NBA Rewind – February 8th

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Another exciting weekend of NBA action is in the books as once again there were several close calls for the favorites, one-sided blowouts and some shocking upsets. Here is a brief review of the top games from this past weekend.

In the premier match up on Friday night, the Denver Nuggets upset the LA Lakers in the Staples Center 126-113. With Carmelo Anthony out of the lineup, Chauncey Billups scored a career high 39 points including 27 points from three point range to lead the Nuggets to victory.

In another big upset, the Minnesota Timberwolves came into Dallas as 10 ½ point underdog and beat the Mavericks 117-108. The Timberwolves had six players score in double figures led by Kevin Love’s 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. This was the Mavs fourth loss in their last five games.

In another shocker, the Washington Wizards beat the Magic 92-91 in Orlando. Washington was able to overcome a 21 point deficit led by Caron Butler’s season high 31 points. Vince Carter scored 21 points and Dwight Howard added 20 points and 18 rebounds in the losing cause.

Boston was favored by 13 points over New Jersey and while they did not cover, they were happy to come away with a 96-87 win over the Nets. Ray Allen led the way for the Celtics with 26 points and Rajon Rondo added a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists.

In other games Atlanta beat Chicago 91-81 to cover the 7 ½ point spread, Phoenix rolled over the Kings 114-102 easily covering as three point favorites, and Philadelphia upset New Orleans 101-94.

There was a full state of action on Saturday starting with the Cleveland Cavaliers taking care of the New York Knicks 113-106. While they did not cover the 12 ½ point spread, the Cavs did win their 11th straight game and Lebron James torched the Knicks for 47 points.

The Utah Jazz took full advantage of both Anthony and Billups sitting this one out in a 116-106 win over the Nuggets. It was Utah’s eighth straight victory and the 12th win in their last 13 games.

The Lakers bounced back from Friday’s loss with a 99-82 win over the Trail Blazers in Portland. Even though they were 2 ½ point favorites, it was LA’s first win in the Rose Garden since 2005. With Kobe Bryant out of the lineup, Lamar Odom came up big with 10 points and 22 rebounds and Ron Artest led the team in scoring with 21 points.

The 76er’s pulled off their second big upset in a row by stunning the Houston Rockets 102-95. In other action, San Antonio took care of the LA Clippers 98-81, Chicago beat Miami 95-91, and Oklahoma City defeated Golden State 104-94.

There were only two games scheduled for Sunday. In the first, Toronto was an eight point favorite over Sacramento and outscored the Kings 31-17 in the fourth quarter to come away with a 115-104 victory. Chris Bosh led the Raptors with 36 points and 11 rebounds. Orlando blew the Celtics away in the third quarter, outscoring them 36-11 and went on to win 96-89. Carter led all scorers with 20 points and Howard added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic.

• NBA Rewind – February 1st
• NBA Rewind — February 22nd
• NBA Rewind: March 1st
• NBA Rewind for March 15th
• Billups Matches Career High as Nuggets Win in Overtime