The Lakers Win With A Dominating Duo; Dwight Howard Creates A Mess In Orlando

David Stern, if you’re reading, please give us seven more games of this. Lakers. Grizzlies. In one of those back-n-forth games that causes your life to stop in its tracks for like 45 minutes, the Lakers rode Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum to a double-OT 116-111 W in Memphis. Down the stretch, Bryant (34 points) was either making perfect decisions with the ball or Bynum (37 points, 16 rebounds, three missed shots) was powering it through the rim, all while the Grizzlies resorted to chucking up threes (We’re looking at you, Juice) at a rate not seen since J.R. Smith was sampling Chinese food … The Grizzlies had their chances, leading for pretty much the entire second half. But Marc Gasol (20 points, 11 rebounds) was downright awful in the fourth quarter (his bro was probably even worse) and Mike Conley missed a three at the regulation buzzer … Congrats to Derek Fisher for scoring his 10,000th career NBA point in his 57th season … Zaza Pachulia might not want to go back to Atlanta. He might not make it out alive after blowing a point-blank layup in Denver’s incredible 118-117 finish over the Hawks. Down six in regulation, Denver scored three buckets in a row all at the rim with Atlanta needing just one stop to basically ice the game. And just when we thought we were looking at another typical ATL loss, Josh Smith (33 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists) caught it in the post and worked Nene (22 points) so badly we thought the Brazilian might be told to turn in his sneakers and take his leave. Smith’s spin move left Nene’s feet in concrete and the Denver announcers shaking their heads. From there, Ty Lawson (21 points) missed an easy layup. Over right? Nope. Danilo Gallinari made an impossible corner three to go up one, and eventually help push it to the extra frame. The Hawks and Joe Johnson (34 points) took control from there. But eventually, the Nuggets came back and Nene hit two free throws with 26.6 seconds left in overtime to put the Nuggets up one, setting up Pachulia’s game-deciding blown layup, the worst move made by a Zaza since Joey Zasa backstabbed Michael Corleone … Golden State ran all over Sacramento, 115-89. But the real story was the star who wasn’t around. The Warriors have traded Monta Ellis, along with Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown, to the Bucks for the injured Andrew Bogut and the pissed-off Stephen Jackson. This will create Scott Skiles‘ worst nightmare: Ellis and Brandon Jennings together in one backcourt … With President Obama in the house, Western Kentucky hit Mississippi Valley St. with a 15-0 second half run to win 59-58, and now they move on to play the No. 1 overall seed. This team has a losing record by the way. They might lose by 100 against Kentucky … And Iona fell off Ja Rule-style in the second half of their six-point loss to BYU. Check out these numbers: Iona scored 55 even before halftime. In the second half, the Gaels went for just 17 … Keep reading to hear about a couple more epic collapses …

No one really knows what Dwight Howard wants anymore after telling reporters he wants to finish out the year in Orlando. It’s going to get REALLY ugly (considering we all know he actually plans on leaving this summer). But hopefully he can keep throwing up 24/25 games against Eastern contenders as he did yesterday in the Magic’s crazy 104-98 come-from-behind overtime victory against the Heat. That’s now three straight for Orlando, against Miami, Chicago and Indiana … In the first half, Miami went on a 14-0 run. They were out and running while Orlando jogged, and the game felt like a sure blowout. But even Dwyane Wade‘s (28 points) theatrics couldn’t hold off Orlando at the end … Yet neither Atlanta nor Miami had the biggest collapse of the night. That award goes to Oklahoma City, who blew a seven-point lead with a little over two minutes left at home to Houston, 104-103. Russell Westbrook did everything down the stretch from turnovers to a technical to trying to fight Goran Dragic. And on the game’s final possession after Courtney Lee‘s (21 points) triple put the Rockets up (completing a 13-1 run), they went to KD (28 points, 12 rebounds), who nearly lost it and then threw up a Kobe special – a “hero” shot. The rebound came to Serge Ibaka who couldn’t quite get it to drop from point-blank range … Jerryd Bayless chipped in 20 points and seven dimes as Toronto put an end to Cleveland’s lil’ run of relevance, 96-88 … Dirk scored 27 while Washington did what they do best: lose, this time by nine to Dallas. The Wizards’ one shining moment came from Nick Young, who sent Ian Mahinmi back to France with a vicious facial … And when was the last time you saw a team throwing a season harder than the Blazers? So much talent and yet they’re in danger of falling way behind Houston, a team that would probably trade its entire rotation for Portland’s top three players. LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum might feel better if someone actually told them they were going to have to play two-on-five. Indiana ran all over Portland last night, 92-75, as Lou Amundson (21 points, eight rebounds) was somehow the best player on the floor … Syracuse was already being hyped as a No. 1 seed bound to lose early. Taking a cue from our man Doug Gottlieb, there was a whole bandwagon of fans ready to say the Orange aren’t as good as their two-loss record. But now we might actually agree with them. The improving Fab Melo will not play in the NCAA Tournament as a result of eligibility issues, something he’s already missed games for this year (The initial game he missed also happened to be ‘Cuse’s first L this season). We guess it turns out you really can’t teach seven feet … And make sure you come get some free food … We’re out like Bear Grylls.

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