April 2012
84 posts
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“Everybody keeps telling me how surprised they are with what I’ve done. But...”
– Patrick Ewing
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Pacers go scoreless over last 4 minutes in loss
From Elias: Orlando’s shutout of the Pacers over the game’s last four minutes, five seconds marked only the second time in the NBA’s last 500 playoff games that a team had been blanked over a game’s last four minutes. In last year’s playoffs, the Heat scored the last 16 points in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Celtics, who went scoreless...
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Big Four combine for 94.9% of Thunder's points
From Elias: Russell Westbrook (28 points), Kevin Durant (25), Serge Ibaka (22) and James Harden (19) combined for 94 of the team’s 99 points and Durant hit the game-winner with 1.5 seconds remaining in the Thunder’s 99-98 victory over the Mavericks. OKC’s big four scored 94.9 percent of the team’s points, and the team needed every one of those points; that’s the...
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11 straight playoff losses for Knicks, near tying...
From Elias: The Knicks’ loss in Miami on Saturday marked New York’s 11th straight loss in a playoff game, a streak that stretches back to 2001. It’s tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history; the Baltimore Bullets (1965-1970) and the Nuggets (1988-1994) each lost 11 in a row, and the Grizzlies set the record of 12 consecutive playoff losses from 2004 to 2006.
The...
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“My heroes were Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson. I think they were...”
– Steve Nash
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LeBron's 32 points in 31 minutes leads to blowout
From Elias: LeBron James scored 32 points in a mere 31 minutes, 41 seconds of playing time in the Heat’s 100-67 rout of the Knicks in the opening game of a first-round series. It was the 41st time in his 93 playoff games that James has scored 30-or-more points, but it was the first of those 93 games in which James connected on at least 70 percent of his field-goal attempts; he made 10 of his...
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Rose nears first triple-double for Bulls in...
From Elias: Derrick Rose contributed 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to the Bulls’ 103-91 victory over the 76ers in the NBA’s playoff opener, but he left late in the fourth quarter with a knee injury later diagnosed as a torn ACL, and he has been declared out of the playoffs. During the just-completed regular season, the Bulls went 18-9 in the 27 games that Rose missed (they...
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Rockets win season finale with strong defense
From Elias: With the season winding down, the Rockets turned on the defense, holding the Hornets to just six points in the fourth quarter and rallying for an 84-77 victory. That was the lowest-scoring fourth quarter in the NBA in more than two years - since the Jazz scored only six points in the final period of a blowout loss to the Lakers (101-77 on Dec. 9, 2009).
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Raptors rout Nets in their biggest victory at home...
From Elias: The Raptors closed their season with a 98-67 rout of the Nets. It was Toronto’s first victory by 30 or more points since December 2009 (94-64 at Detroit), and their first at home since March 2008 (96-54 vs. Miami).
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“Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your...”
– Magic Johnson
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Hawks soar to big early lead, set record versus...
From Elias: The Hawks showed the Mavericks early that they had every intention of clinching the #4 seed and a first-round home-court advantage, racing to a 36-13 lead in the first quarter of their victory on Thursday night. It was the largest first-period lead for the Hawks since February 11, 1999 (23 points against the Charlotte Hornets), and the largest against the Mavericks in an even longer...
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Bibby takes advantage of rare start
From Elias: Mike Bibby turned back the clock on Thursday night, recording 12 assists in the Knicks’ 104-84 victory at Charlotte. Bibby, who made only his fourth start of the season, posted at least 12 assists in a game for the 38th time in his NBA career. But it was his first such game since January 23, 2009, when Bibby was a member of the Hawks.
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“A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning.”
– Pat Riley
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Wizards start rolling at seasons end, match record...
From Elias: The Wizards took advantage of Miami’s “B” team, posting a 104-70 victory over the Heat that extended Washington’s winning streak to six games. Only one other team in NBA history finished a season with six straight wins but failed to make the playoffs. The San Diego Rockets, who won their last seven games in 1970-71, missed the playoffs despite a pair of future...
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Everyone plays a role in Nuggets blowout
From Elias: It seemed as though everyone except John Elway and Joe Sakic contributed to the Nuggets’ 131-102 victory over the Timberwolves. Seven players scored at least 12 points, and two others reached double-figures in rebounds (Kosta Koufos) or assists (Andre Miller). No other team had nine players in double-figures in points, rebounds, or assists in the same game this season.
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Rondo matches assist record from 1969/81/84
From Elias: Rajon Rondo captured the 2011-12 assist title with a flourish, capping his season with a 15-assist performance in the Celtics’ 87-74 win over the Bucks. As if to make a point, Rondo did not score a single point in the game; in fact, he took only one shot (a 27-footer). Only two other players in NBA history recorded at least 15 assists in a game in which they did not score: John...
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Ibaka keeps on blocking
From Elias: Serge Ibaka blocked four shots in the Thunder’s last game of the regular season, a 106-101 loss to the Nuggets. Ibaka ended the season with a streak of 30 consecutive games with at least one blocked shot. It’s the longest such streak for any NBA player this season and the second-longest in SuperSonics/Thunder history, one shy of Ibaka’s 31-game streak that overlapped...
