Phoenix 119, Philadelphia 115
Studs: The Suns are definitely back to their old selves. They shot 53.2% from the floor on the way to 119 points, led by 29 from Jason Richardson, 21 points and 20 assists from Steve Nash, and 18 points off the bench from Jared Dudley. Philadelphia got 24 points and 9 rebounds from Andre Iguodala, and 20 points and 8 boards from Marresse Speights.
Duds: Elton Brand logged just 21 minutes, tallying 10 points and 2 rebounds for the 76ers. Channing Frye was just 4-for-13 from the field and 2-for-9 from behind the arc.
Game Notes: The Suns are averaging 110.9 points per game and have scored above 100 in each of their first eight games for the first time since 1990-1991… Philadelphia led 102-94 with just 7:07 left in the fourth quarter before Nash keyed a 6-0 run that cut the lead to 2. Moments later, the Suns went on a 7-2 run that put the game away… Phoenix tallied 32 assists on their 41 made field goals… 76ers' rookie Jrue Holiday was 3-for-5, making two 3-pointers on his way to 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in just 15 minutes. He also missed his first NBA shot (after making his first 6) in the second quarter.
Utah 95, New York 93
Studs: Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko scored 23 points each as the Jazz held on to beat New York in Madison Square Garden. Boozer added 14 rebounds, and Kirilenko had 6 boards and 6 assists. Rookie Toney Douglas had a team-high 21 points in his best NBA performance to date. Wilson Chandler posted a double-double for the Knicks with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Duds: Chris Duhon (2-for-7), Danilo Gallinari (2-for-7), and Al Harrington (4-for-14) each shot just 28.6% from the floor. Deron Williams recorded 16 assists, but shot just 2-for-10 and committed 7 turnovers.
Game Notes: New York trailed by 17 at halftime and 21 in the third quarter, but outscored the Jazz 29-15 in the final quarter before coming up just short… The win was Utah's first in New York since February 2004… Mehmet Okur converted a tip-in with 1:36 to play and Douglas missed at the buzzer to seal the Utah victory… Utah guard Ronnie Price left the game with a sprained left big toe. X-rays were negative.
San Antonio 131, Toronto 124
Studs: Manu Ginobili looked like the former 6th man of the year, posting 36 points, 8 assists, and 4 blocks in 32 minutes; and Richard Jefferson had 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists as San Antonio got a big win that may help them turn the corner. George Hill scored 22 in his first start of the season, and Matt Bonner tallied 18 off the Spurs' bench. Chris Bosh had 32 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Raptors, who shot 59.2% from the field.
Duds: How do you pick a dud in a game that featured 255 point? The only candidate is Roger Mason Jr., who missed all four shots (all 3-point attempts) and went scoreless in a whopping 11 minutes.
Game Notes: San Antonio was out-shot from the field, 3-point range, and the line, but won the game with fundamentals. The Spurs got to the free throw line 44 times, converting 33 attempts, and committed just 6 turnovers. They also had a 12-rebound advantage as a team (41-29)… Tim Duncan and Tony Parker both sat out for the Spurs, who improved to 3-3 with the win. Neither injury is considered serious… Jose Calderon, the Raptors all-time assist leader, recorded his 2,000th NBA assist in the game.
Golden State 146, Minnesota 105
Studs: Can I just say the Warriors' reserves? Every player to see the floor off the Golden State bench scored in double figures. Every player. I've never seen that in all my years of watching basketball. Kelenna Azubuike led the Warriors with 31, and Stephen Jackson tallied 15 assists, as the Warriors shot 57.1% as a team. Rookie Jonny Flynn led Minnesota with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists; and Sasha Pavlovic did some damage off the Timberwolves' bench, tallying 17 points.
Duds: Flynn had 6 turnovers, Al Jefferson collected just 3 rebounds, and Damien Wilkins (1-for-5) and Nathan Jawai (2-for-8) had the worst shooting nights, as Minnesota was completely outmatched. Jackson and rookie Stephen Curry were each 2-for-8 for the Warriors.
Game Notes: This was a crazy game. Golden State scored 42 points in transition and 47 points off of 28 Minnesota turnovers. They also scored 33 points or better in each quarter… The box score to this one looks like a blow out in every facet except one- rebounding. The Timberwolves out-rebounded Golden State 53-38, including a 21-11 edge on the offensive glass. Of Minnesota's 21 offensive rebounds, Jawai collected 6, Wilkins had 5, and Ryan Gomes grabbed 4. None of those three players collected more defensive rebounds than offensive ones, with Jawai wrangling only 1 defensive board… Golden State recorded 22 steals and scored as many as 146 points for the first time since they scored 146 against Minnesota in 1994.
New Orleans 112, LA Clippers 84
Studs: New Orleans earned a split of their back-to-back at the Staples Center behind a balanced offensive attack, led by 25 points from Devin Brown and 24 points and 10 assists from Chris Paul. Brown, making just his 2nd start of the season, made five 3-pointers and shot 8-for-14 from the field. Chris Kaman, Rasual Butler, and Ricky Davis scored 14 apiece to lead the Clippers.
Duds: Baron Davis was 3-for-10, Butler was 5-for-14, and Al Thornton was 3-for-8, as the Clippers shot 43% from the field and 55% from the free throw line. Rookie Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton combined to shoot 3-for-16 for the Hornets.
Game Notes: The Clippers had 8 players with at least 1 blocked shot. They recorded 11 blocks as a team… Morris Peterson may have worn out his welcome in New Orleans. The veteran shooting guard started the first 6 games for the Hornets, but is no longer a member of the active roster… Clippers' guard Eric Gordon missed the game with a sore groin… This was the first chance for cousins Al and Marcus Thornton to face off in the NBA, though neither had a particularly memorable effort.
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