Forget Steve Nash and Baron Davis. Jeremy Lin is taking over NYC. The Knicks survived New Jersey 99-92, and it was their popular bench warmer who had the city juiced. Deron Williams (21 points, 11 assists), the former best point guard in the world, was getting worked over by Lin (25 points, five rebounds, seven assists) down the stretch. Jumpers. Pick-n-rolls Everything was out of wack for New York. Carmelo (3-for-15) couldn’t make a shot, and Amar’e Stoudemire wasn’t much better, but Lin was pulling out reverses, and after a three-point play, Tyson Chandler was doing the Brandy Reed celebration from back in the day … Read More »

With the shot clock dwindling, Paul Pierce lost the ball, backed up behind the three-point line, fought off Landry Fields for the rock and heaved in a deep jumper as the clock leaked zeroes. So what if it didn’t count? It was crazy enough to warrant the MJ shrug from Pierce. It was also a signal: Down the stretch, the Celtics would make the plays. The Knicks wouldn’t. Boston came from behind to win again, 91-89, behind 30 from the Truth and a couple of monster shots from Jesus (14 points). Read More »

If it wasn’t for a terrible missed call late in New Jersey’s loss last night, the Nets might’ve pulled off the upset. As it is, it’s just another day for Deron Williams, who had 34 last night to up his average to 27 in the past five games. You can tell he’s frustrated. Roy Hibbert‘s face can tell he’s frustrated. Hit the jump to see D-Will abuse the big man. Read More »

Joe Johnson is absolutely balling right now. He dropped 24 in the first half of Atlanta’s blowout win in Toronto. After he closed the frame with a rainbow three from the top of the key, the ATL play-by-play guy yelled, “Nothing but the bottom of the sack.” It’s not even a question anymore whether he’s an All-Star. If he keeps this up, we’re only asking for him to give back $30 million to the Hawks, rather than $40 mill. 30 points on 13-for-18 from the field, in only three quarters … Tracy McGrady added 15 off the bench … Read More »

The Knicks decided real basketball was for the birds, and started launching a monsoon of treys. That might work against some teams, but not Miami, especially when Dwyane Wade is healthy and cooking. With Carmelo Anthony sitting out, the Heat weathered a random Bill Walker night (21 points, all on treys) and a bunch of other weird stuff (in the first half the Knicks were 5-for-19 on twos and 10-for-23 on threes) to pull away in the fourth quarter, 99-89. LeBron and D-Wade were all over the place, combining for 59 points and only 15 missed shots. Read More »

There’s something purely Americana about the hometown kid making good in front of the hometown crowd.

Whether it’s David Freese blasting home runs to lead his St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title, or Chauncey Billups going from prep legend to college superstar to NBA bust back to NBA superstar in Denver, or even Jerome Bettis winning a Super Bowl in Detroit in his final NFL game while playing for another team, we like these stories. In a sports culture where free agency and stressed-out GMs eager to trade make it increasingly tougher for fans to claim one group of players as “our guys” for any length of time, hometown ties remain nearly impossible to break. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first …

30. New Orleans Hornets (3-15) Last Week: 25, -5 Since they started off the year 2-0, the Hornets have lost more than just their sting. They’re 1-15 since and haven’t sniffed an ounce of winning. One thing you can say about them is they fight. Their last nine losses have all been by 10 or less against teams sporting a .606 winning percentage. Read More »

While searching for his missing watch in the couch cushions, Mike Breen finds a few surprises… Read More »

Paul George was ashamed. He had to be. Garbage time, everyone ready to go home, just waiting on those seconds to peel off the clock and then he gets dropped. This was probably the first time in recorded history that a player went on Twitter after the fact and tried defending himself. Paul, just admit it. The rook got you. Norris Cole dabbled the salt shaker on you and you went stumbling five feet backwards. Read More »

To pass or not to pass? Kobe finally gave it up twice in the final minute of the Pacers’ 98-96 win over the Lakers, and we almost wished he would’ve forced up something. First, Matt Barnes missed a wide-open trey, and then Derek Fisher threw up some type of contraption (not sure what that was… a pass? a shot? a prayer?) that didn’t touch anything but the out-of-bounds paint. With the Lakers down three in the final seconds, Bryant was finally forced into a long, 30-footer off the dribble that was off. While the Mamba still finished with 33 points and and eight rebounds, for the Pacers, the outcome was a confirmation: Watch out for us. Read More »