Around the NBA

25 IN A ROW

The losing continues as the Cavaliers fell for the 25th straight game. Facing off against one of the hottest teams in the NBA, the Cavs gave Dallas all they could handle but still fell one shot short, 99-96. The final sequence was especially painful as the Cavaliers had the ball with time to get a final shot off, but Jamario Moon passed up a three instead of shooting it and the clock ran out without a final attempt. J.J. Hickson led the Cavaliers with 26 points and 12 rebounds and Ramon Sessions had 19 points and 13 assists, but once again the Cavs fell short as we get closer and closer an epic Wizards-Cavaliers showdown. Dallas, who won for the 9th straight game, got 60 points from their bench led by Jason Terry's 23. Peja Stojakovic made his Mavericks debut starting at small forward and scoring 8.

50 FOR MELO

Carmelo Anthony had a monster game last night for Denver becoming just the second player this year to eclipse the 50-point plateau as he put up 50 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, but it wasn't enough as the Nuggets came up short against the Houston Rockets falling by a score of 108-103. Only two other Nuggets were in double figures (Ty Lawson with 19 and Al Harrington with 10) and the Nuggets managed just 14 assists on their 35 field goals. Some of that was due to the fact that starting point guard Chauncey Billups played just 9 minutes before leaving with a strained knee. Kevin Martin had 37 points and 7 assists while Luis Scola added 25 to lead the way for the Rockets.

FROM THE ROUTINE TO THE NOT SO ROUTINE

Another typical night for Kevin Love as he scored 27 points and 17 rebounds for his 37th consecutive double-double tying the franchise mark set by Kevin Garnett. Only this time, it came in a road win, just the Wolves 3rd in 26 tries against the New Orleans Hornets. It came at a heavy price though as Minnesota saw starters Darko Milicic (hip flexor strain) and Michael Beasley (ankle sprain) both go down with injuries. Backup big men Anthony Tolliver and Nikola Pekovic, a 6'11" rookie from Montanegro, each scored 12 points off the bench to pick up the slack. David West had 18 points and Chris Paul had 17 and 13 assists to lead the way for reeling New Orleans, losers of 5 of their last 6.