The Basketball Diaries - A Hockey Game Broke Out

Phoenix Suns 104 San Antonio Spurs 98

Like the first three games of this series, we had another fun one on Monday night. The Spurs seemed to be in control throughout, but the Suns overcame a five-point deficit late to steal one away in San Antonio. Of course, none of the talk about this game will be about how Phoenix took back the home-court advantage. Nope. It will all be about the body check that Robert Horry delivered to Steve Nash in the closing seconds. "He just body checked me out of bounds," Nash said. "I understand he's frustrated, it happens but he did body check me." I'm not sure why Horry did it, but it's bound to make things a lot more interesting in Game 5. Of course, Horry won't be playing in Game 5, but the real question is will Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw be joining him? Both players left the bench after Horry's elbow to Nash, and according to NBA rules that's an automatic one-game suspension. I tend to agree with Charles Barkley's assessment that neither should be suspended because they didn't do anything, but I'm pretty sure they will be. It is a stupid rule, but the NBA can't just change it now. Maybe they will next season, but not now.

Cleveland Cavaliers 87 New Jersey Nets 85

Speaking of body checks, the Cavs looked pretty lifeless until Mikki Moore slammed Sasha Pavlovic to the floor on a dunk attempt. Pretty dumb move by Moore on a couple accounts. First, he could be suspended for Game 5, but most importantly, it woke the Cavs up. There were also the missed opportunities for the Nets late. They missed a couple big free throws, Richard Jefferson missed a dunk, and Vince Carter committed two turnovers late that pretty much sealed Jersey's fate and Carter's legacy. Cleveland will likely finish this thing up on Wednesday night back at home.

The Basketball Diaries - Sunday, Bloody Sunday

San Antonio Spurs 111 Phoenix Suns 106

Well, Steve Nash is from Canada so that means he loves hockey, and on Sunday he got to look like a hockey player. After butting heads with Tony Parker, Nash began gushing blood from a cut on his nose. It's too bad for Phoenix, cuz it basically lost them the game. The officials ignored the rules and allowed the MVP to play afterwards long enough for him to tie the game at 102 late but then forced him to the bench. After that the Spurs outscored the Suns 9-4 and took Game 1 in Phoenix. Tim Duncan had 33 points and 16 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 32 to lead San Antonio.

Cleveland Cavaliers 81 New Jersey Nets 77

You would think that the team that's been off for a while would be the one to come out rusty, but it was the Nets who looked like they hadn't played since February. The Cavs held the Nets to 37% shooting from the field to take Game 1 of this series. LeBron led Cleveland with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. If I'm the Cavs I'm still a bit worried. Even when New Jersey couldn't score the Cavaliers were still only able to gain a four point victory at home. Not a good sign for the rest of this series.

The Basketball Diaries - Explosion in Milwaukee

Chicago Bulls 126 Milwaukee Bucks 121 OT

It's basically the equivalent of the perfect game in basketball, it happens so rarely, but yesterday in Milwaukee Michael Redd and Ben Gordon combined for 100 points. Redd had 52 while BG set a career-high with 48. Of course, it was Gordon's team that won. The Bulls came back from a 13- point deficit to overtake the Bucks. It was only the eighth time in NBA history that two players combined for 100 points, yet the second time this season. (Kobe and Hibachi) Afterwards there was high praise for Gordon, who took over the game from the fourth quarter on. "If he was 6-(foot)-6, 6-7, man, he would be like Michael Jordan. He's that scary," Bulls guard Adrian Griffin said of the 6-3 Gordon. "He never ceases to impress me. If you look at a guy his size, to do the things he does, it's quite incredible."

Boston Celtics 124 Minnesota Timberwolves 117 2OT

What the hell has gotten into Boston? They've won three games in a row, and for a team that usually wins three times a month, that's amazing. Delonte West had 31 points, Paul Pierce had 27, Al Jefferson had 20 and 14, and I think Doc Rivers scored 20 too. Kevin Garnett did all he could, recording a triple double with 33 points, 13 boards and 10 assists, but the rest of his team sucks. You know where those stats would win, Kevin? Chicago. Think about it.

