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NBA wRap: Rockets take flight in J-Smoove’s debut

Naveen Ganglani

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NBA wRap: Rockets take flight in J-Smoove’s debut
Josh Smith scores 21 points off the bench in his Houston debut, Rajon Rondo shines as a Maverick with a near triple-double, and more on today's NBA wRap

MANILA, Philippines – Josh Smith was his typical self on Saturday, December 27: taking a lot jumpers, missing a lot of jumpers, but providing on other areas of the game as well. It was enough to help Houston come away with an overtime win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In other action, Kenneth Faried dominated Minnesota, while Rajon Rondo had his best game as a Maverick.

All that and more in Saturday’s, December 27 NBA wRap:

Brooklyn Nets (13-15) 109 – 107 Boston Celtics (10-17)

BKN: Jarrett Jack: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

BOS: Jeff Green: 22 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds

Cleveland Cavaliers (18-11) 98 – 89 Orlando Magic (11-21)

CLE: LeBron James: 29 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds

ORL: Nikola Vucevic: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists

The Cavaliers bounced back from their Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat by beating the Orlando Magic without Kyrie Irving (knee). Kevin Love had 22 points but was benched the entire fourth quarter.

Oladipo flies and slams over LeBron:

Tobias Harris decided to take the fight to LeBron. Guess who had the last laugh. 

Ever tried to flirt with a girl in the club, only for her to leave before you could utter a word? That’s likely what Dion Waiters felt when LeBron ignored him on this play: 

Milwaukee Bucks (15-15) 107 – 77 Atlanta Hawks (21-8)

MIL: Jared Dudley: 24 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals

ATL: Paul Millsap: 22 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals

Let’s sum up the night for the Atlanta Hawks: 

Atlanta entered the game having won 14 of their last 15 matches and winners of 5 straight. They get a shot at revenge against the Bucks on Sunday, December 28, when they face in Milwaukee.

Detroit Pistons (6-23) 119 – 109 Indiana Pacers (10-20)

DET: Greg Monroe: 19 points, 15 rebounds, 3 steals

IND: CJ Watson: 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds

It looks like waiving Josh Smith was the right move for Coach Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons, who snapped a 4-game losing streak against the Pacers. The future of the franchise, their two core big men, had outstanding performances: 

New Orleans Pelicans (15-14) 97 – 90 San Antonio Spurs (18-13)

NOP: Anthony Davis: 22 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists, 2 steals

SAS: Tim Duncan: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists

The West is really, really good. The East, not so much: 

Anthony Davis rejected Tim Duncan’s shot attempt and had a pretty enthusiastic reaction: 

Oklahoma City Thunder (15-16) 98 – 75 Charlotte Hornets (10-20)

OKC: Russell Westbrook: 29 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds

CHA: Brian Roberts: 17 points, 2 rebounds

Houston Rockets (21-7) 117 – 111 Memphis Grizzlies (21-8)

HOU: James Harden: 32 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks

MEM: Marc Gasol: 29 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

Tweet of the Day:

Welcome to the Josh Smith experience, Houston! 

In fairness to Josh Smith, who came off the bench to score 21 points, grab 8 rebounds and shoot 9-of-21 in his Rockets debut, he did hit a few clutch shots down the stretch in Houston’s win. But the star of the night was Harden, who made the shot towards the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, and dominated the Grizzlies’ defense all game long. 

Despite the loss, the Grizzlies (who played without Zach Randolph) have something to be positive about:

Well played, Rockets social media account, well played: 

Dallas Mavericks (21-10) 102 – 98 Los Angeles Lakers (9-21)

DAL: Rajon Rondo: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists

LAL: Carlos Boozer: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal

It turns out playing the Lakers’ defense was all Rondo needed to get his groove on in the Big D. The star point guard finished with a near triple-double and shot 10-of-17 from the field, while the Mavs as a team shot 50% from the floor.

Nowitzki also completed a milestone against the Lakers, passing Elvin Hayes for eighth all-time in the NBA scoring list.

Kobe Bryant sat out his third straight game. Los Angeles is now 1-2 without him playing. 

Here’s the bright side for the Lakers: they still have Swaggy P. 

Gorgui Dieng tried to make a late entry to Rappler’s Top Dunks of 2014, but JJ Hickson would have none of it: 

– Rappler.com

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