NBA Monday Recap: Miami Heat earn franchise-best 15th straight win, Carmelo Anthony injures knee and more

Mar 4, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) walks off the court on his way to the locker room after suffering an apparent injury in the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Hows it going basketball fans? Tonight we had another jam-packed night as seven games were played around the league. So without further ado, here’s your Mon. March 5 2013 NBA recap!

We being our journey to Cleveland where the Cavaliers welcomed the New York Knicks. The Knicks, third in the eastern conference and trying to win all games remaining in their regular seasons schedule, came, saw and conquered the Cavs, defeating them 102-97. Amar’e Stoudemire led the Knicks with 22 points and six rebounds. J.R. Smith contributed off the bench with his 18 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Carmelo Anthony, playing for only 14 minutes, finished with six points. He essentially tripped over himself, leaving to the locker room with an apparent knee injury. Nothing looked wrong and he even walked off by himself. Hopefully it’s nothing serious because the Knicks will need him if they plan to conquer the Miami Heat. Howard Beck of The New York Times recaps the Knicks win here.

We take a short break as we head over to King James Gospel. Let’s talk T-Mac, shall we? McGrady had a lot of ups and downs in his career. From being a Raptors star in Toronto alongside Vince Carter, to tumbling and being traded to various teams. McGrady, only 33-years-old currently plays for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association. One has to wonder though. Can McGrady return to the NBA? That’s what Vytis Lasaitis explores as he reports in his piece whether or not the seven time NBA all-star can indeed return to the NBA. You can read his piece here.

The next game we had tonight was the Milwaukee Bucks against the Utah Jazz. Both teams desperately need wins hanging on the last seeds in their conference. The Bucks especially want to move up to at least the seventh spot in order to stay away from a series sweep against Miami. It looks like they’re on the right track as they defeated the Jazz 109-108 in an overtime thriller. Monta Ellis led the Bucks with 34 points, three assists and four rebounds. Brandon Jennings also contributed with a double-double 30 points and 17 assists. As well, new Buck, J.J. Redick scored 17 points off the bench. Alex Skov of Behind the Buck Pass recaps the game here.

We take a break as we head over to Harwood Houdini for some Boston Celtics news. Michael Sykes, II noticed a great improvement in Avery Bradley. Bradley, coming off an injured shoulder has step it up big time with point guard, Rajon Rondo out. Although Bradley’s improvement has gone unnoticed to some, to Boston fans they see his confidence growing tremendously and helping the time in their time of need. You can read Syke’s piece here.

Back to the games we go as we now head over to New Orleans Arena, where the Hornets welcomed the Orlando Magic. The Magic snapped their three game losing streak defeated the Hornets 102-105. Arron Afflalo led his squad with 26 points, five assist and five rebounds. The Hornets however, had three players score 17 points each, Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon and Grieves Vasquez, but where unable to get the win losing to the lowly Magic. Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel reviews the game here.

Back to Hardwood Houdini we go as Mike Cerra questions whether or not the Boston Celtics can still come out on top of the atlantic division. That division, consisting of the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and the third seeded in the Eastern Conference, New York Knicks alongside the Boston Celtics is a competitive division. You can read Cerra’s piece here and decided for yourself whether the Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger-less Boston Celtics can infact make top the atlantic division.

Back to the games and we now have the game of the night chosen by you, the fans to air on NBA TV’s fan night. The fans have spoken and chose the Miami Heat taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves as the game for fan night. The T-Wolves, missing their entire front court of Kevin Love, Nikola Pekavoic and Andrei Kirilenko, put up a good fight against the Heat, but ultimately lost to a final score of 97-81. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with his double-double of 32 points, and 10 assists. Lebron James, tweaking his ankle in the game against the Knicks, appeared to be alright contributing 20 points. Ricky Rubio filled the stat sheet with 14 points, six steals, eight assists and five rebounds had an overall good game, but it wasn’t enough. Minnesota’s J.J. Barea also got in a fight with Miami’s Ray Allen received a flagrant two and was ejected from the game. That’s a ridicoulous call compared to the fact that the other day, Thunder Serge Ibaka punched Clippers’ Blake Griffin in the groin and only received a flagrant one. Just ridiculous. Ben Beecken of Dunking With Wolves reviews the T-Wolves loss here.

We head over to Hardwood Houdini for one last time today where Mike Cerra talks about the Boston Celtics future. Over the recent months, the Celtics acquired Terrence Williams from free agency and Jordan Crawford from the february trade deadline. With Rondo and Sullinger coming back in the future, Cerra writes whether or not Crawford or Williams will be part of Boston’s future plans. You can read his piece here.

Back to the game recaps we go as the Atlanta Hawks took on the Denver Nuggets. The Hawks, losing to the Lakers the other day need a win desperately in order to stay in the playoff picture. They wouldn’t find one tonight as they lost to the Nuggets to a final score 104-88. The Nuggets were led by Corey Brewer’s 22 points off the bench. Ty Lawson also added 18 points and eight assists while Kenneth Farried added a double-double 10 points and 13 rebounds. Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reviews the game here.

Next up, we have the Charlotte Bobcats taking on the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers, trying to win every game form hereon out and potentially make the playoffs defeated the Bobcats 122-105 as LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers, scoring a double-double 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard also contributed with their 20 points each. Ramon Sessions scored 18 points for the Bobcats but it wasn’t enough. Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reviews the game here.

Following that game, we have the Toronto Raptors against the Golden State Warriors. The Raptors, trying to get a win and make the playoffs wouldn’t find a win tonight as they lost to the Warriors, 125-118. The Warriors snapped their four game losing streak as David Lee led with a double-double 29 points, 11 rebounds and five rebounds. Stephen Curry contributed with his 26 points and 12 assists as Klay Thompson added 22 points. Raptors’ Rudy Gay and Andrea Bargnani both led their squad with 26 points each but it wasn’t enough. Carl Steward of The San Jose Mercury News breaks down Golden State’s win here.

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