GAME OF THE NIGHT #1 -- SPURS 110, ROCKETS 106
: This one was a little sloppy -- Houston had 24 turnovers, San Antonio had 19, and both teams missed many, many makeable 3s-- but that didn't take away from how fun it was to watch. These two Texas teams were close throughout, but the Spurs just had more composure down the stretch.
Early on, the story was Corey Brewer, who had 25 points in 24 minutes and made six of his eight 3-point attempts. James Harden and Dwight Howard combined for 52 points on 31 field goal attempts, but most of the Rockets supporting cast aside from Brewer -- and including Josh Smith -- was off. San Antonio had a much more balanced effort, and five different players scored in its game-changing 15-0 run in the fourth quarter. Houston made some plays after that, but Harden really must wish he could have this possession back:
Danny Green sealed the win with some late free throws, and he finished with a team-high 24 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Despite Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard being sidelined, the Spurs remain a must-watch team every time they face a good Western Conference opponent.
JOSH SMITH IS AN AWESOME PASSER: While the newest Rocket can be frustrating, he's long been one of the best passing power forwards in the game. This is what can happen when you double-team him:
BORIS DIAW AN AWESOME PASSER: I mean, who makes this play? Who else, other than Bobo? Nobody, right?
6 POINTS, 5 SECONDS
: Maybe this deserves an extra star, but I like the whole "six points, five seconds, four stars" thing. Anyway, the end of the first quarter was amazing if you are not a Spurs fan.
GAME OF THE NIGHT #2 -- MAVERICKS 112, THUNDER 107: This would be quite a playoff series. The Thunder aren't really the Thunder without Kevin Durant, but the Mavs aren't the Mavs without Tyson Chandler, either. Despite those foundational pieces being out, this was very much worth watching. Dirk Nowitzki was typically magnificent, finishing with 30 points (10 in the fourth) on 8-for-13 shooting, while his power forward counterpart, Serge Ibaka, had 26 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 11-for-14 from the field. Can't imagine Nowitzki doing this after he hits a 3-pointer, though:
It's a treat to watch Rajon Rondo (15 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals) and Russell Westbrook (18 points, nine assists, nine rebounds, five steals) guard each other, and to watch Rondo fire off insane, on-target passes like this:
Monta Ellis left the game late in the fourth after appearing to turn his ankle. He had to walk off the floor gingerly. Here's hoping he's OK.
TWO POSTERS ARE BETTER THAN ONE: Greg Smith exploded for a rather forceful jam:
And on the very next posesssion, this happened:
That was Parsons' best highlight, but he was excellent all night. He finished with 26 points (10-for-16 FG, 5-for-9 3PT), five rebounds, three assists and two steals. He also made a couple of important defensive plays in crunch time. Huge effort from him.
HMMM, THIS BUTTON SAYS 'PANIC' ON IT
: The Cavaliers looked terrible against Detroit. Well, to be more accurate: they started out fine -- they actually led by 15! -- and they were terrible from the middle of the second quarter on. The Pistons went on an 18-0 run before halftime, and then dominated in the third quarter. Cleveland trailed by as many as 27, and in the final frame LeBron James had his pocket picked by D.J. Augustin and his driving layup blocked by Jonas Jerebko.
In fariness to the Cavs: Kyrie Irving sat out due to a knee contusion. Anderson Varejao is out for the season. Shawn Marion was limited by a sprained ankle. James had to get treatment on his left quad at halftime. They missed a ton of open looks, and Detroit made some questionable ones. Every once in a while, Brandon Jennings goes off for 25 points and shoots 5-for-9 from downtown. Even great teams get blown out. But what's concerning is just how discombobulated Cleveland looked. The Pistons made their run, gained a ton of confidence and then the Cavs just ... faltered.
Cleveland head coach David Blatt told reporters that his team lost its "energy and competitiveness," per the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Chris Haynes, adding, "that shouldn't happen." This was plain to see. Cavs fans booed their own team in the fourth quarter, and even if you believe that's not how a home crowd should act, you had to see it coming. Cleveland was listless on both ends.
