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The Philadelphia 76ers: What a painful way to lose a game...or an amazing way to win it, depending on which team you're on. This is easily the most amazing/improbable/ridiculous buzzer-beating game-winner I've ever seen.


The closest comparison I can come up with is the Jerry West's halfcourt shot in Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals. But West had a whole three seconds, whereas Harris had only 1.8 seconds. And it's not like the Sixers were playing prevent defense; Andre Iguodala actually managed to deflect the ball, but Harris immediately recovered and hit the shot. Incredible. In fact...

Izod Center timekeepers: Some of the Sixers think Devin's shot was a little TOO incredible. As one story put it: "They didn't understand how Harris had time to dribble once, get the ball knocked loose by Andre Iguodala and still have time to nail a 45-foot shot [in 1.8 seconds]." That's a pretty fair point. Andre Iguodala, for his part, thinks the clock started late. "That was a big issue. That gave them a few tenths of a second. That pretty much decided it right there. There was a lot going on in 1.8 seconds. I thought for sure it wasn't good and still don't think it was good. For us to lose a game like that, it seems like that's the way the season's been. We just don't get it to go our way" Iggy also thought Harris traveled on the play.

Personally, I agree with Andre. No way all that could have happened in 1.8 seconds, not unless some kind of freaky time warp was involved. In which case: Sweet! But I kinda doubt that's the case. Still, even though the fix was in from on high, some (or, rather, a lot) of the blame for this loss goes to...

Philly's free throw shooting: The Sixers were 23-for-37 from the line. For those of you who enjoy simple mathemology, that means they bonked 14 freebies. It's pretty hard to shoot that poorly from the line and win on the road. Even in New Jersey. As Sixers coach Tony DiLeo put it: "We have to make those so it doesn't come down to a circus shot at the end."

Pacers versus Knicks: This game might as well be billed "Dr. Frankenstein versus Dr. Herbert West," with Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni playing the role of Frankenstein and Pacers headman Jim O'Brien as West. There was so little defense played in this one that I think a few of the Pacers were credited for assists on some of the Knicks' baskets. The two teams combined for 190 shots, 54 three-point attempts and 79 free throws. And Nate Robinson continued his scorching ways, putting up a career-high 41 points, which [POINTLESS STAT ALERT!!] matched Bob McAdoo's franchise record for most points in a game by a reserve.

Of course, shame on the Knicks for letting this one come down to the final seconds. I mean, the Pacers are without All-Star Danny Granger (their best player and the league's sixth-best scorer) and Mike Dunleavy Jr. (who's more important to this team than you'd think). As David Lee put it: "That should have been a game that we should have won handily tonight with them having their two best players out, but any time you keep it close like that they have some shotmakers on their team. So it was too close for comfort tonight, but I'm just glad we got a win."

Speaking of Lee, this was a great postscript to the "David Lee versus Troy Murphy" debate I started last week. Lee had 20 points (8-for-17) and 13 rebounds. Murphy finished with 19 points (8-for-16) and 21 boards. I will assume that everybody can see my point now?

Larry Hughes: From the AP: "Larry Hughes continued a miserable start to his Knicks career by missing all five shots in the first half. After going 1-for-9 for three points in 16 minutes Sunday in a loss at Toronto, he had a corner jumper hit the side of the backboard, and threw up an air ball on another jumper. Acquired Thursday at the trade deadline, he was already hearing boos by late in the second quarter, and the boos resumed when he checked in again in the third." FAIL.

The Denver Nuggets: Uhm...who are these guys and what have they done with the Nuggets? Denver was the second-best team in the Western Conference less than a week ago. But they've given up 116, 120 and 114 points in their last three games, all losses. The first two defeats came against sub-.500 teams and last night's 114-76 beatdown happened at home against the Kevin Garnett-less Celtics. The Nuggets shot 34 percent, missed 18 of their 21 three-point attempts and even bonked 11 free throws. Quick history lesson: It was the Nuggets' worst home loss since February 2, 1998, when the Bulls crushed them 111-72. And those Nuggets weren't contenders...they won only 11 games! Bonus footnote: The 38-point margin of defeat tied for the second-biggest home loss since Denver joined the NBA in 1976. I know they didn't have Nene, but still.

