me that his darkhorse was the Spurs. I looked at him for a second or two silently before calling him an idiot. How the hell can the Spurs be a darkhorse? They're 57-21! They've had a chance to win the Western Conference all season.

Detroit Pistons 104 Orlando Magic 99

The Pistons clinched home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference with their win on Wednesday night. Now as I told Matt Watson of Detroit Bad Boys, all they have to do is beat Miami in the second round and then they can have their season ended by a certain team from a certain town on a certain lake known worldwide as Da Bulls.

Elsewhere...

• Sixers 102 Celtics 94
• Heat 85 Wizards 82
• Pacers 104 Bucks 98
• Mavericks 105 TWolves 88
• Suns 109 Sonics 91
• Rockets 99 Blazers 95
  

The Basketball Diaries - Who Peed In Rip's Cheerios?

Chicago Bulls 106 Detroit Pistons 88

The Bulls handled the Pistons pretty easily thanks to a third quarter run, and 29 points from Kirk Hinrich. Last week they just held on to beat a Pistons team without Rip Hamilton and Chris Webber, and last night they blew them out in Detroit without Ben Wallace or Ben Gordon. Gordon played, but only for 12 minutes with 2 points. Speaking of Rip, what the hell? After elbowing Tyrus Thomas in the throat, he tried to elbow him in the chest again and the two had to be separated. Both received technical fouls, but as Ty walked away, Rip stalked after him. For some reason, Thomas was ejected from the game too.

Charlotte Bobcats 108 Washington Wizards 100

Things are going south for the Wizards fast. They've now lost two in a row to the Bobcats, and after losing Caron Butler to a broken hand, Agent Zero had to leave the game with a sprained left knee. Gerald Wallace came down from a reverse layup, and landed on Arenas' leg, causing the injury. The Wiz better hope it's nothing serious, because with the playoffs looming, losing two of your All-Stars isn't exactly the prescription for playoff success.

Denver Nuggets 115 Sacramento Kings 110

Carmelo scored 31 points, his fourth straight 30-point game. You know, that's just not as impressive after Kobe's run lately. Sorry, Melo, but it's true. George Karl also returned to the bench for the Nuggets after missing time to be with his son. "He's doing great," the coach said of his son. "I think we can move to another chapter. My big thing is to hopefully make Coby cancer free for the rest of his life."

Elsewhere...

• Raptors 111 Magic 108
• Nets 101 Hawks 86
• Sixers 92 Knicks 90
• Hornets 101 Sonics 92
• Bucks 98 Celtics 89
• Warriors 110 Rockets 99
• Blazers 94 Jazz 89
• Clippers 90 Lakers 82
  

The Basketball Diaries - Kobe Sucks

Los Angeles Lakers 115 Golden State Warriors 113

Kobe's streak of 50 point games came to an end last night. He went back to his crappy self and only scored 43. Pathetic. Frankly, I don't even think the Lakers should get credit for their fifth straight win. Hopefully, the league will look into it. The worst part? Kobe doesn't even care that he didn't get 50. Selfish prick. "What? No!" Bryant said emphatically when asked if he felt any disappointment about falling short of 50. "I've always said Wilt's a human video game. For me to be in the same breath with him, even if it's a short little breath, is pretty cool."

Chicago Bulls 92 Indiana Pacers 90

The Bulls don't win in Indiana very often, but thanks to a Ben Gordon jumper in the closing seconds they've now clinched two of their last 13 games in Indianapolis. Of course, I didn't get to watch any of it because it wasn't televised. Why? I don't know. I guess Comcast really needed to show that Cubs spring training game.

Sacramento Kings 107 Phoenix Suns 100

Mike Bibby was huge yesterday. He tied a Kings record with 9 three-pointers en route to 37 points. Two of the treys came in the final minute to give the Kings a pretty surprising win over Phoenix. "This feels good," Bibby said. "It was a big win, and we needed it. We've got 12 [games] left, so we've got to make sure we get a good amount of those 12 to give ourselves a chance."

Elsewhere...

