NBA Roundup: The Slam Poetry Of Eddy Curry

Notes on Tuesday's games in the National Basketball Association ...

• I'm The Decider. Could it be that we witnessed the demise of a traditional powerhouse on Tuesday, and the rebirth of a struggling franchise? Answer: No. Despite New York's 107-106 win, the Lakers are still respectable in the Pacific Division, in second place, seven games above .500. While the Knicks are still the Knicks, pretty much. Still, it was fun to see a game decided on an alley-oop slam dunk, as Eddy Curry put one down on a pass from Jamal Crawford with 7.1 seconds remaining for the decider. Kobe Bryant had 31 points for the Knicks.

• Bringin' The Heat. You scoffed when we said Miami would be a player this postseason. Well, who's laughing now? Huh? WHO? (Actually, we gave up the Heat for dead in November. And our soul is too damaged to laugh.) Just after Pat Riley announced that he'll return after the All-Star break, Dwyane Wade outscored the Blazers by himself in the fourth quarter as Miami beat Portland 104-85. The Heat are now at .500! Yay! Wade had 16 points in the fourth quarter, 35 for the game.

• Hungry, Hungry Dinosaur. Time to sing the praises of the Toronto Raptors, as Chris Bosh hit a pair free throws with 2.1 seconds left in a 112-111 win over the Bulls. Toronto is now 28-24 (first place in the Atlantic), after having won only 27 games all of last season.

• Eva Longoria Held Scoreless, Again. The Spurs participated in the only NBA quarter this season that featured a laugh track, going on to beat the Nets (sans Jason Kidd, who probably won't play in the All-Star Game either), 107-82. Tim Duncan had 21 points and San Antonio went on a 20-0 run to begin the second quarter (laughter). Tony Parker had 19 points for the Spurs (applause). And speaking of Parker, if you're invited to his wedding, don't get confused as to the location and end up in Paris, Texas (or Paris, Illinois, for that matter).

• Your All-Star Subs. Have been chosen. Behold.