Cleveland 114, Golden State 108
Studs: LeBron James led the way with 31 points and 12 assists and J.J. Hickson had another career game, making 9-for-9 field goals on his way to 21 points and 9 rebounds, as the Cavaliers clipped Golden State. All seven Warriors to see action scored in double figures, led by Monta Ellis, who posted 23 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals.
Duds: Ellis had good numbers, but shot 9-for-23 and committed 4 turnovers. Darnell Jackson picked up 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in just 14 minutes for the Cavs.
Game Notes: Both teams have serious injury problems. The Cavaliers were already without Shaquille O'Neal and Anderson Varejao before Jamario Moon left the game with a sprained ankle. Golden State had just seven healthy players. Kelenna Azubuike will have surgery Wednesday to repair a torn patella tendon. He will miss the rest of the season. Teammate C.J. Watson missed the game after testing positive for the H1N1 virus… James and Stephen Curry shared a moment after the game. James encouraged the rookie to "keep getting better every day".
Oklahoma City 100, Miami 87
Studs: The Thunder recorded the night's biggest upset, beating the Heat in Miami behind 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists from Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook added 24 points and 7 assists in the win. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks; and Jermaine O'Neal (19 points and 10 rebounds) and Daequan Cook (17 points) joined him in double figures.
Duds: Wade shot just 6-for-19 from the floor, the same as the combination of Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and Quentin Richardson. Wade also committed 6 turnovers. Thabo Sefolosha shot 1-for-6 for Oklahoma City.
Game Notes: The Thunder shot 21-for-22 (95.5%) from the free throw line, compared to 20-for-30 (66.7%) for the Heat… It took Oklahoma City 38 tries to win 6 games last year. They achieved the feat in 11 tries this season… The Thunder posted a 20-1 run over an 8-minute span of the first half and never looked back… Early in the first quarter, O'Neal and Jeff Green were both called for a foul after a difficult charge/block call. The refs called a jump ball to decide possession.
Indiana 91, New Jersey 83
Studs: Danny Granger had a team-high 22 points and Roy Hibbert tied a career high with 19 points, as Indiana won their fifth straight game. Second-year men Brook Lopez and Chris Douglas-Roberts were a two-man show for New Jersey, tallying 26 points and 16 rebounds, and 27 points and 12 rebounds, respectively. Lopez also added 5 blocks in the loss.
Duds: Rafer Alston was 2-for-12 shooting and committed 5 turnovers for the Nets, who only dressed 8 players. Aside from Lopez and Douglas-Roberts, the rest of the roster combined to shoot 8-for-28 (28.6%) with 30 points. Brandon Rush and T.J. Ford were each 2-for-10 and rookie Tyler Hansbrough missed all five of his shot attempts for the Pacers.
Game Notes: The Pacers will look for their sixth straight win against the Knicks on Wednesday… New Jersey will next head to Milwaukee in search of their first win. They are now six losses from the all-time record of 17 to start a season… The Nets unveiled their "10 is enough!" promotion, which offered season ticket holders two extra tickets for Tuesday night's game. Still, the game only drew 11,332 fans… Neither team shot better than 40% from the field.
New Orleans 110, LA Clippers 102
Studs: David West led the Hornets to their first win of the Jeff Bower era with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Devin Brown added 16 points for New Orleans, who also got a dozen points from a trio of players (Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton, and Bobby Brown). Al Thornton led all scorers with 30 points on 12-for-17 shooting and Baron Davis added 23 points and 9 assists in the loss.
Duds: Davis was just 7-for-21 from the floor and Marcus Camby was 1-for-5. Peja Stojakovic scored 15 for the Hornets, but shot just 3-for-10 from the field and 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Teammate James Posey was 1-for-7 from the floor.
Game Notes: The Clippers have lost 11 straight regular season games to New Orleans… Hornets' center Hilton Armstrong missed the game with a sprained shoulder and Clippers' guard Kareem Rush left the game with a torn ACL. He'll miss the rest of the season.
Phoenix 111, Houston 105
Studs: Phoenix became the league's first 10-win team with a come-from-behind win over Houston led by 23 points from Amare Stoudemire and 16 assists from Steve Nash. Carl Landry shot 13-for-18 and posted a career-high 27 points and 9 rebounds off the Rockets' bench. Aaron Brooks added 13 assists in the loss.
Duds: Brooks facilitated well, but shot only 5-for-18, while teammate Trevor Ariza was just 8-for-21. Nash was only 2-for-10 from the field.
Game Notes: Houston was up by 12 at the end of the first quarter and 4 after three quarters before Phoenix used a 14-8 run over the final 3 minutes to secure the win… The win marks the fifth time this season the Suns have won after facing a double-digit deficit.
Denver 130, Toronto 112
Studs: Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 32 points, reserve J.R. Smith added 29, and Nene had an all-around strong performance with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocks as Denver posted 130 points to improve to 8-3. Rookie DeMar DeRozan had his best game as a pro, recording a team-high 17 points for the Raptors.
Duds: Antoine Wright shot just 2-for-8 and Andrea Bargnani was just 5-for-14 for Toronto. Chauncey Billups was 2-for-6 for just 7 points for the Nuggets.
Game Notes: Turkoglu missed the game with a sore hip, moving Wright (and his sore ankle) into the Raptors' starting five… Anthony woke up with a migraine headache, but played because as he said, "[his] legs still worked"… Pops Mensah-Bonsu made his first appearance as a Raptor, after being claimed off waivers from the Houston Rockets, posting 5 points and 4 rebounds.
Chicago 101, Sacramento 87
Studs: John Salmons had a team-high 23 points against his former team and Joakim Noah added 15 points and 14 rebounds as the Bulls won a battle of 5-4 teams. Donte Greene made his fifth career start and led all scorers with 24 points.
Duds: The story for the Kings on this night was turnovers. Sacramento committed 21 as a team, including four each by their rookies, Omri Casspi and Tyreke Evans, and seven by Jason Thompson. The Bulls' point guards, Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich combined to shoot 3-for-21 from the field.
Game Notes: Evans became the first Kings' rookie in 18 years to score 20 points in five straight games… Chicago's Jannero Pargo scored 10 points in a 54-second span in the first and second quarters… Former Bull Andres Nocioni missed the game with a hip pointer… Bulls' rookie Taj Gibson fouled out after just 11 minutes.
LA Lakers 106, Detroit 93
Studs: Kobe Bryant had two rough starts, but got back on his game against Detroit, leading all scorers with 40 points, and adding 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Center Andrew Bynum added 17 points and 12 rebounds. Will Bynum continued his strong play, posting 24 points and 6 assists on 9-for-12 shooting off the Pistons' bench.
Duds: Charlie Villanueva was 1-for-6 shooting and Rodney Stuckey was just 3-for-12, leaving the Pistons with only two reliable scorers (Bynum and Ben Gordon).
Game Notes: Bryant's performance marks the 100th time he's reached 40 points in a game during his illustrious career, putting him third in NBA history behind just Wilt Chamberlain (271) and Michael Jordan (173)… The Lakers led by 28 in the fourth quarter before Detroit went on a torrid run to cut the lead to just 7… Lakers' center Pau Gasol is could make his first appearance of the season against Chicago on Thursday.
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