One by one, the Thunder's streaks have both been stopped. On Tuesday, their 9-game winning streak was brought to an end at the hands of the Suns (without Steve Nash) after a last second floater by Jason Richardson. Jeff Green nearly hit a desparation three with under a second remaining, but it just missed.
And last night, Kevin Durant's streak of scoring at least 25 points or more was ended at 29 games in a 95-87 loss to the Spurs. Durant appeared to be on track to keep his streak alive as he finished the half with 17 points, but in the second half the Spurs held him to just 4 points.
Despite not reaching 30 games of 25 points or more, KD's streak puts him in good company. Allen Iverson (ok, maybe A.I.'s not the best of company) had a streak of 27 games with 25 points or more, while Jordan managed two 40 game streaks in his career.
I have a feeling KD's name will end up near the top of that list again.
To add insult to injury, with just under three minutes left and the Spurs up by one, Manu Ginobli somehow managed to do this:
After watching most of the Heat's brutal blowout loss to the Grizzlies, I couldn't bring myself to watch the Heat vs. Raptors game last night. Thankfully, they turned things around against the Raptors with a blow out win of their own and Michael Beasley had a huge game, tying his career high with 28 points (he hasn't scored 30 yet, seriously?!?) and pulling down 11 rebounds. The above sequence is encouraging and I hope to see more of this from Mike.
After watching the Nuggets first two games against Western Conference threats the Jazz and Blazers, this team seems poised for a big season. The division rival Trail Blazers nearly closed the game out, but Carmelo Anthony's offensive attack proved to be too much as he scored 19 of his 41 points in the 4th quarter. 'Melo was excellent, consistently banging bodies in the paint for points. Chauncey Billups had another strong game with 22 points and 6 assists. I do have to question Chauncey's shot selection, who shot just 5-14 from the field. He has proven in the past to be one of the best pull-up jump shooters in transition, but he wasted several possessions on quick shots. Rookie point guard Ty Lawson saw less action tonight, as he struggled on defense against Rudy Fernandez, which landed him on the bench. No one else had big games for the Nuggets, but everyone showed up when needed, particularly Nenê who had a huge play in the closing moments. After getting an offensive board, he put up a miss, hustled after his own rebound, and made a nice hook shot over Greg Oden. But it was ultimately 'Melo, who got them the W on the road. One last thought before I move on to the Blazers. It will be big for Denver when J.R. Smith returns from his suspension, so that George Karl can stop playing two point guards at the same time. Plus, J.R. Smith = buckets… sometimes.
The Blazers struggled from the field, shooting just 34%. Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez was the only Blazer to have an all-around good game posting 22 points on 6-9 shooting. He was also perfect from the line on all 8 shots. Brandon Roy managed to score 30 points by getting to the line 18 times. Despite poor shooting, Roy did have some great plays including a buzzer beating three-point bank shot to close the 3rd quarter. Martel Webster started out strong with some big plays, but would finish with only 10 points. Portland's going to need their young big men Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge to step up if they want to take that next step into the Western Conference elite. I still think they're a few years and possibly a few roster adjustments away from being true contenders.
Bulls 92, Spurs 85
I hardly watched any of this game, but this block on Richard Jefferson by Derrick Rose is worth a look. This kid has serious ups. Rose had a highlight worthy offensive play too, but it hasn't made it's way to youtube yet.
LeBron had two amazing blocks last night chasing down Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen on fastbreaks that would typically result in a foul or an uncontested dunk/layup. I think it's safe to say Rondo is getting sick of these blocks. LeBron's timing coming down the floor is simply astounding and the fact that he manages to avoid fouling on both of these plays is something to appreciate as well. The extra effort to get the posession back on both plays is incredible, too. This is most notable on the Rondo block, as LeBron hits the ball twice against the glass in mid-air in an attempt to knock the ball back to himself or a teammate. I can't remember if the Cavs actually did get it back, but the effort is clearly there. Players have to take notice of these blocks and use the rim to shield themselves with a reverse dunk or layup when they're playing the Cavs. Even if they don't feel him breathing down their neck on the fastbreak, it's probably still a good idea just to be safe.
One by one, the Thunder's streaks have both been stopped. On Tuesday, their 9-game winning streak was brought to an end at the hands of the Suns (without Steve Nash) after a last second floater by Jason Richardson. Jeff Green nearly hit a desparation three with under a second remaining, but it just missed.
