The Post Up: Lakers Fall Short.
Lakers show some leg while Portland shows grit and grab 13th straight win.
By: Holly MacKenzie
Oh, was I excited for the Laker/Celtic game. It was a rude awakening, especially since the Celtic’s were finishing up a back-to-back. It is going to be a shorter weekend edition of the Post Up today, because I have awoken to another morning of snow, snow, snow and as a result the internet is alternating between working and not working so we’ll see how much I can get posted. The weather has been crazy so far this winter and there is supposed to be more snow for the next two days. I am predicting a messy night ahead.
About the Laker short-shorts. Originally, when I had heard of it I was worried that it would tick the Celtics off, or that people would think the game wasn’t taken seriously. After awhile though, I thought it was a cool idea for throwback night, especially with the video of the Lakers and Celtics that was shown before the game. It was cool to honor the rivalry and it was fun for the fans. While we have now all seen more of the Lakers than we needed, it was funny to see Rambis get into it and of course, have Jerry West in attendance. The good from the game last night stopped there, as a Lakers fan. When Kobe has a game as bad as he did last night against a team as good as the Celtics, it’s usually not going to be a good game for the Lakers. As soon as I saw KG with the blood on his eye, I knew the Celtics were going to try to draw some Laker-blood.
Onto the rest of the NBA.
Golden State 105 Denver 95
After losing in a nail biter to Denver on Friday night the Warriors were able to recover and get the 105-95 victory against the Nuggets last night. While Friday’s game featured the high-scoring, running teams putting up more than 120 points apiece, last night the pace was slowed and it was defense that allowed Golden State to come out on top. While Allen Iverson was the star on Friday night scoring 39 points in the win, he had only 13 last night on 2-12 shooting. After holding Denver to 35% shooting, the Warriors held a three point lead going into the fourth quarter. While they were able to extend it to as many as 10 in the quarter, the Nuggets cut the lead back to four but Golden State went on a 10-4 run from there to close the game out. Baron Davis played defense on Allen Iverson all night and finished with 28 points and 8 assists while Stephen Jackson had 23 points, Al Harrington added 18 and Andris Biedrins had 8 points and 14 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 26 points as Linas Klezia and JR Smith scored 15 points apiece.
Toronto 83 San Antonio 73
Without Manu Ginobili, the Spurs seemed lost on offense and after being held to 32% shooting against the Raptors on Friday night, they gave up only their second home loss this season. While the first quarter was close the Raptors led the rest of the way, going up by as many as 17 points before San Antonio rallied back to cut the lead and trailed by only three, 59-56 at the start of the fourth. In the final period the Spurs fell apart as Coach Popovich was ejected and then both Tim Duncan and Matt Bonner were tagged with technicals. Toronto took advantage of the Spurs disarray and extended their lead back into double figures with four and a half minutes to go in the game. Jason Kapano had 15 points for Toronto, Jose Calderon scored 14 and Kris Humphries had 14 points as well, going along with 11 rebounds. Michael Finley scored a game-high 20 points for the Spurs and Tim Duncan added 16 points and 12 rebounds, Tony Parker scored 15 and Matt Bonner had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Detroit 114 Indiana 101
The Detroit Pistons used a 40-point second quarter to break open their game against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. After leading by five after the first quarter, the Pistons outscored Indiana 40-22 in the second to take a 64-41 halftime lead. Their big second period was fueled by a 13-point effort in the quarter by Jarvis Hayes. Coming into the game under the weather, Hayes had his big second quarter and then was sick at halftime and did not return with the game already in hand for Detroit. Richard Hamilton had 23 points and 9 assists, Tayshaun Prince had 15 and Chauncey Billups added 14 points and 6 assists. Jermaine O’neal had 25 points for Indiana in the losing effort as Troy Murphy had 12, and Ike Digou had a 9 point, 10 rebound performance off of the bench.
