Quote of the Night: “It almost felt like we won the championship, we needed this win to break the cycle.”
- Jamal Crawford, after the Knicks beat the Bucks
Line of the Night: Danny Granger (5.2). I believe this is a first for Granger, who had 29 points with 4 threes, 3 steals and a block in 101-93 win over Portland. He was also 9-9 from the line. Nate McMillan called it the “perfect game” but much like the perfect woman, Bigfoot, and the NASA moon landing, I refuse to believe such a thing exists.
Honorable Mentions: Peja Stojakovic (5.1) scored 26 and went 6-12 from three; Yao Ming (5.0) scored 28 (off 12-18 shooting) with 9 boards; Monta Ellis (4.7) had a 34/9/5 line and was 12-15 from the floor; David West (4.6) went for 33 and 10; and I always put too many guys in here, but how about one more: Despite missing a three at the buzzer that would have tied the game for the Kings, Ron Artest (4.5) had a nice game with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Thabo Sefolosha (4.1). Nels already gave Thabo the WWLotN a couple days ago and it looks like he’s back for more. With pretty much the entire Bulls’ backcourt out with injury, Sefolosha got 41 minutes and responded with 22 points. 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 threes. Chris Duhon (3.8) also got 41 minutes in a start and had 11 points, 8 assists and 4 steals.
Wait, this isn’t Supposed to Happen: Fred Jones (3.9) put together his second good game in a row, going for 18/6/3 with a couple blocks in 44 minutes. As my daddy use to tell me, 44 minutes is 44 minutes, even if it’s Freddie Jones playing those minutes.
The Biggest Loser: Kevin Martin (1.9). Powered by a 3-16 shooting night (1-5 for three), Martin scored 9 points with 6 rebounds and 1 assist in 40 minutes. Bad shooting nights happen occasionally, even for someone as smooth as Speedracer.