Baseline to Baseline recaps: Nowitzki is back and the Spurs could not care less

Welcome to PBT’s roundup of the day in NBA action. Or, what you missed while starting you Christmas shopping finally….

Spurs 129, Mavericks 91: Dirk Nowitizki is back and… yikes. San Antonio just dominated that game, hitting 20-of-30 three pointers, driving into the lane, basically doing whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Danny Green led the charge hitting 7-for-8 from three on his way to a career-high 25 points. As a team the Spurs shot 56 percent.

It was so bad that after the game Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said (via NBA.com): “I’ve got to work harder at turning these guys into a team. At this point, you know, we don’t look like we’re very close.” Dallas is now 12-16 on the season. On the bright side, Nowitzki looked pretty good in limited action, playing 20 minutes, hitting 3-of-4 shots for 8 points plus grabbing 6 boards.

Knicks 94, Timberwolves 91: Carmelo Anthony continues to make his MVP case and keeps guiding the Knicks to wins — he had 19 fourth-quarter points and scored the Knicks final dozen New York points to lead his team to a win. Minnesota led almost the entire way in this one, despite Kevin Love being out (eye injury), thanks to Nikola Pekovic’s 21 points and 17 rebounds, plus Alexy Shved had 18 and continues his run of good play. But the Knicks went on a late 10-1 run, took the lead with a ‘Melo layup with 1:13 left and all that matters is the score when the final buzzer sounds.

Clippers 103, Suns 77: You would be corrected to say that the Clippers 13-game win streak is partially the product of them playing a soft schedule, the best team they played during the streak has been the Bulls. But you have to beat the teams in front of you and the Clips are doing that and doing it convincingly. Los Angeles took the lead with an 11-0 run started when bench players came in late in the first quarter and they never looked back. No Clipper starter touched the floor in the fourth quarter. Again. Blake Griffin had 23, Jamal Crawford 22. Jared Dudley had 19 for the Suns.

Nets 95, 76ers 92: The Nets took the lead with an 18-0 run in the first quarter, built up a healthy cushion and then held on as the Sixers started draining threes late to make it a close finish. Joe Johnson had 22 for Brooklyn and hit some three pointers from seemingly White Plains late in the game (officially 27 and 31 feet). Great hustling game from Gerald Wallace that doesn’t show in the box score. Jrue Holiday had 24 points and nine assists — he looks fully recovered.

Jazz 97, Magic 93: The Magic raced out to an early 16-point lead in this one but when you turn the ball over on 22 percent of your possessions (19) you let the other team back in. Paul Millsap had 18 points and Gordon Hayward 17 for the Jazz in the win.

Kings 108, Trail Blazers 96: No Tyreke Evans (knee) and no DeMarcus Cousins (suspended by team) and suddenly the Kings had the best ball movement they have had all season. Draw your own conclusions. This was a close game until late in the third when a 21-5 Kings run gave them a lead they would never surrender. Marcus Thornton had 22 points, John Salmons and Travis Outlaw 15 a piece (Outlaw got a dozen of his in the second quarter).

Looking for a bright side Blazers fans? J.J. Hickson’s14 points and 11 rebounds gave him his eighth consecutive double-double. So there’s that.