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NBA All-Stars Joe Johnson of Atlanta and Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City put on an All-Star caliber show for the fans inside a rocking Ford Center, but it was Thunder forward Jeff Green who capped the night for the home team.

Durant, who scored 33 points, found Green alone in the corner, rifled him a pass and Green tossed in a dagger from 23 feet with 1:42 left in the game to lead the Thunder to a 106-99 win over the Hawks.

The big 3-pointer seemed to take the life out of what had been a valliant comeback by Atlanta.

"I saw Jeff was open for a split second," Durant said, "so I threw it to him and I knew he was gonna hit it."

Green did not disappoint, finishing with 19 points inclduing 3-for-4 on 3-pointers.

Durant picked up another double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds to go along with his 33 points. Durant has now scored 25 or more in 22 straight games, the longest streak in the NBA since Allen Iverson put together a string of 27 straight in the 2000-01 season.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson was more than impressed and he didn't have to hear the chants of M-V-P coming from the Ford Center crowd to know what he was seeing.

"He's very unique," Woodson said. "I look at him now and he's playing like an MVP candidate in this league. He scores very, very easy. That's hard to do in this league. Only the great ones can do that."

Durant has now scored 30 or more points in 28 games, the most of anyone in the NBA.

"This is a good win to end the homestand on. We beat one of the best teams in the league," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.

"You have to give them credit because defensively they got after us," Woodson said. "We made a game of it in the fourth by getting back in it."

Johnson put his team on his back in the second half, scoring 23 points to finish with a game-high 37. The Hawks went on a 25-12 run from late in the third quarter to the middle of the fourth, tying the game at 89.

"We gave up a couple of transition 3s and that's just unacceptable," Brooks said.

But from that point on Oklahoma City buckled down on defense and made stops and then made shots at the other end of the floor.

"We shot ourselves out of it by taking bad shots coming down the stretch," Woodson said.

OKC point guard Russell Westbrook took over the game during that time, making several key plays on offense and defense.

"I thought Russell's execution in the fourth quarter was as good as it gets," Brooks said. "He made a lot of great decisions and was aggressive at both ends."

Westbrook just missed a triple-double, scoring 12 points, dishing out nine assists and grabbing nine rebounds.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle where both teams struggled to hit baskets. Neither managed to make 40 percent of their shots with Oklahoma City (27-21) shooting only 37.1 percent and Atlanta (30-17) not much better at 39 percent.

The Thunder came in with the fourth-ranked field goal shooting defense in the NBA, limiting teams to 43.7 percent. Rebounds were almost even with OKC leading 23-22.

The Hawks had a sizeable advantage in a couple of areas at the break, leading in points in the paint, 24-16 and in second chance points, 12-6.

Durant led all scorers at halftime with 20 points, while none of his teammates were in double figures.

Johnson led the Hawks with 14 while Josh Smith added 11 through the first half.

Johnson tried to take over the game in the third quarter when he scored 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting to rally his team from a 13-point deficit to just seven, 79-72 at the end of the third.

Johnson's 37 points on 13-for-20 shooting led all scorers, Josh Smith added 15 for the Hawks and Al Horford contributed 14.

Oklahoma City had a big advantage on the boards, outrebounding Atlanta 45-35, the Thunder pulling down 17 offensive rebounds.

Atlanta lost both games to the Thunder this season but has still won nine of their last 13.

Oklahoma City is now on a three-game winning streak and the Thunder have now won six of their last nine as they head into a three-game road swing before the All-Star break.

Source:

By Randy Renner, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday February 3, 2010 12:10AM

It's time to start taking the Memphis Grizzlies seriously, and unfortunately for them, the best team in the Eastern Conference did exactly that.

That's pretty much the reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers emerged with an easy 105-89 home win Tuesday night. More accurately, the Cavs refused to overlook a Grizzlies team that used to be considered a gimme on weeknight in February.

Of course, focus isn't an issue for the Cavs (39-11) these days. They have now won nine straight, and a lot of those have come rather easily.

