Basketball Daily Dose: Dose: Linsanity shocks Spurs
Hornets 91, Spurs 88 – As my friends on Facebook and Twitter know, I had to go back and change a bunch of X’s to circles on 30 brackets Sunday night when Texas A&M made an incredible comeback, overcoming a 12-point deficit with just 44 seconds left against Northern Iowa in the NCAA Tourney. Had I been running a bracket pool for the NBA on Monday night, I would have had to do the same for the Spurs-Hornets game.
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San Antonio got off to a blistering start and held a 30-7 lead in the first quarter, and had won six straight games. And along came Jeremy Lin. Lin scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and the Hornets rallied for an unlikely 91-88 win, denying the Spurs their 60th win in the process. It was also the biggest lead the Spurs have ever given up to lose a game, at least as long as Elias has been keeping track. Oh, and the Hornets managed just seven points in the first quarter on national TV and I literally stopped watching. And no, Gregg Popovich didn’t sit his studs, but instead started all of ‘em.
For the Hornets, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller and Kemba Walker shot a combined 7-of-24 and scored six points each. The other starters, Nicolas Batum (15 points) and Courtney Lee (17), played well but it was Lin’s 29-point explosion off the bench that won the game for Charlotte. Unfortunately, he just can’t be relied upon right now. And outside of Lin, Batum and Lee, the next highest scorer was each of the 6-6-6 brothers. What a weird game.
The Spurs got double-doubles from LaMarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard scored 15, and Tony Parker had a nice game with 19 points, seven assists and a full stat line. The disaster known as Danny Green was 0-for-7 for two points and the Spurs’ bench did nothing in the loss. Cutting Danny Green was one of the smartest things I did this season. Drafting him was one of the dumbest.
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Cavaliers 124, Nuggets 91 – LeBron James had his 41st career triple-double with 33 points, 11 boards and 11 assists as the Cavs notched their 50th win. They were thumped by the Heat in their previous game and came out with some fire on Monday. Channing Frye started for Kevin Love, who was rested for an undisclosed illness. And the Cavs are now 4-0 without him this season. Frye had 14 points and three 3-pointers in the start and J.R. Smith got hot for 15 points, three 3-pointers and four steals. Kyrie Irving struggled for eight points on 4-of-12 shooting and the Cavs’ bench was very quiet. But LeBron’s heroics were enough for the win.
The Nuggets rested Kenneth Faried (back) for the third straight game, but Darrell Arthur was quiet with just four points and five boards on 1-of-4 shooting, killing his DFS owners in the process. Nikola Jokic and Gary Harris each scored 11 to lead the starters, but only Will Barton came through with a productive stat line, bouncing back with 28 points, four 3-pointers and two steals on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench. This was Barton’s best game (highest-scoring) since he scored 31 on Dec. 30, and he was the only Nugget to come through last night. Maybe he’s about to get hot.
Pacers 91, Sixers 75 – All five Pacers scored in double figures in an easy win, but none of them did so in impressive fashion. Ian Mahinmi double-doubled with 12 points, 10 boards and a block, while Paul George hit just 4-of-16 shots for 15 points and an otherwise decent line. The bench was basically nonexistent and it’s a good thing they were playing the Sixers, given their ugly box score.
The Sixers got 15 points from Isaiah Canaan and Hollis Thompson (15 points, 6 boards) and Jerami Grant (14 points, 4 boards) played well. Nerlens Noel managed just eight points and eight rebounds, and Ish Smith disappeared with four points on 2-of-15 shooting, but did have nine rebounds, four dimes and three steals. The bench did nothing, while the Sixers are hoping to get Robert Covington back from his concussion on Wednesday. And that should signal the end of the Hollis Thompson value run.
Celtics 107, Magic 96 – Isaiah Thomas led the way with 28 points, five boards, seven assists and a steal, and Avery Bradley had 22 points and nine boards on 9-of-15 in another start. Evan Turner came through with 16 points, five boards, four assists, a block and two 3-pointers, and should continue to start as long as Jae Crowder sits with his ankle injury. Amir Johnson had a 11-11 double-double, but is completely unreliable, and Jared Sullinger was quiet in 21 minutes. Kelly Olynyk got hot with 22 points, five boards, two steals and four 3-pointers, but had really struggled since returning from a shoulder injury last week. Now might be the time to pick him up. And Marcus Smart hit just 1-of-11 shots as his struggles continue.
Victor Oladipo stayed hot with 25 points, eight rebounds, five steals, a block and a 3-pointer, Aaron Gordon bounced back with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Evan Fournier had a quiet night with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Brandon Jennings started again, but scored just two points in 17 minutes, while Elfrid Payton had eight points and six dimes in 31 minutes off the bench. Payton should be back in the starting lineup sooner than later, ruining Jennings in the process. Andrew Nicholson had 13 points, six boards and a block in 15 minutes, while Jason Smith hit just 2-of-8 shots in 27 minutes off the bench. Both are shaky plays, but worth a look with Nikola Vucevic hurting. Vucevic missed his ninth straight game with a groin injury and we don’t know when he’ll be back.
Pistons 92, Bucks 91 – Andre Drummond (14 & 16) won this one with a tip-in with two seconds left after looking sluggish earlier in the game. He was benched in the third, but looked better after a pep talk from Stan Van Gundy. Marcus Morris got hot for 21 points, four 3-pointers and a full stat line on 8-of-9 shooting. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 points (2-of-11 from downtown), Tobias Harris had 13 points and six boards on 4-of-12 shooting, and Reggie Jackson was quiet with nine points, five boards and five assists on 3-of-8 shooting. Like most other teams on Monday, Detroit’s bench was quiet.
Khris Middleton (27 points), Giannis Antetokounmpo (21 & 12) and Greg Monroe (18 & 10, 2 steals, 2 blocks) all played well for the Bucks in a tough loss. Jabari Parker cooled off with five points on 2-of-7 shooting and Jerryd Bayless continued his disappointing ways with five points and six assists. He also missed two free throws late that cost his team the game. Keeping the invisible-bench theme going, the Bucks got nothing from theirs last night.
