Five games on the schedule Tuesday night, with the home teams pulling off a sweep. Welcome to the Daily NBA Fix for Wednesday, November 20th. The New York Knicks continue to struggle, the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat roll and Boogie goes off (in a good way this time). Let’s get to it!
Tuesday’s Results (home team in CAPS)
DETROIT PISTONS 92, New York Knicks 86
Brandon Jennings Hypnotized – I can’t think of any other explanation for him playing 26:34 and taking only three shots. Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond put up double-doubles and Rodney Stuckey led the team with 21 off the bench. Still weird about Jennings. The Knicks got 25 from Carmelo Anthony and 18 from J.R. Smith off the bench.
HOUSTON ROCKETS 109, Boston Celtics 85
Start To Finish – The Rockets have had trouble closing teams out…but not tonight. They scored 40 in the first quarter to take a 22-point lead and never looked back. Terrence Jones scored 24 points and Dwight Howard scored 10 with 11 rebounds, two steals and three blocks in 28 minutes. The Celtics got 17 from Courtney Lee off the bench and Avery Bradley scored 11 on 22 shots.
MIAMI HEAT 104, Atlanta Hawks 88
No Flash Photograhpy – Because Dwyane Wade didn’t play. Didn’t matter, either. It was a close game until the third, when the Heat pulled away. Chris Bosh scored 19, Ray Allen added 17 and LeBron James had an easy 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Al Horford added 12 for the Hawks and Mike Scott added 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
SACRAMENTO KINGS 107, Phoenix Suns 104
Everyone Loves Boogies – It’s hard to not be green with envy at the game DeMarcus Cousins has. He played another all-around game, with 27 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks. He didn’t just pull it out of his nose, either. Ben McLemore added 19, as did Isaiah Thomas. The Suns played without Eric Bledsoe and were led by Gerald Green‘s 23 points.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS 104, Minnesota Timberwolves 100
Building The Wall – John Wall‘s career high 16 assists helped dispatch the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. Despite shooting just 5-for-17, Wall was able to involve teammates, including getting 25 points from Bradley Beal and 5-for-10 from the 3-point line from Martell Webster. The Wolves got 25 points, 11 rebounds and four assists from Kevin Love in the loss.
Tuesday’s Top Five
Daryl Morey believed in him, why shouldn’t we? (NBA.com photo)
| Player | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrence Jones | BOS | W | 27:09 | 10 | 12 | .833 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | PHO | W | 35:08 | 9 | 18 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 15 | .600 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 27 | ||
| Gerald Green | @ | SAC | L | 35:17 | 6 | 13 | .462 | 4 | 8 | .500 | 7 | 8 | .875 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 23 |
| Chris Bosh | ATL | W | 24:59 | 8 | 9 | .889 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 2 | 3 | .667 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | |
| Kevin Love | @ | WAS | L | 36:56 | 8 | 17 | .471 | 4 | 10 | .400 | 5 | 9 | .556 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 25 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/20/2013.
Tuesday’s Bottom Five
You’ll always have Louisville, Peyton. (NBA.com photo)
| Player | Opp | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peyton Siva | NYK | W | 11:22 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Ishmael Smith | @ | SAC | L | 14:31 | 1 | 7 | .143 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| Avery Bradley | @ | HOU | L | 27:19 | 5 | 22 | .227 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | |
| Garrett Temple | MIN | W | 15:18 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Tim Hardaway | @ | DET | L | 10:52 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/20/2013.
The Nightly Goose Egg Award (player with most minutes and zero points)
Tonight’s award goes to Mr. Beno Udrih, who played 18:28 in a Knicks loss against the Pistons. He did chip in with four assists and two turnovers.
The Nightly Clean And Sober Award (player with most minutes and no shots)
Tonight’s award belongs to Mr. Keith Bogans, who went a full 12:25 without taking a single shot from anywhere on the court. He did have a steal, though.
