Luis Scola hit 10 of 11 shots from the floor for 21 points as the Houston Rockets knocked off the Portland Trail Blazers 103-87. Portland wasted a 22-point effort from Nicolas Batum, as Wes Matthews shot just 2-10 and his back-up (how weird it is to type this) Brandon Roy missed five of his seven shots. Gerald Wallace provided a double-double (14 and 10) off the bench, playing power forward almost exclusively.
Rockets Vs. Blazers: Luis Scola Almost Perfect In Houston Win
Scola was joined in the scoring column by Kyle Lowry (21) and Kevin Martin (20), who each hit three three-pointers to spread the floor for the Argentine artisan. Scola isn't usually a terribly efficient scorer, despite hitting about half of his shots from the floor; he simply doesn't draw fouls like most featured power forwards. But that hardly matters if you're hitting all but one of your shots.
Houston has won five straight to pull up to .500, but still sits three games behind Memphis for the No. 8 seed, with Phoenix also in the way. The Blazers, currently No. 7, are in a virtual tie with Memphis.
In other action:
Lakers 90, Wolves 79: Minnesota actually led by six points in the third quarter, but Michael Beasley shot 1-8 the rest of the way and the Lakers took over. Kevin Love shot just 2-10 to finish with 13 points and 11 rebounds; the double-double streak is alive, but L.A. had its way with Love and the Wolves on the offensive glass (18). Nikola Pekovic played more than eight minutes, totaling zero points, one rebound, one block, three turnovers and four fouls. CHAMPION.
Pacers 109, Warriors 100: Danny Granger led the Pacers with 27 points as Indiana withstood a three-point barrage by Stephen Curry (4-8) and Reggie Williams (5-7). Frank Vogel gave 11 Pacers at least 14 minutes of burn.
Mavericks 109, 76ers 93: Jason Terry scored 30 off the bench for the streaking Mavs, and Dirk Nowitzki had 22. Philadelphia desperately needs a better big man than Spencer Hawes; Hawes' ineffectiveness leads to too much Elton Brand at center. Think the Sixers regret the Hawes-Samuel Dalembert trade (especially considering Philly took on extra salary in Andres Nocioni)?
Raptors 96, Hornets 90: Chris Paul had a second straight brutal shooting night, going 3-10 for seven points as New Orleans fell. David West had 19 and 10, and Carl Landry and Jarrett Jack each had 17 off the bench. But Jose Calderon was brilliant (22 points, 16 assists), and CP3 was not.
Bucks 92, Pistons 90: Rip Hamilton is back from solitary confinement (again), but Detroit is still bad. The Pistons lost to a Bucks team splitting center minutes between rookie Larry Sanders and Earl Barron.
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