vs
(From the Associated Press) - Dwight Howard(notes) regularly dominates in the paint for the Orlando Magic. The X-factor for the Magic is their 3-point shooting. Howard had 17 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots, and his teammates converted 14 of 24 attempts from 3-point range as the Magic atoned for an earlier loss to Dallas with a 97-82 victory over the Mavericks on Thursday night. Reserve Mickael Pietrus(notes) had a season-high 24 points, making all six of his 3-point attempts, and Vince Carter(notes) added 19 points to help Orlando win for the 14th time in 16 games...“We know how good we are,” said Jameer Nelson(notes), who scored 14 points. “We’re not cocky or overconfident or anything, but we know we can beat anybody when we play our game. We played great defensively, pushed the ball and got good shots when we needed to.” Dirk Nowitzki(notes) scored 24 points to lead the Mavericks, whose three-game winning streak ended. Jason Terry(notes) and J.J. Barea had 16 points apiece in reserve roles for Dallas. Nowitzki’s fellow starters—Shawn Marion(notes), Brendan Haywood(notes), Caron Butler(notes) and Jason Kidd(notes)—combined for only 20 points...“It was a frustrating night,” Marion said. “We couldn’t get over the hump. We’d get within striking distance and they’d hit a 3.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - The Denver Nuggets are trying to put the brakes on a late-season slide that could cost them in the race for playoff position. The Nuggets took an important step Thursday night, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 109-92 behind a strong fourth-quarter effort from Carmelo Anthony(notes), who scored 13 of his 25 points in the final period. “This game was as big as it gets for us this year,” said Denver’s Chauncey Billups(notes), who scored 21 points. “We all knew that. It wasn’t do or die, but it was a big win for us.” Nene added 22 points for the Nuggets, who won for only the second time in seven games. Denver dropped from second to fifth in the Western Conference playoff race during the slump and fell to second place in the Northwest Division. They pulled within a game of first-place Utah with six games remaining, including four at home...Acting head coach Adrian Dantley said the Nuggets broke out of their slump by restoring ball movement on the offensive end. “We know when we share the ball, we get results,” Dantley said. “I told the guys before the game, `Our record is 40-7 when we get 20 assists or more,’ and we got 24 tonight.” Andre Miller(notes) scored 24 points to lead Portland, which had won its previous four games, including a victory over New York on Wednesday that clinched a playoff spot for the Trail Blazers. “I don’t know if it was a letdown. It might have been,” Brandon Roy(notes) said of the Trail Blazers, who came in an NBA-best 14-3 in the second game of back to backs, including 12-2 on the road. “We didn’t have that sense of urgency. You could tell our energy was a little zapped. We were trying to make pushes and we couldn’t get a number of guys to play well at one time. When they made runs it seemed like we were on our heels. Some of it was letdown and some was we didn’t have that same energy we had in the past.” Martell Webster(notes) added 17 points and LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) had 16 for the Blazers, who lost for the 13th time in their last 14 games in Denver. Portland’s only win in that span came on Dec. 16, 2007.
vs
(From the Associated Press) - Dwight Howard(notes) regularly dominates in the paint for the Orlando Magic. The X-factor for the Magic is their 3-point shooting. Howard had 17 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots, and his teammates converted 14 of 24 attempts from 3-point range as the Magic atoned for an earlier loss to Dallas with a 97-82 victory over the Mavericks on Thursday night. Reserve Mickael Pietrus(notes) had a season-high 24 points, making all six of his 3-point attempts, and Vince Carter(notes) added 19 points to help Orlando win for the 14th time in 16 games...“We know how good we are,” said Jameer Nelson(notes), who scored 14 points. “We’re not cocky or overconfident or anything, but we know we can beat anybody when we play our game. We played great defensively, pushed the ball and got good shots when we needed to.” Dirk Nowitzki(notes) scored 24 points to lead the Mavericks, whose three-game winning streak ended. Jason Terry(notes) and J.J. Barea had 16 points apiece in reserve roles for Dallas. Nowitzki’s fellow starters—Shawn Marion(notes), Brendan Haywood(notes), Caron Butler(notes) and Jason Kidd(notes)—combined for only 20 points...“It was a frustrating night,” Marion said. “We couldn’t get over the hump. We’d get within striking distance and they’d hit a 3.”
vs
(From the Associated Press) - The Denver Nuggets are trying to put the brakes on a late-season slide that could cost them in the race for playoff position. The Nuggets took an important step Thursday night, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 109-92 behind a strong fourth-quarter effort from Carmelo Anthony(notes), who scored 13 of his 25 points in the final period. “This game was as big as it gets for us this year,” said Denver’s Chauncey Billups(notes), who scored 21 points. “We all knew that. It wasn’t do or die, but it was a big win for us.” Nene added 22 points for the Nuggets, who won for only the second time in seven games. Denver dropped from second to fifth in the Western Conference playoff race during the slump and fell to second place in the Northwest Division. They pulled within a game of first-place Utah with six games remaining, including four at home...Acting head coach Adrian Dantley said the Nuggets broke out of their slump by restoring ball movement on the offensive end. “We know when we share the ball, we get results,” Dantley said. “I told the guys before the game, `Our record is 40-7 when we get 20 assists or more,’ and we got 24 tonight.” Andre Miller(notes) scored 24 points to lead Portland, which had won its previous four games, including a victory over New York on Wednesday that clinched a playoff spot for the Trail Blazers. “I don’t know if it was a letdown. It might have been,” Brandon Roy(notes) said of the Trail Blazers, who came in an NBA-best 14-3 in the second game of back to backs, including 12-2 on the road. “We didn’t have that sense of urgency. You could tell our energy was a little zapped. We were trying to make pushes and we couldn’t get a number of guys to play well at one time. When they made runs it seemed like we were on our heels. Some of it was letdown and some was we didn’t have that same energy we had in the past.” Martell Webster(notes) added 17 points and LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) had 16 for the Blazers, who lost for the 13th time in their last 14 games in Denver. Portland’s only win in that span came on Dec. 16, 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment