Happy Monday!
This week on the show we look at a tumultuous week of CBA talks between the NHL & the NHLPA, and we recap the latest UFC event and look forward to some big potential fights for 2013.
In the GABBYs: The OKC Barons, Kobe Bryant, Leo Messi, the UFC, Manny Pacquiao & the LA Lakers. The Punchline this week is the New Orleans Hornets.
The Toronto Raptors lost a devastating basketball game Monday night at the Air Canada Centre.
Despite having a 97-86 lead with seven minutes remaining, the Raptors lost 140-133 in triple overtime to the Utah Jazz.
Jazz center Al Jefferson made a three point shot with two seconds remaining in regulation to give Utah the 104-104 tie. Don’t criticize Raptors’ coach Dwane Casey too much though for leaving Jefferson open. Jefferson only made one shot from beyond the arc in 61 games last season.
In the first overtime, Jefferson made a huge shot to tie the score at 115, and then in the second overtime, John Lucas tied the score at 125 with a brilliant three point shot of his own.
Joe Johnson (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
The 2012-13 NBA season starts Tuesday. Yes, I know the Los Angeles Lakers now have Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, the Miami Heat have Ray Allen and the Toronto Raptors have Kyle Lowry and Landry Fields, but I think it is time to look at other significant off-season moves in the offseason.
The Dallas Mavericks have changed their roster significantly, and got younger in the process. In are German center Chris Kaman (from New Orleans), shooting guard O.J. Mayo (from Memphis) and point guard Darren Collison (from Indiana). All three averaged in double digits in scoring. Out meanwhile are Jason Kidd (New York) and Jason Terry (Boston).
Another team that has a completely different look are the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are gambling on Russian forward Andrei Kirilenko from Utah (11.7 ppg) and Brandon Roy from Portland who is coming out of retirement at the age of 28.
I am a little mad at myself today. I thought when the Memphis Grizzlies had a 21 point lead in the third quarter Sunday night that game one of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal was over.
I recorded Harry’s Law, the season finale of The Good Wife and Law & Order, and watched those programs instead of a basketball game that was all but over.
Well, I guess it wasn’t over. The Grizzlies actually extended their lead to 27 points before blowing it. In one of the greatest collapses of all-time, the Grizzlies gave up 26 of 27 points in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies actually had a fourth quarter lead of 95-71 with 9:12 left before the Clippers went on an improbable 26-1 run to take a 97-96 lead. Were these the Memphis Grizzlies or Vancouver Grizzlies?
The teams exchanged baskets before the Clippers pulled our a 99-98 win. Nick Young led the way with 19 points coming off the bench.
In other action, Andrew Bynum tied an NBA record for most blocks in a game with 10 as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 103-88 in game one of the Western Conference Quarterfinal. Other players to have recorded 10 blocks in a playoff game are Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets and Mark Eaton of the Utah Jazz.
Steve Nash (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
The magic of Steve Nash continues.
The greatest Canadian basketball player ever had another magical game last night as he scored 30 points and 10 assists in Phoenix’s 120-103 win over the New Orleans Hornets.
At age 37, Nash became the oldest player in NBA history to record a 30/10 double double. Nash also became the Suns all-time leader in assists with 6,522. Kevin Johnson had the old record with 6,518.
If you combine Nash’s 6522 assists with Phoenix and his 2889 career assists with the Dallas Mavericks from 1998-2004, Nash has a career total of 9441 assists. Nash is sixth all-time behind John Stockton of the Utah Jazz, Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Jackson of the New York Knicks, Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers and Oscar Robertson of the Cincinnati Royals.
Unfortunately though at 8-13 it is unlikely the Suns will make the postseason this year, meaning Nash will need to play elsewhere to have a chance at winning his first Championship.
The Boston Celtics have got off to a slow start this season, but might have turned things around Thursday night in Orlando with an unbelievable comeback for the ages.
With 3:11 left in the second quarter, the Celtics trailed the Orlando Magic by a score of 52-25, and then made a remarkable comeback, outscoring Orlando 27-8 in the fourth quarter alone en route to a 91-83 victory.
With the win, the Celtics improve to 8-9 on the season and the Magic fell to 12-6.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 24 points and 10 assists. It has been interesting because Pierce has been the Celtic most talked about in trade rumors as of late as rumors swarm that Celtics management will break up their big three.
The greatest comeback in NBA history came by the Utah Jazz against the Denver Nuggets on November 27, 1996. The Jazz were down by 36 points in the third quarter before coming back to win 107-103.
Jose Calderon (Bree Bailey, Wikimedia Commons)
The Toronto Raptors may not look back at the 2012 NBA season with fond memories. They are currently 6-13, and the likelihood of them making a run at contending for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference is small.
But over the last two nights, they have shown some great signs of greatness, resiliency and maturity for a young team learning how to win. For the first time in 14 games they won in Phoenix and then, for the first time in 14 games, they won in Utah.
On Tuesday night, Andrea Bargnani scored 36 points as the Raptors came back from a 14 point deficit to beat the Suns 99-96. The Raptors snapped an eight game losing streak and Bargnani returned for the first time in seven games after injuring his calf.
On Wednesday night, the Raptors beat the Jazz in double overtime by a score of 111-106. Linas Kleiza scored 25 points and Jose Calderon came up huge with two key three-pointers. But with the win, came a huge blow as it appeared that Bargnani reinjured his calf.
Toronto continues their western road trip Friday in Denver.
Loading ...
|
Edmonton Sports Blog – Any Sport Any Time is proudly powered by
WordPress
|
 |