Phoenix Suns 99 Los Angeles Lakers 94

Yeah, so Phoenix is still good and stuff. Steve Nash had 23 points and 10 assists to lead Phoenix past LA Sunday afternoon. Eighteen of Steve's points came in the second half, but in typical Suns fashion, even though they won they didn't play "well." "We just didn't have a lot of mojo," Nash said. "We never really found a lot. We just kind of hung in there and made enough plays when it counted I guess." Yeah, you suck.

Elsewhere...

• Wizards 107 Warriors 106
• Sixers 99 Nets 86
• Jazz 108 Hornets 94
• Sonics 96 Bobcats 89

The Basketball Diaries - Dallas Owned February

Dallas Mavericks 91 Minnesota Timberwolves 65

Man, the Mavericks are 48-9, and they started the season 0-4. On Tuesday night they held the Timberwolves to only 65 points. It's the lowest point total the Mavs have ever held an opponent to. The win also gave Dallas its first undefeated month in franchise history. Dirk had 23 and 14, while Josh Howard shook off his sprained ankle and dropped in another 17 points for Dallas.

Phoenix Suns 103 Indiana Pacers 92

The Suns aren't half bad either, and last night they blew up in the fourth quarter to get a win in Indy. Steve Nash had 25 points and 11 assists. The Suns actually trailed by 18 in the third quarter before holding the Pacers to 13 points in the final 15 minutes. That's right. The Suns played defense. "Really, we just finally woke up," Nash said. "We were sleepwalking and couldn't make any shots for a long stretch. We finally picked up our defense and made some shots."

New Jersey Nets 113 Washington Wizards 101

Well, it seems like Jason Kidd and Vince Carter have decided that if they're stuck in Jersey the rest of the season, they might as well try to win. The Nets won their third straight game thanks to 26 points and 9 assists from Kidd, and 27 points from Vince Carter. New Jersey also set a franchise mark by hitting 16 three-pointers. "It was more or less beat us from the outside," Kidd said when asked about the Wizards' defense. "We kind of fell in the trap in the first half but we were wide open."

Elsewhere...

• Cavs 97 Hornets 89
• Bucks 122 Warriors 101

Sour Grapes?

As David Stern would say, what's with all this mishigous about Steve Nash?

First, Charles Barkley and Suns coach Mike D'Antoni get into a dust-up over the way the coach is handling his crown jewel point guard as the team moves towards the playoffs:

"Barkley criticized D’Antoni at length Tuesday night, saying the Suns coach is running the risk of wearing out Steve Nash for the playoffs by playing him too much now. He also said the Suns don’t play their backup point guards enough to allow them to develop confidence.

The next night, D’Antoni fired back at Barkley, pointing to past criticisms of Barkley’s efforts at staying in shape. 'He didn’t train. And he blew championships. If you train, maybe you don’t blow championships...We have a guy who trains.'”

Snap, Mikie.

Now, Shaq is getting into the fracas. According to the Arizona Republic (via Fanhouse):

O'Neal questioned how the media picks MVPs and said the award has been "tainted" the past two seasons. O'Neal was the runner-up for Nash's first MVP in 2005. O'Neal repeated "tainted" references to reporters.

Say what you want, Shaq, but if you want a measure of MVP qualifications, one need only look at the fact that the Suns didn't win a single game without Nash when he was out with back and shoulder problems.

Sure, if LeBron or Kobe or Dirk were out it'd be disastrous for their respective teams too, but factor in overall team performance and let's get real, the only other reasonable contender for MVP would be Dirk Nowitski.

So, sorry, Shaq, ya might wanna do some more running on the court and less running of your mouth. And Charles? Well, he's a great commentator and I love him, so even though the only dunkin' he's seeing is found on a donut box, I'll give him a pass.

Meanwhile, anyone who has a gripe with Steve Nash might wanna back off until the end of the season cuz I get the distinct feeling he could be the NBA's Peyton Manning.

The Basketball Diaries - What's Wrong With the Magic?

