• New York Knicks 113, Orlando Magic 106

The Knicks needed this win about as badly as a team has needed a win in a long time. For an eternal optimist like Carmelo Anthony to even flirt with calling a game a ‘must-win’, it begins to show the importance for New York.

Anthony didn’t disappoint, scoring 39 points on just 26 shots. Most of those shots were difficult jumpers out of isolations, while the rest of the offense ran fairly normal Mike D’Antoni pick-and-rolls and three-pointers. Anthony carried the load for the understandably exhausted Amar’e Stoudemire, who had an inconspicuous 20 points on 10 shots. The occasional morning shootaround can't hurt?

This is the type of game Dwight Howard needs to dominate for 48 minutes, especially with Jameer Nelson sidelined. His second half output, however, was outstanding with several jumpers out of the mid-post that were Duncan-esque. Howard couldn't convert well enough down the stretch and in overtime.

• Indiana Pacers 107, Boston Celtics 100

The Pacers better end up in the playoffs because they are beating quality opponents of late. Roy Hibbert and Darren Collison each showed up impressively, with the former scoring 26 points on 17 shots and the latter needing just nine for 17.

Once again Boston’s bench was obliterated, with Jeff Green and Delonte West being the primary victims. The Pacers bench was uniformly strong, as their depth continues to execute and be a primary strength during the time of year when players really feel the wear and tear of the 82-game schedule.

• Philadelphia 76ers 97, Chicago Bulls 85

The NBA can be entertaingly unpredictable. Case in point is Philadelphia’s loss to the Kings and victory at the Bulls in consecutive days. Thaddeus Young was the microcosm, helping the Sixers get out to an early lead with a game-high 21 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Luol Deng has had an excellent season, but Young was clearly a bad match-up for him.

• Portland Trail Blazers 100, San Antonio Spurs 92

Despite playing against San Antonio’s JV team (Duncan, Parker, Manu and McDyess were in street clothes), the Blazers needed a +13 fourth quarter after being limited to just nine points in the third.

The Spurs frankly deserved to win this game, but the difference was ultimately Andre Miller and their 6-for-25 from distance compared to Portland’s 8-for-17.

• Charlotte Bobcats 87, Milwaukee Bucks 86

Even if Michael Jordan is apathetic about a ceremonial playoff bid, Gerald Henderson certainly isn’t. His defense has been impressive this season and he has had his most efficient scoring month of the season despite a sharp increase in usage. In this game, Henderson was burying jumpers in the final minute while scoring the final seven points of the game.

• Washington Wizards 100, Utah Jazz 95

Win No. 2 on the road for the 10-11 Wizards comes in one of the most difficult arenas in the NBA, as the rookie backcourt of John Wall and Jordan Crawford combined for 53 points. Remarkably, Crawford scored 25 points on 25 shots despite going 1-for-10 from distance.

The Jazz were +9 in the assist column with six players scoring between 11 and 17 points, but shot just 10-for-21 from the line.

Competing against the real opening night of the NCAA Tournament, the NBA decided to do a TNT-influenced punt on their typically excellent Thursday docket with three games that were about as entertaining as they were expected to be on paper.

• Chicago Bulls 84, New Jersey Nets 73

Teams separated by over 25 games in the standings don’t typically produce opposite expected results and this one didn’t disappoint, even if the game was still in doubt entering the final minutes.

Derrick Rose had a relatively quiet night, missing all five of his three-pointers and most of his other jumpbers, but at least he got to the cup a little bit since that pales in comparison to the 1-for-12 posted by Deron Williams. As Williams waits for the Nets to get a ‘superstar’ to join him, his frontline remains pretty darn good, as Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez each delivered solid play for the Nets.

But Omer Asik helped give the Bulls the lift they needed with Carlos Boozer out, Joakim Noah slowed after coming back from the flu and foul trouble for Kurt Thomas. Asik had his first career double-double, which included nine offensive boards. Chicago outscored the Nets by a +24 margin on points in the paint.

• New York Knicks 120, Memphis Grizzlies 99

The Knicks killed the Grizzlies in the middle quarters, and hit 20 of their 36 three-point attempts, which goes beyond the frontier of absurdity. Toney Douglas alone went 9-for-12 from distance.

But wins like these are fool’s gold since the Grizzlies still scored nearly 109 points per 100 possessions. The Knicks didn’t give up a monster night by any one player, but everyone this side of O.J. Mayo got in on the scoring fun.

