Thursday Night NBA Viewing Party: Pistons/Hornets, 2nd Half

- Second half coming up. Charles Barkley, if you weren't aware, is doing commentary live on the second game, alongside Marv Albert. I am really, really, really looking forward to that.

- The "Snakes on a Plane" commercial is to tonight's NBA coverage as "This is our country" is to Sunday Night's NBC coverage.

- Hey, Desmond Mason scores in the post to start the second half off. LEAD IS CUT TO 24!

- That was maybe the ugliest loose-ball situation I've ever seen. Jannero Pargo lost control of the ball on the break, tried to volleyball tap it back to a teammate, it didn't work... Cedric Simmons bent over to pick it up, and then fell to the floor and rolled around.

- My internet connection is behaving very poorly right now. You might have to just imagine things here for a few minutes.

- The Hornets are on a 7-0 run, forcing Flip Saunders to call a timeout. By the way, I think Flip Saunders begged Joe Dumars to sign Flip Murray just because his first name was Flip. He strikes me as the type of guy who would think that was really funny.

- And there's a needless turnover for the Hornets... Mason tried to throw it back to the point, but just sort heaved it over Pargo's head. That'll kill a fun.- I know the Hornets have a ton of injuries, and I know they don't have a lot of offensive options, but they keep going to Mason on the post, and I think he's scored one time.

- Ooooh... Pargo with a sweet crossover. He left Flip Murray standing there with his mouth hanging open.

- And the lead is down to 17 here... the Hornets have come out with more energy here, the Pistons have been careless with the ball (by letting Flip Murray touch it), and it's costing them.

- Sager is interviewing the mayor of Oklahoma City about the long-term prospects of NBA basketball in OKC. Clearly the most exciting thing to ever happen to the mayor of Oklahoma City.

- Pargo again beats Flip off the dribble, but gets to the bucket, turns around, and throws up a reverse one-hander that took a chunk of glass out of the backboard. Anyone but Jannero Pargo would be feating on Flip Murray right now.

- Pargo's hit consecutive three-balls on secondary-break situations... and the lead is down to 15.

- Oh, Tyson Chandler with a manly block of Tayshaun Prince. And I loved Tayshaun's reaction to the play, which was the "stand there and bitch while other people run" maneuver. Fortunately for the Pistons, the Hornets botch an alley-oop attempt on the other end, with a one-handed flush getting blocked on the rim.

- Marc Jackson gets called for a foul on Jason Maxiell, and then gets T'd up, presumably for bitching. Kevin Harlan then shares that Marc Jackson played high school ball with Marvin Harrison, and that his dad sang with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes (bitch, you'll NEVER go platinum).

- The third quarter comes to an end, with the Pistons lead at 17. And my connection still sucks... ugh. Issues.

- Pargo just beat everyone down the floor for a fast-break lay-up attempt... Maxiell erased it, though, and returned it to sender. I love watching Maxiell. He's like the kid that was left behind a couple of years... like a 12-year-old playing against 4th graders.

- Will Blalock for the fast-break lay-up on the other end, and rookie point guard Hilton Armstrong puts it back in his grill. Good, athletic plays, but... this has turned sloppy.

- Hey, Legally Blonde is on this Saturday. I'm gonna call Flip Murray and ask him if he wants to come over and watch it with me.

- Craig Sager is talking with a kid from South Africa who made the trip to watch an NBA game in America, courtesty of Rasual Butler and the NBA's Basketball Without Borders. The kid, though, is asking like he doesn't know what an honor it is to be interviewed by Craig Sager.

- The kid, Jerome Duplooy, is going into detail about his game... I don't think Sager quite asked for this. The kid claimed he was a center at 5'7" and for some reason, Sager decided to grill him about it. Just shut the hell up, Sager, he's a kid, confused about something... by the end of it, Sager was laughing at him. I hope this kid beats his ass.

- Will Blalock has not been as steady in the second half as he was in the first. He's turned it over a couple of times, he's not playing with the confidence he was in the first. Then again, his teammates have let their foot off the gas pedal, too. I still think he could can be a quality reserve NBA point guard.

- Maxiell with a great move... he set up his man, put it on the floor, went to the middle and finished softly. Very nicely done... he's got all 7 Pistons points here in the 4th quarter. The lead is back up to 18.

- You know who else is awesome? Ernie Johnson. They cut away from the game (actual live game action, and not a commercial break or stoppage in play or anything else) to show Marv Albert and Charles Barkley faking an argument at the broadcast table in Sacramento. Ernie just sits there in silence on the split screen for a second, observing, then deadpans, "Nothing beats good acting."

- Hey, Amir Johnson's in the game for the Pistons. Let's watch him for the rest of the game and see what he brings, other than some sweet braids.

- Hilton Armstrong outmanlies (that isn't a word) Amir Johnson for a rebound right there. That's not good.

- So much for the Amir Johnson project. I was excited about it, too ... it felt a little bit like watching Darko a couple of years ago. But TNT's switched it up, and we're getting bonus coverage instead from the Dallas/Indiana game, being called by Clark Kellogg. The Pacers lead 77-74...

- There's over 9 minutes left in this game. I'm not going to get to see the end of it, so I'm not going to get attached.

- Now we're back to OKC with 1:16 to play... Amir Johnson battles for position in the post, but not particularly hard or effectively. He doesn't make much of an attempt at the rebound, too.

- Your final is 92-68. We'll see you over here for the Lakers/Kings game.