NBA Roundup: Timberwolves, Nuggets and Oklahoma Thunder win
On Thursday six NBA (National Basketball Association) teams faced off in a bid to improve their season records in the 2010-11 season. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunders, and Denver Nuggets came out on top
in the games. Here is brief review of the matches:
Minnesota Timberwolves 109 - Washington Wizards 97
The Minnesota Timberwolves got their 10th win of the 2010-11 season, by overcoming the visiting Washington Wizards 109-97 on Thursday night at Target Center.
Wizards forward Al Thornton expressed his disappointment over the result. He said, "We came into the game and felt like this was a team we should beat. It could have ended an 18 or 19-game losing streak, but we just didn't close
it out. That has been the story. Getting down in the fourth quarter and just having problems closing games out. This is another game we had down the stretch. We just made careless mistakes.”
Kevin Love played one of his best games in a Minnesota uniform, as he scored a game-high 35 points and 11 rebounds, and was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. Minnesota also got 14 points and 11 rebounds from Darko Milicic, to keep
the Wizards winless on the road this season.
Rashard Lewis scored a team-high 19 points for the Wizards in the defeat. Kirk Hinrich came off the bench and scored 18 points for Washington, who are 10-8 at home in the 2010-11 season.
Minnesota got it going offensively in the opening quarter, and took a 28-18 lead going into the second. The wizards fought hard in the second quarter to cut the 10-point deficit, but the Wolves maintained a 55-48 lead at half
time.
In the third quarter, the Wizards successfully cut the deficit by three. However, the Wolves played some great defence in the quarter to take an 82-78 lead into the final stanza. The Wolves finally closed out the game in the
fourth quarter with a sizzling 15-1 run. Two three-pointers by Love and another by Wayne Ellington were the crucial baskets.
Denver Nuggets 130 - Miami Heat 102
Denver Nuggets took full advantage of LeBron James’ absence and trounced the visiting Miami Heat 130-102 at the Pepsi Centre on Thursday night.
J.R. Smith scored a game-high 28 points and Carmelo Anthony had 21, as the Denver Nuggets routed the LeBron James-less Miami.
Anthony was pleased with his side’s second consecutive win. He said, "The last couple of games we've been playing well. Seems like everyone has a little more focus after those two games we lost on the road, two embarrassing
losses. We just want to keep it up. Tonight we came out played a great game defensively and offensively.”
Chris Bosh registered a team-high 24 points and Dwyane Wade posted 16 points for Miami, who have lost two in a row for the first time, since dropping three straight in late November 2010.
The Nuggets controlled the game from the beginning, leading 26-23 after one quarter and 60-43 at half time.
Denver extended their impressive display into the third quarter with some incredible defence, taking a 98-68 lead into the final stanza. The Nuggets then put together a 14-3 burst in the fourth, on a Gary Forbes slam-dunk to
seal an impressive home victory.
Oklahoma City Thunders 125 - Orlando Magic 124
The visiting Orlando Magic fell short of the Oklahoma City Thunders by just one point to go down 125-124 at the Oklahoma City Arena on Thursday.
Thunder Coach Scott Brooks was pleased with his team’s performance. He said, "That was about as good as we can play offensively, especially against one of the best defensive teams in the league. We beat a very good team tonight."
Kevin Durant scored a team-high 36 points in Oklahoma City's highest-scoring game of the season. Russell Westbrook added 32 in his fourth career triple-double, and grabbed 13 assists and 10 rebounds in the second straight game,
as the Thunder set a season-high for points in regulation time.
Dwight Howard led all scorers with 39 points and pulled down a game-high 18 rebounds, but could not save his team from defeat. J.J. Redick made 4 three-pointers and scored 18 points, while trying to lead a fourth-quarter comeback.
Durant scored 16 points in the first quarter to help Oklahoma grab a 35-27 lead, and the 76ers held a 64-60 edge going into the break. The Thunder played defensively in the third quarter, making 8-of-16 shots in order to take
a 96-86 lead to the fourth.
Oklahoma City led all the way, but a three-pointer by Thunder forward Jeff Green with less than three minutes left in the game, gave Oklahoma a 119-112 lead for good. Durant’s two free throws then put the game out of the reach
of Orlando.
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