Sunday, February 19, 2012

Fab Five Performances from the NBA Sunday

5. Phoenix Suns PG Steve Nash - 8 points and 14 assists
On Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns by 12 at home. The Lakers' return road trip Sunday didn't go nearly as well. The Suns grew the lead to as much as 27 points in the third quarter. Nash was a main reason why. The aging star is still a magician on the court. It doesn't matter who is playing with him. He makes them look even better.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves PF Kevin Love - 20 points and 15 rebounds
This is not the Minnesota Timberwolves teams of past years that would melt in the fourth quarter. This team has shown all year that they know how to win late. This game was another example. Love scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. With his team down by one, Love drove to the basket. He was fouled with 0.1 second left. He made both free throws to clinch the win.

3. New York Knicks PG Jeremy Lin - 28 points, 14 assists, and 5 steals
The Dallas Mavericks are the reigning champions, but Jeremy Lin wasn't intimidated coming off the Knicks' loss to the Hornets. Dirk Nowitzki may have scored 34 points, but it was Lin who orchestrated the winning effort. Lin's turnover rate was still high, but in retrospect his play has been incredible. Another impressive performance for the youngster from Harvard.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder PG Russell Westbrook - 40 points and 9 assists
1. Oklahoma City Thunder SF Kevin Durant - 51 points and 8 rebounds
These two guys have to be mentioned together after their combined performance Sunday. All they did was scored a combined 91 points. That was more points then six NBA teams scored in their respective games. Durant's 51 was a career-high. Everyone knows these two guys like to score. There has been more debate as to whether or not they can co-exist on one team. They seemed to do just fine on Sunday. I think any NBA team executive would be more than happy with that type of dynamic performance.

Honorable Mention - Oklahoma City Thunder PF Serge Ibaka - 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 blocks
The triple-double was the first of Ibaka's young career. The Congolese big man continues show great potential.

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