But despite the fact that his team has jumped headfirst into "WTF?!" territory, Carmelo Anthony isn't sweating it. "We lost. Ain't really that much you can say about that. They came in and made shots, played well. We can make a lot of excuses about being fatigued, been on the road a long time, (playing) back to back, just getting home. There are a lot of things that can play into it. But we lost tonight. We'll take it on our chin and get ready for Wednesday." 'Melo sure is more mellow than he was last season...

Chauncey Billups: Hey, since we keep cracking on Detroit for giving up Mr. Big Shot in the trade for Allen Iverson, I feel compelled to point out Chauncey's putrid line: 3 points, 1-for-8, zero rebounds, 5 assists, a game-high 4 turnovers, 4 fouls and a team-worst plus-minus score of -38. Maybe Joe Dumars was right? (But not really.)

The Atlanta Hawks: The Dirty Birds were thumped 108-89 last night in Utah. They've now lost three of their last four games and have been playing sub-.500 ball (11-14) since they were a headline grabbing 21-10 back in December. I must once again point out that I predicted this and was openly scoffed at. I just love saying "toldja so." Believe it or not, the Hawks shot 50 percent for the game. That's good. But they also committed 20 turnovers for 21 Jazz points. That's not as good. Mike Bibby, who was supposedly sick, finished with zero points (0-for-3) and one lonely assist. Joe Johnson scored 15 on 7-for-12 shooting, but he had 4 turnovers and 4 fouls versus zero rebounds and zero assists. Said Al Horford: "They completely took it to us. They were making all of the hustle plays. Right now we are going through a little struggle."

Carlos Boozer: He returned from a 44-game absence and was inserted by Jerry Sloan right into the starting lineup. Sadly for Carlos and his dreams of a signing max contract this summer, he put in a performance that was worthy of a demotion to the D-League: 2 points (1-for-5), 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls and a block against in 21 minutes. Meanwhile, Paul Milsap had his usual double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) despite a slight decrease in playing time. I just can't wait to see who overpays for Boozer this July!

The Sacramento Kings: I'm not going to be too hard on them, since they played pretty well and had a reasonable shot at beating the Hornets in New Orleans. But it's still another loss for the team with the league's worst record (12-46). I can't NOT mention that. As an aside, Andres Nocioni followed up his stinker of a first game with the Kings by scoring 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting to go along with 3 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Of course, he also committed a team-high 4 turnovers and three of his four misses were blocked. So to the people of Sacramento, I say: Welcome to the Nocioni Roller Coaster. Fasten your seatbelts and please keep your hands inside the car.

The Golden State Warriors: A double-digit loss to the Clippers, huh? Ouch. Golden State, defenseless as always, conceded the inside to Zach Randolph (27 points) and conceded the three-pointer to pretty much everybody (The Other L.A. Team was 13-for-24 from distance). You know how some people say that if you left a million monkeys in a room with a million typewriters, they'd eventually write a book? I sort of thought that if these Warriors saw enough faces, they'd eventually put a hand in one. But I was wrong. So very wrong.

Lacktion report: Chris! Lacktion! Now!

Pacers-Knicks: In 27:49, Indiana's Jeff Foster racked up a slight Voskuhl at 10:9 -- 5 each of fouls and turnovers against 6 rebounds and 1 made field goal from behind the arc.

Hawks-Jazz: Jarron Collins and Ronnie Price provided Jerry Sloan some synchronized lacktion with one-brick +1 suck differentials in 4:03. Price however made sure to stylishly play the role of human victory cigar, making his one miss come from downtown.

Celtics-Nuggets: J.R. Giddens learned tonight that to be a star lacktator, one must learn from the best. Too much enthusiasm from his career-starting trillion encouraged this human victory cigar to start aiming for the basket, resulting in the rookie actually scoring more points tonight than fellow Celtic Kendrick Perkins! Giddens's giddiness contrasted starkly with Sonny Weems stoically solidifying his place on the All-Lacktion team via a single brick for +1 in 4:33.

