The Pacers downed the Cavs, 100-89, to win their second game in a row, their previous win came against the Heat. Indana is now 7-6, which puts them a half game behind Chicago in the Central division. Cleveland, now 5-8, have dropped their last three games and really seem to be in trouble. Darren Collinson has now been back for two games and the Pacers have won both. He played limited minutes (22) vs. Miami on Monday, but, saw 34 minutes against the Cavs and took full advantage of the playing time. He was 5-11 from the field, including a 3 and added 7-8 from the line to end with 18 points for the evening. Danny Granger led all scorers with 24, Brandon Rush had 16 and Mike Dunleavy chipped in 10 as the Pacers rolled. Indiana should continue to get solid play from Granger and Collinson, with the added support of their role players, Dunleavy, Rush, Hibbert, McRoberts and Hansbrough, they should be a pretty tough division foe for the Bulls down the stretch.
The Nets (5-9) knocked off the the fading Hawks (8-7) in overtime to defend their home floor, on Tuesday night. New Jersey, led by Brook Lopez and Devin Harris really needed this game, not so much for their playoff hopes, because let's face it, playoff hopes are a pipe dream for this team, but, because Lopez has been struggling and really had a huge performance against the Hawks, who are supposed to be a contender in the East. Lopez led all scorers with 32, on 12-19 shooting from the field, he also pulled in 9 boards, with only 1 turnover. Devin Harris chipped in 27, on 9-17 from the field, including three 3-pointers. Other players in double figures for the Nets were Kris Humphries (12) and Anthony Morrow (13). Atlanta is really starting to fall quickly, after starting the season 6-0, they have now lost 7 of their last 9 games, to fall backwards, almost to .500 on the season. Atlanta only attempted 13 free throws, compared to the Nets 33. Jamal Crawford led the way for the Hawks off the bench with 21, including 3-3 from three-point-land in the Loss, Horford and Joe Johnson combined for 30, while Josh Smith added 20. Atlanta had better figure out a way to end this slide and get back on track because, Orlando and Miami are already thinking about April. The Hawks will catch a bit of a break over the next five games, with the Wizards, Sixers and Grizz at home, Knicks and Raptors on the road. Then the fun begins with Orlando and Miami on the road.
The next overtime game was The Wizards vs. the Sixers, two young teams, trying to find their way in the ever-maturing, Eastern Conference. The Wiz, led by the ever impressive, John Wall and a growing JaVale McGee were able to withstand nine lead changes and three ties to escape Philly and a powerful performance from Andre Iguodala. Iggy, who has had his share of troubles this season, almost notched a triple-double, clocking 23 points, 11 rebounds and 8 dimes to, hopefully, break out of his early season slump. Elton Brand chipped in 19, which looks like something we should start getting used to, and five other Sixers reached double figures, Young (15), Speights (16), Nocioni (11), Holiday (10) and Turner (11). Philly has a young team, with plenty of talent, if Iggy and Brand can take control of this team and bring these younger guys to the next level, they could sneak an 8th seed and maybe give some teams trouble in the playoffs. John Wall was back and led all scorers with 25 off of the bench, including three free throws to send this thing into overtime. McGee had 24 points, 18 boards and 4 rejections, including a huge pass and slam from John Wall for the bucket, plus a free throw, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMGyKnR8OXg, that sent Brand packing with 3:32 to go in the 4th. Arenas and Blatche both had 17 and Nick Young added 19 to round out all Wizards in double figures. 
The Knicks topped the Bobcats 110-107 for their 4th straight victory. They seem to be meshing well, and i give a lot of the credit to Raymond Felton, Felton has emerged as top point guard this season and has finally seemed to find his way in the NBA. Felton, who had 16 points and 9 assists is averaging just under 18 ppg with 8 assists on the season, add in the fact that this kid sees the floor well and is a hard-nosed defender and you can see why he has been a breath of fresh air for Knick's fans. The five year guard out of UNC has really done a great job at connecting with the Knicks big gun, Amare Stoudemire, and has also done a great job at fitting, coach Mike D'Antoni's system of basketball. Felton and Gallinari hit four free throws in the last 15 seconds to seal the win for NY. Tony Douglas led all Knicks, with 22 points off the bench. The Knicks look good and they're starting to find that oh so important, team chemistry. Charlotte (5-10) is having trouble this season and will be vying for a playoff spot in a crowded Southeast division. Things aren't looking to get any easier for the Bobcats, as this should prove to be a long season. They'll be competing with Orlando, Miami, Atlanta and Washington, in what is quickly becoming one of the toughest divisions in basketball. Felton's replacement in Charlotte, D.J. Augustin, has stepped it up this season, he had 24 points and 7 dimes, to lead all scorers in the game, Gerald Wallace had 20 and Stephen Jackson chipped in 18 in the loss.
Dallas downs the Pistons, 88-84. Dirk Nowitzki pours in a season high 42 points and pulls down 12 rebounds in the win. Jason Kidd played his 1,200th game, Richard "Rip" Hamilton also reached a milestone, playing his 800th game. Kidd would finish the game with 7 points, 11 assists and 4 rebounds, Jason Terry had 16 and Caron Butler added 11. The Pistons had 4 players in double figures, Prince and Stuckey each had 19, while Maxiell and Gordan kicked in 10 apiece. Detroit (5-10) appears to be the early candidate for bottom-feeder of the Central division, while we're still trying to get a fix on Dallas. They have a superstar in Dirk and great role players in Terry, Kidd, Marion and Butler, now we'll have to wait and see if they can make it work.
Lakers/Bulls recap:
The Lakers win, 98-91 behind Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom who each had 21 in the contest, Brown's stock couldn't be higher at this point and Odom has been a solid mismatch scorer for the past few seasons. Kobe chipped in 20, while Gasol had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Derrick Rose led the way for Chicago, with 30 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, Noah had 19 points, 13 boards and 3 blocked shots, Taj Gibson had 16 and 12 rebounds, while Luol Deng pitched in 13 points to round out all Bulls in double figures.
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