The races are on in the NBA, both on and off the court. With now less than three weeks remaining in the regular season, the eight teams that will be in the Eastern Conference playoffs are nearly set. Miami is on the verge of the No. 1 seed, though the jockeying for position beyond that will take a while.
J.R. Smith scored 24 points and the New York Knicks shook off the absence of Carmelo Anthony and the shock of Amare Stoudemire needing more knee surgery to rout the slumping Utah Jazz 113-84 on Saturday night.
Amare Stoudemire needs surgery on his right knee and is expected to miss six weeks, a stunning blow to the New York Knicks as they chase the Atlantic Division title.
Stoudemire, who had been playing well off the bench, will have the procedure to remove tissue within the week, the Knicks said Saturday before their game against the Utah Jazz.
Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans will go for back-to-back wins by throwing his name into the hat for the 2013 slam dunk event during the annual NBA all-star game February 16 in Houston.
Luol Deng scored a season-high 33 points in the Chicago Bulls’ third victory over New York this season, a 108-101 win Friday that sent the Knicks to their season-high third straight loss.
The Los Angeles Clippers became just the third NBA team in history to record a perfect record in a calendar month, notching their 17th straight win by defeating the Utah Jazz 107-96 on Sunday.
Jamal Crawford scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 107-96 on Sunday night for their 17th consecutive victory, becoming the third team in NBA history to record a perfect month.
Chris Paul’s 29 points included the decisive free throws in the waning seconds Friday as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied to beat Utah 116-114 and post a 16th straight NBA victory.
LeBron James scored 30 points and Dwyane Wade added 21 to power the reigning NBA champion Miami Heat to a 105-89 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
Paul Millsap scored 24 points with nine rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 117-110 NBA victory on Sunday over the struggling Los Angeles Lakers.
Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Russell Westbrook made a two-pronged bid for his sixth career triple-double and the Oklahoma City Thunder finished off an impressive homestand by beating the Utah Jazz, 106-94, on Friday night.
Randy Foye came off the bench and scored 17 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 95-86 NBA victory over the star-studded but struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
The San Antonio Spurs pummelled the Utah Jazz 114-83 on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.
