Boston 88, Atlanta 85

What a game. Seriously, another in-season classic from these two.

Before we get down to the usual, I want to float something that I think is important. The Hawks could have won this game, and not only were they a few obvious changes away from pulling out the win (Joe Johnson making that last free throw, shoot a little better from the floor), they were also a few less-obvious changes (not tightening up in the final minutes, and I'm not referring to Joe Johnson ‘ere) away from winning.

But for them to be that close, even given this team's history with Boston, even given the home court advantage, that's an accomplishment. Horseshoes and hand grenades, I know, but this squad entered the game 11^th in offense and 15^th in defense. Josh Smith missed a few games, so you might bump those numbers up a few slots, but this team is way, way short of Boston's (7^th and 1^st, respectively) realm. They're probably short of Orlando's realm, even.

So the idea of having these sorts of expectations, and this brand of hype leading up to Atlanta's third straight loss against the defending champs, is pretty significant. It's no consolation, but we do need to keep some perspective.

Boston won because they have more talent, they play consistently to the final buzzer, and because they're smarter and cagier than the Hawks. They're smarter and cagier than 29 other NBA teams, really, and it's not even close. The Lakers and Cavs don't hold a candle to these basketball IQs. Even with all those turnovers (Boston is 29^th in the NBA in turnover ratio) factored in.

The C's D was spot-on as usual, Atlanta shot 36.7 from the floor, and Kevin Garnett was an offensive beast down the stretch with a series of interior and perimeter moves. Mostly interior, though, which was nice.

Rajon Rondo's energy and derring-do, however, seemed to be a game-long difference to me. 15 points, six rebounds, seven assists, four steals, and three turnovers in 36 minutes for the Boston PG, who should have your All-Star vote.

Philadelphia 93, Milwaukee 88

Louis Williams broke out with 25 points in this win as Milwaukee reverted to its 2007-08 style of defense during the second half alongside some pitiful Buck offense, but the real story here is Elton Brand's dislocated shoulder.

No word on how long EB is out, but this pushes the getting-to-know-you phase even farther back. And though Brand has not played up to his standards this season, this allows the blame to shift his way should the Sixers play well in his absence due to other reasons (better coaching, more insistence on running that they could have done with Elton, better play from guys like Lou Williams and Sam Dalembert that has nothing to do with Brand).

Milwaukee looked good in the first half, but I think we got a bit too much of the Luke Ridnour experience in the second half.

Here's a good recap from Frank at BrewHoop.

Indiana 127, Golden State 120

I was actually allowed to watch a Pacers game, which was lovely, though a bit hectic in the midst of a nine-game night that saw seven games start within an hour of this one's tip-off.

What I did get to see was more awful, awful Warriors defense. Guys would get crossed up and screen each other off in transition. No talking in the half court, no talking on the fast break. Slow rotations, no rotations, no interest, no attitude, no chance. Really, Indiana was a few makes on shots they should have made away from hitting 140 points.

The game was very entertaining, despite the defensive mishaps, because 109 possessions in an NBA game just doesn't happen all that often (the Boston/Atlanta matchup, by comparison, had 88 possessions).

Playing without T.J. Ford and Troy Murphy (groin, flu), the Pacers rallied around Jarrett Jack (24 points, plenty of bad decisions, but 24 points is 24 points) and the excellent Danny Granger. A whopper of a line for Granger, who had 41 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Part of that is tempered by the quick pace and bad defense, but not as much as you'd think. Great game for the forward.

New Orleans 90, San Antonio 83

Another fantastic contest, I'm having a hard time remembering an ESPN double-header that was this good (excluding the playoffs), and I'm also having a hard time wrapping myself around this one. I'll watch it again later, but nothing significant really sticks out at this point besides the fun of it.

This isn't to say that both teams didn't exceed expectations, or that this wasn't a nail-biter, or that I didn't yelp like a Yorkshire Terrier when James Posey hit that three-pointer in the final minute, but it just seemed like business as usual for two teams that know the ins and outs of the bidness.

Of course, the Spurs could have played better. New Orleans was without Peja Stojakovic. Matt Bonner's 3-15 mark won't happen again, but it also did the Spurs in, and Mike Finley missing seven of nine looks from the floor hurt as well.

But I guess the real difference was a little less from what you'd expect from Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan. Manu turned the ball over five times in about 31 minutes, in a low-possession (86) game. That's like a 10-turnover night for Jamal Crawford, or Allen Iverson on last year's Nuggets, because they'd play more minutes at a faster pace. And Duncan's 5-14 touch from the floor hurt.

New Orleans had more to do with this than San Antonio. They were up for this one, the hands were up, the knees bent, the focus there. It was great to watch. Just 173 points total in the contest, and I could watch these two battle every damn night. Here's hoping we get a playoff rematch from these guys.

19 points, 12 assists, and six rebounds for Chris Paul, fabulous stats for such a slow game, and David West (21 and nine rebounds) was his solid self. Also, for the second game in a row, James Posey was Mr. Clutch down the stretch.

Dallas 96, Toronto 86

Another tough loss for the Raptors, they seemed to be running away with things against what appeared to be a tired Mavericks team in the first quarter, only to relent due to some bad decisions (Jamario Moon left his notes on the train, I think) and the majesty of Dirk Nowitzki's awesomeness.