Detroit Pistons 110 Orlando Magic 88

This was one of those classic matchups between two teams heading in completely opposite directions. The Pistons have won nine of ten, and are clearly the class of the Eastern Conference right now. Meanwhile, the Magic have now lost six games in a row to fall below .500, and are about to land in third place behind the Heat. Dwight Howard had 26 points and 15 rebounds, but his teammates did their best impression of MJ at the dunk contest and offered him no support. "It feels bad when you get beat as bad we did tonight," Howard said. "They beat us in every way possible, and we can't let that happen. Hopefully, when we play these guys again Friday, we'll come out with a much better attitude."

Houston Rockets 112 Miami Heat 102

Dwyane Wade is such a damn drama queen. How many people do you know need to be carted off in a wheelchair when they hurt their shoulder? That's what happened with Wade last night, as the Heat lost in Pat Riley's return to the bench. Wade had 27 points before he got tangled up with Shane Battier and had to be carted off. Yes, it's dislocated and Wade won't make the trip with the team to play in Dallas Thursday night, but $20 says the Mavs still get called for six fouls against him somehow.

Phoenix Suns 118 Boston Celtics 108

The Suns weren't at their best last night, but they were playing the Celtics so technically they only had to be horrible to get a victory. Steve Nash had 14 points and 13 assists in his second game back, while Amare dominated with 32 and 12. As far as the Celtics, well.....Gerald Green won the Dunk Contest on Saturday!! So they got that going for them, which is nice. I guess.

Elsewhere...

• Spurs 103 Hawks 96
• Pacers 136 Bucks 129 2OT
• Sixers 104 Knicks 84
• Cavs 86 Raptors 85
• Hornets 111 Nets 107
• Bobcats 100 TWolves 95
• Warriors 118 Grizzlies 115 OT
• Blazers 112 Lakers 108

The Basketball Diaries - The Hawks Had a Great Third Quarter

Chicago Bulls 106 Atlanta Hawks 81

If you want to win a game on the road, I think going an entire quarter without scoring a field goal is detrimental to that goal. The Atlanta Hawks are stubborn, though, and they just wanted to try and prove me wrong. Well, who's laughing now, Atlanta Hawks? Me. That's who. The Hawks didn't score a basket in the entire third quarter, but did manage to hit 8 free throws. The Bulls outscored them 28-8 in the quarter, but true to form, Scott Skiles wasn't that impressed with their defensive effort. "Our defense was good, not great. We have played better defense than that stretch. We were good and they just missed some shots. When they had opportunities, we fouled them and they weren't able to get the shot off," said Skiles.

San Antonio Spurs 95 Denver Nuggets 80

Allen Iverson was happy to return to the Nuggets lineup on Tuesday night, but the Spurs didn't seem to care very much. Iverson scored only 9 points, as the Spurs built a 31-point lead after three quarters. "The shots that I took, I know I can hit with my eyes closed," said Iverson, who went 3-of-11 from the field. "Maybe I should have closed them. I took 11 shots, and I thought I got 11 good looks. Usually when I come back from injury, I have my rhythm back. I didn't today."

Phoenix Suns 115 Los Angeles Clippers 90

If you ever questioned how Steve Nash could be named MVP two years in a row, the answer has never been more obvious than it was the last few weeks. With Nash on the shelf, the Suns immediately fell into a 4-game losing streak. Then last night, Nash suits up, and the Suns win a 25 point blowout on the road. Nash had 13 points and 12 assists, while Shawn Marion led the Suns in scoring with 31 points. "He came out there, he kept the ball moving and everybody was making their passes," said Marion, who also had nine rebounds. "It was free-flowing and that's how everything happens. That's why we won."

Elsewhere...

• Wizards 112 Timberwolves 100
• Bobcats 104 Hornets 100
• Knicks 100 Magic 94
• Pistons 84 Bucks 83
• Blazers 103 Jazz 100
• Kings 104 Celtics 101
• Sonics 121 Grizzlies 105

The Basketball Diaries - Stephen Jackson Shoots Up Indiana

Golden State Warriors 113 Indiana Pacers 98

Stephen Jackson is used to being booed in Indiana. When he played there, Pacers fans would boo him for doing things like shooting up strip clubs. Well, he returned to Indiana for the first time since being traded to Golden State a few weeks ago and was booed relentlessly. Jackson responded with 36 points to lead Golden State to a road victory. "I'm not going to lie, it feels good to come back and beat your old team."

