NBA wRap: Derrick Rose gets hurt again

MANILA, Philippines – Derrick Rose is hurt again, unfortunately, but the Bulls managed to beat the Raptors without the former MVP and took control of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Memphis also came away with a win thanks to a miracle from Courtney Lee, while Dallas and Golden State ruled over their Eastern Conference counterparts. Check out the Friday, November 14 NBA wRap for more.

Memphis Grizzlies (8-1) 111 – 110 Sacramento Kings (5-4)
MEM: Mike Conley: 22 points, 11 assists, 1 steal
SAC: Rudy Gay: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists

It was the second straight game Sacramento led by at least 20 but blew the match. The last time it took place was during their loss to Dallas from a few days back. But against the Grizzlies, they could chalk up their loss to just pure bad luck.

In 2009, when he was a rookie, Courtney Lee missed the biggest shot of his career when he failed to sink a game winner that could have given the Orlando Magic a 1-1 series tie in their Finals matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers:

Highlight of the Day: The stage wasn’t exactly as big on Friday against Sac-Town, but Lee made sure to capitalize and give his team the victory, albeit with the delayed action from the game’s time-keeper:

Like I said, just bad luck for the Kings. Though Ben McLemore could have played way better defense there.

On a brighter side for Sacramento, DeMarcus Cousins continued to play well and didn’t kill anybody. He finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Those 6 turnovers could use some improvement, though.

Courtney Lee’s highlight was nice, but Tony Allen’s was definitely the funniest. Just not for the right reason:

Chicago Bulls (7-2) 100 – 93 Toronto Raptors (7-2)
CHI: Pau Gasol: 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks
TOR: Kyle Lowry: 20 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists

It was a classic, smash-mouth performance out of the Bulls. After playing Toronto’s fast-paced, offense-heavy style of play in the first half, Chicago turned the game’s momentum and pace around in the second half and led by as much as 16.

It was the victory the Bulls needed to establish themselves as the early favorites of the Eastern Conference. Toronto was the hottest team in the East before Chicago visited their arena up north in Canada to send them a message: the conference goes through Chi-Town. With added depth this season, the Bulls are better equipped to handle Rose’s minor setbacks here and there as well.

Speaking of which:

The good news is Rose says he just tweaked his hamstring and doesn’t expect the injury to be too serious. The bad news is Bulls fans have heard that line way too many times in the past to not be concerned.

Or maybe they can listen to Joakim Noah, who gave his two cents on Rose’s latest setback:

Noah on Rose: "He has to listen to his body more than anybody. So everybody needs to chill the f*#$ out. I’m sorry for cursing.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 14, 2014

One guy who is healthy for Chicago is Jimmy Butler, who outside of putting up 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists against Toronto, also had a nice highlight dunk from Mike Dunleavy’s pass:

Dallas Mavericks (6-3) 123 – 70 Philadelphia 76ers (0-8)
DAL: Dirk Nowitzki: 21 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
PHI: Michael Carter-Williams: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

Philadelphia citizens are done with this team. Frankly, so are everyone else.

Philly is losing so bad fans aren’t even into the game. pic.twitter.com/eBA0HREFfI

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) November 14, 2014

Golden State Warriors (6-2) 107 – 99 Brooklyn Nets (4-4)
GSW: Draymond Green: 17 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists
BKN: Deron Williams: 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds

Andre Iguodala’s numbers have been down this season, and his poor play has relegated him to the bench. But he can still throw down some awesome dunks:

Tweet of the Day: Joe Johnson finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Apparently, that inspired him enough that he now plans on keeping his body fat at a low level.

Joe Johnson is funny. Looking at In-N-Out burgers in the locker room, he said, "Man, I can’t put that stuff in this Bugatti body, man."

— Andrew Keh (@andrewkeh) November 14, 2014

Fantasy Line of the Day: Pau Gasol continues to make Bulls management look like geniuses for signing him. Against Toronto, he put up 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He threw away only 2 turnovers, went 12-of-19 from the field, and 3-of-4 from the FT line.

On another note, let’s check in with Ron Artest, uhm, Metta World Peace, uhm, Panda Friend. Or whatever his name is:

son, those shoes… RT @Chris_Reichert: Ron, pic.twitter.com/FFqeseyamN

— Robby Kalland (@RKalland) November 14, 2014

These NBA Adidas swingman jersey commercials are pretty awesome. After a nice one featuring Andrew Wiggins and his body double from a week ago, they released a new ad including Damian Lillard and his self-proclaimed “perfectionist” buddy:

– Rappler.com