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“But, hey I did everything the right way and earned my spot in this game, nothing...”
– Shaquille O’Neal
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Redick and Anderson help Magic beat Bobcats
From Elias: J.J. Redick scored a career-high 31 points and Ryan Anderson grabbed 13 rebounds as the Magic disposed of the hapless Bobcats. Anderson leads Orlando in both points per game (15.9 PPG) and rebounds per game (9.0 REB/G) over the club’s last nine games, all without Dwight Howard.
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Clippers finish below .500 on the road
From Elias: The Clippers lost their regular-season finale at New York to drop their record to 16-17 on the road. The Clippers franchise, which entered the NBA in 1970 and has existed as the Buffalo Braves, San Diego Clippers and Los Angeles Clippers, has never finished a season with a .500 or better record in road games. The closest they came before this season was in 2005-06 (20-21). Their streak...
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“Everyting negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to...”
– Kobe Bryant
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Pacers could struggle at home in the playoffs
From Elias: The Bulls defeated the Pacers at Indiana in a matchup of teams that will have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. But keep this in mind for the postseason: The Pacers are 15-0 this season in home games against teams with losing records, but they are 8-10 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse against teams that are at-or-above the.500 mark.
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A little too late for the Wizards
From Elias: The Wizards posted a victory at Cleveland to extend their winning streak to five games. Washington hadn’t won five straight games since winning six in a row from November 11-21, 2007. In the interim, every NBA team posted a winning streak of five or more games with the exception of the Kings, who haven’t won five in a row since January 31-February 10, 2006.
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“Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.”
– Michael Jordan
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Jazz duo cleans up on the boards, clinch a playoff...
From Elias: Paul Millsap had 26 points and 15 rebounds and Al Jefferson contributed 18 points and 16 rebounds to help Utah clinch a playoff spot in their win over Phoenix on Tuesday night. It is the first time in more than 22 years that the Jazz have had two players with 15-or-more rebounds in the same game. The last time a Utah tandem did that was on January 23, 1990 when Karl Malone had 18...
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Kings starters combine for 103 points and lose to...
From Elias: Sacramento’s five starters combined to score 103 points, but the Kings fell to the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Friday night. The Kings are only the second team this season to lose a game in regulation despite getting at least 100 points from its starters, the other being the Celtics who received 108 points from their starting five in a loss to the Knicks on April 17.
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Celtics defense holds Heat under 70,...
From Elias: The Celtics held the Heat to 66 points in their victory on Tuesday night. It marked the 11th time since the start of the 2007-08 season that Boston has allowed fewer than 70 points in a game, by far the highest total for any team in the league over that span (next highest: eight by Chicago).
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Clippers lose despite big games from Griffin and...
From Elias: Blake Griffin had 36 points and eight rebounds and Chris Paul chipped in with 34 points and five rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Clippers dropped a 109-102 decision to the Hawks in Atlanta on Tuesday night. Since the 1990-91 season, only four other teams have lost a game in regulation despite having multiple players record at least 34 points and five rebounds: Cleveland...
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Spurs second 35-point win this month
From Elias: The Spurs crushed the Trail Blazers on Monday night, 124-89, less than three weeks after a similar 35-point victory over the Cavaliers (125-90 on April 3). Prior to this month, San Antonio had won only one game over the last five seasons by at least 35 points: a 123-88 decision over the Warriors in December 2008.
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George powers Pacers over Pistons
From Elias: Paul George scored 27 points, including 13 free throws, and added 10 rebounds in the Pacers’ victory over the Pistons on Monday night. The only other starting guard over the last three seasons to match or exceed George’s total of free throws and rebounds in one game was Dwyane Wade, who made 13 foul shots and pulled down 10 rebounds on November 5, 2010 at New Orleans.
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Rare easy win for Wizards
From Elias: The Wizards routed the Bobcats on Monday night, 101-73, in what was only the third game in the franchise’s 51-season history in which it scored more than 100 points and allowed fewer than 75 points. The other such victories came in October 2002 (114-69 over the Celtics) and January 2006 (103-72 versus the Hawks).
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Sixers win with balanced scoring
From Elias: Elton Brand, Thaddeus Young and Jrue Holiday shared team-high honors with 15 points apiece in the 76ers’ 105-87 triumph against the Nets. It’s the fifth time this season that Philadelphia won a game in which none of its players scored more than 15 points, the most such victories for any NBA team.
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Allen follows up CP3's steals with eight of his...
From Elias: The Grizzlies’ Tony Allen had eight steals against the Cavaliers on Monday night, tying the NBA season-high, one day after Chris Paul also had eight steals. It’s the first time in 23 years that on each of back-to-back days an NBA player recorded eight-or-more steals in a game. That had last happened in April 1989, with John Stockton and the Kings’ Danny Ainge...
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“Russell single-handedly revolutionized this game simply because he made defense...”
