Inside the Paint: Ugly Detroit

New York 104 Detroit 87: Detroit has now lost eight straight games and are nine games under .500. And this was the second game in a row when Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton, and Ben Gordan all played together. David Lee scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Lee is having a great season and could be an all-star this year.



Golden State 118 Los Angeles Lakers 124: Check out this block by former Laker Ronny Turiaf on Kobe Bryant as Bryant is going up for a dunk. I wish Turiaf would have given the Mutombo finger wave but oh well. That block though has to be one of the best blocks in NBA history. Bryant did score 44 points for the Lakers.

Cleveland 95 Atlanta 84: Cleveland held Atlanta scoreless for the opening nine minutes of the fourth quarter to run away with the victory. The Hawks actually sold out the Phillips Arena and set a new attendance record at the building. While the Hawks have improved this year, they are still not an elite NBA team yet. Delonte West scored 17 points off the bench for Cleveland and added a monster jam over Josh Smith in the game.



Oklahoma City 110 Washington 98: One night after scoring 40 points, Kevin Durant scored 35 points as Oklahoma City won their forth straight game against the Wizards. To add insult to injury, Wizards coach Flip Saunders threw his entire team under the bus after the game, “This team needs a mindset change,” the Wizards’ coach said after Washington’s third straight loss. “This team, the last five years, has been known as one of the worst defensive teams. … We couldn’t stop anybody out there.” Burn.

New Orleans 100 Houston 108: Despite a 44 point from David West and a triple double from Chris Paul, the Hornets still managed to lose to Houston. The Hornets are only 2-13 on the road. Aaron Brooks scored 27 points for Houston while Luis Scola scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. The Rockets also shot 52% from behind the arc in the game.

Picture of the Night: David Lee face?