Im back

idle mode, 1-3 months without nba basketball (due to work). i’m gonna miss the final stretch of the regular season, playoffs or even the NBA FINALS. #ThisIsSad :(

Bandwagon players of the day: LeBron James (29 pts, 10 rebs, 3 assts and 2 stls.) and Dwyane Wade (28 pts, 9 rebs and 4 assts.).

THE FACTS: Miami’s Big Three combined for 73 points as the Heat won their third straight over the Knicks this season, 93-85, at Madison Square Garden.

Carmelo Anthony scored 42 points on 14-for-27 shooting in a losing effort for the Knicks, who dropped into eighth place, half a game behind the Philadelphia 76ers, in the Eastern Conference standings.

LeBron James led the Heat with 29 points and 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 28 points and Chris Bosh posted 16 points and 14 boards.

QUOTABLE: “I don’t think it means anything for the postseason. What it means is something about us and how we’ve been playing on the road as of late. We want to do a better job of it and the only way out is to get up, show up and collectively do better.”
— Heat coach Erik Spoelstra

QUOTABLE II: “You wanna win every game, especially on the road. We know we haven’t played to our capabilities on the road.”
— James

THE STAT: The Heat were 3-8 in their last 11 road games before this win. The Knicks were 9-0 at home under Mike Woodson before this loss.

TURNING POINT: After the Knicks led 79-75 on a J.R. Smith dunk, Miami used an 18-3 run to go ahead 93-82. Joel Anthony, Wade and James scored six unanswered points during the spurt.

QUOTABLE III: “We’ll be fine. We’ll bounce back. We’ll rebound from this and learn from it and hopefully be better.”
— Woodson

WHO’S HOT: Anthony continues to play like a new man under Woodson. He entered averaging 28.2 points in his last five games and has now scored 40 or more in two of his last five, including a season-best 43 in a home win over the Chicago Bulls.

WHO’S NOT: The Knicks Bench. Other than Smith (16 points), the bench of Steve Novak, Jared Jeffries and Mike Bibby managed just eight points.

QUOTABLE IV: “I feel good about our team. We played hard tonight.”
— Woodson

NOTABLE: Tyson Chandler injured his knee in the third quarter and exited the game, but returned in the fourth to finish with nine points and five rebounds. He was also whistled for a Flagrant Foul 1 against James. “He’s gonna be ok. He banged knees. He’ll get treatment [Monday] but he’ll be fine,” Woodson said.

QUOTABLE V: “I think I’ll be OK. It’s just a bad collision.”
— Chandler

INSIDE THE ARENA: Jay-Z, Beyonce, Jon Stewart, Justin Tuck and Hakeem Nix all sat courtside.

QUOTABLE VI: “It’s tough to stop him, but it’s even better to watch him.”
— Smith on Anthony.

(Source: nba.com)

Coach Kobe.

(Source: youtube.com)

This is BadAss.

Bandwagon players of the day: Kevin Durant (43 pts and 7rebs.) and Russell Westbrook (35 pts, 8 assts and 2 stls.).

THE FACTS: No Love for the Wolves and a big night for Kevin Durant led to a victory on Saturday night for the Oklahoma City Thunder, as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 115-110. Kevin Love missed the game after suffering a mild concussion on Wednesday in Denver and Durant scored 43 points for the Thunder.

Despite the differences in their records, each of the contests between these teams this year has been very close and hard-fought, and tonight was no exception. On December 26, the Thunder held off Minnesota for a 104-100 win and on March 26, Oklahoma City outlasted the Wolves in a 149-140, double-overtime thriller. In the double-overtime game, Minnesota had no answer for the Durant/Russell Westbrook combo as they combined for 85 points. Tonight it was a similar story as Durant and Westbrook together scored 78.

While J.J. Barea led Minnesota with 24 points and 10 assists, it was Minnesota’s bench that kept them in this game, as they out-scored the Thunders’ bench 54-18. Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph led Minnesota’s bench with 26 and 22 respectively. Randolph has filled in admirably in Love’s absence, averaging 22.0 ppg on 18-for-28 shooting (.643) in the last two games.

QUOTABLE: “Every game (against Minnesota) is close. It’s an overtime game or a last-two minute game. They play with a lot of confidence against us. Give them credit. They shot the ball well.”
— Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks

THE STAT: Despite being 26th in the league in field goal percentage, Minnesota outshot Oklahoma City, the No. 2 team in the league, 50 percent to 44 percent. Where Oklahoma City made the difference was in rebounding, outrebounding Minnesota 61-48, and free throw percentage, making 28-of-32 free throws.

TURNING POINT: After Minnesota closed the score to 99-97 with 5:40 to play, Oklahoma City went on a 10-2 run, keyed by eight points from Durant and a pair by Westbrook. Minnesota tried to make it interesting, but the Thunder hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory

QUOTABLE II: “You’ve got to give our guys a lot of credit. We played with a lot of energy tonight. That’s a great team with two great players, and we competed the whole time.”
— Minnesota coach Rick Adelman

NOTABLE: With the loss tonight, Minnesota’s losing streak now stands at nine, a season high. And they have lost 12 straight to Oklahoma City.

(Source: nba.com)

Gerald Green as he shows off his incredible hops by taking flight and throwind down the Deron Williams alley-oop for the big slam, earning him play of the day honors!

(Source: youtube.com)

This is Intensity.

Bandwagon player of the day: Andrew Bynum.

Stats: 30 pts, 8 rebs, 3 assts and 3 blks.

THE FACTS: Playing their fourth consecutive game without the NBA’s leading scorer, Kobe Bryant, who is sidelined with a bruised shin, the Lakers didn’t skip a beat Friday night. They took advantage of 30 points from Andrew Bynum and a season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Matt Barnes in the 103-97 victory at Staples Center.

THE STAT: The Lakers were not only without Bryant, but coach Mike Brown left shortly before tip off due to a family emergency. They improved to 3-1 without their leading scorer in the lineup.

QUOTE: “Mike has instituted a system, a system he knows can be executed with him there, or without him there. He has a staff that believes in everything that he does. Now, we’ve added a fifth assistant with Kobe.”
— Lakers assistant coach John Kuester

TURNING POINT: The Lakers led by 12 points with 9:25 remaining after Pau Gasol sank a 20-footer, but the Nuggets answered with a 15-4 run to pull within a point, 91-90, with 3:36 remaining. After getting a stop on the defensive end, Barnes hit a 3-pointer with 2:42 left and the Nuggets missed their next six field-goal attempts and a free throw following a technical foul on Barnes. That allowed the Lakers to stretch their lead back to nine with under a minute remaining.

HOT: Bynum came into this season with just one 30-point game in his career, but he posted No. 6 this season after shooting 11-for-19 from the field and 8-for-11 from the free-throw line. When he keeps his temper under control and avoids costly technical fouls, he’s proven to be the best offensive center in the game. Barnes, by the way, was even hotter, shooting 9-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-4 on 3-pointers for his best game in a Lakers uniform.

(Source: nba.com)

Pretty soft looking crossover, but it sends Pargo flying across the floor anyways. YIKES!!!!!!!

(Source: youtube.com)