Phoenix Suns 113 Denver Nuggets 108

Carmelo Anthony did something Monday night he's never done before. He posted his first career triple double, scoring 31 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. That didn't help the Nuggets actually beat Phoenix, but it's still something. Things looked good for Denver when they went to halftime up by nine, and they looked even better when Steve Nash didn't come out to play in the second half. But things aren't always what they seem. Denver was beating Phoenix up physically, and Nash fired his team up at halftime, and they responded. "During the first half they roughed us up, knocked us around and we didn't stand up to them. Steve had a talk at halftime and we played with a little bit more oomph in the second half," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They've got some tough guys and we had to stand up to it. We want to play pretty, but pretty wasn't getting it done tonight." Amare Stoudemire had 36 points, and Leandro Barbosa dropped in 20 to lead the Nash-less Suns.

Utah Jazz 100 Chicago Bulls 95

They may be teammates, but I get the feeling Mehmet Okur isn't minding life without Carlos Boozer too much right now. Since Boozer went down, the Jazz are 3-1 with Okur has leading in scoring. Monday night in Utah, he put up 12 of the Jazz' last 14 points, including a three-pointer in the final minute that essentially ended the game. "I missed a few shots earlier, but my teammates have confidence in my shot so they kept giving it to me," Okur said. Kirk Hinrich had 26 points to lead the Bulls.

Elsewhere...

• Lakers 90 Hawks 83
• Sixers 100 Nets 98 OT
• Wizards 118 Sonics 108
• Heat 113 Bobcats 93
• Rockets 105 Timberwolves 77
• Kings 105 Hornets 99

The Basketball Diaries - D-Wade Shows LeBron How it's Done

Miami Heat 92 Cleveland Cavaliers 89

Note to the Cavaliers: Anytime Daniel Gibson is your leading scorer, that's not good. Especially when you're going against Dwyane Wade, who scored 41 points to lead Miami. Shaq also played for 28 minutes and scored 16 points before fouling out. LeBron had 17 points and 9 assists, but the only memorable part of his game was when he clotheslined Dwyane Wade late in the fourth quarter. LeBron ran out to Wade to wrap him up and take a foul, but ended up hitting Dwyane upside the head with a forearm. Dwyane Wade then fell to the floor (what's new!?) and rolled around for a while. LeBron could be heard saying, "If he dies, he dies," while Wade lay on the ground. Don't worry, they're still friends. "He was just going for the steal," Wade said. "D-Wade knows it's not intentional," James said. "But it's part of the rules, you've got to call it."

Phoenix Suns 103 San Antonio Spurs 87

Manu Ginobili taught us all a very valuable lesson on Thursday night. Do not, under any circumstances, kick Amare Stoudemire in the balls. Intentional, or unintentional, it just isn't a good idea. Stoudemire had what some might describe as a dominant game, if not his best game of the season, scoring 24 points and had 23 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa dropped in another 25 and Steve Nash added 13 points and 11 assists. Tim Duncan scored 20 points with 18 boards for the Spurs, but it didn't really help. It seems that a lot of people are afraid to say this, but you know what? The Spurs just aren't that good this season. They don't suck, not by any means, but their defense just isn't what you expect.

(Woo hoo, our 1,oooth post)

The Basketball Diaries - The Suns Set

Minnesota Timberwolves 121 Phoenix Suns 112

Well, well, the Suns 17-game win streak has finally come to an end. And all it took was a 44-point, 11 rebound-sized effort from Kevin Garnett to do it. Garnett practically won this game on his own. He scored 15 points in the 4th quarter, and hit every big shot when it was needed. "People who say he can't carry the load, take a look at this game film," new Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman said. Not even Steve Nash's 20 points and 18 assists could save the Suns, but they didn't seem to upset about it afterward. "Better to lose that way than to lose when we beat ourselves," Nash said. "Kevin was sensational. We just didn't make shots at the end at the clip Kevin was making them." You're a bitter, bitter little Canadian, huh, Steve Nash... Hoser.

