NBA Games Recap 3/27/09
10 games were played on Friday night so a much bigger round-up then yesterday:
Orlando kept in 5th gear after their win over Boston on Wednesday night with a win over Milwaukee, again in Orlando. Every Magic starter scored double figures with Rashard Lewis leading with 19 and 8 rebounds. Orlando will need to keep winning if they want to keep the 2nd seed that they’re currently occupying. They were never in trouble last night, winning every quarter of play to win 110-94.
Charlotte showed that they’re still serious about the play-offs by going into Philadelphia and getting a good win, the Bobcats are now 2 and a half games behind 8th placed Detroit. Gerald Wallace got a double double(14-11rebounds) while Boris Diaw top scored with 24 and shot 50 percent from the field. Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young had 25 and 21 respectively but no other Sixer showed up and so Philly lost this on 100-95 and will be slightly looking over their shoulders as 7th place Chicago are only 3 games behind them now.
Toronto have 10 games left and are 7 and a half games off of 8th place. In those 10 games only 3 of them are against teams over .500 and only 1 of those are away from home. With this win Toronto matched their highest win streak of the season, 3. They will be hopeful of putting together a bigger run if they want their outside chance of a play-off place to become a reality. Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 21 points and 13 rebounds while Andrea Bargnani dropped 14 and 9 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored the most of Oklahoma’s points with 18.
Boston kept the pressure on Orlando with a win in Atlanta, keeping the Hawks at bay despite a late fight back. The Celtics were up by 17 at the end of the 3rd quarter before Atlanta out scored them by 11 in the final quarter to avoid a drubbing, this one ended 99-93. Ray Allen had 22 while Glen Davis had 12 rebounds and 19 points for a double double. Kevin Garnett didn’t play though, a fact that will worry the Celtics faithful.
Cleveland got their 11th straight win this time beating the Minnesota Timberwolves by 22 points, 107-85. Mo Williams and (who else) LeBron James led the Cavs with 22 and 25 points respectively. James also had 12 rebounds for his 26 double double of the season. Cleveland are closing in on the Eastern Conference’s top seed, with only 10 games left Cleveland are 5 games clear of 2nd placed Orlando and Boston.
The Lakers, however, have clinched the Western Conference top seed with a win over New Jersey last night, 103-95 and with it probably signalled the end of the New Jersey’s outside shot of making the play-offs, the Nets are now 4 and a half games off of Detroit in 8th place. Pau Gasol top scored in the IZOD Center with 36 points shooting 14 of 19 from the field, making 80 percent of his foul shots and getting 11 rebounds to get a double double. Vince Carter led the Nets with 20.
In possibly the biggest shock of the night Chris Paul couldn’t manage to lead the New Orleans scoring only managing 22 points despite playing nearly the whole game. David West was the player to upstage Paul with 29 points but this couldn’t save the Hornets from losing to the Knicks at Madison by 103-93. The damage was done in the third quarter, coming out for the second half the Hornets were 7 points ahead but were outscored by 19 in the next 12 minutes and held to only 16 points. Power forward Al Harrington led New York with 23 and David Lee was next with 18 and 11 rebounds for a double double. This loss meant that New Orleans dropped to 7th in the Western Conference in the on going battle for the middle seeds.
Denver went into Dallas and escaped with a tight victory, 103-101. No one will be happier with this then the Phoenix Suns, who lost on Thursday night. If Dallas had won they would have been 5 games clear of Phoenix in what would have surely be the end of that race, however they’re now only 3 games in front so there’s still life in the race for 8th seed. Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 43 and 11 rebounds for a large double double and J.R Smith came off the bench to drop 22 points. This win moved Denver into a tie for 3rd place in the West with Houston.
San Antonio easily beat the L.A Clippers at the AT&T Center in San Antonio and were never in trouble throughout the game. By the end of the first quarter they were up by 20 and never looked back eventually winning this one 111-98. They’re currently in 2nd place just 1 and a half games in front of Denver and Houston so every win is vital in keeping that 2nd place.
Finally in the battle of the bad teams in the West the Memphis Grizzlies managed a rare road win, beating the Sacramento Kings 113-95. Kevin Martin’s 31 couldn’t help save the Kings from losing another game to slip to .211 for the season, the worst record in the league.
As always, if you’re looking to bet on sports, head over to http//www.SportsBettingChamp.com for information on how to win 97% of your sports bets!
Tags: basketball picks, bet on sports, NBA picks