NBA Triple Threat: Your (almost) daily roundup of last night's action in the Association:Denver 114, Golden State 105 The Nuggets are now in the drivers seat for the last playoff spot in the West. With this win, they take a full game lead over the Warriors as well as the tiebreaker, meaning it is essentially a two game lead with just three to play. It didn't look like that would happen when Golden State took a 16 point lead in the first quarter. However, the Nuggets came flying back, scoring 19 straight in the second quarter and eventually going up as much as 17. The Warriors rallied best they could, but their hopes were dashed by an Iverson three with 2:06 to go. They put Denver back up by 11, and everyone knew that was the dagger.
Dallas 97, Utah 94 Just a few weeks ago, everyone left the Mavericks for dead. Now they're in the playoffs with this victory. Deron Williams tied it late with a banked three, only to see Dirk Nowitzki give the lead back to the Mavs with a three of his own with 0.9 seconds left. Dirk and Jason Terry took over late after Josh Howard left with a knee bruise. The duo combined for 25 of the Mavs' 30 fourth quarter points. It's hard to say what Dallas's playoff prospects look like, but at least they've proven they aren't completely heartless.
LA Lakers 106, LA Clippers 78 The Lakers move a half ahead of the Spurs for the #2 seed, and a game and a half behind the Hornets one night before their big showdown. The Clippers gave up on their season weeks ago.
Best Lines
- Baron Davis, GS: 20 pts, 10 rebs, 11 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk...Others on the Q have said it, but it bears repeating. Baron Davis was healthy the entire year, but the Warriors will still likely miss the playoff. Who would have thunk that?
- Allen Iverson, Den: 33 pts, 12-21 FG, 3 rebs, 9 ast, 3 stl
- Dirk Nowitzki, Dal: 32 pts, 12-23 FG, 4-5 3PT, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk
- Riley again hints this is it for him - C'mon, Riley, it's time. This is becoming the Old Yeller of coaches.
- Lithuania petitions for Big Z - Ilgauskas is one of 14 players who must be given permission to play in the Olympics due to insurance clauses in their contracts. Z wants to play, but the Cavs have balked so far.
- Bynum reevaluated - How critical is Bynum to the Lakers' playoff hopes? Is it worth trying to get him back into shape and into the flow of things during tough playoff games?
more
