Every morning, we will give you five things from the night before in the NBA to start your day.
1: When it rains, it pours
It was a rough 48 hours for the Nuggets. First was the wild finish in Golden State that ended with Andre iguodala's shot falling after the buzzer. The next night was an absolute offensive onslaught from the Lakers. It is hard out there for a Nugget.
Dwight Howard got things going with 16 points in the first quarter and then he finished things off with a 3-pointer on the final play. That is the way to cap off a 122-103 victory and a 28-point, 20-rebound effort from Howard.
Howard was not the only one to have a great game though. Antawn Jamison scored 33 points off the bench. Jodie Meeks had 21 points, shooting 7 for 8 from beyond the arc. And that little player named Kobe Bryant had 14 points and eight assists.
The Lakers looked like how Mike D'Antoni envisioned them. They went up and down the floor in transition, they defended well with Howard as the anchor, they shared the ball. Most importantly, they scored.
The rest of it will come in time, but Los Angeles had things rolling for this night at least. And any time Howard feels the freedom to shoot a 3-pointer you know it is a laugher of a game.
Denver obviously still has work to do as they fight off the disappointment of the beginning of its season. Unfortunately, the Nuggets have more questions than answers right now.
2: Sanders' historic night
Triple doubles for centers are rare. There have been points/rebounds/blocks triple doubles in the past. There was one earlier this season already.
Larry Sanders though is not the guy you think would get a triple double. He has always been a nice defensive player but not much more. That makes his triple double all the more interesting. Actually, Sanders needed a score on the final possession for Milwaukee to get the triple double.
Sanders though accomplished his first career triple double scoring 10 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking 10 shots. The 10 blocks actually tied a franchise record Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set. That is some nice company for the unheralded center.
Just goes to show that there is a reason each of these guys are in the NBA.
Unfortunately, the game did not end in a Milwuakee win. The Timberwolves got a balanced scoring effort with five players scoring 14 or more points, including 16 each from Alexey Shved and Luke Ridnour in a 95-85 win at Target Center.
3: HIGHLIGHTS!!!
Alonzo Gee sneaks it in for Cavs
Quincy Pondexter has eyes on the back of the defender's head
The legend grows
4: Line of the Night: Evan Turner — 25 points, 10/15 FGs, 10 rebounds
Evan Turner always seems to be able to do things that other guards cannot. Rebounding is definitely one of those things. In a 104-98 win for Philadelphia over Charlotte, Turner provided the scoring punch and some security on the boards. Not having any assists hurts but the Sixers got their win.
5: You can quote me on that
We owe them one. And everybody in this locker room knows that. So we want to go in with an attitude and a chip on our shoulders.
–Nets center Andray Blatche on facing the Heat tomorrow
I don’t know any man that likes to be called soft. I think collectively he’s talking about our style and, obviously, the offensive rebounds. I don’t think he’s coming at us as men. But I definitely think he’s talking about our style as a whole. Collectively we all have to do that together. The onus falls on each and every last one of us. But yeah, that was disturbing. Who likes to be called soft in anything?
–Celtics forward Kevin Garnett on perceptions about the Celtics
