NBA Round-Up: Tuesday, December 21st - Part I
Tuesday was a day that witnessed a mixed bag of close games where 12 NBA teams brought their talents to the courts to entertain the world with some thrilling and exciting games. Here is brief review of the matches:
Oklahoma City Thunder 99 – Charlotte Bobcats 81
Kevin Durant played one of his best games in the Oklahoma uniform and scored a game-high 32 points to lead the Thunders in a 99-81 win over the struggling Charlotte Bobcats at the Time Warner Cable Arena.
"Our defense was good throughout the game and we kicked it up a notch in the fourth quarter. We were able to scramble and then get some easy baskets on the other end.” -- Thunder forward Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook finished with 15 points and James Harden chipped in with 13 off the bench for the Thunders who used a big fourth quarter to trounce Charlotte.
Stephen Jackson had a team-best 20 points for Charlotte in the season’s 19th defeat. Boris Diaw turned in a solid effort with 13 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds for the Bobcats which has dropped four in a row and six
of seven.
Both of the teams started ice cold anyhow, Charlotte slowly held a 23-21 lead after the opening quarter.
Collison and Durant combined to hit three free throws in the closing seconds of the second quarter to give the Thunder a 45-40 advantage at the intermission.
Charlotte took the lead at 69-68 after a three-point play from Stephen Jackson to close the third quarter, but after that, it was all Oklahoma. The Thunder reeled off a 7-0 run over 1:48 to start the final frame and take a lead
they would never relinquish.
Charlotte’s Coach Larry Brown said, "The same things are happening again," "We stand around, hold the ball, and turn it over. We take bad shots. In that regard you see how much more athletic than we are. A turnover for them is
a dunk."
Dallas Mavericks 105 - Orlando Magic 99
All five Mavericks starters scored in double figures in the 105-99 win over the new-look Orlando Magics at the Amway Center in Orlando.
Caron Butler scored 20 points; Dirk Nowitzki posted 17 points for the Mavericks who have won 16 of 17 and 7 straight on the road. Jason Terry came off the bench for 13 more points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds as Dallas accomplished
its 23rd victory of the season.
Nowitzki said of a Magic team that just overhauled its roster, "We still know who they had," "Dwight [Howard] is their focus. They have a bunch of shooters, Jameer [Nelson] and all those guys."
Dwight Howard contributed 26 points and 23 rebounds for the Magic, who lost for the third time in four games after making two big trades.
The Mavericks played some tenacious shots with the turnovers under control and went ahead by 12 points in the first quarter behind strong play from Nowitzki.
The new-look Magic struggled hard during the second quarter to make the score a respectable one by scoring 24 points and limiting the Mavericks to just 22. However, Dallas maintained a 49-45 lead at half time.
Both teams started the third quarter at a crisp pace, having 27 possessions apiece.
The Magics reduced a 12-point deficit quickly to six with a little over two minutes left in the final buzzer when Turkoglu got ahead on a fast break. However, he left the layup short, and then missed an open 3-point shot a few
seconds later.
"We feel like we're one of the best teams in the league, if not the best right now, we're playing great basketball, so we want to capitalize on every opportunity." - - Butler said.
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