NBA Wednesday: Clippers, Mavs, Spurs victorious

If you had no idea what followed, you’d think this was perfectly set up for Garnett to turn and screen for Pierce to curl up to the top of the key. The other two Celtics are stationed on the opposite side of the court, and Green can easily feed Pierce on the wing, then cut to get out of the way.

The Celtics don’t do that, thought, choosing instead to give the ball to Garnett in the high post.

My heavens.

The Clippers shot 54 percent from the field, while Milwaukee shot 48.1 percent. The game featured eight lead changes and three ties.

• The NBA feeds its own conspiracy theories

Regardless, we have compiled every Surprised Jrue Holiday GIF you will probably ever need.

It starts off simple enough ...

The Spurs shot well and made 54.1 percent of their overall looks and an outstanding 57.1 percent from the three-point line. They took care of the basketball on top of all that with only eight giveaways.

The Bulls struggled to get things going offensively and shot just 36.7 percent from the field.

Poor Tiago. I’m not sure what else you can do there to both defend a shot well and also not get hit in the testicles by Nazr Mohammed.

#PrayForTiagoSplitter

Dallas (27-33) used 54.2 percent shooting from the field to overcome losing the rebounding margin, 40-33, to defeat their in-state rival.

The game featured 11 lead changes and six ties. The Mavericks led by as many as 13.

You know, their basket.

Ultimately, the Hornets would fumble away a 20+ point lead and score nine points in the final quarter to the Lakers’ 33. And that’s how you lose a basketball game.

Afterwards, Dwyane Wade gave the postgame interview to their Fox Sports affiliate, which LeBron was more than happy to photobomb.

Gortat had a strong start up until that point, hitting four of his six shots and grabbing four rebounds to go with his eight points.

Gortat’s absence makes the Suns even weaker in the frontcourt, leaving them hard up for rebounding help. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious.

• The NBA feeds its own conspiracy theories

• Dwight Howard, Phil Jackson exchange texts

• The NBA feeds its own conspiracy theories

• Dwight Howard, Phil Jackson exchange texts

I can just picture LeBron following this referee for the next few days, trying to argue every little thing to referee David Guthrie.

Following behind Guthrie’s midsize sedan on the highway, LeBron leans forward and yells out his window “WHY DIDN’T YOU TAKE THAT EXIT, DAVID? YOU’RE MAKING A MISTAKE.” Guthrie stops at a Redbox to pick up a movie. “SERIOUSLY, DAVID? THE ZOOKEEPER? YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.” He washes the night’s dishes. “DAVID, ARE YOU DUMB? USE CIRCULAR MOTIONS.”

My mind is blown by this play. I can’t comprehend it all at once.

LeBron no-look passes behind his back to Wade, who lofts it back to LeBron for a massive one-handed power flush.

Anthony was questionable heading into the game against the Pistons in the Palace of Auburn Hills. Woodson said earlier in the day that he would start Tyson Chandler, Kurt Thomas, James White, Iman Shumpert and Ray Felton if Anthony was unavailable, according to Posting and Toasting.

So the Knicks will be without their 28.2-points-per-game scorer for the time being, though Woodson told ESPN New York that when Anthony returns, he hopes to cut down on the forward’s minutes anyway. Heading into Wednesday, the NBA’s second leading scorer was 13th in the NBA by averaging 37.8 minutes per game.

In the teams’ first meeting this season, Paul contributed 13 assists and 10 points on 10 shots, leading a balanced Clippers attack in a route of the Bucks, who in that game shot just 36 percent from the field.

Time: 10:30 p.m. ET

The Pacers may still lack the offensive firepower to challenge the likes of Miami, Oklahoma City or San Antonio in a seven-game series, but it’s getting easier to imagine this squad riding defense to a possible upset.

While the Celtics have issues of their own to deal with, their recent play could move them up in the standings before season’s end, as Indy Cornrows notes.

Despite being led by an aging trio of Ginobili, Duncan and Parker, who will be out for the next few weeks with an injury of his own, San Antonio continues to dominate opponents with a deep, balanced attack. Since Feb. 8, the team has lost just two games, both in overtime.

Wednesday’s game begins at 9 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Interestingly enough, the Spurs beat the Bulls in Chicago just a couple weeks ago despite being without Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Stephen Jackson. So this time around, it will be the Bulls who try and steal a road win while playing extremely short-handed.

Not far away, the Dallas Mavericks will host the Houston Rockets in the second of a home-and-home between the two teams. The Rockets torched the Mavs in Houston on Sunday night, winning 136-103 behind 32 points from Chandler Parsons.