• Portland Trail Blazers 111, Cleveland Cavaliers 70

Back-to-back road wins aren’t in Cleveland’s arsenal, at least not when the second team is fighting for seeding in a crowded Western Conference.

The Cavaliers had just one assist at halftime and five in the second half despite committing 18 turnovers. The Blazers capitalized for 28 points off turnovers and a +32 advantage on points in the paint.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points on 10 assists and played in 29 minutes after appearing in at least 40 minutes every other game in March. Aldridge last appeared in fewer than 40 minutes on February 27th after giving Portland 48 and nearly 51 minutes in consecutive overtime games.

Fittingly for St. Patrick's Day, Patty Mills scored in double-figures for the first time since his two-game streak earlier this month against the Kings and Bobcats.

• Oklahoma City Thunder 96, Miami Heat 85

This is the Thunder team we will see in the long-term and if Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook can elevate their games one more notch, there is no reason not to believe in them as legitimate title contenders. Kevin Durant played one of his best all-around games of the season, giving the Thunder enough scoring on a night where they had an eFG% of just 44.9%.

But this game was won by Oklahoma City’s defense, holding the Heat to just 94.7 points per 100 possession and limiting the Big-3 to a 4-for-24 from the floor in the second half. 

• New Orleans Hornets 100, Phoenix Suns 95

Rumors of Chris Paul’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, as he’s feeling healthy and performing to CP3 standards again. Paul had 26 points on just 16 shots, nine assists on just one turnover to go with five rebounds and three steals. It doesn’t get more vintage than that for Paul. Since the loss at New York, Paul is averaging a Game FIC of 26.7 on 24.4 points, 11.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 steals. He is also shooting 55.1% from the floor and 47.1% from distance.

• Orlando Magic 93, Milwaukee Bucks 89

The Magic needed the extra frame in a predictably slow paced game. Milwaukee was without Andrew Bogut, which should have allowed the Magic to cruise to a relatively easy victory, but turnovers again needlessly complicated things for Stan Van Gundy. Orlando made just seven of their 27 three-point attempts, but that’s the cost of doing business sometimes for a team constructed in that way.

• Detroit Pistons 107, Toronto Raptors 93

Andrea Bargnani gets ticker love with his team-high 20 points, but it was on 20 shots and that is the theme of his entire season. That and also the four rebounds in nearly 39 minutes.

For the Pistons, Greg Monroe had the 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists that made him such an intriguging prospect a season ago. The assists are particularly impressive in light of how he was used against Toronto’s zone.

Rodney Stuckey also continued his strong finish heading into an RFA offseason with 14 assists.

• Denver Nuggets 102, Atlanta Hawks 87

The Nuggets are beyond the phase of simply picking up a few fluky wins, beating a playoff team on the road in convincing fashion. The Ty Lawson/Nene combo continues to blossom and Wilson Chandler had a blue collar 14 points and 10 boards.

• Houston Rockets 94, Charlotte Bobcats 78

The Rockets held Charlotte to just 86.4 points per 100 possessions. Houston had seven different players score nine or more points, with Kevin Martin scoring a team-high 21 on 18 shots.

After beginning the month of March on fire, Kyle Lowry has shot just 4-for-15 from beyond the arc over his previous three.

• Utah Jazz 119, Minnesota Timberwolves 104

When a player scores 40 points on just 18 shots, there isn’t much of a chance for the opposing team to still pick up a win. Utah is now 5-0 when C.J. Miles scores 23 or more points and 13-2 when he goes for 20 or more. He is averaging 19.5 points per night (all double-figures) during the month of March.

• Boston Celtics 92, Indiana Pacers 80

Going on the road for the second night of a back-to-back is always difficult, especially coming off the close game they played against the Knicks on Tuesday. The Jeff Green for Rajon Rondo combo was in full effect, the biggest consolation we anticipated when the deadline deal was consummated since it would give Rondo a transition partner who could keep up with him. 

• Philadelphia 76ers 104, Los Angeles Clippers 94

Seeing Elton Brand out on the same floor with Blake Griffin, I couldn’t help but think how much better off the Clippers are with what happened in the summer of 2008.

In the game, however, the Sixers held the Clippers to just under 94 points per 100 possessions, forcing Griffin to work hard for his 14 points on 12 shots.

Offensively, all of Philadelphia’s starters (save for Andre Iguodala) had efficient scoring nights. Jodie Meeks and Jrue Holiday combined to go 7-for-11 from distance.

