GAME OF THE NIGHT -- BLAZERS 129, SPURS 119 (3OT)
: You just have to love it when Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge play against each other. Even when Aldridge was still finding himself as a young player, he gave Duncan problems with that turnaround jumper. These are two of the best bigs on the planet, and they were both excellent on Friday. That was the story until late in the game, when Damian Lillard went completely bonkers. He wound up with a career-high 43 points in 53 minutes. (Duncan and Aldridge had 32 apiece.)
Late in the fourth, after Lillard and Danny Green had traded buckets, Lillard drove and went for a huge jam over Duncan. It didn't quite work, and Green made the Blazers pay.
On the next possession, Lillard and Green were matched up. The point guard took him to the hole and tied things up.
With 1.4 seconds left, Green couldn't get himself free for the potential game-winner. Lillard, naturally, was the man who blocked his attempt at the buzzer.
In the first OT, San Antonio took a six-point lead. In the second OT, same thing. Both times, obviously, Portland came back, and it was mostly Lillard's doing. Here he is forcing the second OT:
And here's a vicious dunk when the Blazers absolutely needed a bucket:
Finally, a sweet layup in the third overtime period.
A pair Lillard jumpers later, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich pulled his starters. What an incredible effort.
WHEEEEE
: An early Lillard jumper took its sweet time to drop.
ROBIN LOPEZ'S WAR ON MASCOTS CONTINUES
: The injured Blazers center got into it with the Coyote. Of course he did.
YAM OF THE NIGHT: James Johnson annihilated Andre Drummond. It was so vicious that it was almost disrespectful. The Raptors bench enjoyed it quite a bit, too.
OK, NO, THIS WAS DISRESPECTFUL
: When Drummond decided to give Johnson a cheap shot on the very next Raptors possession, did he realize he was messing with an actual MMA fighter whose parents both have black belts? Johnson's not nicknamed "Bloodsport" for nothing. Anyway, I'm generally a Drummond fan, but this was weak.
Though not ejected, Drummond was subbed out afterward. The Raptors cruised to an easy 110-100 win, and the loud-as-hell Toronto fans who made the trip to Detroit really made it seem like a road game for the Pistons. Let's check in with Johnson after the game, via TSN's Josh Lewenberg:
James Johnson on his dunk over Drummond: "That was nasty, right? I cocked that joint back and banged on him."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) December 20, 2014
James Johnson: "Man, I thought Detroit was hosting a Toronto Raptors' night."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) December 20, 2014
SVG IS HAVING SO MUCH FUN: I hope somebody is compiling all of Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy's post-loss quotes this season.
Nice to have Stan back. “The overall story of the game was not hard to explain. We had absolutely no defensive will or resolve whatsoever."
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) December 20, 2014
MT. VALANCIUNAS: Every shot-blocking center should do the finger wag. Every one of them.
WARNING: Do not watch the following Vine if you are squeamish. Landry Fields took a horrible, horrible fall and was bleeding from the back of the head afterward. He received eight stitches to the head, and, thankfully, passed the NBA's concussion protocol.
JUST ACCEPT IT, YOU'RE A STAR: Jimmy Butler insists on calling himself a good role player on a great team, refusing to acknowledge the fact that he has evolved into a legitimate NBA star this season. He scored 31 points on 11-for-21 shooting and made all nine of his free throw attempts in Chicago's impressive, shorthanded (Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson were out) win over the Grizzlies. The fact that he's able to do this kind of stuff while playing perimeter defense as well as anyone in the NBA is astounding.
NON-ASSIST OF THE NIGHT: Carlos Boozer passed to Andre Roberson near the end of the third quarter. Roberson then found a wide-open Anthony Morrow for a big 3-pointer. The only problem: Carlos Boozer plays for the Lakers, while Roberson and Morrow play for the Thunder.
BLOCK OF THE NIGHT: That silly turnover might have been Boozer's second-most embarrassing moment of the game. Here's his misguided attempt to dunk on Serge Ibaka, who had a message for Boozer after the rejection.
