The winning streak is history as the Miami Heat lost to the Chicago Bulls last night 101-97. The Lakers’ record of 33 consecutive wins will remain in the record books as the longest in US professional sports. LeBron James and his teammates are handling the loss just like they handled the 27 straight wins - with class and humility. The Bulls, like every other opponent the Heat faced as they got closer to the record, were playing like it was the 7th game of the finals, as evidenced by the celebration inside the United Center after the game. A number of hard fouls, flagrant fouls that were not called, and extremely physical play by the Bulls played a huge role last night, as well as a rebounding advantage for the Bulls, coupled with a poor shooting night for the Heat, who shot a measly 25.7% from outside the paint. Miami was able to drive to the basket, but was not able to convert when they passed to open shooters. LeBron finished with 32 points, but only had 3 assists, his third fewest number in a game this season. I never look at a loss as a good thing, but now it is time to concentrate on the remaining games of the regular season, stay healthy, and fine-tune your game as they go for a second world championship in a row. The team will return to the court tomorrow in New Orleans against the Hornets, and will be in San Antonio on Sunday to take on the Spurs. Great games, terrific rallies, and incredible comebacks during the streak, now it is time to get ready to win the championship.
In the rest of the NBA yesterday,
Atlanta 107 Toronto 88
26 points and 12 rebounds for Al Horford, and Jeff Teague finished with 24 points and 13 assists.
Philadelphia 100 Milwaukee 92
Damien Wilkins and Jrue Holliday led the Sixers with 18 points, and Spencer Hawes scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.
Charlotte 114 Orlando 108
Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson scored 34 points apiece.
Boston 93 Cleveland 92
Jeff Green finished with 21 points, including the game-winning layup at the buzzer. The Celtics rallied from a 14-point deficit with eight minutes left in the game.
New York 108 Memphis 101
JR Smith scored a game-high 35 points off the bench, Carmelo Anthony had 22 points and seven rebounds.
LA Clippers 105 New Orleans 91
Blake Griffin had 19 points, Chris Paul scored 16 points and distributed 9 assists.
Indiana 100 Houston 91
Roy Hibbert led the way with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Oklahoma City 103 Washington 80
Russell Westbrook had 21 points, Kevin Durant chipped in with 20.
LA Lakers 120 Minnesota 117
Kobe Bryant had 31 points, Dwight Howard finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds.
San Antonio 100 Denver 99
Tim Duncan had 23 points and 14 rebounds, Danny Green had 20 points, and Tony Parker had 18 points and 11 assists.
Utah 103 Phoenix 88
Gordon Hayward and Al Jefferson scored 25 points apiece.
Sacramento 105 Golden State 98
Isiah Thomas scored a game-high 31 points and dished out seven assists.
Brooklyn 111 Portland 93
Monster game for Reggie Evans who finished with 22 points and 26 rebounds. Brook Lopez led the Nets with 28 points.
TONIGHT IN THE NBA:
LA Lakers @ Milwaukee 8:00 pm
Indiana @ Dallas 8:30 pm
Sacramento @ Phoenix 10:00 pm
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who is the only University of Miami basketball player that is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame? Tell you later, alligator.
In college hoops, the NCAA tournament takes center stage again tonight, as we dwindle down from the sweet sixteen. The match-ups are as follow:
TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Southeast Regional
Miami vs Marquette 7:15 pm CBS
Indiana vs Syracuse 9:45 pm CBS
West Regional
Arizona vs Ohio State 7:47 pm TBS
LaSalle vs Wichita State 10:17 pm TBS
TOMORROW’S GAMES:
Midwest Regional
Louisville vs Oregon 7:15 pm CBS
Duke vs Michigan State 9:45 pm CBS
South Regional
Kansas vs Michigan 7:37 pm TBS
Florida vs Florida Gulf Coast 9:57 pm TBS
Here’s the complete Bracket, so you can see what yours and mine DID NOT look like:
Here are my bracket selections for the tournament, along with where I went wrong. (Look at it on the bright side - Seven out of my picks to be in the Elite Eight teams are still dancing):
Sweet Sixteen
Louisville vs St. Louis Oregon
Duke vs Michigan State
Kansas vs VCU Michigan
Florida vs Georgetown Florida Gulf Coast
Ole Miss LaSalle vs Gonzaga Wichita State
Ohio State vs New Mexico Arizona
Indiana vs Syracuse
Marquette vs Miami
Elite Eight
Louisville vs Duke
Ohio State vs Gonzaga
Kansas vs Florida
Miami vs Indiana
Final Four
Louisville vs Ohio State
Miami vs Florida
National Championship game
Louisville vs Miami
National Champions
Louisville
In exhibition baseball, the Marlins and the Boston Red Sox squared off yesterday in Fort Myers and both starters, Kevin Slowey of the Marlins, and Jon Lester of the Sox, were terrific. After Slowey was told that he was part of the rotation, and Lester was informed that he would be Boston’s opening day starter, they responded with solid outings. Slowey gave up a run and five innings, while Lester fired four shutout innings. The Marlins got to the Sox bullpen, as Daniel Pertusati drove in four runs leading the Fish to a 5-1 win. The Fish wrap up their Grapefruit League season today at 1:05 pm against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. Justin Nicolino will start for the Fish, Lance Lynn will start for St. Louis. The Marlins open their regular season on Monday, in Washington, against the Nationals.
Here are all the scores from yesterday’s spring training games. You can “click” on the box scores and the recap under each individual game’s line score.
In baseball news, Forbes magazine showed very bright financial figures for all MLB teams, including the Marlins. However, they have some critical comments about the Fish:
After 55 year in baseball, Tim McCarver announced that this will be his last season broadcasting. A true professional, and one of the very best analysts in the business. He will be missed. Here’s the full article from ESPN.com:
When it rains, it pours. The Yankees announced that starting pitcher Phillip Hughes will begin the season on the disabled list.
In case you missed it, this story in USA Today is really weird. I swear I’m not making this up. I just cannot find the words to properly describe this. Just read the story and check out the video for yourselves:
In Miami Dolphin news, the Dolphins and their new logo keep making news. What do you think of the new logo? I’m okay with it, although I miss the helmet. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald has more:
The Dolphins agree to pay back the sales tax rebates to the state in another of a long line of concessions. Here’s the story:
Armando Salguero of the Herald was busy yesterday, and he filed this report on the “relationship” between Dolphin owner Stephen Ross and malcontent Norman Braman:
In college baseball, FIU take on Arkansas State in a three-game series beginning on Friday. Meanwhile, over in Coral Gables, the Hurricanes lost to Florida Atlantic last night, 6-1. The Canes now head to Charlottesville to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in a three-game weekend series.
Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com.
THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who is the only University of Miami basketball player that is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame?
Rick Barry. Barry is the only player to have won the scoring title in the NCAA, the ABA, and the NBA.
IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE ON MY RADIO SEGMENTS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS - jerry@descargadeportiva.com
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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