It was the worst kept secret. The NBA league MVP is finally Kobe Bryant’s.

The 29 year-old Los Angeles Laker superstar had a terrific season finishing second in the league to Cleveland’s LeBron James in scoring averaging 28.3 points-per-game (PPG) along with 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists to lead his team to the West’s best record finishing 57-25. The Philadelphia native shot 45.9 percent from the field including 36.1 from three-point range- his highest percentage in five seasons.

“This is an award I couldn’t have won on my own. I can’t thank these guys (his teammates) enough. These are my guys, these are my brothers. Let’s get ready for tomorrow,” the very ecstatic Laker star told reporters at a press conference as his team prepared for Game Two of their seven-game Western Conference Semi series against Utah. Bryant lit up the Jazz for 38 points, six boards and seven assists in a 109-98 Game One win at Staples Center Sunday.

Keeping things in perspective, he made a valid observation of finally winning his first ever league MVP:

“It’s Hollywood, it’s a movie script. The perfect ending would be for us to hold a championship trophy at the end of it.”

Well stated. Bryant received 82 first place votes and 1,105 points beating out the Hornets’ Chris Paul, who finished second with 28 first place tallies and 889 points. Boston’s Kevin Garnett (15 and 670) and the league’s leading scorer James (1 and 438) rounded out the top four.

Blogger’s reaction: Bryant was very deserving and really sacrificed his offense to get other teammates involved which is the biggest reason the Lakers finished where they did and are a legit championship contender. Paul was a good choice for runner-up who had a fantastic third season averaging 21.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG and a league best 11.6 assists, leading the Hornets to 56 wins and back to the postseason.

I’m not crazy about KG finishing ahead of LeBron cause he had a much better cast with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The Celtics did finish with a league best 66 wins which might explain it. For the most part, they got it right and that’s all that counts.

Yes! You actually heard right!!!!! The Denver Nuggets last night scored 168 points in regulation!

No. This isn’t a joke. Or at least it’s not quite April Fool’s yet. Maybe the Nuggets had the luck of the Irish the night before St. Patty’s Day. Or maybe the Seattle Sonics even with green in their uniforms just really are that pathetic.

Heck. Even Team Dumb and Dumber Clown Management 101 hasn’t quite sunk to that level.

When I was checking boxscores late last night after my Hard Hits show with the usual cast of characters in JPG, Rob “Kraze” Davis and Nate Sousa, I figured it was some sort of misprint. How could any NBA team score that many points without at least a couple of overtimes?!?!?!?!?!

Maybe that answer is best left for the participants in a historic game which saw Denver score at least 40-or-more in three of four quarters. Oh btw…they took it easy and racked up a cool 36 in the second.

I’ve seen quarters where the Knicks give up a ton but man. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to watch that. What happened? How did the Nuggets finish with over 60 field goals made on 100 or 101 shots??? That’s over 60 percent. Even if you aren’t good at math, duh!

I think the craziest thing was that their bench got nearly half finishing with 74 featuring a ridiculous four players in double digits with J.R. Smith & Chucky Atkins getting 19 apiece while Linas Kleiza netted 17 and somebody by the name of…

YAKHOUBA DIAWARA (try pronouncing that 10 times fast) also contributing 11!!!!!

Gee wiz. So what did some of the participants on the winning side have to say about scoring a season high 84 first half points and 168 total in just the required 48 minutes. Well at least last I checked anyway.

Kenyon Martin (11-of-13 FG, 23 pts, 8 rebs):

“A lot of people are going to think it’s a misprint. A lot of people will think there’s no way they scored that many points. It’s unbelievable. There are no words for it.”

“It’s hard to beat a team when you get 44 assists and making the extra pass. It’s tough to beat a team when you play like we did tonight.”

“Like the Rockets winning 22 straight, it’s unheard of on this level. Scoring 168 points in regulation is unheard of. Hopefully we can take what we did these last three games at home onto the road trip.”

Marcus Camby (triple double-13 pts, 15 rebs, 10 ass):

“I’ve never been a part of a game like this where we won by so many points and scored so many points. This is definitely a game I’m going to keep in my archives.”

Denver coach George Karl:

“There was no way that I couldn’t enjoy the game, not from the way we played offensively”

The poor Sonics unfortunately will have to deal with this for quite a while until they become good again when they relocate. What did they have to say?

Chris Wilcox:

“We just lost tonight. We lost by a lot. That’s just something you’re going to have to look back on. It’s just something you’re going to have to live with.”

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo:

“We get beat that badly, there’s no excuse for that. It matters a lot because we’re professionals and we’re trying to compete—and we didn’t compete tonight.”

Not surprisingly, Denver’s 168 point explosion which included 24 points from Allen Iverson and 26 from Carmelo Anthony became a new team record for most points in a regular season game eclipsing the previous franchise mark of 163 against the Spurs on Jan.11, 1984.

So, will it ever happen again? Probably not unless there’s a game which needs triple overtime.

Here’s the historic box:

Nuggets score 168 in regulation

Oh btw…the final score was 168-116. That’s a 52-point margin. Wow!

Me thinks one team needs a whole LOT of practice sliding their feet and doing suicides.

I wonder what JPG thinks…

With the NCAA tournament brackets about to be revealed over on CB$, there is a history making game of sorts over at ABC as the Houston Rockets are about to extend their amazing winning streak to 22 straight.

When the streak began, they were on the outside looking in in the ultra competitive Western Conference. Now, up by 13 with under a minute left against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers (with no Pau Gasol), they’re going to win No.22 in a row and believe it or not, move into sole possession of first in the conference with an impressive 46-20 mark.