New Jersey Nets 116 Utah Jazz 115

So what do you get when you take Carlos Boozer and Jerry Sloan away from the Utah Jazz? You get Vince Carter waving goodbye to you after he hits a thirty foot three-pointer at the basket to beat your depleted ass, that's what. Vinsanity scored 29 of his 33 points in the second half, and waved to the Jazz bench after his game winner before being mobbed by teammates, to help the Nets scored a come-from-behind win in Utah. The Jazz outrebounded the Nets 44-21, but also committed 19 turnovers to Jersey's 7. That's not how you win basketball games. You win by scoring more points than the other team, silly.

Charlotte Bobcats 105 Denver Nuggets 101

You know, for some reason, when I pictured Melo returning from his suspension to play alongside Allen Iverson, a loss at home against the Charlotte Bobcats never entered the picture. But as we all know, the Bobcats own the Western Conference right now. They took down the Lakers and now they got the Nuggets. In fact, Dallas and Phoenix are hiding in their closets wetting themselves thinking about it. Carmelo had a chance to give Denver a lead with seconds left, but got swatted by Gerald Wallace in the process. Gerald Wallace is the best player in the NBA that nobody knows about. Somebody get him out of Charlotte.

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 93 Magic 83
• Hornets 103 Blazers 91
• Grizzlies 124 Kings 117
• Rockets 105 Sixers 84

The Basketball Diaries - 17 in a Row

Phoenix Suns 115 Cleveland Cavaliers 100

The Suns need to lose cuz this is starting to get boring. Run, score, win. That's all they do, and it's getting old. Steve Nash scored 23 points and had 15 assists to lead the Suns to their 17th consecutive victory over LeBron and the Cavaliers in Cleveland. "The way they're playing right now, they're unbeatable," LeBron James said.

San Antonio Spurs 96 Los Angeles Lakers 94 OT

Michael Finley hit a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in overtime to give the San Antonio Spurs a victory in L.A. on Sunday. The Spurs got the ball to Tim Duncan in the post, but he couldn't find a shot, so he kicked the ball out to Finley and Finley drained it over Lamar Odom. "It looked like it was going in, but I didn't know until it went in," Finley said. "It was just a normal shot for me. We wanted Tim to create for himself, first of all. If he wasn't able to, he was supposed to kick it out to a teammate, as he always does." Tim Duncan finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and one assist shy of the triple double with 9. Of course, it was the 9th assist that mattered most.

Milwaukee Bucks 107 New York Knicks 105

Mo Williams made plenty of shots to help the Bucks beat the Knicks on Sunday, but it was the one he tried to miss that nearly cost the Bucks the game. Playing for the first time since January 8th, Williams scored 30 points, and gave the Bucks a 4 point lead with 3.1 seconds left. The Knicks Jamal Crawford then dropped a three after a timeout, and the Knicks fouled Williams with .4 seconds left. Williams missed the first free throw, and tried to miss the second attempt so that the clock would run out before the Knicks had a chance to shoot. Instead he made it, and the Knicks had a chance down two points. Fortunately for Williams, Jamal Crawford couldn't get his shot off in time, and the Bucks held on. "The way things have been going lately when I made it I thought we were going to overtime," Williams said. "We played too well today to get a moral victory."

Elsewhere...

• Wizards 105 Celtics 91
• Pistons 95 Pacers 87
• Clippers 98 Sonics 76

The Basketball Diaries - You Cannot Stop the Power of the Hibachi

Washington Wizards 99 New York Knicks 98

Gilbert Arenas has become so feared in the closing seconds of games, that even when he's not taking the game winner, he still beats you. With a one point lead late, the Knicks did everything in their power to keep Agent Zero from taking the shot. They succeeded too, except Arenas found Antawn Jamison, who found Deshawn Stevenson, who in turn found Caron Butler for an easy dunk with 2.2 seconds left to win it for Washington. "So much of the focus was on Gilbert, and that enabled us to get open," said Butler, who had 27 points and a career-high 10 assists. "DeShawn made a great play. We made eye contact, and he threw it to me on the backdoor slip and I just finished real strong on the dunk."

