Dallas 124, New York 114 (OT)

This loss was a blow to the gut for most Knick fans, I don't it doubt for a second, but they can't truly feel that bad about it. That won't stop them from doing just that, but taking Dallas to the hilt and eventually losing in overtime is nothing to be ashamed about, even if Dallas does seem exceedingly vulnerable right now.

Give this to Dallas -- they were interested in this one. The team-wide spark wasn't there in the first half, but over the second half and into overtime, the Mavs were really having fun playing off of each other, something we haven't seen much of this season from Dallas save for the loss to the Lakers. I don't think this is a turnaround point for the team, not with that roster, but this could mean that the Mavs show a little more heart in winning those 42 games, now.

The Knicks roared out to an early hot start behind Zach Randolph, who seemed capable of out-rebounding the entire Dallas roster himself at times. Zach's sticky hands and meaty touch (gross) led the way while the Mavs could only count on a hot shooting night from Dirk Nowitzki (above, confused), who had 26 points in the first half.

After the break, Dirk's teammates woke up, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle started James Singleton (12 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes) to try and contend with Randolph, and the Knicks just couldn't put Dallas away.

Dirk finished with 39 and 15, and he had help. Josh Howard leaked out early on the break a few times and finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds, six of those coming on the offensive end. Jason Kidd, caught in the middle of a renaissance year for him, had a tough night shooting (1-7); but he dished nine assists, and Jason Terry partied like it was 2005, scoring 20 points on 14 shots.

Free throws are hurting the Knicks. You can't play a 53 minute game and only get to the line 16 times, and Jamal Crawford can't get to the line just four times in 40 minutes. Crawford has the skills to put other teams in the penalty, and while I don't believe he'll finally learn how to draw fouls this late in his career, it's still something to complain about and gives me a nice little bit of nonsense to type out in order to fill out this paragraph. Done.

Orlando 90, Charlotte 85

I've a sneaking suspicion that we'll see quite a few games like this from the Bobcats this year. Actually, it's not sneaking at all, it's quite overt. I don't understand why it has to sneak around at all. I have a strong suspicion that the Bobcats will lose quite a few games like this over the course of the season. There. That felt better.

Charlotte played hard, and was in a small bit of control for two and a half quarters, but Orlando's talent (while not too overwhelming) overwhelmed after a while. Guys like Rashard Lewis (17 points on 16 shots, only six rebounds in almost 42 minutes) might not play to their peak potential, and they may not play well for an entire game, but they'll come around with a score or two while a team like the Bobcats falls behind.

I know he's not yet 23, I know he blocked five shots, stole the ball twice, and that a couple of his fouls weren't really earned, but Dwight Howard (four points, seven rebounds, three assists in almost 28 minutes) really can't have games like this. A poor, and off, night has to leave him with 12 and 9 or something.

Emeka Okafor (eight points, nine rebounds, a block in 23 minutes)? He shouldn't be mitigated, but it's an expected thing now. Sadly.

Orlando's defense (fifth in the NBA right now) continues to impress.

Phoenix 104, Detroit 86

There will be ups (the win over the Lakers, which I correctly called. Nailed it), and there will be downs (this loss) with the new-look Pistons. That's just the price you pay for taking a chance, on and off the court.

I didn't see as much of this as the other, closer, games; but what I saw fit right in with expectations. Allen Iverson's shooting touch was off; he missed 13 of 17 shots. The Pistons didn't have Flip Saunders' playbook to fall back on, nor did they have five years of familiarity with Chauncey Billups to work off of. The shots spun out, Phoenix ran, Phoenix scored, and Phoenix scored in the half-court as well. 57 percent shooting for the Suns.

All of it won't matter a lick if Joe Dumars completely turns these Pistons over for the better in the years to come, but for one night, Detroit's play was a little frustrating. Hot licks and rhetoric don't count much for nothing, so be glad if you can use what you borrow.

And, yes, the call on Shaq was bogus. To review it like that on a monitor and still call it a Flagrant Two? Bogus, man. Bogus.

Some will disagree.

Toronto 107, Miami 96

Lots to love from the Raptors in this one. The team won against a solid Heat squad without Jose Calderon. Sam Mitchell replaced Jamario Moon with Andrea Bargnani (12 and four in 31 minutes) in the starting lineup. Jermaine O'Neal cared. Chris Bosh (27 and seven) continues to kill it. Kris "Yeah, Bro" Humphries finally came on board with his best game (14 points, nine rebounds, three assists) of the season.

But that's the start. We'll draw more conclusions as the week (and season) moves along.

Denver 90, Minnesota 84

Britt Robson gives Randy Wittman a fair bit of stick, and far more expertly than I can, so I tend to lay off and let Robson have his way with the Timberwolves coach. But this is getting out of hand.

("Out of hand," he says. Wittman is cowering at this point.)

Having and offensive zero like Jason Collins in on the, howdoyousay, offensive end during the fourth quarter is ridiculous. Especially while the Timberwolves, a team that has struggled all season to close out games or even look competent offensively in the fourth quarter, are trying to put the game away.

It's passable for lesser teams to go up against superior teams that don't care for three and half quarters (teams like, pulling one out of a hat ‘ere, the Denver Nuggets), and still only be able to put together a five or six point lead in spite of the malaise on the other end. That's fine. But the Timberwolves are better than that. And even playing at home, the Nuggets aren't so good that they can't be blown out if the effort isn't there. And, boy howdy, the effort was not there.

Starting at the six minute-mark of the fourth, as you'd expect, things changed. J.R. Smith led a charge and the Nuggets roared back. The defense was still abysmal for most of the game before that, but it rebounded slightly, and the offense turned compact and efficient really quickly. Chauncey Billups (26, five assists, five rebounds, one turnover in 37 minutes) nails a few threes, and it's a game.

And Minnesota? They looked clueless. Didn't know what to do. Couldn't beat a team that shot 33.7 percent. 

San Antonio 90, Sacramento 88

I like to pride myself on being a big picture guy, but while in the midst of these games, it's easy to forget that the Kings are playing without Kevin Martin, and that the Spurs are missing Manu and TP. So the overriding sense of, "they can't even beat the Kings without K-Mart," or, "lost a great chance at downing the Spurs while they were limping" just doesn't stick after the first few minutes.

Here's what did stick. John Salmons is continuing to look great in his prime (31 points on 13 shots), and the Kings need to trade him at his absolute highest value.

(Maybe a team like the Raptors, who need a wing, could ... nevermind.)

Kings coach Reggie Theus has great trust in his young bigs, drawing up a late-game shot for Jason Thompson to score on Tim Duncan (his hook rimmed out) coming out of a timeout, and watching as Spencer Hawes (and this is great for a young player) managed to contribute in other areas (seven rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes) even when the shots (1-6) weren't falling. Sticky.

Also, Tim Duncan is a basketball robot with enough Awesome Ram to win games by himself. Especially if those games are against the Kings, without Kevin Martin. OK, so I didn't completely forget about it.

Related: Behind the boxscore