Every morning, we will give you five things from the night before in the NBA to start your day.
1: Jrue Holiday makes up for ET's missed FTs
Evan Turner stepped to the line late in Sunday's 104-101 win over Phoenix with a chance to send everyone home happy not only with a win, but also with free Big Macs. You know how fans can get when it comes to those things.
Turner missed his only free throw late and not only failed to provide the free sandwiches, but also gave Phoenix a last-second chance to tie the game (where surely the Sixers would reach the 105 points necessary to send everyone home with some free McDonald's). The Suns did not convert on that chance and Evan Turner could breathe a sigh of relief, apologizing for his missed free throw on Twitter after the game.
Jrue Holiday though made sure the Sixers fans would go home happy with the most important thing — the win.
Holiday scored 33 points and dished out 13 assists doing everything for Philadelphia in the victory. Holiday was one off his career high in points and the 13 assists show he is growing as a point guard. More importantly, Philadelphia continues to play well with Andrew Bynum sitting on the shelf.
2: Glen Davis takes it on the chin
Paul Pierce stepped into a 3-pointer in overtime and gave the Celtics the lead for good in Orlando. It was a bitter fight for the Celtics to score the 116-110 win over the Magic.
It was all celebrations for the seasoned Celtics who just executed at the end and made baskets and plays when they needed. The Magic locker room was much more somber, recognizing that the chance for a big win had slipped away.
Glen Davis in particular took the loss hard after scoring 15 points but shooting 3 for 12 from the floor. Davis put the loss squarely on his shoulders. He was very disappointed in his effort and said if he had "brought it," Orlando would have won.
That might be going a bit far. The Celtics had 60 points in the paint and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. The Celtics are not a great rebounding team, yet Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass especially were able to attack the glass and have their way with the Magic in the paint.
It could have been a lot worse for Orlando. Give the Magic credit though for fighting hard and giving the Celtics a great game. Yes, Orlando did have a chance to win.
3: HIGHLIGHTS!!!
Andre Miller the pick pocket
J.R. Smith rips and dishes
Tony Parker puts Toronto in spin cycle
4: Line of the Night: Rajon Rondo — 15 points, 16 assists, 9 rebounds
Rondo extended his streak of games with at least 10 assists to 37 games with a relatively easy performance against the Magic. Rondo had six assists at the end of the first quarter and nine assists at halftime. Rondo did some toying with Orlando in this game, working his magic to get into the lane and score relatively easy before setting up his teammates.
5: You can quote me on that
It’s great to have the weapons, to have the options out there on the floor. The floor is so much more spread out. We’re getting better at spreading the floor, and it’s just easier to operate out there.
–Nets guard Deron Williams on the change in Brooklyn
You know what? We were just so upset we played [so poorly] the second half, man, that just starts with myself. It starts with Paul and Rondo. I was kind of upset about that. More in overtime, we felt like more of an urgency to execute. And I thought we got really back to the basics. We made shots.
–Celtics forward Kevin Garnett on having to fight in overtime