– Red Auerbach, 1964
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Raptors lose another one-possession game
From Elias: The Raptors missed three field-goal attempts in the final 30 seconds of their 76-73 loss to the Pistons. The Raptors have lost the last seven games they’ve played that were decided by a margin of three or fewer points (since February 6), the longest losing streak of its kind in franchise history.
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No Wade, no Bosh = no problem for the Heat
From Elias: LeBron James scored 32 points to lead the undermanned Heat to a 97-88 victory over the Rockets. It was the fifth game that Miami has played without both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh since the “Big Three” joined forces with the club, and the Heat has won each of those games with James averaging 34.3 PPG in those triumphs.
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Durant takes scoring average lead
From Elias: Kobe Bryant entered play on Sunday as the NBA’s scoring leader with an average of 27.9 points per game, one-tenth of a point more than Kevin Durant (27.8). Durant jump into the lead (27.91 to 27.86) by scoring 35 points on Sunday, compared to 26 for Bryant.
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Big comeback for Lakers
From Elias: The Lakers overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Thunder in double-overtime. Oklahoma City entered play on Sunday as the only NBA team that hadn’t lost a game this season in which it led by more than 12 points.
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Knicks win a three-point shootout
From Elias: The Knicks topped the Hawks, 113-112, in a long-distance shootout that saw New York make 12 of 19 three-point attempts (63.2%) and Atlanta hit 15 of 23 shots from downtown (65.2%). It was the first game in NBA history in which both teams made more than ten three-point field goals while each shot 63 percent or better from beyond the arc.
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Mavericks set an embarrassing record against the...
From Elias: The Mavericks scored only eight points in the first quarter of their loss to the Bulls on Saturday. That’s the fewest points that they have scored in the first quarter of any game in team history.
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Lou Williams hits two threes in overtime, joins...
From Elias: Lou Williams went 2 for 5 on three-point field goals on Saturday, but the two he made each put the 76ers ahead in overtime, in their win over the Pacers. He’s the fourth player this season to make two go-ahead three pointers in overtime, joining Dorell Wright (Jan. 10), Pau Gasol (April 15) and Devin Harris (April 16).
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Wizards make history by beating Miami and Chicago
From Elias: The Wizards won in Miami on Saturday after they won their previous road game, in Chicago on Monday. It’s the first time in NBA history that a team with a winning percentage under .300 won consecutive road games against opponents who had winning percentages of at least .700, at least 10 games into a season.
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Nash passes Oscar Robertson in assists
From Elias: Steve Nash passed Oscar Robertson and moved into fifth place on the all-time leaderboard in NBA assists on Saturday. When the Big O retired after the 1973-74 season he had 2911 assists more than had anyone else in NBA history and the only players with even half his total were Lenny Wilkens (6976), Bob Cousy (6955), Guy Rodgers (6917) and Jerry West (6238).
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Bobcats continue to struggle, lose after leading...
From Elias: The Bobcats held a 67-59 lead over the Grizzlies early in the fourth quarter, but still went on to lose their 19th consecutive game. It was the second-largest fourth-period lead owned by Charlotte in those 19 games, behind a 10-point advantage they had with a little more than 10 minutes remaining versus the Pistons on March 31.
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Warriors rookies shine versus defending champs
From Elias: Klay Thompson scored 26 points and Charles Jenkins had 10 assists in the Warriors’ loss to the Mavericks on Friday night. It’s the first time this season that a rookie scored 25 points while a rookie teammate recorded 10 assists in the same game. And no rookie tandem had done that against the defending NBA champion since April 15, 1989 when the Clippers’ Charles...
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Irving ices Knicks, continues to lead rookies
From Elias: Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 21 points in the Cavaliers’ victory over the Knicks. It was the 10th time this season that Irving was the outright leading scorer for both teams in a game. No other rookie has done that even half as many times in 2011-12. With only four games remaining in Cleveland’s season Irving will not be able to match LeBron James’ rookie total...
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Joe Johnson sets 30-5-5 record against Celtics
From Elias: Joe Johnson had 30 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Celtics on Friday night. In the past 25 years the only other Hawks players with a 30-5-5 (points-rebounds-assists) game against Boston were Al Harrington in November 2005 and current Celtics coach Doc Rivers in December 1990.
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Spurs trounce Lakers, break record from 1990
From Elias: The Spurs defeated the Lakers on Friday night, 121-97, the fifth time this April that San Antonio scored 120 or more points in a game. That’s the franchise’s highest such total in a calendar month under Gregg Popovich, who became the team’s head coach in 1996. In fact, you have to go back to November 1990, when David Robinson was beginning his second season with the...
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World without Love
From Elias: Nikola Pekovic scored a game-high 23 points in the Timberwolves’ victory over the Pistons. It was Minnesota’s ninth game this season (and fifth in a row) without Kevin Love, and the T’wolves are 2-7 in those games. The Nets (1-7 without Deron Williams) are the only other NBA team that’s lost as many games as Minnesota in which their leading point scorer (for...
