Winning really does fix everything. Similar to how the early-season needling of LeBron and Chris Bosh has been all but muted since the Miami Heat started cracking off W’s like Popeye’s makes biscuits, we’re also hearing nowhere near as much noise about Pat Riley coming in to save Erik Spoelstra from himself on the Miami bench. Last night’s Heat/Warriors game was another vote of confidence for Spoelstra, who watched his team sleep-walk through the first half, then got them to strap up defensively and pull off a comeback win in the second half … Golden State led by as much as 20 in the first half, as Dorell Wright was raining treys on his former team while scoring 20 of his game-high 30 points. Monta Ellis had a halfcourt banker to beat the first-quarter buzzer, and it just seemed like this was going to be the Warriors’ night. In the second half, however, Miami brought the defensive effort and ran away for another win. LeBron finished with 25 points and 10 assists, D-Wade had 25 points and 8 dimes, and Bosh had 20 points and 11 boards … One time D-Wade knifed into the lane, glided past David Lee and swung the ball around Ekpe Udoh in mid-air to drop in a finger roll under the rookie’s arm. Upon landing, Udoh looked back at D-Wade in shock. Guys weren’t doing things like that in the Big 12 … The Warriors can’t wear their yellow warm-ups on Miami’s court. That’s just bad for everybody’s eyes. But that fashion choice wasn’t as questionable as LeBron’s schmedium polo shirt at the post-game press conference. It looked like something borrowed from Eddie House‘s closet … Carmelo Anthony returned to the Nuggets after missing five games due to the death of his sister. ‘Melo was rusty with his handle and his jumper was off — he missed 15 of his first 18 tries — but he finished with a solid 16 points and 10 boards as the Nuggets destroyed the Kings …
This one was literally a laugher. As Denver poured it on in the fourth quarter, their guys were grinning after each backbreaking three and soul-crushing dunk. Of course J.R. Smith was the main culprit, but even Chauncey Billups got into the act … Can we please do something to get Carl Landry back on a decent team? He’s one of those guys whose talent seems wasted on a rebuilding/bad squad that can’t take advantage of the little things he does because they have so many big problems. Landry put Birdman Andersen on a poster with a baseline reverse dunk that left “Spalding” temporarily tattooed on Birdman’s cheek — only nobody noticed because he has so much ink everywhere else … With Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion out of the lineup, the Mavs were going to have a tough time beating the Bucks on the road. Then Caron Butler left in the first quarter with a knee injury — he jumped in the air and was clutching his knee before he came down — and it looked like Mission: Impossible for the Mavs. Throw in Jason Terry having an off night (3-15 FG), and it shouldn’t even be considered an upset that Milwaukee won by double digits … Don’t throw him a party yet, but John Salmons may be moving past his traditional slow start. In Milwaukee’s last seven games Salmons has averaged 18.5 points a night, and on Saturday he hung 21 on the Mavs with his usual set of herky-jerky moves to the rim and pull-up jumpers … Other stat lines from New Year’s Day: Tim Duncan went for 21 points and 9 rebounds as San Antonio routed Oklahoma City; Derrick Rose put up 28 points and 11 assists in Chicago’s win over Cleveland; Trevor Ariza had 22 points and 5 steals and threw down the dunk of the night in JaVale McGee‘s mug as New Orleans beat Washington; Paul Millsap posted 20 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks to lead Utah past Memphis; and Kevin Love‘s 23 points and 10 boards helped Minnesota defeat New Jersey … Kim Kardashian was sitting courtside, which means she and Kris Humphries must be close to marriage. How else do you explain a rich girl voluntarily attending a Nets/Wolves game in Minnesota? … We’re out like half of the Mavs …