Chicago Bulls 99 Milwaukee Bucks 90

For the first three quarters the Bucks were able to make the Bulls do exactly what they wanted to. They got them involved in an up tempo game, and the Bulls played sloppy. Of course, when you're short four players due to injuries, playing a fast paced game is a bit shortsighted. In the fourth quarter the Bulls outscored the Bucks 32-17 to take the lead, and go home with a rare win in Milwaukee. "It was not a beautiful game, that's for sure," said Scott Skiles, after watching his team commit 22 turnovers. "We kept saying the whole game we were doing a good job of turning them over, but on many occasions we kept giving it right back to them."

Phoenix Suns 100 Houston Rockets 91

The NBA schedule makers were not kind to the Rockets this week. It's always tough to play back-to-back games, but when you have to do it against the Mavericks and Suns, well, that's just downright mean. The fact that Tracy McGrady was out with a ...wait for it...back injury didn't help Houston much either. Still, Houston had a 15-point lead in the third quarter before the Suns charged back thanks to 21 points and 14 assists from Steve Nash. "We weren't here mentally for the first quarter and a half and we didn't play great after that," said Nash, "But we played good enough."

Elsewhere...

• Raptors 101 Kings 85
• Nets 92 Bobcats 85
• Jazz 100 Pistons 99
• Hawks 105 Timberwolves 88
• Grizzlies 118 Sixers 102
• Lakers 100 Spurs 96
• Blazers 94 Cavs 76
• Clippers 115 Warriors 109

The Basketball Diaries - No Lead is Safe

New Jersey Nets 86 Chicago Bulls 83
No doubt that we're impressed with the Bulls' ability to blow monster leads game after game, we have to admit it's getting kinda old. Seriously, you've lost five of your last six games, and in each of those losses you led by double digits at some point. Good for you but now you might wanna try something different for a change of pace, like, say, holding onto those leads? Speaking of things getting old, Jason Kidd had another triple-double (23 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists), his seventh of the season and 82nd of his career. On top of that, he completely shut down Ben Gordon in the second half as the Nets mounted their comeback. "The man comes out and puts his heart on the court every single time he steps out there. He demands you to play hard leading by his example. Unbelievable," Nets forward Mikki Moore said. "He plays with energy like he's a rookie. He never slacks."

Phoenix Suns 109 Cleveland Cavaliers 90
The Suns came as close to playing a perfect game as a team possibly can in the NBA. Don't be fooled by the score. The Suns played the majority of this game with a lead ranging between 20-35 points. If they wouldn't have taken the fourth quarter off, they may have beaten the Cavs by 80. Steve Nash had only 4 points, but he more than made up for that with his 21 assists. Yes, you read that right, it's not a typo. He had 21 assists. A remarkable feat, even if the Cavaliers have no idea how to play defense. Nash spread the ball around, but Shawn Marion (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Amare Stoudemire (17 points 13 rebounds) benefitted the most.

Our Date with TNT

We told you we'd be glued to TNT Thursday night, and lucky for you, we kept a running diary of our thoughts while watching both the Mavs/Suns game, and Nuggets/Sonics. We'll let you know now, we didn't make it through the second game.

All times are Central, cuz we're biased that way.

7:01 - What do we have in common with Charles Barkley? We're both excited about these games tonight!!

7:15 - This game is going to be fun to watch, no matter how hard Doug Collins tries to ruin it for me. I hate Doug Collins and his bleach blonde dye job.

7:18 - Devin Harris just fouled Dwyane Wade. Ha! That joke never gets old!! Not that we're bitter.

7:22 - Speaking of Devin Harris, we remember reading a story on him in ESPN the Magazine a few years ago. In college at Wisconsin, he lived with two chubby white girls and never once tried to have sex with them. You know who hangs out with chubby white girls? Gay guys. Not that there's anything wrong with that, Devin.