Meanwhile, the forever-improving Grizzlies (26-22) were playing a rare deadly double, with back-to-back games against the best team from each conference on consecutive nights (they beat the Lakers on Monday).

Not surprisingly, the Cavs were never really threatened, beating the Grizzlies in every way imaginable -- to rebounds and loose balls, off the fast break and in the halfcourt. Not surprising because the Griz had to be exhausted, and more so, because the Cavs have just been that good lately.

On Tuesday, it was a systematic route, as the Cavs never trailed and led by as many as 28.

"They did a good job of taking us out of our offense," said Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. "It was a methodical thing."

As usual, it was also a LeBron James thing. The reigning NBA MVP scored 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting, and that wasn't even when he was at his best. He also recorded 15 assists and yet another one of those chase-down blocks, in which he swats an unsuspecting opponent's shot off the backboard from behind.

Even when James plays less than 40 minutes, as he did Tuesday, he continues to give the league the right to proclaim that it truly is the place Where Amazing Happens.

"He's just a great player," Hollins said. "I don't know that there's much more you can say about him. He sees things that other players don't see. We are in a zone (defense) and he knows what's going on. He attacks the basket then throws it out for a 3-pointer. He attacks the basket, then throws it in for a layup."

Another staple of the Cavs' winning streak has been balance, and that was again the case on this night. Besides James, the Cavs received major contributions from guard Daniel Gibson (16 points, 6-for-11 shooting), forward J.J. Hickson (15 points, 8 rebounds) and center Shaquille O'Neal (13 points, 13 boards). Also, Zydrunas Ilgauskas (14 points) and Anderson Varejao (8 points, tons of hustle) came up big off the bench.

On top of all that, the Cavs were magnificent defensively, particularly when it came to guarding Zach Randolph. The Grizzlies' All-Star forward was limited to eight points, or 13 below his season average, on 3-for-14 shooting.

It's no wonder Cavs coach Mike Brown repeatedly used the word "fun" when describing his team's performance.

"For us to play the way we did defensively was extremely fun to watch," Brown said. "That first half was the most fun half I've had watching my team play this year. Even offensively, we were moving the ball side to side, driving and kicking, playing pick-and-roll on the backside, giving the ball to Shaq at the right time and spacing the right way. It was fun to watch."

It was considerably less enjoyable for the Grizzlies, who shot just 38 from the field, including 2-for-14 on 3-pointers. Just don't ask them if they had tired legs.

"(Monday) night had nothing to do with tonight," Hollins said in reference to the hard-fought win over the Lakers. "Tonight had to do with the Cleveland Cavaliers and what they did defensively and what they were doing offensively. We have been playing back-to-backs all year long, and we are going to continue to play them as long as these kids are in the league."

Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 15 points and Jamaal Tinsley contributed 12 off the bench.

The Cavs still have five games remaining on their seven-game homestand, the franchise's longest in 15 years. They are 20-3 at home, having avenged an early-season loss in Memphis.

"We're definitely conscious when we lose to a team," James said. "We wanted to play a better game than we did last time, and definitely came out with the mindset just to play to our abilities."

As an interesting aside, the Cavs are now 20-0 when Hickson scores seven points or more.

"I think it's all developing at one time," Hickson said of his game. "When I get myself going on the defensive end, it improves my offense because I'm more active."

Source:

By By Sam Amico, For NBA.com
Posted Tuesday February 2, 2010 11:00PM

Rain or Shine outlasted Coca-Cola Tigers to survive the wildcard and face Purefoods TJ Giants in the quarter finals of the PBA All Filipino Cup. Behind the stellar performance of point guard Solomon Mercado, Rain or Shine is on a good rhythm entering the quarter finals. However, fatigue is the main concern of Rain or Shine because they'll be against the well-rested Purefoods team which is also on a streak this 2010.

Controversial James Yap and team captain Kerby Raymundo will lead the charge for the Giants. But Purefoods has evolved into a better team this season, showing significant improvements in their assists per game output. Their bench headed by KG Canaleta, PJ Simon, Don Allado, and Roger Yap is also performing very well. More than their offensive firepower, Purefoods is the number one defensive team in the PBA today.

