April 2012
84 posts
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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.
