The New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies were among the winners during Wednesday night’s NBA action, as the race to the play-offs begins to heat up.
New York: New York Knicks’ center Tyson Chandler finished with a career-high 28 rebounds and 16 points, to add to Carmelo Anthony’s 35 points and give the Knicks a 109-105 win over the Golden State Warriors at Madison Square Garden. JR Smith added a further 26 points for New York but the night only belonged to one man. Golden State guard Steph Curry finished with a massive NBA season-high 54 points. Fresh from dropping 38 points against Indiana, Curry recorded a franchise-best 11-of-13 from three-point range. He became the first player since LeBron James in 2009 to score 50+ at the Garden. Sadly for Curry, a team effort from the Knicks was too much and Golden State lost by four points. The Knicks improve to 34-20 for the season, while the Warriors drop to 33-25.
Oklahoma: Kevin Durant recorded the third triple-double of his career on Wednesday night to give the Thunder their eight successive win over the New Orleans Hornets. Wednesday’s game was the 96th consecutive sell-out at the Chesapeake Energy Arena as Thunder fever continues to captivate the fans. Derek Fisher and Ronnie Brewer made their season débuts for the Thunder, who faced a short-handed Hornets side. With no Anthony Davis or Eric Gordon at their disposal, the Hornets fell behind early and never recovered. Durant finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in just three quarters, such was the Thunder’s dominance over their inferior opponents. Sixth man Kevin Martin came off the bench for 5-of-7 shooting and finished with 14 points, while Russell Westbrook led all shooters with 29 points. The star point guard was perfect from the line, shooting 12-of-12. Austin Rivers managed 9 points for the Hornets, with Ryan Anderson shooting 14 in place of the unavailable Anthony Davis. Wednesday’s 119-74 win sees the Thunder improve 42-15 and continue their three-game winning streak. New Orleans are in all sorts of trouble and sit in second-last place in the Western Conference.
Memphis: The Memphis Grizzlies came away with the unlikeliest of wins against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, despite having been behind by 25 points at one stage. The Grizzlies performed terribly, shooting just 38% as a team and enduring seven scoreless minutes in the final quarter, but somehow got the all-important ‘w’ against a Mavericks side that look destined to miss the play-offs. It matched biggest comeback win in the franchise’s history and gave the Grizzlies their eight straight victory. The offensive frailties that Memphis displayed were in star contrast to the great defensive work that restricted Dallas to just 29 points in the second-half. Zach Randoplh top-scored with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for Memphis, while Marc Gasol added a further 21 & 12. Dirk Nowitzki shot just 4-of-11 for Dallas and finished with 10 points. Elton Brand continued his good form with 12 points, but it was not enough as the Mavericks lost 84-90. The Grizzlies improve to 38-18, as the Maverick’s play-off hopes slip away and they fall to 25-32.
NBA Results February 27th, 2013:
SAC 125-101 ORL
TOR 92-103 CLE
DET 96-95 WAS
GSW 105-109 NYK
DAL 84-90 MEM
MIL 110-107 HOU
NOH 74-119 OKC
PHX 105-101 SAS
ATL 102-91 UTA
DEN 111-109 POR
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 3/1 with Boylesports.com to win the 2012/13 NBA Championship.