On the other end, Talk n Text will battle the injury-plagued Gin Kings. Despite losing their key players to injuries, Ginebra managed to advance to the quarters behind the guns of Cyrus Baguio, Ronald Tubid and JC Intal. This series will surely be a showdown of guards. Jimmy Alapag and Mac Cardona will surely won't back down against Ginebra's backcourt. It will be interesting to see how Ginebra will play defense against Mac Cardona.

At 5pm Purefoods battles Rain or Shine while Brgy. Ginebra Gin Kings faces Talk n Text Tropang Texters in the main game.

NBA 2K10 is a basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. It was released on October 6, 2009 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PSP and on October 12, 2009 on PC.

The 2k10 version is not really that far from the NBA 2K9 release. They changed the control configuration a bit. I noticed very minimal improvements in terms of graphics. Gameplay though has really improved.

From 2k Sports:

NBA 2K10 is raising the bar again with another Championship season. NBA 2K9, the #1 selling & #1 rated NBA videogame, set the standard for all basketball videogames, and NBA 2K10 surpasses that by delivering an even better basketball experience this year with all-new gameplay components, out-of-this-world graphics, even more realistic Signature Style animations, all-new presentation elements and an unrivalled online system -- this season you won’t just play the NBA, you’ll TAKE OVER.

I was really impressed when I first played the 2K10 PC version. Note that I've been playing NBA live since birth! Since EA Sports no longer provided PC version of their NBA live series, I learned to enjoy 2k Sports' offerings.

Like NBA game console fanatic, I'm still dismayed that the 2K series does not support multiplayer mode via local area network (LAN).

If you don't have a copy of NBA 2K10, give this link a try.

Expect war in tonight's sudden death match between the Coca-Cola Tigers and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters as the PBA Wildcard phase continues. The winner of tonight's match will advance to the quarter finals and will face the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.

Coca-Cola defeated Burger King while Rain or Shine busted Sta. Lucia Realtors to seal tonight's battle. Coca-Cola is unbeaten this year. The trade with Burger King proved to be worthy for the Tiger. The sent Wesley Gonzales and ace-guard Alex Cabagnot to the Whoppers in exchange for Gary David and Chico Lanete. The revival of Asi Taulava who missed most of the elimination games due to injury is the main reason why Coke is roaring. Asi is producing double-double numbers each game.

Rain or Shine meanwhile, has been on a slump all season long. Fortunately they managed to win when it mattered the most. They outlasted the more favored Sta. Lucia Realtors in their duel last Sunday. Leading Rain or Shine are Sol Mercado, Gabe Norwood and special mention to their team captain, veteran Eddie Laure.

PBA fans are in for an epic battle tonight!

The 2010 NBA All Star weekend is coming this February. Fans can surely expect a stellar performance from NBA superstars who'll participate in various events.

Leading the cast of superstars are Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. It's also amazing to see how people voted for Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson for the all-star game. Despite their lousy season, this only proves that the two have made their mark in the league.

The Sprite Slamdunk contest should also be more exciting this season. Although, I'm quite dismayed that Lebron James decided not to participate in this year's slamdunk competition. I guess he realized that he's no match for the other participants. Two weeks ago, Shaquille O'neal even encouraged Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter to join the show together with James for the cause of Haiti earthquake victims.

Many of my friends in the provinces are depending on live streaming channels in the internet to watch NBA games and other basketball leagues. I tried to help them out by searching for DIRECT TV offers that's available on their areas. Luckily, i bumped into one DIRECTTV site which offers affordable packages with great deals.

If you are looking for a DIRECTV provider, this one is really worth a look. All the information you need is stated in their website. With their flexible packages you'll surely be able to choose a deal that suits you best.

Now you can enjoy watching live NBA games and other sports in high-definition! Aside from watching live, there's no better way to watch the 2010 NBA All Star festivities in high-definition broadcast!