By SprungonSports-
TNT’s Dynamite Performers- It has been a wild couple of weeks for the Miami Heat, but came through on the big stage with a 104-86 home win over Orlando. Dwayne Wade led all players with 25 points and seven assists and Michael Beasley scored 22 and pulled down eight rebounds in the Heat’s second straight win. Dwight Howard led the Magic with 17 points and 14 rebounds in a losing cause. JJ Redick had 13 points off the bench but Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis were held to 10 and nine points respectively.
-Brandon Roy was his usual Thursday night self at the Rose Garden with 27 points and eight rebounds, but it was backup PG Jerryd Bayless, who had reportedly requested a trade earlier in the week, who stole the show with a game high 29 points as the Blazers got a big 105-102 win over Phoenix. Amare Stoudamire led the Suns with 27 points and 11 rebounds and Steve Nash scored 16 and dished out 13 assists, but the Suns were outscored 35-21 in the fourth quarter.
-In the non-TNT game, Chicago held New York to 36 percent shooting as the Bulls outscored the Knicks 29-17 in the fourth quarter in a 98-89 win. Luol Deng led all players with 24 points and 13 rebounds and John Salmons added 20. Al Harrington, Chris Duhon and Danilo Gallinari each had 18 in the Knicks loss.
Robert Frost Report
Fire- Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, Ben Bernanke, Peyton Manning, RIP Chris Henry.
Ice- Washington, New Jersey, Golden State, Oklahoma City, Tiger Woods, Yahoo! Search, the death penalty.
SprungOnSports’ Friday Top 10
1) Boston Celtics 20-4 (2)- The Celts may have the same record as the Lakers, but an 11 game winning streak puts them over the top into the top slot considering 16 of the 29 other NBA teams have 11 or fewer total wins. Boston has easy games at home next week, and the win streak should increase to 14.
2) Los Angeles Lakers 20-4 (1)- Nothing against LA, Boston is just on fire. Kobe Bryant’s buzzer beater saved them against the Bucks or they’d be even lower. Their next three games are against New Jersey, subpar Detroit and slumping OKC. Should be an easy week for Kobe & the zen master.
3) Atlanta Hawks 18-6 (4)- ATL has won five straight and seven of 10, are 11-2 at home and have the second highest margin of victory in the league, trailing only Boston. Their home game against Utah should be tough, as should a game at Denver, but they play Minnesota and Chicago in between.
4) Dallas Mavericks 19-7 (7)- A five game winning streak has propelled the Mavs into the rankings top half once again and are 8-1 in games decided by five points or less, led by captain clutch Dirk Nowitzki. Cleveland and Portland at home will be tough tests this week.
5) Cleveland Cavaliers 19-7 (6)- The Cavs have won four straight and eight of 10, but their level of competition is lower than what Dallas faced. They host Milwaukee on Friday night before starting a year-ending west coast swing at Dallas, Phoenix and Sacramento. Expect at least a loss along the way.
6) Denver Nuggets 19-7 (5)- The middle of these rankings are so stacked that the Nuggets have won three straight and seven of 10 and are slipping. They’re 12-1 at home but just 7-6 on the road, where they will face New Orleans and Memphis before hosting Atlanta on Wednesday.
7) Orlando Magic 19-7 (3)- That loss to Miami dropped them four spots in the rankings, and tough games at home against Portland, Utah and Houston await this week before a Christmas day date against Boston.
Eight) Phoenix Suns 17-9 (8)- The Suns used to be in the league’s upper crust, but are entrenched in a mediocre 4-6 stretch. Hosting Washington should be easy, but hosting Cleveland and Oklahoma City will not.
9) Utah Jazz 15-10 (10)- The Jazz have won seven of 10, despite splitting their two game stretch against Minnesota and New Jersey, the league’s two worst teams. Utah will have a daunting road trip against Southeast Division foes Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami next week.
10) Portland TrailBlazers 16-11 (9)- The Blazers could be back to their winning ways after defeating Sacramento and Phoenix, but next week is killer for Nate McMillan’s crew with games at Orlando, Miami, Dallas and Sacramento.
Also Receiving Votes- San Antonio, Houston, Miami.
Week In Preview
Friday- LeBron and the Cavs host Brandon Jennings and the Bucks at 8 eastern followed by Wizards-Warriors in an ESPN doubleheader. For all you bored Canadians tonight, Toronto will host New Jersey at 7 on TSN2. Jazz-Hawks, Nuggets-Hornets and Rockets-Mavericks are other games of note.
Saturday- Portland and Orlando is a very good NBATV feature game at 7 eastern on a night where Jazz-Bobcats and Thunder-Rockets are the other best games. Yikes.
Sunday- Two 19-7 teams battle it out on NBATV as LeBron and the Cavs visit Dirk and the Mavs at 7:30 eastern. Toronto hosts New Orleans at 12:30 on CBC. Portland-Miami should be a good game at 6 eastern.
Monday- It’s another LeBron day on NBATV as the Cavaliers play at Phoenix at 9 eastern. Utah is at Orlando in the only other game of note.
Tuesday- Detroit-Charlotte is the best eastern conference game of the night, and the west has Portland and Dallas and OKC at the Lakers.
Wednesday- NBATV has Rockets-Magic at 7 eastern, with Utah-Miami, Portland-San Antonio and Atlanta-Denver also on the slate. Since Thursday is Christmas Eve, there are no games scheduled.
Yahoo! Sports’ Top 10 Fantasy Players of the Week- Troy Murphy, IND. LeBron James, CLE. Pau Gasol, LAL. Steve Nash, PHX. Mike Dunleavy, IND. Tim Duncan, SA. Joe Johnson, ATL. Dirk Nowitzki, DAL. Jason Kidd, DAL. Brook Lopez, NJ.