• Dallas Mavericks 112, Golden State Warriors 106 

A road back-to-back for Dallas against the Warriors means defense will be played at matador levels and the two teams didn’t fail to disappoint with eFG% numbers well above 55%.

Acie Law helped keep the Warriors in the game with a surprising performance off the bench that may have even triggered further discord between Stephen Curry and Keith Smart, but Dirk Nowitzki’s 34 points on 13 rebounds (six offensive) was too much. Dallas were +7 on second chance points.

• Cleveland Cavaliers 97, Sacramento Kings 93 

The Cavaliers picked up another road win despite a -20 disadvantage on second chance points. Keeping opposing teams off the offensive glass becomes inconsequential when you have a +12.2 advantage in eFG%.

Crashing the glass is one of the things Sacramento does very well, ranking second behind Minnesota in the category, but that is the best way to get scoring opportunities when you share a floor with DeMarcus Cousins and Marcus Thornton. Cousins needed 19 shots to get 11 points, boosted undoubtedly in his volume by his five offensive boards. Cousins was 2-for-10 on his jumpers, unable to get his shot going from the left mid-post.

• Indiana Pacers 119, New York Knicks 117

The NBA has a dog days of spring when players begin to either rest up for the playoffs, or check out mentally on a season that will end promptly in the middle of April with a lottery appearance impending. This is the perfect time for a player like Tyler Hansbrough to outwork everyone and combine his high energy, high effort with a jumper that is falling and you have a dangerous player. Hansbrough was 8-for-11 on his jumpers, scoring 30 points on just 17 shots.

Hansbrough has an FIC40 of 15.2 in March and 17.7 over his last five games where he is averaging 22.6 per night on 55.7% shooting.

Pairing Hansbrough’s performance, which has been outstanding throughout March, with the kind of outing the Pacers received from Danny Granger (sweet game-winner), Roy Hibbert (15 and 12 with three blocks) and Darren Collison (24 points and nine assists) and you get the makings of a team that should snag that eighth seed.

For New York, they allowed points on eight of Indiana’s final nine possessions. I can excuse inept defense in the first half, but the Pacers are not nearly good enough offensively to not get more than one stop down the stretch.

• Atlanta Hawks 110, Milwaukee Bucks 85

Joe Johnson donned a sporty black headband and made 36 points on 19 shots, converting on six of his nine three-point attempts and four of his seven two-point jumpers. He’s a great individual scorer and becomes elite when he’s hitting like this from the perimeter.

Milwaukee simply can’t win games when their defense allows an eFG% of 70.5%.

• Chicago Bulls 98, Washington Wizards 79

The Bulls surpassed the Celtics in the Eastern Conference despite missing both Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. But you don’t need a whole lot to beat the Wizards on your own floor (with three starters out), especially when Tom Thibodeau is your head coach.

At least we were treated to 12 offensive and 38 rebounds overall between Taj Gibson and Kurt Thomas, along with a Brian Scalabrine sighting.

And oh yeah, JaVale McGee had a triple double on 12 blocked shots.

• Portland Trail Blazers 104, Dallas Mavericks 101

I wouldn’t object to seeing these two teams battle over seven games in a first round series. Portland was +7 on turnovers, +12 on points in the paint, +14 on second chance points and had LaMarcus Aldridge in his vintage 10-11 mode and Brandon Roy show some glimpses of where he was a few years ago in the second half.

But Dallas still had a chance to send the game into overtime at the end despite scoring their final field goal of the game just barely under three minutes left on a Jason Terry three-pointer.

• Miami Heat 94, Los Angeles Lakers 88

LeBron James is the better overall player, but Dwyane Wade is comfortably the better halfcourt scorer and unlike their series of losses, his usage was high and he was able to create shots at the bucket off the Lakers’ defense. With the game extremely close for Miami in the final minutes yet again, Wade simply outplayed Kobe Bryant on both ends of the floor.

In the end, a five-game losing and eight-game winning streak both came to abrupt ends and Kobe Bryant was still shooting jumpers in an empty American Airlines Arena after midnight.

Wade and James combined for just 46% of Miami’s overall scoring, as Chris Bosh had a game-high 24 and Mike Miller contributed 12 and seven off the bench. The Heat experienced a turnover plagued third quarter and it was impossible for me to see how they wouldn't lose another close one to a so-called quality opponent.

But they remained calmer than in other losses and that poise was palpable in their play.

