Last night in the paint

The Knicks were beaten by the lowly Cavs Friday night as Carmelo Anthony was fouled out late in the game. Chauncey Billups put up 26 second half points but it wasn’t enough on a night when JJ Hickson was on fire, and Jamison and Sessions both posted twenty plus points for Cleveland. Stoudemire and Anthony were solid all game as expected with 31 and 27 points respectively, but whilst the three big stars stepped up to the plate the all round effort from the Cavs saw them off. The game ended 109-115 Cleveland.

The Lakers did a professional job on the Clippers to pay them back for the defeat earlier in the year. Kobe looked to have injured his arm first half as Bynum and Gasol put up the points. But Bryant came out to play after half-time and in the third quarter he outscored the Clippers on his own with 18 points to their 17, with the Lakers almost doubling the Clippers’ points in the quarter. Griffin and Foye both scored well for the Clippers, but the Lakers were convincing winners with a 95-108 win. Bryant finished with 24 points with 6 offensive rebounds and 4 assists.

Brandon Roy got a bit more game time and it made the difference as the Trail Blazers edged out the Nuggets by just one point. Roy hit a three with 5 seconds left to take the game to overtime. New acquisition Gallinari showed his ball skills coming out hard and posting 30 points for the Nuggets in a game they should have seen out. Affalo and Chandler also pitched in for Denver but Portland kept with them, and when two long range attempts from Gallinari and Affalo came back in to play in the dying seconds the Trail Blazers were able to celebrate a great win. The game finished 106-107 Portland with LaMarcus Aldridge bagging 24 points and also making big plays in defence with 12 rebounds.

There were new faces in Indiana with the Pacers welcoming the Jazz to Conseco Fieldhouse. Devon Harris got involved early and put up 14 points on debut. We saw less of of Favors but he did make a contribution and posted 6 points in the game. The big numbers were Millsap and Jeffersons in a game that saw Utah take the win. Jefferson ended with 30 points and Millsap had 7 offensive rebounds with his 23. The Pacers were never out of it, but the Jazz always had the edge and the business they have done off the court in February looks promising.

There were also six other games in the NBA last night with the Magic winning big against the Thunder and the Heat taking down the Wizards. Dwight Howard and Dwayne Wade posting big points totals on the night with 40 and 41 points respectively. Deron Williams posted a double double for the New Jersey Nets on debut but San Antonio took the win in that one.