ANGRY AND SWAGGY P: Nick Young is not a card-carrying member of the Steven Adams fanclub, it would seem. It didn't take much for Swaggy P to lash out at Adams violently and get himself thrown out of the game.
A FUN HYPOTHETICAL: So, you're the Lakers. You're down 104-103 with 6.3 seconds left. Kobe Bryant is shooting 3-for-14 and has nine points. Do you a) ISO Kobe anyway, or b) do something else?
Wait, this is a dumb hypothetical. You already know what the Lakers did.
It was a great look for Bryant, honestly, but it's just kind of a bummer that everybody knew exactly what would happen. Los Angeles generally played well offensively against the Kevin Durant-less Thunder, and while it had no answer for Russell Westbrook (31 points, and he made all 13 of his free throw attempts), it had a legitimate chance to steal a win. Welp.
THIS IS HOW YOU POST UP: Justin Hamilton had absolutely no chance against Nene and his baseline spin. Nene finished with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting, by the way.
MORAL VICTORY: The Heat are without Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts, and they're likely going to struggle for the next little while. They really competed against the Wizards, though, and lost by just two points, 105-103. Wade had 28 and eight assists, but the effort from the bench was surprising. Udonis Haslem and Hassan Whiteside scored a combined 17 points on 8-for-8 shooting, and it's a terrible shame that Miami wasted that.
THANK YOU, FLORIDA: The Utah Jazz have won two games in a row for the first time since February. Yes, that's a real stat. They beat the Heat on Wednesday and then earned a 101-94 victory over Orlando. The final score doesn't really reflect how thoroughly the Jazz outplayed the Magic, though -- they took a big early lead and extended it after halftime before Orlando made a run at the end. Derrick Favors had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Gordon Hayward had 20 and six assists. Despite the 8-19 record, it is easy to get excited about Utah's roster and the future of the franchise.
THANK YOU, FLO RIDA: Flo Rida attended the Heat-Wizards game. We just thought you should know.
BE LIKE MIKE: The Cavs replaced Shawn Marion in the starting lineup with Mike Miller, and Miller responded in a huge way. He hit seven of his eight 3-point attempts against Brooklyn, and his 21 points (if you assumed he shot no 2s or free throws, you were correct) were more than any Cavaliers not named LeBron James. LeBron had 22. Cleveland didn't play particularly well, but it was enough to beat the Nets 95-91.
BLOCK OF THE NIGHT RUNNER UP: Mason Plumlee got Kyrie Irving pretty good.
THE SIXERS ARE A GIFT
: To struggling teams, I mean. It was like Christmas came early for Charlotte, as Philadelphia welcomed the Hornets into the Wells Fargo Center and gave up 37 points in the first quarter. Kemba Walker had 30 points, he's averaging 27 points per game on 52 percent shooting in the last three games.
THE POST-RONDO ERA STARTED WELL: All five Boston starters reached double figures, and Kelly Olynyk (who is having a hell of a week) put in a team-high 21 points off the bench in the Celtics' 114-98 win over the hapless Timberwolves.
OLYNYK DOES A RONDO IMPRESSION : Tommy Heinsohn had the call of the night on Olynyk's half-court alley-oop pass to Brandon Bass.
T PARTY : Things got technical during the fourth quarter of Clippers-Nuggets. Take it away, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register:
Faried fouled DeAndre Jordan high -- Jordan didn't like the foul and said something to the refs and was called for a T.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) December 20, 2014
Now, Doc Rivers with a T. And Hedo with one too.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) December 20, 2014
You get a T. And you get a T. And you get a T. And you get a T.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) December 20, 2014
And Faried with a T.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) December 20, 2014
Maybe there's only been 5 techs in the fourth quarter. Feels like 50.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) December 20, 2014
IS IT TIME TO START WORRYING ABOUT THE CLIPS' DEFENSE AGAIN?: After a terrific third quarter, Los Angeles allowed Denver to score 38 points in the fourth. It was tied 93-93 late, and then the Nuggets scored on six straight possessions. That was the difference.
THE CLIPS STILL HAD A CHANCE, THOUGH: OK, more like three chances. Three chances! It wasn't to be.
