Kevin Durant drained a clutch three pointer at the end of regulation and notched a pull up jumper in overtime to give Oklahoma City a 121-118 victory over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Nothing rattles Durant. The Thunder won for the eighth consecutive time, a season best streak for Oklahoma City. The overtime defeat came in Tracy McGrady’s dazzling New York debut. T-Mac collected 26 points in 32 minutes, his highest total in over a year. The All-star’s effort wasn’t enough to prevent durable Durant from hanging 36 points. Upstart Oklahoma City improved to 32-21, while the Knicks dropped their record to 19-35.
David Lee scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Knicks’ sixth straight loss. Newly acquired Eddie House, added a season-high 24 points for the home team. McGrady banked 10 shots in a strong first quarter to match a season high for the former Houston Rocket. T-Mac made a long jumper and a three-pointer at the end of the half for a 57-52 New York advantage. He finished with 19 first half points to match his output with Houston through six games. The electrifying McGrady ran out of steam at the end of the fourth quarter for Mike D’Antoni’s club. He missed some vital free throws as he took his fatigued body to the hardwood. New York blew a six point lead late in regulation. The Thunder outscored the Knicks 8-2 in the game’s final sixty seconds. A Jeff Green three-pointer was followed by a Russell Westbrook’s layup to cut the Thunder deficit to one point with less than thirty seconds remaining. Westbrook finished with 31 points and 10 assists. The second year guard out of UCLA got the Thunder going in the second half. He helped stage an early lead for the visitors with 10 second half points. Green made 16 points and 11 boards. House bucketed a pair of free throws to give the Knicks a three point lead in the final seconds before Durant knotted the game at 105 by netting a trey.
McGrady, sporting a number 3 jersey, didn’t start the overtime session and the Knicks earned a four point edge on Lee’s tap-in with 1:35 left. Rugged backup forward, Nick Collison, tapped in Durant’s misfire with 32 seconds left and Green fired from downtown to pull the Thunder back within one. T-Mac was summoned from the bench and set up the go-ahead jumper to House with the clock reading 30.7 seconds. Durant answered the Knicks’ challenge by drilling a 3-point shot. The All-star forward curled hard and received an inbounds pass from Westbrook to tie the game. The Thunder secured the victory and completed the rally. Durant nicked his 27th consecutive game with at least 25 points. Collison took charge by setting several screens and finished with double digit points. Former Arizona State rookie, James Harden, had 14 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder sit third in the Northwest division but own the league’s current longest winning streak. Durant has proven he belongs in the upper echelon of the NBA elite.
Parting Points: Two Tiger notes-
(1)Johnny Damon is reportedly set to sign a $8 million deal with Detroit.
(2)Tiger Woods-could you have given a better effort? What does steroids have to do with cheating on your wife?
Showing posts with label Tracy McGrady. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tracy McGrady. Show all posts
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
T-Mac's Toyota Tuesday
Houston Rockets’ All-star, Tracy McGrady, saw his first action since last February when he came off the bench to score three points against the Detroit Pistons at Toyota Center Tuesday night. McGrady was sidelined last winter because of season-ending microfracture knee surgery. Houston head coach, Rick Adelman, brought his seven time All-Star into the game during the first quarter of the Rockets’ 107-96 victory. McGrady didn’t overwhelm the crowd, but made an encouraging comeback in front of the adoring Houston fans. T-Mac clocked just under eight minutes as his team rolled through one of their best offensive showings of the season. The Rockets shot a season high 54.7 percent and did so without star G/F, Trevor Ariza. Ariza was serving a one game suspension for throwing a forearm at Raptors guard, DeMar De Rozan on Sunday. Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks lead the way for Houston, while snapping the Pistons’ five game winning streak.
Brooks and Scola scored 23 points apiece and got better looks and ball movement throughout the game. Carl Landry hit seven free throws and threw up 19 points in cooking the Pistons. Scola topped his season-high in points while going 10-of-16 and being the most dominant player in the opening quarter. Brooks bucketed 20 or more points for his sixth time in eight games, and picked up 10 assists. McGrady was brought in to help stop one of the league’s best offensive rebounding teams. He snagged three rebounds and hit a line drive three pointer with 1:33 left before his floor time was over. T-Mac missed his first shot attempt, a 20 foot flip. McGrady sat out the remainder of the game following his season debut in the first quarter. Former Arizona shooter, rookie Chase Budinger, sparked the defense with 12 rebounds in 40 minutes. The second round draft pick was sharp in his first career start in place of Ariza.