7:24 - Steve Nash is in his 30s, and has won the last two MVP awards, and his numbers keep improving every year. It's pretty obvious, but I'm just gonna throw this out there: Steve Nash is on steroids.

7:31 - Craig Sager is wearing a red velvet sportcoat. Devin Harris thinks it looks fabulous.

7:35 - Nine minutes into the game, and we finally have a Mark Cuban sighting.

7:44 - In case you weren't aware, the Suns can't play defense of any kind.

7:45 - And the first quarter ends with the Mavs up 30-20. Jason Terry is lighting it up so far with 13 points.

7:54 - It's kinda surprising how sloppy this game has been so far. The Suns have 7 turnovers, and the Mavs have 4. I feel sorry for anybody who took the over tonight.

8:01 - Dirk is holding and flexing his elbow right now. He's already got a sprained ankle, and that can't be a comforting sight for Dallas fans.

8:06 - TNT comes back from a break playing excerpts of the Mavs timeout on the bench. The highlight is easily Avery Johnson squeaking to Desagana Diop, "Dunk on somebody and scream! Show me something!"

8:08 - Jason Terry is feeling it tonight. He just hit a three to give him 18 points already.

8:09 - Diop just got called for a moving screen. Something tells me that's not what Avery wanted to see. To make it worse, he forgot to scream.

8:19 - It's halftime with the score Mavs 52 Suns 49.

8:24 - They're expecting another 18 inches of snow in Denver tonight, and a state of emergency has been declared. Sucks to be you, Denver.

8:28 - Presenting Charles Barkley's five cures for the flu.

1. Go to Vegas
2. Eat a lot
3. Gamble a lot
4. Go clubbin a lot
5. Don't sleep at all

Gotta love Sir Charles.

8:42 - Amare just got hit in the man parts by a Josh Howard elbow. Thanks for the replay TNT. I'm holding mine in sympathy.

8:45 - After climbing back to within one point, the Suns keep turning the ball over, and Jason Terry just hit another three to bring it back to an 8-point lead for Dallas. Terry now has 25 points.

8:48 - Make that three straight Phoenix possessions with a turnover. They now have 14.

8:51 - Basketball, like the internet, is made of a series of tubes. In those tubes are runs that teams go on. Right now, Dallas is on a 12-0 run, and the score is 70-58.

8:52 - Another three for Terry. He's got 30.

8:52 - Still feeling the pain in his man parts, Amare decides that rubbing them on Erick Dampier's face while he jumps over him for a dunk is the best medicine.

9:00 - Apparently it's impossible for Steve Nash to travel. He just took three, count 'em, three, steps without dribbling before hitting Barbosa for a three-pointer. It's the third time I can remember seeing Nash get away with a travel tonight. Those damn steroids!

9:06 - And at the end of three, we have a game again. Mavs up two at 78-76.

9:11 - The Suns have their first lead since late in the first at 18-16. It's 80-78 as the Suns are now on a 20-5 run. Oh, and Nash has been on the bench almost the entire time.

9:14 - Make that a 26-5 run as Jumaine Jones has hit two consecutive three pointers to make it 86-78. Nash is still on the bench.

9:22 - You gotta put a body on Dirk!! That's two straight offensive rebounds from the German, and Dallas is creeping back in.

9:26 - After 25 minutes on the bench, the MVP finally comes back to the floor.

9:29 - Boris Diaw has just fouled out, and the Mavs have cut the lead to 91-88.

9:32 - Somebody put a body on Dirk! He puts the Mavs back in the lead at 92-91.

9:38 - Yet another three from Terry gives Dallas a 95-94 lead. Jason has 35 points now.

9:39 - I have no idea who the blonde sitting with ESPN's Marc Stein is, but she's way out of his league. Hope he knows she's just using him for the seats. I doubt he cares.

9:41 - Daaaaaaayum. A sweet lob from Nash to Amare ties it at 97.