Hornets-Kings: Cedric Simmons's acquisition by the purple paupers signaled a new urgency in the potato suck race to a #1 draft pick, and his +1 via brick in 5:50 no doubt will boost the cause. On the other hand, bawful poet laureate Rashad McCants hustled his way out of a double-brick performance with a pretentious blocked shot and two assists.

Warriors-Clippers: In the B-Dizzle Revenge Game, Los Angeles's Other Team actually received so many points through the efensive approach of Nellieball that Dunleavy and Sterling were able to put out a human victory cigar for a rare moment! Mike Taylor can now be played by Bob Hoskins in a sparsely-attended feature film, after posting a 21 second Mario on the board with a foul.
Adriana Lima: It's official. She...

adriana_lima

...married him.

amd_marbury_jaric

Okay. No big deal. Whatever. But just one thing...


Kobe Bryant: Mamba bet Adam Morrison he could beat him in a game of HORSE after practice. He threw the game, and when a jubilant Morrison asked Kobe to pay up, Mamba paid him in these. Speaking of tormenting teammates...

Update! LeBron James, fart machine: This is a bit late, but awesome. Thanks to Pat from Spain for sending it in.

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31 Comments:
Blogger Wild Yams said...
There was some NBA game in the 80s or early 90s (I think) between the Clippers and someone else where each team hit a halfcourt shot in the closing seconds, and that to me is probably the most incredible ending of that kind in an NBA game. One team hit a halfcourt shot to get the lead with about a second left, then the other team hit another halfcourt shot at the buzzer to win it. I also remember a highlight from some game in which Barkley hit an insane shot at the buzzer to win it for the Sixers while running full sprint to the corner and launching up a three as he was flying out of bounds. Unfortunately I couldn't find either of these videos on YouTube :(

Was anyone actually debating with you that Troy Murphy isn't as good as David Lee? I know I wasn't. All I said about it last week was that IMO Lee is getting more buzz right now just because he doesn't yet have a huge contract. I think when players get an 8-figure per year deal, people stop hyping them up as much unless they're at the absolute top of the league (in which case you could argue that they still are worth more than the max contracts they're getting paid). Once Lee gets a Murphy-like contract, I think the hype will die down.

The Nuggets should be ashamed of themselves.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
The clock started right when Devin touched the ball, Sixers are just bitter. Not that I can blame them. I'm sure some of those crazy ass, defies all sense shots the Warriors hit against the Mavs years ago still haunt Devin.

Blogger Cortez said...
"Andre Iguodala, for his part, thinks the clock started late...."

Tough shit for Andre.

The clock started on time.

Good D. Better O.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Nice Captain Kirk/Wrath of Khan remix! Awesome. But Kirk's best "acting" came in The Search for Spock when he famously says: "...you klingon bastard, you've killed my son!!"

Marco Jaric is a badass. If I had a fantasy team, I would add him just because he not only married, but also KNOCKED UP a Victoria's Secret model who publicly declared her celibacy and talked all that stuff about not having sex before marriage. Pfff. That was before she met Marco "the HORSE" Jaric- he fixed her wagon, alright!

Score:
Adriana Lima's Virginity: 0, Marco Jaric- 1

On the topic of Troy Murphy, you know, really it's more impressive that a guy with a cushy contract is playing that well than it is for a guy trying to get a contract (David Lee) playing at a high level. I like Troy- he shows flashes of greatness (brief ones, but flashes nonetheless).

Holy crap and the LeBron fart video is AWESOME- he lets it out of his pant-leg right onto Varejao- what a dick! Kobe would be proud...

Blogger Unknown said...
There was also this shot off a stolen inbounds pass made by Rasheed Wallace last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXnNZjM9BRc

Blogger tony.bluntana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

Blogger chris said...
An awesome take on Knee-Mac:

http://www.sportscomedian.com/index.php?categoryid=8&p2_articleid=816

Blogger Clifton said...
Watching the video, the "unofficial" clock on the TV broadcast starts a split-second after Harris gets the ball, but watch closely: the lights come on and the horn sounds when there's .2 or .3 showing on the TV clock. Looks to me like the official clock in the arena probably started right on time.

