Where Melo Plays Against The Warriors (Day 28)

I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems as though almost half the daily top performers happen to be playing against the Warriors the night they post their monster line. (Though, according to basketballmonster.com's Ease Rankings, Minnesota, Phoenix, Los Angeles [Clippers], and Memphis are better match-ups overall.) Carmelo Anthony took advantage of the Warriors for 39 points on 10-24 shooting, 2-4 treys, 17-17 free throws, with 9 boards, 5 assists, and 2 steals, to lead the Nuggets over Golden State, 106-89. Al Harrington chipped in 19 points on 7-13 shooting, 5-7 treys, with 8 boards and 4 assists, with no turnovers, against his former team. For Golden State, Stephen Curry had 17, 7 and 5, with a trey and 3 steals.

Dwight Howard (26 points on 11-16 shooting, with 18 boards, an assist, 3 steals and 2 blocks) was big tonight- but not big enough to halt the Spurs' 11-game win streak, as the Spurs rolled past the Magic, 106-97. San Antonio's backcourt of Manu Ginobili (25 points on 8-17 shooting, 3-7 treys, 6-6 free throws, with 6 boards, 9 assists, and a steal) and Tony Parker (24 points on 9-15 shooting, 2-2 treys, with 3 boards, 10 assists, and a steal) absolutely torched the Orlando defense tonight, and San Antonio now sits alone at the top of the NBA standings at 12-1.

Kevin Love (24 points on 10-17 shooting, 4-6 treys, with 17 boards and 3 assists) had his usual double-double, but his Wolves were no match for the Thunder, as they fell to OKC, 117-110. The Thunder welcomed back Kevin Durant (28 points on 6-16 shooting, 16-17 free throws, with 8 boards, 5 assists, a steal and 3 blocks) and Jeff Green (24 points on 9-16 shooting, 3-7 treys, 3-4 free throws, with 6 boards and 2 steals with no turnovers) from their respective ankle injuries, while Russell Westbrook (20 points on 7-14 shooting, with 4 boards, 14 assists, and 2 steals) continued his brilliance. Thabo Sefolosha (13, 11 and 3, on 5-5 shooting) even chipped in a double-double. For Minnesota, Darko Milicic (21 points on 9-14 shooting, with 4 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks, with only 1 turnover) was servicable, and Luke Ridnour (17 points on 7-14 shooting, 2-2 free throws, with 5 boards and 7 assists) had a solid game.

New Orleans fell for the second time this season to the Clippers (I didn't watch the game, but how this happened baffles me), as Los Angeles beat the Hornets, 99-95. However, you can't blame David West, who scored 30 points on 12-23 shooting, with 10 boards and 5 assists, with only 1 turnover. Though, he did allow Blake Griffin to collect 24 points on 9-15 shooting, with 13 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Eric Gordon also contributed 27 points on 9-18 shooting, with 2 treys, 3 boards and 4 assists, with no turnovers, for the Clippers.

The Celtics came to Atlanta and overwhelmed the Hawks to a 99-74 rout. This game was over in the first half, which is a shame, because Kevin Garnett amassed 17 points on 8-10 shooting, 1-1 free throws, with 11 boards, 5 assists, with a steal and a block, in only 24 minutes (that's only half a game). Nate Robinson filled in for the injured Rajon Rondo and put up 16 points on 6-9 shooting, 4-5 treys, with 3 boards and 10 dimes, while committing only 1 turnover. Shaquille O'neal (13, 11 and 2, on 6-8 shooting.) even had a double-double in 21 minutes.