With all due respect to fans of the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic, there really wasn't a whole lot that was exciting about the first half of their Tuesday night game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The two teams combined to shoot 27.7 percent from the floor in the first quarter and 36.6 percent in the second; after halftime, Paul George would at least throw in some ridiculous nonsense to generate a few oohs and aahs, but before intermission, the main talking points were, "Tyler Hansbrough works really hard for rebounds" and "Boy, Orlando really is bad enough to be down double-digits to a Pacers team that looks straight-up awful."

Saddled with the task of chatting about the action, the NBA TV broadcast crew of Vince Cellini, Chris Webber and Isiah Thomas just sort of nibbled around the edges, but Webber found himself transfixed by a clip broadcast on FOX Sports Indiana of a male fan enjoying an ice cream cone and declining to let the young lady to his right have some. Apparently, not even a much more fun matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets could commandeer C-Webb's attention ... so during halftime of OKC-Denver, he busted out the telestrator and began to break down the interaction of the "Ice Cream Couple."

It was amazing.

You know, we're only a month away from the end of the 2012-13 NBA season, and it feels like we've barely talked about how the Los Angeles Clippers are scheming, thieving floppers this year. Sure, Chauncey Billups was issued a warning back in December for creating and embellishing contact while taking a jumper that wound up being a pivotal play in a Clips win over the Utah Jazz, but besides that, all's been pretty quiet on the flop-bound front.

Maybe the absence of landmark fine-receiver Reggie Evans has something to do with that, but still — this was Flop City, guys! Remember how mad everyone got? And Chris Paul — shoot, quiet as it's kept, CP3 was a true master of the form, the kind of flopper who made opposing coaches' blood boil. Has he really lost his touch?

OK, so in terms of pure unmitigated gall and theatrics — seriously, check out the "agony" written on CP3's face — the Clippers' All-Star point guard has clearly still got the goods. But not getting a call there? On DeMarcus Cousins of all people, whom most referees would gladly T up for breathing on an opponent? Maybe Paul is slipping a bit.

[Also: LeBron James and company gun for 24 wins in a row]

Hey, Tyreke Evans, show him how it's done:

Kenneth Faried and his teammates have looked mighty good for the past three-plus weeks. (AP/David Zalubowski)

The Miami Heat have gotten an awful lot of publicity here and elsewhere of late, and understandably so; this is the kind of thing that tends to happen when you win 23 straight games and look for all the world like a legitimate threat to the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers' all-time record of 33 consecutive wins. That's the sort of thing people talk about.

And yet, quiet as it's kept, another NBA team's run up a pretty amazing streak of their own over the past month — under cover of West Coast tip-time darkness, George Karl's go-go Denver Nuggets have rung up 12 straight victories, extending their streak in thrilling fashion on Monday with a controversial overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls. On Tuesday, the 46-22 Nuggets — who are just percentage points behind the Memphis Grizzlies (who, as we noted earlier today, have been on a pretty good run of their own) for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference — look to make it a baker's dozen when they travel to Chesapeake Energy Arena to take on Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the reigning Western champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in NBA TV's weekly "Fan Night" broadcast.

It will be a stiff test for the Nuggets, to be sure, but one they could be well equipped to handle; not only have they already beaten the Thunder during their 12-game run, but a look at the numbers suggests that we're now seeing perhaps the highest-performing Denver squad that Karl's ever had. Let's take a look at a handful of elements that have gone into fueling Denver's winning streak.

Avert your eyes. (Christian Petersen-Getty Images)

I don't blame you, Steve Nash. Not only did your Los Angeles Lakers get absolutely hammered in the fourth quarter by the lowly and lottery-bound Phoenix Suns — outscored 28-10 after shooting just 4 for 21 from the floor (that's 19 percent, if you're scoring at home), completely victimized by largely forgotten man Luis Scola (14 points on 5 for 9 shooting and 8 rebounds in the frame) — en route to a bad 99-76 loss — but you got nutmegged by your former backup. And now you have to watch him shoot free throws? I'd feel like I had to look away, too.

On the plus side, at least the Utah Jazz continued to self-destruct, so your Lakers are still a game up in the race for the West's No. 8 seed. Keep your eyes on that prize, and not on what happened to you in Phoenix, and you might just be OK.

Best caption wins NBA-caliber sleep masks, for when you absolutely can't stand the sight of something. Good luck.

In our last adventure: Dwight Howard doesn't understand you, ball.

There have been plenty of positive things about the Memphis Grizzlies' surge since trading starting small forward Rudy Gay as part of a three-team deal that was lambasted in some quarters and lauded in others, with the team's 16-6 mark since the move, of course, topping the list. One of the neatest from a basketball nerd perspective, though, is the increased amount of attention, both in the Grizzlies' attack and in subsequent analysis of it, that has been going to the work done by Marc Gasol.

[Also: LeBron James takes aim at NBA's longest win streak after rallying Heat by Celtics]

The Memphis center has been taking advantage of an increased number of opportunities to showcase his offensive wares ... like this lovely blind alley-oop feed from the left elbow for a cutting Tony Allen during the second quarter of the Grizzlies' Monday night win over the Minnesota Timberwolves:

Just beautiful, and an illustration of something we've been seeing more and more since Gay was shipped to the Toronto Raptors — the Grizzlies love running offense through Gasol at the elbows, and for good reason.

On a night where the Boston Celtics faced the hottest team in the NBA without defensive leader/spirit animal Kevin Garnett, reserve forward Jeff Green stepped up and turned in the game of his life. On a night where the Miami Heat sought to stretch a six-week winning streak into the second-longest run in NBA history but got blitzed early by a game Boston squad, LeBron James stepped up to drag his team back from 13 down with nine minutes to go.

With less than 30 seconds remaining after a Brandon Bass miss and the score knotted at 103, the two forwards faced off, Green defending as James dribbled down the clock just inside the 3-point line along the left wing. Much of the night had belonged to the 26-year-old Green, who has come back from heart surgery to become an integral piece for a tough Celtics team and was having the best night of his NBA career in front of a national audience eager to see whether the Heat could keep the streak alive. But this moment — like most of the season, really — would belong to LeBron.

Bang.

Hey, do you think Jason Terry can jump as high as LeBron James? No, me neither. As we learned during the second quarter of Monday night's marquee matchup between the streaking Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, though, the man they call "JET" thought he could fly as high as the reigning MVP.

He was wrong.

And so Terry joins Brandon Knight, Greg Monroe and Nikola Pekovic as this year's premier attempted but unsuccessful dunk defenders. You few. You (not-so) happy few.

'Get a load of this freakin' guy.' (Getty Images)

A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Houston Chronicle. Via the stalwart Jonathan Feigen, we're treated to more Twitter shenanigans between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors following the Dubs' 30-point smackdown of the Rox on Sunday. To wit:

“@jacksonmark13: @chandlerparsons Congrats on a great year. GREAT seeing U 2night!!!!!#Warriors”just be glad u don't have to c us again.

— Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) March 18, 2013

#Zings all around, for sure, but let's call this round in favor of the coach of the team that won 108-78, shall we?

PF: The Point Forward and SB Nation. Young squires Rob Mahoney and Andrew Sharp both come in praise of Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, who, as we discussed this morning, has been an absolute monster during Miami's 22-game winning streak.

SF: Eye on Basketball. Friend of the program Zach Harper delivers an entertaining and informative "tale of the tape" breakdown to see which Western Conference big man is most deserving of All-NBA First Team honors at the center position: The San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan or the Memphis Grizzlies' Marc Gasol.