These losses happen, but it was the kind of game that made you question whether or not the Cavs can make up for Varejao's absence. It was also the kind of game that made you wonder what they'd look like if they'd kept Andrew Wiggins. Cleveland shouldn't even watch the tape; it should just forget about it and move on.
Cavs-Pistons in two photos pic.twitter.com/rE75DQon7C
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) December 29, 2014
OH BY THE WAY
: The 2010-11 Heat clicked more quickly than this.
Cavaliers about to drop to 18-12. Since comparison is always made, '10-11 Heat lost 12th game on Jan. 15, 2011. That dropped them to 30-12.
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) December 28, 2014
DEPRESSING QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: Take it away, LeBron:
#Cavs LeBron James: "Right now we are not very good. In every aspect of the game"
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) December 29, 2014
THE KYLE AND LOU SHOW: Kyle Lowry is the No. 1 reason why the Raptors have been so successful this season, and why they've been able to withstand the injury to DeMar DeRozan without slipping in the standings. After a brilliant performance against Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers to start Toronto's road trip on Saturday, Lowry had an even bigger game in Denver on the type of back-to-back teams dread.
Lowry had 30 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, one block and one steal, shooting 12-for-20 from the field. Ten of his points and four of his assists came in the fourth quarter. Lou Williams was also terrific, scoring a team-high 31 points on 11-for-18 shooting off the bench. The Raptors have won eight of their last nine games.
CHOPPED: Fun fact about Tyler Hansbrough. Last year, when asked in a Reddit AMA if Hansbrough in fact hates being called "Psycho T," Raptors swingman Terrence Ross said that his teammates still use the moniker. He also revealed that Hansbrough calls himself "Chops." Another fun fact: he dunked over old ACC rival J.J. Hickson:
ALLEYS-OOP: Both Ross and Kenneth Faried can fly, and fortunately they both have point guards who are great at finding them in transition. Or, in Faried's case here, after a made basket.
Faried had a big night in the loss, finishing with 17 points and 19 boards. Ty Lawson had 28 points, seven assists, five rebounds and a steal. Wilson Chandler had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Toronto completely out-executed the Nuggets in the fourth quarter, though, so none of that matters much.
FACILITATOR KOBE: Kobe Bryant returned after sitting out the last three games for rest, and he did indeed play differently. In 32 minutes against Phoenix, he scored 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting. He added eight rebounds and seven assists. Nick Young, Jeremy Lin, Wesley Johnson and Ed Davis were all efficient and all scored more than Bryant. The problem was, as usual, the fact that the Lakers couldn't get stops. The Suns, led by Goran Dragic (24 points) and Eric Bledsoe (22 points), did not shine defensively either, but they what they had to do to win.
SURPRISE: Phoenix is the hottest team in the West. With the win in LA, the Suns have six straight victories. Only two of them (Wizards, Mavs) were against good teams, but if there's any hope of these guys making the playoffs, they need to keep this momentum going.
KNICKS GONNA KNICK: Carmelo Anthony left in the second quarter of New York's 101-79 loss to the Blazers, and he did not return. He had soreness in his left knee, which has been bothering him for a while. Why the Knicks are letting him play at all with that nagging injury is beyond me. It shouldn't matter whether or not Anthony wants to be out there; the organization should protect players from themselves. This is quite the contrast to how, say, the Spurs handle their ailing players, and wouldn't you rather do things the San Antonio way?
Anyway, New York shot a woeful 33.3 percent from the field against a Portland team without Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge. The Blazers got 28 points from Wesley Matthews. The Knicks are 5-28 on the season.
LINE OF THE NIGHT -- COLE ALDRICH: If I have a chance to award this to Aldrich, I will. The Knicks center had 12 points, 19 rebounds, two assists, four steals, one block and one turnover in 34 minutes. He shot 6-for-16 from the field and 0-for-2 from the line, though. (Yeah, other guys had better lines, but I want to be nice to this New York team for once.)
