Oklahoma City 103, Miami 108: The Big Three came together again like Voltron and Eddie House came through in the clutch. Afterward, the usually reticent Kevin Durant explained the mix-up with Chris Bosh (who returned from injury to score 20 points) in the first half: “I’m a quiet guy, a laid back guy. But I’m not going to let nobody talk trash to me. He’s on a good team now so he thinks he can talk a little bit. But it’s a lot of fake tough guys in this league and he’s one of them.” Durant scored 33, must missed a game-tying baseline shot in the final seconds.
Orlando 103, Cleveland 87: That’s 20 losses in a row for the sorry Cavaliers (worst team in league history?), who were led in scoring by … undrafted rookie Manny Harris from Michigan (20 points). Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson collected more rebounds than the Cavs (36-35); the pair grabbed more offensive boards than Cleveland, too (15-6).
New York 124, Detroit 106:With Ronny Turiaf only playing eight minutes and regulars Wilson Chandler (hurt) and Shawne Williams (suspension) out, rookie Timofey Mozgov stepped in to have his best game of the season (23 points, 14 rebounds). Maybe they don’t need a center? Kidding, of course. It was the Pistons. Gallo and Amare did more damage from the line (22-of-23) than the entire Detroit team (14-of-21). Pistons’ rookie Greg Monroe, enjoy the best month of his young career, scored 15 points and took 17 rebounds. Here’s your Carmelo-Knicks link of the week.
Phoenix 104, New Orleans 102: Marcin Gortat dominated in the second half (career-high 25 points) when Emeka Okafor left with an injury, and then solidified his spot on the all-interview team afterward. “Rajon Rondo is a great point guard, but he isn’t better than Steve. As many passes as he gave me today I think I had so many passes the entire season a couple years ago. It’s just a great feeling to play with him. I think we’re doing a tremendous job right now together.” Too bad the Hornets didn’t complete a comeback from down 8 with :18 left, or that would have led Ballin’.