Circling The Drain
30. Utah Jazz (1-11)
29. Milwaukee Bucks (2-7)
28. Sacramento Kings (3-7)
27. Washington Wizards (3-7)
26. New York Knicks (3-7)
Random Tidbits and News
Avery Bradley’s 22 field goal attempts and zero free-throw attempts seems rare, but it’s more common than you think…it’s happened 27 times since the start of the 2012-13 season, but Bradley made the fewest shots (5)…I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around Brandon Jennings taking only three field goal attempts…it was a career low for him when he plays more than 26 minutes.
Wednesday’s Schedule and Lines (Courtesy of VegasInsider.com)
| 11/20/2013 19:05 | |
| 501 Brooklyn | -3½ -10 |
| 502 Charlotte | 184½u-10 |
| BRK-G-Deron Williams-Probable | BRK-C-Brook Lopez-Doubtful | CHA-F-Al Jefferson-Doubtful | TV: YES, SportSouth, DTV: 631,650,750,751 | |
| 11/20/2013 19:05 | |
| 503 Washington | 195½u-10 |
| 504 Cleveland | -1½ -10 |
| TV: CSN-DC, FS-Ohio, DTV: 642,660,752,753 | |
| 11/20/2013 19:05 | |
| 505 Indiana | -4½ -10 |
| 506 New York | 191½u-10 |
| TV: FS-Indiana, MSG, ESPN, DTV: 206,634,673 | |
| 11/20/2013 19:05 | |
| 507 Miami | -8½ -10 |
| 508 Orlando | 199½u-10 |
| TV: SunSports, FS-Florida, DTV: 653,654,754,755 | |
| 11/20/2013 19:05 | |
| 509 Toronto | -3½ -10 |
| 510 Philadelphia | 200½u-10 |
| PHI-G-Michael Carter-Williams-? | TV: Sportsnet One, CSN-Philadelphia, DTV: 756 | |
| 11/20/2013 19:35 | |
| 511 Detroit | 204½u-10 |
| 512 Atlanta | -5 -10 |
| ATL-F-Paul Millsap-? | TV: FS-Detroit, SportSouth, DTV: 649,663,757,758 | |
| 11/20/2013 20:05 | |
| 513 Portland | -4 -10 |
| 514 Milwaukee | 200½u-10 |
| TV: DTV: 669,759 | |
| 11/20/2013 20:05 | |
| 515 L.A. Clippers | -1½ -10 |
| 516 Minnesota | 212½u-10 |
| TV: FS-Prime Ticket, North, DTV: 668,693,760,761 | |
| 11/20/2013 20:05 | |
| 517 Utah | 192½u-10 |
| 518 New Orleans | -8 -10 |
| TV: ROOT-Rocky Mountain, FS-NO, DTV: 678,684,762,763 | |
| 11/20/2013 20:35 | |
| 519 Boston | 190½u-10 |
| 520 San Antonio | -15 -10 |
| BOS-G-Rajon Rondo-OUT | TV: CSN-New England, FS-Southwest, DTV: 630,676,764,765 | |
| 11/20/2013 21:05 | |
| 521 Sacramento | 191½u-10 |
| 522 Phoenix | -5 -10 |
| SAC-C-DeMarcus Cousins-Probable | PHO-G-Eric Bledsoe-? | TV: CSN-California, FS-Arizona, DTV: 686,698,766,767 | |
| 11/20/2013 21:35 | |
| 523 Houston | 215½u-10 |
| 524 Dallas | -4 -10 |
| TV: CSN-Houston, FS-Southwest, ESPN, DTV: 206,676 | |
| 11/20/2013 22:35 | |
| 525 Memphis | 195½u-10 |
| 526 Golden State | -8½ -10 |
| GS-G-Stephen Curry-OUT | TV: SportSouth, CSN-Bay, DTV: 651,696,750,768 |
Your Best Bets*
76ers +3.5
Clippers at Wolves UNDER 212.5
Kings at Suns OVER 191.5
Tuesday’s Best Bets
Wolves -2.5 (LOSS)
Celtics at Rockets OVER 199.5 (LOSS)
Season Record: 15-14
*you know, if gambling were legal where you are and you’re of age and you do it responsibly