The New Orleans Hornets last night knocked off the Minnesota Timberwolves, without either Chris Paul or Tyson Chandler in uniform. The team was virtually unrecognisable, as the point guard and big man were not the only players MIA. David West was ejected in the second quarter after going all karate on Mike Miller and Peja Stojakovic might as well have been in street clothes, after going 1-for-10 for most of the game.
With so many busy bees missing, some lesser lights were called to step up. Rasual Butler led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds in close to forty minutes of action, whilst the biggest surprise came from super-Kiwi Sean Marks.
NBA journeyman Marks came off the bench to put up 18 points and five rebounds in only 24 minutes, setting a career high in scoring for the New Zealand centre. The AP report had this to say:
Sean Marks came up empty as he searched his memory for the last time he was on the court in the final minutes of a close game.
Yet the Hornets’ backup big man came through in the waning moments against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.
Marks dunked with 7.8 seconds left to cap a career-high 18-point effort, and the short-handed Hornets overcame the ejection of David West in a 101-97 victory.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I was in a game, down the stretch, game on the line,” said Marks, a native New Zealander and career reserve in his ninth NBA season. “I’m not usually in the game at that time, but it was a chance for all of us to sort of rally around having all these guys out, which makes it tough, but at the same time it’s a good opportunity for all of us.”
Coming from downunder myself, just across the ditch, in Australia, I’ve followed Marks’ NBA career out of the corner of my eye over since he came into the league in 1998 with the Raptors. For that reason, and that reason only, a snippet from Hornets247.com’s Ron Hitley (now known as Niall Doherty — it’s a long story) came flashing back into my mind as I saw Marks’ effort.
When Marks was signed with the Hornets back in the off-season in late August, Hitley remarked:
The Hornets signed Sean Marks a few days ago, and I ate a strawberry yogurt today. Neither of these things will make much of a difference to the team.
I’m sure the big fella pulled a printout of that blog entry out of his jockstrap upon walking off the court, screaming Hitley/Doherty’s name in curses. Or perhaps I jest…
Marks has a solid jumpshot and certainly proved on Sunday that when given time, he can produce. The right factors were certainly at play for him against the Wolves.
Meanwhile a semi-cataclysmic set of factors reduced Minnesota’s All-Snub Al Jefferson to crumbling mess on the floor in the final stages of the game, after scoring 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.
“I just came down wrong on it. I felt it pop,” Jefferson said, adding that he hoped it wasn’t serious. “I don’t want to think about it until I get my X-ray tomorrow.”
Let’s hope for Big Al’s sake, that this isn’t another case of a high profile injury before the All-Star break.
