ROUNDBALL: RAY'S RECORD, AARON AFFLALO, SLOAN SAYS GOODBYE

As most hoops fans saw last night, Ray Allen broke Reggie's Miller's all time 3 point record. It was an emotional moment and it was great to see Ray Allen and Reggie Miller shake hands afterward. The celebration proved to be short lived, as the Lakers shut down the Celtics in the second half and eventually won the game by a final score of 92-86. The Lakers have been the topic of a lot of trade rumors the last week or two and they will continue to be at the center of these talks until the deadline. Nights like this show exactly why the Lakers don't really have the need to make a trade. Although I guess if they could get Dwight Howard, it wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't be fair for anyone else, though. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol literally butted heads at one point in this game and Odom had to receive a few stitches. I think Odom will be OK

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Golden State Warriors for the second time in four days last night. The win brings the Suns back to the .500 for the first time since December. This game was over early, as the Suns were up by 25 at the half. Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis were both overmatched in this game and both barely sniffed 25 minutes played in this game. I personally think that this Warriors team is a hell of a lot worse than their 23-29 record would lead to you believe.

I went to bed early last night and missed an excellent game between the Nuggets and the Mavericks.This was a back and forth contest that saw each team win the first two quarters by 13 and 14. The second half proved to be very exciting, including one of the better finishes of the season. Carmelo Anthony fouled out in the final minutes for the Nuggets. Down by one to the Mavericks in the closing seconds, they turned to Aaron Afflalo and he answered with a buzzer beater. He had 19 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter. Carmelo Anthony did finish with 42 points before fouling out with less than a minute to play. Tyson Chandler had another big game for my fantasy team, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds, on 8 of 9 shotting.




In what was clearly a roller coaster 24 hours for the Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan stepped down as head coach yesterday. Seeing Sloan on the Utah Jazz bench was as regular a sight for NBA fans, as seeing Jack in LA, Spike Lee in NY, and Brian Scalabrine on the bench. I have been ragging on the Jazz for weeks now, but even I did not want to see this happen. As a child- when the Rockets weren't playing- I was rooting for the Jazz. Karl Malone and John Stockton were some of my favorite players to not call Houston home. It always kind of bummed me out that Stockton, Malone, and Sloan were never able to put it all together. They might have, if it weren't for that jerk in Chicago. I even would have been content with the Rockets having been in their path that season. But I guess it wasn't meant to be. Depending on what you read or listen to, Jerry Sloan may or may not have left because of a few recent blowups with star point guard Deron Williams. Of course, the Jazz brass are now saying this had nothing to do with Sloan departing in mid-season when the Jazz are still in contention for a playoff spot. Whatever the reason was, it definitely sent shockwaves throughout the league yesterday. Obviously, something happened for him to step down days before the all star break. You would think if everything was ok in SLC, that Sloan would have announced that he was stepping down at the end of the season. The only positive I see here is that we won't have to wait until next season to see how Ty Corbin works out as a coach for the Jazz.