From the athletic to the historic, the NBA was filled with some amazing plays this week.
Topping the list, Steve Nash reached a historic milestone against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, finding Antawn Jamison off a bounce pass pick-and-roll with 20.4 seconds left in the second quarter to notch his 10,000th career assist. Nash joins an exclusive club in the all-time assists category, with only four other players to have recorded 10,000 or more assists, including Magic Johnson, Mark Jackson, Jason Kidd and John Stockton.
Not to be outdone, later in the game, Jeremy Lin, who had a great night with 19 points and five assists, had a memorable highlight of his own. Using a crossover before driving to the basket for the three-point play, Lin got knocked down hard but got right back up, with 4:56 left in the fourth quarter to help the Rockets beat the Lakers 125-112.
On Wednesday, Jeff Green electrified the TD Bank Garden crowd in Boston with a cut through the lane over two Phoenix Suns defenders to throw down an emphatic dunk. Green would score 14 points to lead all Boston scorers as the Celtics notched an 87-79 win against the Suns.
On Thursday, Portland's Wesley Matthews showed that he had ice water in his veins when the Trail Blazers shooting guard hit a pair of back-to-back clutch threes with under 30 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to give the Blazers a stunning 92-90 win over LeBron James and the reigning NBA Champion Miami Heat. The win gave the Blazers their 12th win in 15 games.
And in Indiana, though the Knicks faltered without Carmelo Anthony in the starting lineup, losing to the Indiana Pacers 81-76, J.R. Smith rose to the challenge, proving he might be the best Sixth Man in the NBA this season, by scoring 25 points off the bench, two of them coming off a jarring dunk over Indiana's Ian Mahinmi.
Latinos Post brings you the NBA's Top Five Plays of the Week in the list below:
5. Jeff Green throws it down on Phoenix
Jeff Green continues to show why he's such an important part of the Celtics' system with his continued strong play off the bench. And he shows it right here in the second quarter of Wednesday's Boston game against Phoenix by blowing psat not one, but two defenders for this awesome dunk.
4. Wesley Matthews three sinks Heat
There's clutch play, and then there's what Matthews did with 30 seconds left in Thursday's game against the defending champion Miami Heat at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oreg. Watch Matthews drain two--yes, two--clutch threes against Miami to dethrone King James and the Heat.
3. Jeremy Lin's gets the "And-1" against Lakers
Lin showed once again why his legions of fans are so "Lin-sane" over him, torching the Lakers for 16 of his 19 points in the second half of Tuesday's 125-112 win over Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Putting the exclamation point on it with under five minutes in the fourth quarter, Lin would cut through the lane, get a hard whack for the foul...and finish with a layup and a perfect free throw for the three-point play.
2. JR Smith posterizes Ian Mahinmi
With Carmelo Anthony absent, J.R. Smith became the focal point of the Knicks offense with 25 points. Though the Knicks lost, Smith showed why he can provide a big spark for the Knicks when he jammed a thunderous dunk against Indiana's Ian Mahinmi.
1. Nash's 10,000 assist in Houston
Nash's storied NBA career hit another milestone Tuesday when he found Antawn Jamison with a slick bounce pass for the easy two points, marking his 10,000th NBA assist. Watch history being made below.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