• Mavs 104 Hawks 97
• Pistons 121 Bucks 95
• TWolves 94 Blazers 93
• Hornets 106 Rockets 94
• Nuggets 105 Cavs 93
• Spurs 120 Sonics 79

The Basketball Diaries - Everybody Loves Bad Basketball

Atlanta Hawks 99 Sacramento Kings 76

Boy, I tell you what. Between the NIT, the women's tournament, and this game, I just had no idea what to watch. I mean how do you choose between such amazing options? So instead, I chose 24, but I heard that Josh Childress scored 25 points to lead the Hawks to victory. Good for him.

The NOOCH 106 Boston Celtics 88

So was it the inspired play by the Hornets or the fact that the Celtics suck that held Boston to nine points in the second quarter? It's a question on par with a tree falling in the forest when nobody's around to hear it. What I mean is, who the hell cares about a damn tree falling in the forest? I'll tell you who. Hippies. And I hate hippies. If a tree does fall in the forest, I hope it lands on a bunch of hippies and kills them, and hopefully I'm around to hear them scream. Especially if it's these hippies. Oh, and the Celtics suck.

(Sorry for the lack of actual basketball analysis this morning, but c'mon, I didn't have much basketball to work with did I?)

The Basketball Diaries-Miami Should Trade DWade

Miami Heat 106 Washington Wizards 104

Ever since losing Dwyane Wade the Heat have been playing their best basketball of the season. They have to. Even in a game where Shaq was limited to 17 minutes and 12 points due to foul trouble, Miami was able to pull out a crazy win against the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas was fouled shooting a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left, and hit all three to tie the game. Then Udonis Haslem hit 10-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds left to win the game for Miami. "We just wanted to get a look at it," Pat Riley said. "And Udonis got a look at it. He made a Dwyane Wade shot ... just a great shot."

Denver Nuggets 113 Sacramento Kings 101

Ron Artest's crazy ass returned to the Kings Sunday afternoon when the Kings realized that even though he's batshit insane, they're still fighting for a playoff spot. Unfortunately it didn't matter as the Denver Nuggets are also fighting for the playoffs and beat the Kings pretty easily in Sacto. Artest had a solid game in his return with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 arrests assists, but it couldn't erase Melo's 29 or Iverson's 24.

Dallas Mavericks 108 Los Angeles Lakers 72

The Mavs have now won 17 in a row after destroying the Lakers in LA on Sunday night. The 36-point loss was the worst home loss the Lakers have ever had since moving to LALA land. "I'm frustrated how the ballclub is going in a nosedive," Parker said. "I'm not pleased with my play, and I'm not pleased with the team's play. I know I can play better than this." The good news for LA is that Kobe managed to play an entire game without elbowing somebody in the face.

Elsewhere...

• Raptors 120 Sonics 119 OT
• Pistons 98 Clippers 80
• Bulls 94 Celtics 78
• Cavs 99 Pacers 88
• Rockets 103 Magic 92
• Blazers 106 Warriors 87

The Basketball Diaries-Bulls Bounce Back

Chicago Bulls 100 Orlando Magic 76

One day and a few miles to the north later, the Bulls got over being embarrassed by the Heat by embarrassing the Magic 100-76. The Bulls went on a 14-0 run in the 2nd quarter to gain a 20 point lead. The game was over from there. Ben Gordon scored 25, Kirk Hinrich had 17, and Luol Deng had 15 and a career-high 14 rebounds. "I think last night (in Miami) kind of woke us up," Hinrich said. "We were frustrated and disappointed with the way we played. Obviously, we had a lot more energy and purpose this time."

San Antonio Spurs 100 Sacramento Kings 93

The Spurs won their 11th straight against the Kings in Sacramento thanks to 31 points from Manu Ginobili. The game went back and forth throughout the final quarter but, as it has been during their win streak, the Spurs defense stepped up when it mattered. "I don't know what it is, but we have turned the corner (on defense) and been more consistent," said Duncan, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds. "We use the regular season to get into form and get ready for the playoffs. Maybe it's taken us that long to understand playing defense, but we're starting to do it." With their D tight, it's safe to say it's now a three-horse race in the Western Conference.

Subtlety, Thy Name is Ron

Apparently, Ron Artest needs a reminder about what team he's playing for.

Shouldn't he have had the hairdresser shave in "FEED THE DOGS" instead?