White hot Thunder
NBA UPDATE
WESTERN CONFERENCE – THE Oklahoma City Thunder (35-10) extended their win-streak to seven over the course of the week. This has included the notable scalps of San Antonio Spurs (33-11) and Portland Trailblazers (33-11).
However, also worthy of mention is the Thunder’s 101-83 victory over the Boston Celtics in the first game ever without either Russell Westbrook (knee injury) or Kevin Durant (shoulder).
The Thunder relied on Serge Ibaka (21pts and 7rbs), and Jeremy Lamb (19pts), to secure the win. Durant was back with a bang (32pts/14rbs/10assts) in the Thunder’s 103-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
The Spurs, after losing to OKC, also lost the NBA finals rematch with Miami in rather soft fashion, 113-101. Chris Bosh shot 9-10 in his 24 points, as San Antonio trailed by up to 29 at one point, never looking like a team, which had just come off a 105-79 blowout of the Atlanta Hawks.
Meanwhile, Steph Curry, despite being named the starting point-guard for the West All-Stars in his first All-Star game berth, couldn’t do much to stop back-to-back losses for the Golden State Warriors (26-18) against the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves (21-22) respectfully. This meant that the Warriors headed into a Sunday match-up with Portland with a two-game losing streak. The Blazers, however, conversely entered on the back of wins against the Denver Nuggets (21-21) and the Timberwolves. LaMarcus Aldridge was the star performer in both games, scoring 44 against Denver and putting up 15 points and 14 rebounds against Minnesota.
Teams struggle for post-season berths
EASTERN CONFERENCE – THE Charlotte Bobcats (19-27) are seeking to be the better of many minnows in what is really proving to be a two-team Eastern Conference in the NBA this season.
Al Jefferson, the main man this season, scored 24 as Charlotte succeeded in stopping the hot-handed Blake Griffin, and stunning the LA Clippers 95-91. They did not have the best of times after that, however.
Among the minnows, the New York Knicks (16-27) have also been showing signs of life recently as Carmelo Anthony, amid rampant trade rumours, poured in 62 points, a franchise record, as the Knicks blew out the Bobcats 125-96. New York also managed to eclipse the woeful LA Lakers 110-103 on Sunday as ‘Melo’ scored 35 points.
The Toronto Raptors (22-21) have meanwhile managed to keep themselves above .500 and sit as the fourth-ranked team in the East, one game back from the Atlanta Hawks (23-20). Kyle Lowry was feeling it against the Philadelphia 76ers (14-30) as the Raptor guard had 18 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his fourth career triple-double in spurring Toronto on to a 104-95 win. Toronto did, however, fall short when the LA Clippers came up north, despite a 51-point game from former eighth overall draft pick Terrence Ross. They were clipped 126-118.
The top two remain the marked top two, however, with the Miami Heat holding a record of 32-12, 2.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers’ record of 34-9. Both teams are at least 8.5 games ahead of any competition. The Heat are currently on a three-game winning run with victories over Westerm foe, the LA Lakers, and the San Antonio Spurs. The Pacers, however, ended the sports week on a low note, going down to the Denver Nuggets 109-96 as Wilson Chandler scored 25 points and pulled down six boards.
Editor’s note: Results as at Sunday night.