The real stories down the stretch were Miami’s ability to get far easier looks than they had been seeing during their slide, and the shot selection of Bryant down the stretch. Bryant’s 4-for-8 from three-point doesn’t look too bad the next day in the box score, but he forced two particularly egregious three-point attempts in the final moments. As I Tweeted immediately after the game, Bryant delivered a Doppelganger performance that was similar to what Miami had been doing in their big fourth quarter shots during the losing streak.

The Heat finished the game +16 on points in the paint and 21 second chance points.

The win for Miami means more for them than the loss does for the Lakers, but it clearly sends two constructive messages to both sides.

For the Heat, there was never reason to panic about the sky falling. They will win their first round series and then anything is capable of happening in that second round when the Eastern Conference gets excruciatingly difficult.

For the Lakers, they have finally been on the right track but there is still a lot of basketball remaining before the playoffs even begin. There was an overlying sense they were peaking coming out of the break, particularly given the play of Andrew Bynum. They aren’t quite all the way there because Thursday’s loss really should have been a win, and let’s leave some bullets in the chamber.

• Dallas Mavericks 127, New York Knicks 109

With the Knicks on their way to allowing nearly 1.4 points per possession to Dallas, the far more entertaining brand of the NBA was occurring on Twitter as we followed the postgame shooting session of Kobe.

As for the game.. the Knicks couldn’t stop anybody and appeared visibly fatigued; Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry had 23, 22 and 21 points apiece; Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony combined for an inefficient 17-for-42 from the floor.

Rick Carlisle called out his team after their loss to New Orleans and their 72-51 first half effort told the story of how much they thought about that.

New York made is a little bit interesting late in the game, but it wasn't something anyone was really believing.

• Denver Nuggets 116, Phoenix Suns 97

This was about as thorough of a road dismantling as you will witness involving two teams of similar records.

Denver’s entire identity since the trade (6-2 now by the way) has been to run opposing teams out of the building and it worked to maximum effect. The Nuggets outscored Phoenix 33-10 on fastbreak points and scored 66 points in the paint. This is the formula the Suns once used, but it felt a little more controlled and organized even as it was happening than what Denver does.

Ty Lawson and Nene were great and Denver made 31 of their 46 field goals at the rim, with seven of those other 15 coming from distance. That type of production at the bucket doesn’t happen often and certainly happens by design.

• Oklahoma City Thunder 110, Philadelphia 76ers 105

The Thunder recovered from a rough first quarter when Philadelphia was hitting from the perimeter to play strong defense over the final 36 minutes and held strong and perfect over the final 2:19 of the fourth to force an overtime session.

Kevin Durant had 34 points on 26 shots (two enormously clutch ones) and also secured 16 defensive boards. Philadelphia typically defends scorers like Durant and Russell Westbrook as well as anybody, but both of them had their way on Wednesday. Ultimately, it was Philadelphia’s inability to hit jumpers down the stretch that let the win slip.

• Utah Jazz 96, Toronto Raptors 94

After a great third quarter, Toronto carried an eight-point lead into the final frame and extended it out to 14 at one point, but their offense failed them on a night where they were without Andrea Bargnani.

The Raptors went 6-for-22 in the fourth quarter, and coming up empty on that many possessions is too much strain to put on their defense.

• New Jersey Nets 94, Golden State Warriors 90

It’s been a long road trip, but the Warriors really should beat teams like the Nets when their best player is in a Texas delivery room if they want to be taken seriously as a team on the deep outskirts of the playoffs.

But Sundiata Gaines happened, giving excellent minutes in fill-in duty. Brook Lopez also obliterated the Warriors with his little short-range jumper out of the right post.

Meanwhile, Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry needed 37 shots to score 31 points as their jumpers weren’t hitting at all.

• Chicago Bulls 101, Charlotte Bobcats 84

Not a fair matchup considering the velocity of trajectory for each team, but the Bulls didn’t really turn it on until late in the game before pulling away. Kyle Korver found his stroke from distance (4-for-7), as did Derrick Rose (4-for-6). Taj Gibson and Ronnie Brewer gave Tom Thibodeau strong rotation minutes.

• Los Angeles Clippers 108, Boston Celtics 103

The Celtics won their two Los Angeles outings and have now dropped two home games against the Los Angeles teams.

If Boston needs to go to Chicago for a Game 7 instead of hosting it at home, these are the types of losses they can look back upon. Other than Nenad Krstic, the Celtics were unable to get anything going offensively; Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo were particularly inefficient, shooting a combined 11-for-34 from the floor.