New Orleans 86 Cleveland 76
While Chris Paul has been fantastic for the Hornets this season, David West has been playing great for them as well. It was a 27 point, 15 rebound performance from West on Saturday night that gave New Orleans the 86-76 victory over the Cavaliers to stretch their winning streak to five games. 20 points, 9 assists and 7 steals from Paul helped the Hornets outshine LeBron James and the Cavs. While New Orleans led 46-42 at the half, they opened the second half with a 12-0 run to gain separation from Cleveland and went on another run in the fourth that stretched their lead to 21 points as they cruised to the win. In addition to Paul and West, Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans. James led Cleveland with 21 points and 6 assists while Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Drew Gooden had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
New Jersey 97 Milwaukee 95
While the Nets came away with the 97-95 victory against Milwaukee on Saturday night it was one that they had to grind out, with neither team leading by more than six points in the contest. While New Jersey struggled early they showed up late, getting 11 fourth quarter points from Jason Kidd and big shots from Vince Carter in the final minutes of the game to hang on for the win. After giving up 35 points to Michael Redd, Kidd hit a big three-pointer with 1:33 left in the game to put New Jersey up by two points but Yi Jianlian tied the game with a jumper of his own. Carter hit a layup and Malik Allen connected on a jumper to put the Nets up by four, 92-88, with 23.1 seconds left in the game and it was enough of a lead to get them the win. Carter finished with 23 points and 7 assists for the Nets, Kidd had 17 points and 15 assists and Richard Jefferson added 19 points. In addition to Redd’s big night, Mo Williams scored 24 points before fouling out late in the game, and Yi Jianlian added 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Portland 97 Philadelphia 72
13 games, 13 victories. The Portland Trailblazers have managed to turn what had been a disappointing start to the season into a league-leading 13-game winning streak, thanks to the leadership of Brandon Roy and strong play from their core group of players. Last night it was more of the same as they took it to Philly and used a 21-0 run in the third and fourth quarters to stomp out the 76er’s hopes for a victory. While Philadelphia had gone up by as many as 11 points in the third, Portland stuck around and took control in the fourth. In that final period Philadelphia was outscored 35-9 as Travis Outlaw scored 10 of his 12 points in the quarter as Philadelphia went cold and shot only 38% for the game as compared to 47% from Portland. Brandon Roy finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, Travis Outlaw and James Jones each scored 12 points and Jarrett Jack had 11 points and 8 assists off of the bench. Andre Iguodala led the 76er’s with 24 points, Andre Miller had 17 points and 11 assists and Rodney Carney added 11.
36 Responses to “The Post Up: Lakers Fall Short.”
Dec.31 at 11:42 am
Holly MacKenzie says:
Arghhhh!! This only took about an HOUR to get up since my internet would not cooperate. Sorry guys, just one of those mornings! Probably because I was having nightmares of Sasha’s legs in those shorts all night. Slept waaaay in this morning, absolutely no recollection of shutting off the alarm (despite always having 3 set, I somehow turned them all off without remembering), then get down to work and realize the internet is wonky because of this CRAZY weather. Whatever, it’s New Years Eve! Have a great evening everyone
Dec.31 at 11:50 am
Jared says:
Holly I don’t know if that’s your subtitle or the online editor…but Lakers Fall Short is brilliant.
Dec.31 at 11:52 am
Jared says:
And as a basketball fan, it makes me happy that both the lakers and celtics look good at the same time, it’s been a while, be cool to see if they can stay this good/get better and maybe the rivalry will heat back up…
Dec.31 at 11:54 am
TADOne says:
Good morning Holly! That 35-9 4th quarter for the Blazers was just crazy. And I thought Stern put a ban on the short shorts. No more please.
Dec.31 at 11:54 am
Holly MacKenzie says:
Thanks, Jared. It has been the craziest of mornings and now I’m trying to get plans set in stone for tonight. ahhhh I hope the weather holds off for a bit! I’d love to see the rivalry too. I loved the idea of last night, but the hype of the game was to much for the Lakers, right now.
Dec.31 at 11:58 am
white hot eboy says:
How can you not feel excited for the Blazers? Holly, I got the blog message you left me a few hours to late, but for real, that idea was “short-sighted”.
Dec.31 at 11:59 am
TADOne says:
Brandon Roy needs a cover, ASAP.
Dec.31 at 12:02 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/071230_shortreaction.html if you can avoid the crotch shots of Ariza, this video is pretty funny. I’m surprised Ariza let the camera guy shoot him like that! I love Farmar’s heart and love for the game. Bynum and Vlad just crack me up. Bynum was NOT feeling the shorts, of course.
Statsboy: Blazers are just nuts. It’ll be interesting to see how they do without Nate coaching in their next game. He’s got a funeral to attend to so he’ll miss it. I just don’t want them to lose. I love seeing this streak go on, it is exciting!! And, I’m kidding about the nickname.
Dec.31 at 12:04 pm
white hot eboy says:
Statboy, or the Canadian version, Statsboy, I like it, for what it’s worth.
Dec.31 at 12:05 pm
white hot eboy says:
I’m curious how the team chemistry of the Blazers changes next season when Oden Prime is in the lineup.
Dec.31 at 12:07 pm
TADOne says:
Ahhh, the name lives…..
Dec.31 at 12:08 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
Eboy, I thought it was cool to honor the history, but it was too hyped up. I think the guys were trying to focus on the game, but there was sooo much hoopla surrounding the shorts, especially with the media and radio stations announcing it, waiting on the crowd’s reaction, trying to get a win for Phil against the Celt’s to give him more victories than Red. It was just too much. It had been planned for awhile and I didn’t think it would actually happen when I first found out. I figured they would wear them for the tribute video and that would be it, but it was cool to see a “real throwback”, just not the result I wanted. The Celtic’s are a better team than LA. Especially so when Kobe has a terrible game. I knew it, but, I was hoping on a surprise victory. KG is intense man, he HAS changed this entire attitude in Boston.