Not only was Dirk nailing tough shot after tough shot in the fourth quarter, he was in his teammates' faces down the stretch, imploring them not to let a potential comeback win slip away. And while his 27 points and 10 rebounds may seem like a ho-hum night for the 7-footer, consider the game's 86 possessions. That's slower than the Boston/Atlanta battle, and imagine how a 27 and 10 game would look amongst that muck?

Chris Bosh has come back to earth, he had his third straight poor night from the field (16-52 shooting over his last three contests, 30.7 percent), and though Toronto impressed with only six turnovers on the night, bad defense (116 points per 100 possessions for Dallas) did this team in. Sure, Dirk hit some tough shots, but you know he's getting the ball at the elbow-extended down the stretch, so work to make Jason Kidd have to beat you.

Also, Jason Terry? 27 points on 16 shots, seven rebounds, eight assists, zero turnovers? I just blushed.

Utah 103, New Jersey 92

A wild, wild game. Utah's home/away brilliance/troubles continue, though they may have made a breakthrough in this win.

Seven points in the first quarter for the Jazz, just barely, but 40 points in the fourth quarter. Swirl that around for a minute. Come back.

The Jazz weren't finishing strong, each and every one of the first quarter participants looked like they needed a good 20 minutes under an electric blanket before the game, and the team's cuts and spacing just weren't very Jazz-like. Even by road standards, and what we saw against Boston the other day.

Luckily for Utah, and sorry for taking away from New Jersey's first quarter accomplishment (setting a team record, by the way, which was previously tied at nine points in a quarter), but the Nets don't play defense. And once Utah deigned to not only run a play, but execute on the finish, things evened out. Because even with Carlos Boozer still out, this is a team that can and should win on the road against good teams. Even after spotting them 17 points.

Offensively, Vince Carter and Devin Harris combined to shoot 3-12 from the floor in the fourth quarter, and that's just not going to work even against an average offensive team. Which Utah most decidedly is not.

Detroit 88, Washington 74

A pretty dreary contest. It's nice to see Allen Iverson (28 points on 16 shots) and Rodney Stuckey (18 points, 11 assists) continue to play well as starters, but this also leaves the Pistons playing some pretty small ball in the backcourt and up front. Washington has nobody left in the interior, just undersized Antawn Jamison (playing with one hand after spraining his right thumb) and Andray Blatche, and the Pistons were still out-rebounded by two. Uh-oh.

Rasheed Wallace has to offer more than two points and four rebounds in 31 minutes for the money he's making. If he were Eddy Curry or someone like that he'd be lambasted to no end for a performance like this.

Cleveland 93, Minnesota 70

We're truly nitpicking, here, but Cleveland has to put a team like Minnesota away in the first three quarters, and not enter the fourth with "just" a seven-point lead. Seriously. I know playing away from the confines of home isn't easy, and Minnesota has talent, but LeBron James shouldn't have to play almost 40 minutes in what turns out to be a 23-point win over the Timberwolves.

32 points on 20 shots for LeBron, whose other totals (six rebounds, two assists) were down a bit. Of course, playing without Zydrunas Ilgauskas, shot-maker extraordinaire, hurts. Big Z is still in a walking boot, but should only be a few games away from returning.

Al Jefferson had his typical 20 and 11, and Mike Miller (7-12 shooting, 14 points) shot double-figure attempts from the floor for only the fourth time since the first week of the season.

Chicago 115, Los Angeles Clippers 109 (OT)

By now we've established that both coaches in this game are the two worst coaches in the league, so an ugly overtime win has to be expected.

It only took about 51 minutes of game play, but Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro did eventually switch a different defender onto Zach Randolph (30 points, six assists) in overtime, after Randolph torched Drew Gooden. It wasn't Joakim Noah, this team's longest defender, or Tyrus Thomas (who almost made Randolph cry in a game against Portland in 2006-07), but Andres Nocioni. A 6-6 small forward who proceeded to hack and foul his way to merely holding serve against Zach.

If we're going to give Del Negro credit for assuming that the referees would make a series of bad calls down the stretch ... yeah, go ahead. Whatever keeps you from the ledge. Props to Noc for his typical hard work, he even took an elbow to the jaw, but he shouldn't be asked to fit that role.

(Thomas, who averaged 19 points in about 29 minutes over his last two games, saw five whole minutes of action. And you wonder why he loses focus and faith.)

(Thomas left the game with a concussion, though he didn't knock his head in the Clipper win. Probably got it from bashing his noggin against the wall trying to figure out just how this team is nearly at .500.)

Nocioni's shooting kept Chicago in it, though his rebounding (he was matched on Marcus Camby for most of the game, played 35 minutes, and pulled in four rebounds) kept Los Angeles in it as well.

This, to some fans and apparently all of the Chicago coaching staff, won't get noticed. They'll remember the 22 points, and forget that not only did Camby use his length and strength to pull in 10 offensive rebounds and 27 overall, but that Nocioni was sometimes stuck standing and watching at Camby's "spot" in the high post as Marcus pulled one in near the rim.

A pitiful display, only helped by the fact that Chicago was playing the Clippers, and Baron Davis took 23 shots to score 16 points, unable to get a good three-pointer or drive off down the stretch as Derrick Rose tried to helplessly guard BD and Randolph at times.

Related: Behind the boxscore