Another big, ugly loss for the Suns, this time against the rich, creamy Nuggets. Suns got "Answered" today as AI had a monster night with 44 pts and 15 assists. Those are jut ridiculous numbers and Melo was the beneficiary of a lot of those assists as he dropped in 29 points. They started hot early and blew the Suns out with 70 points in the first half, both things the Suns are known for. After having just one assist in the first half Friday, Nash had just 2 in the first half today. Those are Marcus Banks numbers and not MVP numbers! The Suns again looked sluggish, slow and a little distracted and with AI coming at them full speed, they had no chance. This crushing defeat was equal parts Suns and AI. The Suns have been sluggish all month. But then they played their best game Thursday against Dallas and now they seem to suffering from their weeks-old sluggishness combined with the emotional high from that Dallas game. They better get out of both soon. This is the wrong time of the year to be slumping. Barbosa had 25 points and he seems to be the only consistent contributor lately. Nash had 15 and 10 dimes. Denver seems to be on a roll having won 4 straight. They are hoping this is what they get out of the big 2 consistently and turn the season around. The problem is, they are now embarking on a long road trip which can bring new challenges.
Utah lost again, this time in King's court as C-Booze played his first game at Cleveland since he left town 3 years back. He has always been injured and in this one, he was booed unmercifully though he had a decent 19-14 night. But the story as always was the King. He had 24-17-9. Those are King-sized numbers folks. How many dudes in this league can lead his team in all 3 categories. In fact, he was tied for the team lead in blocks and steals with 2 each. Essentially he lead the team in all 5 categories! That's awesome. The Cavs have now won 8 straight.
In other games, Agent-0 had 30 pts on 18 shots and 11 dimes as the Wizards beat the Hornets. If Agent-0 is this efficient every night, the Wizards can do some real damage in the L-East. Indiana finally won a game. Ofcourse it help to play the Atlanta Hawks, that too without Joe Johnson. The Kings won at Orlando 95-83. Kevin Martin had 20 points, but here's the stat of the night. He just hit one shot, a 3. He got the other 17 points on free throws. He shot 17/20 from the charity tripe and 1/8 from the floor. I like Kevin Martin, but who the hell fouls Kevin Martin every time he touches the ball? No wonder the Magic have been sucking so bad lately. Boston pulled a fast one on the road and beat the Spurs. Bad loss for the Spurs who really seem to go only as far as Ginobli takes them. That guy is so key to this team and he had only 8 pts today. The Celtics seem to have a decent front-court now with the "Truth" Pierce and Al Jefferson producing every game. They may have a formulae here and if they add Greg Oden to the mix and a PG, they may be on to something. 20 and 30 for Jefferson and Pierce today and 20 and 30 for Timmy and Tony for the Spurs. Boom-Dizzle, or Baron Davis for the uninitiated, hit a sweet mid-range jumper with 2+ secs to go to win the game for the W's against Ray-Ray and the Sonics 99-98.
Utah @ Cleveland - 73-82
Phoenix @ Denver - 107-131
Interesting games on the board for Mar 18-Th (Sunday)
Dallas @ Detroit - Another potential final preview (minus Chauncey Billups though).
Minnesota @ LA Lakers - Will Kobe have another 65 point game? Can the Lakers win without that kind of effort from number 24?
Toronto @ New York - As good a it gets in the bottom feeding Atlantic division.
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