Lakers, Heat and Celtics Pick Up Holiday Wins
Bryant and the Lakers have now won five straight.
Are the Los Angeles Lakers on a bit of a roll all of the sudden? It would certainly appear so as they dispatched the New York Knicks for their fifth straight win. The Lakers got back to the .500 mark with a 100-94 win. Both Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony had 34 points for their respective teams.
Across the country, Boston and Brooklyn were in anything but the holiday spirit as the teams scuffled in the fourth quarter resulting in four technical fouls. The Celtics went on to defeat the Nets 93-76 in Brooklyn but it may as well have been Boston. With about two minutes to go, the crowd broke out in a “Let’s go Celtics” chant as Nets’ fans headed to the exits earlier than expected.
What the wins for the Lakers and Celtics mean is that neither team is going to go away and both teams know how to handle the lights of a big game. While the Knicks were certainly competitive, the Nets looked like a team that was in over its’ head on Christmas. Outside of Deron Williams, Brooklyn seemed a little youthful for the their first appearance on the Christmas Day schedule. Rookie Jared Sullinger had a career 16 points in the victory.
James nearly had a triple-double in the win over Oklahoma City
In Miami, a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals between the Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder was taken by the Heat 103-97 yesterday. Kevin Durant poured in 33 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a losing effort. For the Heat, LeBron James had 29 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the win. Miami moved to 14-2 on the season at home in American Airlines Arena while the Thunder dropped to 7-4 on the road.
Other news around the Association… LeBron James’ streak without a foul ended last night when he was whistled in the first quarter. He was last called for a foul December 8th… The Kings’ indefinite suspension on DeMarcus Cousins lasted all of, wait for it, one game… Reports from a couple of different outlets are saying Lakers’ Center Dwight Howard still has some lingering back issues… At one point this season the Charlotte Bobcats were 7-5 on the season. They have now lost 15 straight games since that time… Hot on their heels are the New Orleans Hornets who have dropped 11 in a row… On the good side of the ledger is the LA Clippers who have won 13 straight games.
Games for tonight
Miami at Charlotte – Despite the fact that they lead the Eastern Conference, the Heat are right around the .500 level on the road. Coming off a big game against the Thunder and heading to face a team that hasn’t won a game since Thanksgiving weekend might signal and letdown. If the Bobcats were a better team maybe, but I can’t see the Heat losing this one as they did to Washington during the Wizards’ losing streak.
Brooklyn at Milwaukee – The Nets won’t have long to fuss over their loss to Boston as they play in Milwaukee tonight. The Bucks sit at 14-12 and in third place in the Central Division where they hope to stay as close to the Chicago Bulls as possible before the return of Derrick Rose. Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings are the leaders of the Bucks in points and assists respectively but are both nursing day-to-day type injuries. I like the Nets to bounce back from their loss to Boston.
LA Lakers at Denver – With the Lakers coming off an important Christmas Day victory, will they have anything left in the tank after flying to Denver for tonight’s game? The Nuggets are 15-13 on the season and sit in second place in the Northwest Division albeit 6.5 games behind the Thunder. Call me crazy but I like the balance of the Nuggets in a mild upset over the Lakers tonight.
