April 2012
84 posts
3 tags
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).
4 tags
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...
3 tags
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.
3 tags
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).
3 tags
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.
5 tags
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.
5 tags
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.
5 tags
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.
5 tags
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).
4 tags
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.
4 tags
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...