9:42 - Still tied up, and Raja Bell commits a dumb turnover when he passes to Steve Nash. Problem is Nash isn't where Bell passed the ball. Mavs ball, 31.5 seconds left. You can cut the tension with a knife!

9:43 - Feeling he hasn't hurt his team enough, Bell goes ahead and fould Josh Howard. And 1.

9:44 - Howard misses the free throw, and Steve Nash finds Shawn Marion under the basket to tie this game up at 99. There are 6.3 seconds left. Call me crazy, but I think Dirk's gonna get the ball.

9:46 - They put a body on Dirk, and it didn't matter. He hits an 18-foot jumper to give the Mavs a 101-99 lead with 1.3 seconds left.

9:49 - Amare misses a tough jumper, and this game is over. Mavs beat the Suns, again, 101-99. Somehow I just don't think the Nuggets/Sonics game will be anywhere near as interesting as this one was.

9:52 - As if this game wasn't in danger of being boring enough, Ray Allen isn't playing either. Great. Not to mention I have him on my fantasy team, and could use the points.

9:53 - First glimpse of AI as a Nugget, and he goes coast to coast for a layup. Same Iverson, new uniform.

9:56 - Ray Allen needs to get his priorities straight. Turns out he's missing the game to attend the birth of his second child. Whipped!!

9:59 - Gotta admit, it's different, but I like AI in the powder blue.

10:03 - Halfway through the first quarter, and Iverson already has 8 points.

10:10 - It's too bad that Luke Ridnour plays in Seattle, cuz he's pretty good, and nobody notices.

10:15 - Earl Boykins is just precious. Just don't tell him I said that cuz he can bench 315 pounds, and I've no desire to get my ass kicked by somebody who's 5'5.

10:16 - End of the first quarter, and Denver leads 35-27. Iverson already has 12 points.

10:21 - If the diamonds in Marcus Camby's earrings get any bigger, he won't be able to hold his head up.

10:25 - Iverson has 14 points and 7 assists, and there are still 9 minutes until halftime. He's a one-man show, and he has to be right now.

10:35 - The Answer's been on the bench for a while now, and yes, this game is unbelievably boring without him. Not that we aren't huge Linas Kleiza fans.

10:42 - Iverson is now officially comfortable in his new surroundings. He just picked up his first technical as a Denver Nugget.

10:50 - News flash. Guys named Jell-O Bowl cannot guard Allen Iverson.

10:54 - Iverson makes a pass to Reggie Evans in the corner. Problem is Evans is on the bench and standing as he prepares to leave the court for halftime. Iverson doesn't realize this. It's halftime with Denver up 60-56.

11:16 - Ok, I don't think I'm going to make it.

11:19 - You gotta put a body on Iverson!!! He's got 29 points for Christ's sake!

11:40 - Okay. We quit. We gotta get up early, and this game is boring. Even with Iverson's performance.

Just in case you were wondering, Iverson would finish with 44 points and 10 assists in Denver's 112-98 victory.

Complaining Pays

Since NBA players aren't allowed to whine and complain to officials anymore, they decided to steer all their petulant angst towards David Stern and his new ball this season.

And it's worked.

As Panger reported here this weekend, the NBA will be switching back to their old leather basketball starting on January 1st.

"Our players' response to this particular composite ball has been consistently negative and we are acting accordingly. Although testing performed by Spalding and the NBA demonstrated that the new composite basketball was more consistent than leather and statistically there has been an improvement in shooting, scoring and ball-related turnovers, the most important statistic is the view of our players. In the meantime, we will work with our players and our partners at Spalding to determine the best possible ball for the NBA."

-David Stern

Apparently Stern is smart enough to realize that when the superstars of his game are complaining about a situation, he should probably listen. Everybody from Steve Nash to Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki openly complained about the ball. Saying, among other things, the rough texture of the ball cut their fingers, and that the ball just did not get the same bounce as the old one.

So players are happy about the ball change, right?

"I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed that they didn't seek more input from us before they [introduced the new ball] and I'm disappointed that we're changing the ball during the season."

-Steve Nash

What the hell? Make up your damn minds, man!!