Houston continued to look smooth on offense after McGrady’s departure. Their ball handling was efficient even after the ten point first quarter advantage where the Rockets shot 67% from the field. The free throw shooting overpowered Detroit and propelled Houston to their high victory margin. The Pistons shot just 43% from the floor in a poor defensive effort. The Rockets capitalized on the lax defense during an 11-0 run to reverse Detroit’s lead into a Houston 22-15 edge in the first half. They stretched the lead to 15 early in the second quarter. The Rockets headed to the locker room on the up side of a 56-47 score. The Pistons got off to a slow start. Rodney Stuckey was especially atrocious early in the contest. Stuckey missed nine of his first ten shots before recovering to total 17 points for the struggling Pistons. The amount was still lower than Stuckey’s average 23 points per game. Richard Hamilton chipped in 21 points, including seven of his first eight of the night. It was Rip’s second game back after an ankle sprain. The Rockets were successful in neutralizing Hamilton in the second half. The Pistons closed the gap to eight at the end of the third quarter. Houston dished out 23 assists during the first three quarters to climb to double-digit leads throughout most of the game. Budinger drained a pair of jumpers to extend the Rockets’ lead in the fourth to 81-68. The rookie drove hard to the hoop and picked up an incredible alley-oop shot. The Pistons showcased one of their own rookies when DaJuan Summers knocked down a three and finished with six points in nine minutes. Detroit’s west woes were highlighted by 44 rebounds to match Houston’s total. The Pistons were playing without two key players. Will Bynum and Ben Gordon were out with injuries for 11-13 Detroit. Charlie Villanueva looked sloppy missing a fourth quarter dunk, but finished with 16 points, including a pair from downtown. Jonas Jerebko, the Swedish-born rookie forward, added 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in the loss. Overall, it was a step in the right direction for Houston. They saw their 12 year veteran player return to the court and competed studiously to cement their 14th win. The Rockets take on Denver this evening looking for win number 15.
Parting Points: The LA Kings are playing some stimulating hockey. They’re in first place out West for the first time since 1992.
Brooks and Scola scored 23 points apiece and got better looks and ball movement throughout the game. Carl Landry hit seven free throws and threw up 19 points in cooking the Pistons. Scola topped his season-high in points while going 10-of-16 and being the most dominant player in the opening quarter. Brooks bucketed 20 or more points for his sixth time in eight games, and picked up 10 assists. McGrady was brought in to help stop one of the league’s best offensive rebounding teams. He snagged three rebounds and hit a line drive three pointer with 1:33 left before his floor time was over. T-Mac missed his first shot attempt, a 20 foot flip. McGrady sat out the remainder of the game following his season debut in the first quarter. Former Arizona shooter, rookie Chase Budinger, sparked the defense with 12 rebounds in 40 minutes. The second round draft pick was sharp in his first career start in place of Ariza.
Houston continued to look smooth on offense after McGrady’s departure. Their ball handling was efficient even after the ten point first quarter advantage where the Rockets shot 67% from the field. The free throw shooting overpowered Detroit and propelled Houston to their high victory margin. The Pistons shot just 43% from the floor in a poor defensive effort. The Rockets capitalized on the lax defense during an 11-0 run to reverse Detroit’s lead into a Houston 22-15 edge in the first half. They stretched the lead to 15 early in the second quarter. The Rockets headed to the locker room on the up side of a 56-47 score. The Pistons got off to a slow start. Rodney Stuckey was especially atrocious early in the contest. Stuckey missed nine of his first ten shots before recovering to total 17 points for the struggling Pistons. The amount was still lower than Stuckey’s average 23 points per game. Richard Hamilton chipped in 21 points, including seven of his first eight of the night. It was Rip’s second game back after an ankle sprain. The Rockets were successful in neutralizing Hamilton in the second half. The Pistons closed the gap to eight at the end of the third quarter. Houston dished out 23 assists during the first three quarters to climb to double-digit leads throughout most of the game. Budinger drained a pair of jumpers to extend the Rockets’ lead in the fourth to 81-68. The rookie drove hard to the hoop and picked up an incredible alley-oop shot. The Pistons showcased one of their own rookies when DaJuan Summers knocked down a three and finished with six points in nine minutes. Detroit’s west woes were highlighted by 44 rebounds to match Houston’s total. The Pistons were playing without two key players. Will Bynum and Ben Gordon were out with injuries for 11-13 Detroit. Charlie Villanueva looked sloppy missing a fourth quarter dunk, but finished with 16 points, including a pair from downtown. Jonas Jerebko, the Swedish-born rookie forward, added 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in the loss. Overall, it was a step in the right direction for Houston. They saw their 12 year veteran player return to the court and competed studiously to cement their 14th win. The Rockets take on Denver this evening looking for win number 15.
Parting Points: The LA Kings are playing some stimulating hockey. They’re in first place out West for the first time since 1992.
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