The bench squad, meanwhile, is tough to believe in right now because they seem so alien on the parquet and it is difficult to ingratiate themselves when they combine to score 12 points.

Defensively, the Celtics weren’t themselves even though they contained Blake Griffin. Ultimately, Mo Williams (5-for-7 from three) and DeAndre Jordan (21 points on 10 shots) killed them and the halftime deficit of 18 was too much to claw back from. Williams showed a lot to the Clippers in this win and really controlled the game.

• New Orleans Hornets 93, Dallas Mavericks 92

No Chris Paul, but this win demonstrates the importance and value of the Jarrett Jack trade because he has the ability to single-handedly win games for quality teams on certain nights. Marco Belinelli and Carl Landry, two more relative newcomers, had 36 points on 24 shots off the bench as well.

Dallas led by 10 to begin the fourth quarter and were up by seven with 1:13 remaining and couldn’t get any key defensive stops.

• Milwaukee Bucks 110, Cleveland Cavaliers 90

The Bucks don’t need a ton of points to work with considering the strength of their defense, especially against Cleveland. The Bucks' PG rotation of Brandon Jennings and Earl Boykins scored 18 highly efficient points apiece to give them almost all of the offense they would need.

Samardo Samuels had another nice game offensively, but received little other help other than the odd Daniel Gibson three-pointer. J.J. Hickson initially looked like he was turning a corner after the deadline, but that appears to be largely a New York-induced aberration.

The next result was just as critical for Milwaukee..

• Minnesota Timberwolves 101, Indiana Pacers 75

I don’t have much to say about Kevin Love’s streak. It will be a neat factoid a few years from now, but ultimately hollow considering and a relative shock that Tim Duncan never had that type of extended run. In many ways, Love’s season has been far more interesting than the streak sidestory.

More impressive is the thorough win by Minnesota against a team with playoff (albeit Eastern Conference) aspirations.

This was the second game of a back-to-back for the Pacers, but 72.7 points per 100 possessions against a team near the bottom in defensively is difficult to stomach. Danny Granger was 2-for-19 and 0-for-9 from three, which begins to explain it, though I wouldn’t let Paul George (2-for-8), Darren Collison (1-for-5) and Roy Hibbert (0-for-6) hide behind that.

• New York Knicks 110, Memphis Grizzlies 108

Despite the easily appreciated antics of Tony Allen, I thought the Knicks were going to cruise the rest of the way when they extended their lead to 17 in the third.

Carmelo Anthony bailed out the Knicks with his jumper off the dribble to his left with Allen all over him. This was a case where one of the game’s best individual scorers getting the better of one of the game’s best individual defenders.

The Knicks held Memphis off the offensive glass, holding them to just five boards there, but they did allow 52 points in the pain and 28 off turnovers.

Even though Anthony created the game-winner on his own, the Knicks assisted on 31 of their 47 field goals with Toney Douglas leading with 10.

• San Antonio Spurs 111, Detroit Pistons 104

The Spurs shot an unconscious 80% from the floor during the first half to effectively bury the Pistons. But Detroit didn’t completely pack it in and won both the third and fourth quarter, using the offensive glass as an equalizer (20-5 margin).

Greg Monroe had a strong for the Pistons, scoring 16 points and collecting 10 rebounds.

• Orlando Magic 106, Sacramento Kings 102

Sacramento started strong and DeMarcus Cousins had a career-high 29 points on a great draw foul rate with Dwight Howard eventually fouling out.

But Jameer Nelson turned on the scoring late and was boosted by Orlando’s other perimeter scorers.

Even though it borders badly on cliche, these are the types of close games good teams find a way to win.

• Portland Trail Blazers 105, Miami Heat 96

Dwyane Wade (38 points on 21 shots) and LeBron James (31 points on 20 shots) were nearly every bit as superb as they are humanly capable of being, but beating teams that force them into high degree of difficulty ISOs, limit second chance opportunities and not be completely overmatched by their superior athleticism means they need at least a little supplemental help to win ballgames.

Mario Chalmers contributed with a solid offensive game, but Chris Bosh was a complete no-show (-0.4 FIC40) and this meant that the Larger-2 had nearly 72% of the team's points.