Blogger Dr. Pym said...
Wild Yams - I know what you're talking about. I forget who else besides the Clippers were involved, but I know Danny Manning hit the three ball for the Clippers. I don't know if that could help you in your search, but whatever.

Basketbawful - 41 isn't Nate's career high. Believe it or not, he dropped 45 on the Blazers last year... and the Knicks STILL lost in overtime!

And RE: Lee. I don't know. Al Harrington also gets about 7 or 8 boards per game on the team, and keep in mind earlier in the season he had to compete for rebounds with Zach Randolph. One BIG advantage for Murphy though is that he's developing a really nice three point shot. Love to see the big men shoot threes!

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Side of the backboard, airball, boos . . . ah, yes, the Larry Hughes hat-trick. As much as I enjoyed reading that, I kinda wish the AP would've confused the "boos" with "Hughes," much like they confused "M-V-P" with "Beat the Heat."

Re LeBrizzle's bomb: I love Varejao's "oh my god," but I think using his warmups to shield himself from the stench was an obvious overreaction. Fart-flopping, if you will.

Blogger chris said...
Larry Hughes Hat Trick. That screams "WOTD material!"

Blogger Drake said...
Re: Lee vs. Murphy

Besides the point about Murphy making a ton more money than Lee, I'd say the comparison is more apples and oranges than anything.

Murphy is pretty much a jump shooter who has very little low-post game; that said, his ability to hit the three consistently is a huge plus. Lee can hit the 20 footers, but he is quickly becoming a force on the inside. Lee may not have that many post moves, but he has fantastic touch around the basket (jump hooks and floaters), leaps off the floor quickly, and is quite athletic and quick.

Both are fantastic rebounders, though I'd say their current numbers are a tad inflated because none of their other teammates are great rebounders, and because the Knicks and Pacers are 1-2 in field goal attempts. In related news, the Pacers are number 2 in total rebounds per game, while the Knicks are well above average.

I initially though the age difference would have been huge, but it's not. Troy is only three years older than David - surprising, because it feels like Murphy has been around forever. Still, I'd say Lee has more to offer in terms of untapped potential, obviously.

So who would a particular team take? It depends on what that team wants.

If it wants solid interior scoring, pick and rolls towards the basket, they would take Lee. Lee will also the beneficiary of the 'underrated and underpaid' department even in the future, given the financial direction the NBA and its teams seems to be headed towards.

Unfortunately (and fortunately, of course) for Murphy, he came around when the league's teams were still overpaying everyone with decent stats, so he will still be overpaid and thus overrated for the next few years. If a team wants a big man who can shoot up to the three-range and put the ball on the floor around the perimeter, you would go for Murphy.

If a team wants a good defender, they would take neither of the players. Both suck in that department.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I invoke the law of "he who smelt it, dealt it" against Varejao.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I usually love the Kobe WOTN,
but I can't see Kobe
"throwing a game", everything else has been completely believable. which is sad.

Blogger Unknown said...
The look of recognition in Varejao's face, combined with the smirk and half look from LeBron is classic. The Yeast of the East was a bit too much for him.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I once lost a game, much in the same way as philly did, when I played for a University team in NZ. With under a second to go and one point up, one of my teammate stupidly made a free-throw. After the time-out, we put our defense at halfcourt and ensured they wouldn't be able to throw it downcourt. However, they passed it to their point guard who took 2 dribbles. I quickly ran towards him, and met him at 3/4 court, hands straight up to avoid getting the worst foul in history. The point guard heaved the ball, it sailed over my arms, over halfcourt, smacked into the backboard and went in. They went crazy. We calmly reacted much like Iggy did. There was no way... It was the most surreal way to lose, (and it was a 2nd chance play-off game)

(and yes, I got "dotted" in probably the most spectacular way in the history of basketball). Devin Harris' shot brought up some painful memories... I guess I should take some more pride in the dotting...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I know it is college, but this video from the Duke-Wake Forest game has to get a mention due to it's incredible bawfulness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LFDIkJKDXM

Blogger chris said...
tony.bluntana - correct URL for your site is
http://bluntana.blogspot.com/

EPIC video man. The Red Rocket parachutes down gradually yet again.

