Carmelo Anthony
Losing was the theme of the day in the NBA. In Denver, Carmelo Anthony turned in his best effort of the season, but just as you’d expect in this strange trip for the Nuggets, his team still lost the game at home to a Lottery-bound opponent … On his way to dropping 50 points (16-24 FG, 16-18 FT) on the Rockets, Carmelo treated Shane Battier like an assistant coach in a practice drill, and when Houston tried to mix it up, ‘Melo made Chuck Hayes look like Chuck E. Cheese. ‘Melo added 11 rebounds and 3 blocks … But somehow it still wasn’t enough. Blame the fact that Chauncey Billups left in the first quarter with a knee injury and that Nene didn’t play, or blame the fact that Denver couldn’t stop Kevin Martin (37 points, 7 assists, 3 steals) and Luis Scola (25 points). The Rockets led pretty much the entire second half after a 13-0 run in the third quarter, and ‘Melo could only get Denver to within four points with 20 seconds left before Kyle Lowry iced it at the line … Between ‘Melo and K-Mart, are there any two NBA players who could combine for 87 points in one game and make it look so easy? The Cavs often can barely score 87 points between their 12 guys, and they have to bust their ass just to do that … Speaking of, Cleveland went into Dallas trying to avoid an NBA-record 25 straight losses. To their credit, they competed incredibly hard against a tough team in a tough arena. But in reality, they’re just not good enough … With 1:40 to go in the fourth quarter, Antawn Jamison (18 points, 11 rebounds) hit a three to make it a one-possession game and swing the momentum Cleveland’s way. With one announcer yelling, “The Cavs can smell it now!” they got a big defensive stop, but Jamison missed an off-balance three, and after another stop, J.J. Hickson (26 points, 12 rebounds) ran over Jason Kidd for a forehead-slapping charge. Jason Terry‘s jumper pushed the Mavs’ lead back to five with 36 seconds left, and Cleveland’s last chance to make something happen — down by three on their final possession — ended with Anthony Parker missing a three and the Cavs unable to get a shot off after getting the offensive rebound … The final buzzer serenaded a gloomy Cleveland squad, and while one Cavs announcer gave an exasperated “That’s not fair!” another delivered the eulogy: “The Cavaliers played the last 90 seconds of the game like a team that doesn’t know how to win.” …Read More>>