Bosh was completely dominated by LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 26 points compared to Bosh’s incredibly inefficient seven. Gerald Wallace was an unadulterated two-way monster, scoring 22 while also collecting nine boards, two steals, a block and made life as difficult for LeBron as he possibly could on a night in which No. 6 was all the way there mentally. Brandon Roy’s 3-for-3 from three was also a pivotal aspect of how Portland controlled things offensively.

• Los Angeles Lakers 101, Atlanta Hawks 87

The Lakers were +24 on points in the paint, which is the simplest formula available to them on how to become truly great and have an excellent chance at completing their threepeat.

There is no doubt the Lakers will continue to prop up Andrew Bynum as a defensive force because he seems to be 100% convinced that his streak is not an aberration and there is no reason to believe otherwise if he remains healthy and committed to his effort on that side of the floor. Bynum had 16 points, 16 boards, three blocks and is generally commanding so much more influence on the game.

The Lakers are scary good right now and if the Heat snap their streak on them in that highly anticipated rematch on Thursday, they will be earning it against the best the NBA has to offer right now.

• Philadelphia 76ers 110, Indiana Pacers 100

Speaking of the best right now, the 76ers are continuing to make their case on why they are the team nobody wants in the first round.

Games like this one demonstrate the athleticism gap that both of these teams have on most nights. The Pacers play high possession basketball and that is a dangerous proposition against a team that features the speed and athleticism of Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young.

Philadelphia was +10 on fastbreak points and +20 on points in the paint.

Iguodala continued his remarkable defensive season by holding Danny Granger to just 11 shot attempts. Tyler Hansbrough’s 26 points on 14 shots off the bench was one of Indiana’s only lone bright spots.

• Milwaukee Bucks 95, Washington Wizards 76

The Bucks successfully dirtied up the game the way they do and held Washington to just 82.3 points per 100 possessions.

Milwaukee was +9 on turnover differential, forcing five apiece for John Wall, Nick Young and Jordan Crawford.

Offensively, Brandon Jennings, John Salmons and Andrew Bogut had solid outings. Good to see Bogut back on the floor for the first time since the Chicago loss, while also having one of his best offensive games of the season (14 points on 13 shots with seven assists).

• Phoenix Suns 113, Houston Rockets 110

The Suns and Rockets were trade partners at the deadline, but Aaron Brooks and Goran Dragic were non-factors and the game was all about Hakim Warrick scoring 32 on 19 shots while replacing Channing Frye and a big second half for Vince Carter. The Suns assisted on 28 of their 44 field goals.

Kyle Lowry continues his explosion, scoring 32 points on 18 shots. If he doesn’t have Western Conference Player of the Week wrapped up already, I’m not entirely sure what to say.

Houston was without Luis Scola, but Patrick Patterson had another very productive game with 18 points, five boards and three steals.

• Golden State Warriors 95, Cleveland Cavaliers 85

While Gerald Wallace was all over the place in a Blazers’ uniform in a battle of playoff teams, the Warriors secured win No. 3 to cap a seven-game road trip.

The first quarter was awful from Golden State’s perspective (30-18 deficit), but they ended the game allowing just 93.7 points per 100 possessions. The Cavaliers had an eFG% of 38.8% and you need to dig to the Bruins off the bench (Baron Davis and Ryan Hollins) to locate anything resembling efficient scoring

• Los Angeles Clippers 92, Charlotte Bobcats 87

The Clippers don’t win road games, but when you go 4-for-4 on winning quarters, good things happen even in games you win by only five.

Charlotte shot better from the field and the rest of the metrics were about even, except for the Clippers’ ability to get to the line and actually convert for a chance. Blake Griffin went 7-for-8 from the line, which gives his fairly routine 17 and 15 a little more maturity.

• Portland Trailblazers 89, Orlando Magic 85

The only way Orlando would beat Portland with Dwight Howard serving his one-game suspension was to hit from the perimeter and they shot a much-needed 50% from three. But while the cat's away.. so of course the Blazers controlled the paint with a +14 differential on points in the paint.

LaMarcus Aldridge had his first strong offensive game since his outstanding February, though I think we're beginning to see the impact of Gerald Wallace on his overall production. The Blazers are just beginning to figure out the kind of impact Wallace can have on this team and he is a game or two away from busting out completely.

The potential silver lining for the Magic if Howard is forced to serve another suspension along the way, we will get a better opportunity to see his true MVP value.

• New York Knicks 131, Utah Jazz 109

It doesn’t get much more efficient than a combined 65 points on 31 shots for the Big-Two. Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire each had a FIC40 over 40, as did Toney Douglas who had 20 points on nine shots. New York scored nearly 135 points per 100 possessions and this game was over from the word 'go' (or ’40 points in first quarter’).

