Photo. Mannion

Yesterday we took every game on the NBA schedule and put a spotlight on one standout matchup. Before going into how those head-to-head meetings turned out, let’s look at the key matchups for tonight’s games:

Spurs @ Heat: Bruce Bowen vs. Dwyane Wade — The only way Miami stands a chance is if D-Wade can shake free of Bowen long enough to score a LOT of points. As Kobe can attest from last night, that’s not an easy thing to do. It’s going to be physical between these two, but Bowen needs to be wary of not getting into foul trouble, because we all know how Flash lives at the line; his 9.9 free throw attempts per game is tied for third-highest in the League.

Pacers @ Bucks: Jeff Foster vs. Andrew Bogut — Right around the time Andrew Bynum was making Milwaukee look bad for taking Bogut #1 overall in the ‘05 Draft, Bogut went on a tear and hasn’t let up since. He’s dropping 20 and 10 seemingly every night and looking like a future All-Star. Filling in for the injured Jermaine O’Neal, Foster doesn’t have to worry about scoring, only about keeping Bogut in check.

Nets @ Warriors: Jason Kidd vs. Baron Davis — Just as Coach Baron can easily drop 30-40 points on any given night, he can also go 2-for-15 with a gang of turnovers. Kidd, meanwhile, is almost a lock to get his standard triple-double-ish numbers. The Nets are playing as badly as any team in the League right now, and Boom Dizzle is the type of player who will put the nail in that coffin if you let him.

WEDNESDAY’S MATCHUPS

Pistons 86, Sixers 78: Rip Hamilton (21 pts) vs. Willie Green (16 pts) — It was a rough night for Willie, as Rip and Chauncey took turns giving him a faceful of jumpers.

Mavericks 102, Bobcats 95: Josh Howard (21 pts, 12 rebs) vs. Gerald Wallace (22 pts, 11 rebs, 3 stls) — These two are usually X-factors, but it was Dallas’ bench that made the difference. Charlotte’s reserves had no one to match Jason Terry’s production.

Cavaliers 121, Wizards 85: LeBron James (23 pts, 8 rebs, 8 asts) vs. Caron Butler (10 pts, 5 rebs) — No one on the Wizards had it last night, and Caron was no exception.

Raptors 114, Celtics 112: Chris Bosh (23 pts, 7 rebs) vs. Kevin Garnett (26 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts) — These two did their thing, but the game hinged on Toronto’s scorching three-point shooting and the play of Jose Calderon.

Magic 112, Grizzlies 85: Rashard Lewis (16 pts, 6 rebs) vs. Rudy Gay (20 pts, 8 rebs) — Rashard didn’t have to do anything in this rout. Rudy couldn’t do much of anything to prevent it.

Hornets 96, Trail Blazers 81: David West (22 pts, 5 rebs) vs. LaMarcus Aldridge (17 pts, 8 rebs) — LaMarcus did what he was supposed to do in helping keep West from feasting on the boards. But he couldn’t do anything about N.O.’s shooters raining from the outside. West’s team got the W and West got a nasty cram on Joel Przybilla.

Timberwolves 117, Suns 107: Sebastian Telfair (13 pts, 8 asts, 3 stls) vs. Steve Nash (21 pts, 16 asts) — We said Bassy could be in line for a decent outing against Nash, but we didn’t see that one coming. Don’t write the kid off yet.

Bulls 108, Pacers 95: Luol Deng (DNP) vs. Danny Granger (33 pts, 7 rebs) — Hours before the game, news broke that Deng will be shut down indefinitely due to his sore Achilles.

Spurs 103, Lakers 91: Manu Ginobili (12 pts, 6 rebs, 8 stls) vs. Kobe Bryant (29 pts, 12 rebs) — Manu couldn’t shoot straight and Kobe couldn’t hang on to the ball (9 turnovers), but Manu made plays when it mattered most.

Nuggets 107, Hawks 100: Linas Kleiza (23 pts, 5 rebs) vs. Josh Smith (22 pts, 12 rebs, 10 asts, 5 blks, 3 stls) — What else could J-Smoove have done? Linas filled in admirably for the injured ‘Melo. Josh got Linas with one of his specialty come-from-behind rejections, but Linas got him back when he dunked on Josh despite Josh getting a lot of ball in mid-air.

Rockets 109, Sonics 107: Tracy McGrady (28 pts, 5 asts) vs. Kevin Durant (25 pts) — In the final minute, T-Mac hit the go-ahead bucket and assisted Skip on a huge three-pointer. Durant had a clutch bucket on T-Mac during that span, but then he missed a potential game-winner.

Clippers 111, Kings 85: Chris Kaman (20 pts, 21 rebs) vs. Brad Miller (15 pts, 12 rebs, 5 asts, 3 stls) — Monster night for Kaman in a surprisingly easy L.A. win, his third 20-20 game of the season and fifth 20-rebound outing.