When you are really good, you find different ways to win. That’s what a few of the league’s best (Miami, San Antonio) continued to do last night … In Milwaukee, the Heat found themselves caught up in a dogfight, getting pushed to the limit by Chris Douglas-Roberts (30 points) of all people. A scoop shot by Earl Boykins (14 points) forced overtime, and then the little guy hit a wild bank shot with 15 seconds left in the extra frame to close the Heat lead to one. But there was just too much LeBron James (26 points) who hit the free throws down the stretch to ice the win for Miami … Indiana has a solid amount of offensive talent, and when you let them hang around for too long — as San Antonio did last night — eventually they get it going. During the Spurs’ come-from-behind win, the Pacers held off every rally for most of the game, like the 10-0 one they had early in the fourth to cut into a 15-point deficit before the Pacers countered with big buckets and hustle plays from Tyler Hansbrough (23 points, 12 rebounds) … Inevitably, the Spurs tightened the defense and got back into it in the fourth quarter. Want to know the difference between average teams and great ones? Check out the last two possessions of the game. On their final possession, the Spurs went to Manu Ginobili (25 points), isolating him at the top of the key. He got to his spot driving left, drew a foul and hit the freebies for a one-point San Antonio lead. On the other end, the Pacers got it to Danny Granger. Without being able to get a good look, Granger dumped it down to Roy Hibbert in the post against Tim Duncan (15 points, 15 rebounds). Hibbert fumbled the ball, and probably nervous about a double-dribble, just threw it up at the basket. It wasn’t close and San Antonio left with a three-point win … During the midst of Hansbrough’s third career double-double, the Pacers’ commentators tried to give him a compliment but it didn’t exact come out right: “If the ball is below the rim, he’s going to get it eight out of 10 times. He has small hands and is determined to get it, to do what he has to do to get it.” … In his first return to Phoenix, Amar’e Stoudemire (21 points) and the Knicks mercilessly destroyed the Suns by 25. Raymond Felton went off for his first career triple-double: 23 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists … Very interesting tweet from Ben Maller last night: “Phil Jackson asked who Kobe is motivated to catch on scoring list: ‘Michael Jordan.’ … Bryant (25 points) passed Oscar Robertson last night into ninth place on the all-time scoring list to help the Lakers beat the Hornets, 101-97 … Elsewhere around the league, Philadelphia surprisingly ran away from Chicago and Carlos Boozer (31 points, 13 rebounds) in the third quarter and then held off the Bulls for a six-point win behind four threes and 24 points from Jodie Meeks … Washington ran away from the Nets by 20; Boston got a surprising double-double from Luke Harangody (17 points, 11 rebounds) in an unsurprising 20-point win over Toronto; Orlando overcame a slow start, as well as Kevin Martin (27 points), to beat Houston by 15; Memphis rode big nights from Rudy Gay (28 points) and Zach Randolph (26 points, 11 rebounds) in an 11-point upset of Utah; Monta Ellis (32 points, 10 assists) was huge in Golden State’s blowout of Cleveland; and Wesley Matthews went off for 36 points and seven threes in the Blazers’ 10-point win in Minnesota … With all of the talk about Star Wars being released this year on Blu Ray, Kosta Koufos was feeling pretty force-like. His new see-through face mask makes him look like Darth Koufos … We’re out like an easy win …
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