NBA Scores & More: Wolves Ring Up Clippers (Again), Bulls Paste Pacers

At Blog-A-Bull, your friendly BullsBlogger points to the glass as the critical ingredient in the winning recipe for Chicago:

Meanwhile, at Indy Cornrows, Nathan S. breaks down the breakdown in the Pacers effort:

Three-point shooting helped Minnesota build a 15-point lead early in the second quarter. But the Clippers battled back to make it a ball game, going on two separate 10-0 runs, the second one just before halftime, to make it a one-point game at the intermission. But Minnesota reasserted themselves in the third quarter to build the lead back up to 10 heading into the final period.

For more on the Wolves, consult Canis Hoopus. To read up on the Clippers, visit Clips Nation.

Oklahoma City came out of halftime in typical plucky fashion. They shut down Dallas defensively by cutting off lanes and barricading the paint, silencing the Maverick bench in the process. Though they never really strung together multiple made shots, the Thunder managed to put points on the board and eat away the lead by maintaining their attack and continuing to buy trips to the free throw line. The game remained close into the fourth quarter, when Dallas pulled ahead on what felt like some dagger three-pointers by Dirk Notwitzki. But Oklahoma City made one last stand that allowed them the room to creep back in and take the win. From Welcome To Loud City:

Those Terry attempts really were low percentage shots -- a pair of off-balance jumpers that seemed to splinter Dallas’ offensive game plan. Dirk Nowitzki, who was available and mismatched on both possessions, appeared more than a little peeved after the fact. Nowitzki finished with a game-high 27 points.

Jefferson challenged Cleveland’s soft interior defense with an array of post-ups, face-ups and kick-outs and intimidated their offense on his way 25 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, seven assists and zero turnovers -- all game bests. Meanwhile, Hayward responded to his benching in the best way possible. The second-year guard offered assertions on his ability in early opportunities and effectively forced head coach Ty Corbin to play him 28 minutes by manufacturing 23 points on a hyper-efficient 8-11 shooting and dishing out five assists without committing a single turnover. Cleveland defenders seemed unconcerned with Air Gordon for most of the night, and he channeled that into something great on the floor. For those of you keeping track, 48 points, 62.9 percent shooting, 17 rebounds, 12 assists and zero turnovers came from that Jazz duo.

Cleveland looked like they were throwing the ball at the hoop rather than shooting it in the second period. A sloppy 2-11 effort from the paint did more than enough damage during that 12-minute stretch to push the game out of reach the rest of the way. Kyrie’s second half eruption turned into a garbage time gutter ball as the Cavs never again gained a lead after they fell behind by 15 at the half and only moved the deficit back under double digits with 49 seconds to play. After the game,