CAPTCHA: "kolosack"

Anonymous Anonymous said...
adrianna lima = http://blog.jimmyr.com/pics/963_9.jpg ?

lucky marko

Anonymous Anonymous said...
This was a spot on worst of. I feel the same way about the harris shot. the most amazing one I've ever seen PERIOD.

Blogger tony.bluntana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
You can start by doing some proper HTML tags. Does Google not work on your side of the Internet? "a href=http://bluntana.blogspot.com" and close with "/a" for:

FUNTASTIC LINK THIRD TIMES A CHARM

Blogger tony.bluntana said...
holy crap. Thanks AnacondaHL. I don't know what's wrong with me. I wish I could see what I DID type (since I really thought I had it that time).

oh, yeah, I know what I did... yup, no excuses. watch me get this next one wrong, too...

Blogger tony.bluntana said...
AnacondaHL: thanks for the smack upside the head.

chris: thanks for the heads up.

I got a bit of the camera-test online.

I didn't want to clutter up or impose on 'bawful's site, so I started my own blog solely for the purpose of uploading crappy video. Anyway, the quality is awful (not bawful, just awful). But, there was a glare on the screen; so, I know I can improve it a little bit.

Anyway, check it out:

I nominate myself for worst of the comments...


And, all who are interested, as well. Please, share suggestions if you know how to improve the upload quality (because it looked better than that in windows media player).

We're on our way to the All-Lacktion Extravaganza...

I just realized: it should take place in Seattle, since the Sonics still legally exist (in name), but haven't recorded a single stat all season. Not that it really takes place anywhere, you know, for real...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
It just occurred to me that Nate Robinson was drafted by Phoenix, then traded immediately.

Yet another personnel blunder to ponder...

Blogger Austen said...
What, no Worst of the Night to Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks for getting himself ejected after that cheap shot of a flagrant 2 foul he gave Matt Harpring in last night's game?

Blogger Josh Willis(9) said...
Troy Murphy has been a pleasant surprise this season for me as a Pacers fan, but as a Pacers fan some of my hopes and dreams still rest on Mike Dunleavy's shoulders so...., ya know. On a plus note watching Larry Hughes fail all over the place last night was fun.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I fully agree with everyones postings.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Suns-Cats comments:

A few revenge games:
Diaw: 10 of 12 for 27 points to go with 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
Bell: 9 of 14 for 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
J-Rich: started slow but had 20 points on 10 FGA to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. But, he fouled out. Still pretty efficient.

Doesn't really quality as a "revenge game", but Dudley had 2 point, 4 boards, an assist, and 2 steals.

WoTN nomination to Emeka Okafor. I'm not sure he ever passed the ball back out (0 assists); he spent the whole game in foul trouble and was pretty much schooled by Shaq.

I also wanted to nominate Terry Porter for a developing "worst of" situation: Goran Dragic has improved rapidly since Gentry took over. He is playing with much more confidence, shoots the ball more, doesn't dribble into as many worthless situations. Gentry is treating him differently than Porter did, and it seems to be helping him develop.

On the other hand, SSOL is to the NBA what the spread offense is to college football. It lets mediocre players put up stellar numbers. However, Dragic is a rookie, and now we'll get to see how he develops.

Additionally, the broadcasters commented early on that Bell and Diaw were happier in Charlotte. Which shouldn't be true, considering Charlotte is 10 games worse than Phoenix. So, I'm not sure what Porter was doing, but the amount of player discontent would be incredibly disturbing to me, and if I were a general manager looking for a head coach, I would steer clear of Porter.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Raymond Felton with 14 points & 9 assists!

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
tony: Everyone needs some tough love once in a while.

As for video quality, you're going to get what you get converting video to flash. Stage6 was the old answer for HD quality uploads, but YouTube now has high quality and widescreen support and appears to be the easiest option for the English speaking Internet. iMeem (current personal favorite) and Veoh are other options, especially for high quality beyond 10 minutes.

If you need THE best free best video converter best tool out there, it's SUPER (C). Full h.264 support, all codecs built in, practically anything-to-anything conversion. It's the best.

/collects advertising moneybags and runs away