Al Jefferson had a tidy 36 points on 26 shots, but inefficiency inflicted everyone else on Utah this side of Derrick Favors (16 and eight in 25 minutes in his Tri-State return).

• Chicago Bulls 85, New Orleans Hornets 77

You follow the NBA closely, so you know the Hornets have been very mediocre this season offensively and rank 22nd in points per 100 possessions, right behind the Clippers and ahead of the Wolves.

Going to Chicago without Chris Paul on the floor at the end of a road trip, while playing a Chicago team on the second of a back-to-back after their win of the season and you knew a low-scoring affair was imminent. The Hornets scored just 91.5 points per 100 possessions and Chicago’s less than stellar 40.7 eFG% wasn’t much better, but enough better.

• Memphis Grizzlies 107, Oklahoma City 101

This is another promising barometer win for the Grizzlies against a legitimate playoff team. Tony Allen had a strong two-way game, scoring 20 points on 12 shots and pitched in with Shane Battier against Kevin Durant.

Scoring came easy and often in the paint for both squads, with Memphis posting 68 compared to Oklahoma City’s 46, resulting in 119 points per 100 possessions for the former and 117 for the latter.

The Grizzlies frequently win close games because of second chance points out of their incredible offensive rebound rate and they were +8 (20-12).

• Dallas Mavericks 108, Minnesota Timberwolves 105

The Wolves had another third quarter lead, but the veteran depth of the Mavericks allowed them to go on a 24-7 run to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points on 12 shots (going a perfect 10-for-10 at the line) and was aided by Brian Cardinal’s 4-for-8 from distance and his multiple indispensable defensive plays. Surprisingly, Cardinal had a dead even plus/minus.

• Houston Rockets 123, Sacramento Kings 101

Sacramento scored 58 in the first half, 43 in the second half, so take a guess at which half DeMarcus Cousins scored all 20 of his points.

The Rockets scored 26 fastbreak points compared to just 10 for the Kings, thanks to the continued excellent play from Kyle Lowry. He nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, eight assists and seven boards (on just two turnovers).

Lowry has been absolutely killing it during the first four months of March, with a FIC40 of 25.0.

The NBA gave its fans multiple overtime battles, a scary moment for one of its best players, a stellar early national game and as big of a statement win from its defending champ as you'll ever see.

• Chicago Bulls 87, Miami Heat 86

Just as nobody wanted to be the team that finally lost to the Cavaliers during their streak, no ‘good’ team wants to be the first one to drop a close decision to the Heat. The Bulls wanted this win for competitiveness sake and also for potential homecourt advantage sake, but I sensed that was on the table as well in those final minutes. Miami is painfully aware of their own track record of late game inadequacy, all of us in the media are getting in on and enjoying the piling on and the opposing teams know it as well.

As excellent as Derrick Rose was with the 1-on-LeBron/Wade play being a microcosm of his season, he admitted the true cost of his turnover and missed jumper in the final stretch and the excellent two-way play of Luol Deng and his rebound on the missed free throw was what put Chicago over the top.

Even though it was Mario Chalmers with the big buckets late that put Miami back in the lead, Erik Spoelstra still isn’t getting enough out of his non-Big 3. Excluding Chalmers and the Big 3, Miami was 2-for-12 from the floor.

But both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had opportunities to hit the game-winner and neither was a look you had much confidence in when it was attempted. Miami is now 1-for-16 in the final 10 seconds of games when attempting to tie or take the lead. We all know this is going to flip at some point in the near future, possibly against the Lakers on Thursday, but it is one of the most utterly perplexing regular season stories we have seen in recent memory.

In the meantime, enjoy it all you want, Tom Thibodeau. You probably sealed Coach of the Year with this win.

• Los Angeles Lakers 99, San Antonio Spurs 83

This win doesn’t validate anything, but for weeks I’ve been standing behind the Lakers as my favorite to come out of the Western Conference. As long as Andrew Bynum is healthy, he is the difference-maker that turns the Lakers into a team that hasn’t lost a playoff series since his 07-08 breakout. If he would have been available for the 2008 Finals, perhaps we are now looking at the Lakers attempt a historical fourpeat.