Dec.31 at 12:09 pm
TADOne says:
I’ve actually wondered the same thing Eboy. But the Pryzbilla/Frye combo averages 13 and 13 right now, numbers I’m sure Oden could average in his sleep.
Dec.31 at 12:12 pm
white hot eboy says:
I think the Celtics will continue to bang through the regular season and probably win about 65 games. I think the playoffs will be rough for them, through the East and especially the Finals, if they get there. Everyone is going to be up for them in each series and If they hit any type of injury speedbump to any of the big 3, like it’s been mentioned so often, they’ll struggle to maintain.
Dec.31 at 12:12 pm
TADOne says:
It was actually a cool tribute Holly. And imagine if KG is that intense in real life? I can imagine toothbrushes only lasting about a week in his house.
Dec.31 at 12:13 pm
white hot eboy says:
If the Blazers keep winning and somehow get a playoff spot, do they have enough to beat a top seed for more than a game in the first round? It would be great exposure for the team.
Dec.31 at 12:17 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
KG is wild. I love when he blocks shots and you can hear him screaming over the tv. Last night he was extra-amped, which was what I was worried about with the shorts, but I liked it as a tribute so I thought it was cool. When he had the blood streaming down his face you could just see him screaming at the refs, “this isnt an effing foul, this isn’t an effing foul” ahahahaha Gosh. And then when he poked Big Baby in the eye when he was trying to give him five on the bench?! PLEASE tell me someone saw that. I almost choked!
Dec.31 at 12:20 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
I don’t know about the Blazers in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back after their streak gets broken. I just love the contributions they are getting each night from different players. Everyone is working together and it is so fun to watch. a 21-0 run? That’s nuts. I like their composure and some of their more recent games that have gone down to the wire have impressed me how they’ve held on to get the win.
Dec.31 at 12:22 pm
Jared says:
13 and 13 don’t sound too far off from what the blazers are probably expecting out of oden…even tho 13 boards are a lot for a rook…
Dec.31 at 12:31 pm
TADOne says:
Blazers in the playoffs would be hard to do in the West. They certainly are giving themselves a chance at it though. It certainly helps that they play in a division that includes 2 rebuilding teams in Seattle and Minny and two bipolar teams in Utah and Denver. I think they will be in contention in March.
Dec.31 at 12:32 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/photo?slug=2628a0989710cc9ec7d8615e480100d0-getty-76076011ng011_celts_lakers&prov=getty KG’s got like superhuman blood in this picture. It looks like someone poured paint on him!
Dec.31 at 12:42 pm
TADOne says:
Wow, that pic of KG is simply amazing.
Dec.31 at 12:48 pm
white hot eboy says:
That picture makes me conjure up images of KG in the Adidas ad where he had the sword and trojan warrior garb that ran in SLAM a while ago.
Dec.31 at 12:53 pm
Jared says:
he looked like a gatorade commercial
Dec.31 at 1:13 pm
Tom says:
Holly, I saw that hi-five w/ big-baby, that was hilarious. KG was so amped it didn’t even look like he noticed, he is definitely the heart of that team, but that little run Pierce put together at the end of the 3rd was the dagger
Dec.31 at 1:15 pm
Tom says:
And even though Lakers got smoked, they were very intense, especially kobe vs. Jesus, I love watching those two go at eachother
Dec.31 at 1:15 pm
RV says:
did anyone read/hear that comment by mike miller after the Rockets beat them on Friday, he said sumn like “i know it seems unlikely know, but all we have to do is win 10 or 11 in a row and we’re right there in the playoff race”…AND he was actually serious
Dec.31 at 1:16 pm
Captain America says:
From Jailblazers to Blazers, miracles happen! KG whines like a baby girl. Elbows happen, baby. Take your $23M and deal wit it. KG was in an odd position as Bynum was returning to earth on his jump.
Dec.31 at 1:20 pm
Captain America says:
P.S. Holly, I intentionally avoid guys’ crotch shots unlike W.H.E. and da gals.
Dec.31 at 1:25 pm
Captain America says:
Travis Outlaw is now a man. A high schooler turn dynamo.
Dec.31 at 1:27 pm
Darksaber says:
Lamar tackling J-Shuttlesworth after a defensive Rebound, in front of the Celtics bench, the definition of “WTF”???! Who named Odom the Enforcer du jour? Punk move, Ray should have stomped on him with those crazy legs of his.
Dec.31 at 1:50 pm
Phil B says:
the blazers are for real. and lamar is a punk. i’ve known that for a while now.
Dec.31 at 4:09 pm
BETCATS says:
calling Lamar Odom a punk is like calling Micheal Jackson the greatest dancer ever, maybe at one point its true but now its slander and can get you put in jail.
Dec.31 at 4:09 pm
BETCATS says:
Inspector Catject strikes agian!
Dec.31 at 9:44 pm
Sesa says:
Those shorts are really terrible.
I’m truly happy that I’m not the only one who had a skinny upper body and a Beyonce’s ass
Feb.21 at 2:58 pm
H to the izzo says:
p:-)