News and Notes From the Day
- It’s not that Tim Duncan needed any other accolades to secure his spot in Spurs history, but he chalked up another one last night. Duncan scored 19 points in his game against the Utah Jazz list night, which made him the career scoring leader of the San Antonio Spurs, surpassing David Robinson. Duncan also passed Robinson in career games played, with 988. Congrats Timmy.
- Here is the newest trade rumor surrounding Peja Stojakovic: he, along with Jerryd Bayless are heading to the Raptors in exchange for Jarrett Jack, David Anderson and Marcus Banks. It looks like the Raptors believe in Jose Calderon a little bit more than Jack.
- A Durant-less Oklahoma City Thunder defeated a full-strength Boston Celtics team last night – impressive. Russell Westbrook decided to take on the responsibility of filling Durant’s shoes in his absence and he absolutely destroyed Rajon Rondo. While the Thunder are not sneaking up on anybody like they did last season, the way that they are winning is still surprising.
Top 5 of the Night
- Raymond Felton, New York Knicks: 35 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals and 1 blocked shot. To say that Felton was “on” last night is an understatement. 13 of 17 from the field, 4 of 7 from downtown.
- David West, New Orleans Hornets: 34 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal ad 3 blocked shots. West was the reason the Hornets were able to beat the Cavaliers last night.
- Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder: 31 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Westbrook owned Rondo and the Celtics last night, showing that he deserves an All-Star nod this February.
- Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks: 36 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Dirk tried his best, but it was not good enough to hold off the Bulls.
- Monta Ellis, Golden State Warriors: 40 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Ellis continued his All-Star campaign last night, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Knicks.
Fantasy Stud of the Night
Since I berated Darko Milicic five days ago and gave him the dreaded, “Deadbeat of the Day” honor, he has stepped up his game tremendously. He has scored in double digits every game since and rebounded in double digits two of the last three games. Last night, against the Los Angeles Lakers, he ended up looking like an All-Star. Check out this impressive line:
- 23 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 6 blocked shots.
WOW! If only Darko did this on a nightly basis, he would make David Kahn look like a genius. Milicic was perfect from the charity stripe and also grabbed 6 offensive rebounds.
Dunk of the Night
Just mere minutes after Paul Pierce came limping off the court, he threw down this little number on the Thunder:
It just goes to show that Paul Pierce can still throw it down and that he is the biggest drama queen in the NBA. It seems as if Pierce loves the attention, which makes me start thinking about all sorts of psychological issues that he has. Did his mom not give him enough hugs? Was he shoved into some lockers at Inglewood High School?
Deadbeat of the Day
Kevin Love has been finding ways to make it into The Hoop Scoop on an, almost, nightly basis, which he did again tonight. Unfortunately, it is for the wrong reasons this time. Prior to the Timberwolves/Lakers game last night, Phil Jackson said that Love was such a great rebounder because of all of the fouls he gets away with. This must have irked Love and, as a result, affected his performance. Check out this pitiful line:
- 0 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists
Love missed all seven of his field goal attempts last night and grabbed only half of his normal rebound total. You know it’s a rough night when Darko Milicic outplays you.
Hilarious Pic of the Day
I do not feel the need, or desire, to comment on this one. Draw your own conclusions.
ATI