Dallas 112, LA Clippers 105: Well, that’s one way to stop Blake Griffin (1:35 mark). Brenda Haywood, who gets paid $6.9 mil this year to sit on the bench and watch Tyson Chandler show him how its done (21 points, 11-11 FTs) plays just 18 minutes a night. Late in the third quarter Haywood hooked Griffin hard, the rookie landed on his elbow, and Haywood got a Flagrant 1. (For whatever reason, he acted surprised afterward.) Griffin had 22-11, but they’re not winning many games without Eric Gordon.

Denver 120, Washington 109: Both teams shot 50% from the field, hit about the same number of free throws, collected roughly the same number of rebounds, and were nearly equal in assists and turnovers. The difference? The Wiz were 2-of-13 from deep; the Nuggets 12-of-23. Is it insane to think that if Melo plays out the rest of the season, Nene keeps’ beatin’, they keep JR Smith, and Al Harrington plays like he did Tuesday(6-of-8 from three, 21 points), Denver could get a Top 4 seed in the West? Nah, Anthony’s probably getting traded.

Boston 112, Cleveland 95: Eighteen losses in a row (and 22 straight on the road). So, does the worst team in the league draft Duke’s Kyrie Irving No. 1 in June? There’s no Durant, Blake Griffin, or John Wall in this draft. Do you take Ohio State monster Jared Sullinger?

LA Lakers 120, Utah 91: That Jazz post yesterday was quite prescient, huh? Utah trailed by 28 at halftime and wound up losing for the 17th straight time at Staples. That’s five losses in a row. LA shot a blistering 62 percent and assisted on 34 of 44 baskets. If Jerry Sloan needs to ignite his team, he could always tell Deron Williams what Charles Barkley said …

Charlotte 94, Sacramento 89: Kwame Brown scored 13 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Yes, that Kwame Brown. He’s got some time to put up some numbers with Ty Thomas gone … and maybe parlay that into a decent little contract after this year. Can you believe he’s only 28?