In Sunday’s thorough win at San Antonio, Bynum set the tone in the interior on the glass and as a shotblocker. The Spurs scored just 97 points per 100 possessions and had an eFG% of 40.1%, a direct consequence of being unable to get anything going inside. In the past, Bynum's impact came largely on the offensive end, but if he continues to play this type of defense, the Lakers become unbeatable in seven.

Offensively, the Lakers did a better job at staying within the triangle. The only blemish came from the bench and the message Phil Jackson sent by reinserting his regulars.

They have a big week on the road, especially the Miami and Dallas games, and it will be interesting to see where they are when they return home a week from Monday against the Magic.

• New York Knicks 92, Atlanta Hawks 79

Not a pretty game offensively for both teams, as they each struggled with their shooting more than they were stopped by quality defense. New York was +6 in turnover differential, hit at a much stronger clip from beyond the arc and generally just had better ball movement and execution.

• Detroit Pistons 113, Washington Wizards 102

The Wizards don’t win on the road and the Pistons have enough talented scorers to have their way against the likes of Young, McGee and Blatche.

Detroit had 29 assists to Washington’s 15 and also had seven players in double-figures, which tells a large chunk of the story.

• Philadelphia 76ers 125, Golden State Warriors 117

Another triple-double in as many tries for Andre Iguodala (15, 11 and 10), but overtime wins at home to teams like the Warriors should count as a half wins in the standings for playoff teams. Philadelphia’s three top scorers were reserves in 20 apiece for Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young, plus 19 from Louis Williams.

The 76ers had a +15 advantage on fastbreak points and predictably a +18 on rebounds.

Philadelphia played a bad game defensively, but were bailed out in part by Monta Ellis needing 27 shots to get 27 points since just about everyone else on the Warirors had at least a decent game offensively.

• Oklahoma City 122, Phoenix Suns 118

On a Sunday of struggle for Kevin Durant (18 points on 14 shots), James Harden had an extremely efficient 26 to go with six boards, four assists, two steals and no turnovers. Durant, Harden and Westbrook combined to attempt 39 free throws (47 overall) compared to just 14 from the Suns.

Serge Ibaka had an excellent two-way game with 15 points, seven boards and four blocks while playing strong help defense.

Phoenix shot the ball well enough from the perimeter to stay in the game and also countered Oklahoma City’s work off the dribble by distributing their way to 32 assists on 48 of their makes. Vince Carter had 29, while Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus each had 20 off the bench.

• New Orleans Hornets 96, Cleveland Cavaliers 81

Scary moment for Chris Paul, who left on a stretcher but only suffered a concussion. David West had one of his finest offensive games of the season, scoring 23 on 13 shots. This road trip can't end quickly enough, though wins at Memphis and in this one have salvaged it regardless of what happens against Chicago (without Paul). The five-game homestand beginning with Dallas and ending with Boston has to be no worse than 3-2 and ideally would include more nights for Paul like he had against the Grizzlies.

• Memphis Grizzlies 104, Dallas Mavericks 103

Memphis scored more points in the third quarter (41) than they did the entire first half (38) and the one-point lead they held going into the fourth quarter was just enough thanks to Zach Randolph’s game-winning jumper. Randolph scored 27 points on 13 shots, continuing one of the finest underrated individual seasons of the past five years.

Dallas shot the ball better from the field and matched Memphis at the line, but the Grizzlies killed it on the offensive glass as we have come to expect and had a +14 advantage on second chance points.

• Boston Celtics 89, Milwaukee Bucks 83

The Celtics turned it on defensively in the second half, holding Milwaukee to just 34 points after giving up 49 in the first half. Nenad Krstic had 17 points on eight shots, continuing to be the overlooked acquisition.

Boston’s bench (Troy Murphy, Sasha Pavolovic, Jeff Green, Avery Bradley) is entirely new and it is striking to see the turnover job Danny Ainge has done outside of the Big 4. Glen Davis is the only member of the Celtics outside of the Big 4 that is a carryover from last year’s club.

The Nets topped the Raptors 137-136 on Saturday afternoon in three overtimes.

Travis Outlaw scored the final eight points for New Jersey to lead the team to a sweep of their two games in London.

The game featured four missed buzzer-beaters.

Outlaw made two free throws with 12.6 seconds remaining to put the Nets ahead for good and Andrea Bargnani missed a jumper at the buzzer at the O2 Arena.

"Hats off to the NBA ... because I think it's a huge success," Nets coach Avery Johnson said of the two European games. "This is one of the best wins I've been a part of."

New Jersey won the first game 116-103 on Friday.