McGrady stuck it to Orlando again…

In the interest of keeping it interesting, props to Ben Wallace for playing the villain yesterday. In his first game back in Detroit playing with the Bulls, Big Ben got a boo/cheer combo during introductions, then during the game was getting mostly booed whenever he had the ball. So Ben was playing into it, waving his arms and pumping the crowd up to keep it coming. He ended up with 6 points, 8 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a Chicago loss … With the score tied in the final seconds, Chauncey Billups missed a pull-up J, but Chris Webber (21 pts, 9 rebs) got away with a push-off on P.J. Brown (19 pts, 12 rebs, 4 blks) and put back the miss for the go-ahead bucket. Ben Gordon then had a good look at a trey at the buzzer - getting away with his own push-off against Lindsey Hunter - but didn’t get the shooter’s bounce … Detroit was down by 16 in the third, but Jason Maxiell’s energy play helped sparked the run that got them back in it. Max came in after Rasheed left with an ankle injury … According to sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, it was “important to know that Dwyane Wade is not in the building” for Heat/Cavs yesterday. OK, thanks for that. Without D-Wade, the Heat still pulled out the win, getting 19 points and 11 bounds from Shaq and a few turn-back-the-clock plays from Gary Payton. In the first quarter, GP was leading a fast break, spun at midcourt and hit ‘Toine with a nice pass for an and-one layup. On Miami’s next possession GP fired another nice one to Dorrell Wright for a layup to give Miami the lead. In the third, Payton (4 pts, 6 asts) hit a one-hand floater that went high off the glass over two guys, then on the next trip, hit a runner with three seconds left on the clock … The Cavs had no offense, everyone except for LeBron (29 pts, 7 asts) played badly, and Cleveland looked ugly rocking those bright orange unis on Miami’s already bright yellow and red court … Tracy McGrady had his own Ben Wallace moment, returning to Orlando (where he still gets booed) and dropping 34 on the Magic in a win … And Ron Artest could have had a similar experience coming back to Indiana, but didn’t play due to personal reasons. Without Ron-Ron, the Kings still pieced the Pacers. At one point, Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin scored 33 straight points for Sacto. Martin finished with 35 and a Flash-like 23 trips to the stripe … Did you see that block by Jermaine O’Neal on K-Mart II? The Kings basically had a 3-on-1 with J.O. as the only guy back for Indiana. Martin caught it on the wing and went in for a dunk, and as he was on the way down, J.O. got him with the left hand for the stuff. In fact, all of Jermaine’s 6 rejections were with his left hand … Watching Kings/Pacers in HD really called attention to the fact that John Salmons needs to do something about that facial hair. He looks like he’s auditioning for a role in the Earl Monroe biopic … Amare gave the Hawks 43 points, 16 boards, 6 dimes and 3 blocks, and dunked on Josh Smith so hard one time that J-Smoove hit the deck. Atlanta actually had the lead for a minute in the fourth, but Phoenix got it together and got the W … Wild game if you happened to catch it. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith hooked up for an alley oop literally five seconds into the game, Marvin Williams hit a buzzer-beater from behind the backboard (a la Larry Bird), and Steve Nash had his contractually-obligated ridiculous layup and pass (between his legs to Matrix) … Anthony Johnson put up 17 points and 5 dimes in his first game with ATL … Gilbert Arenas was atrocious in a loss to Minnesota last night, going 4-for-22 from the field (1-for-11 from three) and finishing with 20 points. Gil was being guarded most of the night by Ricky Davis, with Randy Foye and Mike James chipping in here and there … It wasn’t close, but Lakers/Warriors was at least the best-looking game of the day. Golden State was rocking the yellow “The City” unis, while L.A. wore the Sunday whites. Kobe and Mo Evans scored 26 apiece in a Lakers rout … Vince Carter gave the Knicks 40, including one sick finger roll from kinda deep … The big college game of the day saw No. 1 (or No. 2, depending on which poll you’re looking at) Ohio State going up against Wisconsin (No. 1 or 2) in Columbus. As expected, it was a defensive game, with OSU getting the 49-48 win after Mike Conley Jr. hit a runner in the lane with 3.9 ticks left and then Ron Lewis made a left-handed falling-backwards block on Kammron Taylor at the buzzer to preserve the win. Greg Oden had 11 points, 5 boards and 4 blocks, while UW star Alando Tucker had 12 points and 8 boards … At one point, Buckeyes coach Thad Matta was yelling and his gum slipped out of his mouth. Utilizing the 5-second rule, Thad quickly made the pick-up and put the gum back in … Maryland upset No. 5 North Carolina, coming back from a 12-point hole with seven minutes left. D.J. Strawberry scored 27 for the Terrapins … The ‘07 McDonald’s All-American rosters were released, highlighted by Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley … We’re out like Gilbert’s shot …