So, before the unbelievable streak began, Rick Adelman’s club were just four games over .500. The 22-game win streak is the second longest in NBA history. They passed the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks a couple of days ago but still trail the 1971-72 Wilt Chamblerlain Lakers by a cool 11 for the all-time mark.

Can they match it? Probably not. The schedule this upcoming week shall only get tougher when they host league best Boston and then travel to New Orleans, Golden State and Phoenix.

No easy opponents there. You have to applaud what they’ve accomplished thus far in improving to 10-0 without Yao Ming.

So what was the key today in a game which leading scorer Tracy McGrady didn’t score until the final quarter saving all 11 for crunch time, point guard Rafer Alston caught fire nailing eight triples to pace the Rockets with 31.

Reserve guard Bobby Jackson also came off the bench and scored 19 shooting an efficient seven-of-nine from the field and also grabbing six boards.

The Rockets outscored the Lakers 35-27 off the bench.

If there was one other big key (and when isn’t it), their stifling aggressive D on Kobe forced him into 22 misses (11-of-33 FG). So even though he led his team with 24, it wasn’t the most productive because he had just a couple of assists. And yes. They’re a very different team with Gasol. Just wait till the big guy gets back along with Metuchen, NJ product Andrew Bynum.

Kudos still go out to the Rockets as they march on.

AP Photo Courtesy Getty Images by Pat Sullivan

In case you haven’t been paying much attention, the Houston Rockets have reeled off 19 in a row- third longest in NBA history.

Even without star center Yao Ming, Rick Adelman’s team continues to play flawless basketball. Maybe they aren’t taken as seriously as Western contenders Los Angeles, San Antonio and even Dallas. However, it’s awfully hard not to take notice of how well they’re playing without one of the game’s best big men.

Like most observers when Yao went down, I figured you could stick a fork in the Rockets. Instead, led by leading scorer Tracy McGrady, who’s never been a fave of mine; the team is continuing to win games.

You have to give plenty of credit to Adelman for keeping his club focused when any slip up could mean no postseason in an ultra competitive conference. Instead, here they are fresh off a comfortable 91-73 home win over their latest victim the Jason Kidd-less Nets, boasting an impressive 42-20 record right on the heels of the Spurs and Lakers.

The 18-point home win improved them to 24-9 at the Toyota Center. They’re now 7-0 since Yao went down with a broken left foot. While a few of those opponents weren’t world beaters, there are a couple of impressive wins on that list including double digits over the Nuggets (103-89), Mavericks (113-98) and Hornets (106-96).

I have to also admit that I thought the game had passed Adelman by. His Kings teams always seemed to come up short and made you wonder if it had to do with the coach who once guided the Blazers to an NBA Finals appearance before losing to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

The job the veteran NBA coach has done is just tremendous. Players such as Rafer Alston, European find Luis Scola, long range bomber Shane Battier, Luther Head and rookie Carl Landry have stepped up in Ming’s absence to team with McGrady playing an inspired brand of ball which includes hard nosed D. Just ask the Nets, who finished with a season-low 28 first half points and shot only 30 percent.

Even dinosaur Dikembe Mutombo is chipping in.

When you see how underachieving our local teams are, just look at what Adelman’s done with Houston.

That’s how it’s supposed to be. Kudos to them for getting it right.

Who says that Jason Kidd’s addition to the Mavericks makes them better? Apparently, Laker superstar Kobe Bryant had other ideas lighting up Kidd and the Mavs for 52 in an exciting 108-104 overtime win Sunday in Hollywood.

It was Kobe’s first 50 point game of the season and 22nd of his brilliant career. Following a half in which he missed five of eight from the charity stripe, the disappointed 29 year-old Philly native came out with a strong second half saving his best for crunch time.

Bryant heated up in the final quarter scoring 22 of his points including a perfect 13-for-13 at the line. He made 17 of his last 19 at the charity stripe to go 20-for-27.

Last season’s regular season MVP Dirk Nowitzki forced OT by making a trifecta with just two seconds to go tying it at 93. In the extra five minutes, Dirk scored nine more but ultimately missed another trey which would’ve knotted it again with seven seconds remaining.

Bryant continued his hot play scoring eight more in the OT to finish with 30 of his 52 in the final 17 minutes.

Former Net Kidd finished with 15 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. He had a chance for a three-point play after converting a driving lay-up but missed the free throw which would’ve evened it at 105.

“I felt confident at the free throw line, but I just left it short,” Kidd later told the AP. “To tie the game, I have to be able to step up and make that free throw.”

“It was great for the players and the fans; both teams had leads, both teams fought to come back,” Kidd also pointed out of the second of an ABC doubleheader between a couple of the West’s best.

Bryant finished 15-of-27 from the field making two of three from downtown, also adding 11 boards and four assists. Pau Gasol added 17, 14 rebounds and dropped five dimes.

Notes: The Mavs are 4-3 since acquiring Kidd. The Lakers have won 12 of 13 and stayed even with the defending champion Spurs, who went into New Jersey and defeated the Nets 93-83 on the strength of Tony Parker’s 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. It was their ninth consecutive win.

I’m DereksConscience, a new voice here on Hitting Back. My job is to provide another point of view and keep Derek in check. With that in mind, I have a few words to say about Ben Wallace, now former Chicago Bull.

Way back in the summer of 2006, the Chicago Bulls decided that their team needed an upgrade. With plenty of money to spend, GM John Paxson decided to get a lot older with free agent Ben Wallace, inked to a 4 year, $60 million contract. The move was questionable at the time - the Bulls had a duplicate player in Tyson Chandler, who was younger, cheaper, and taller - and grew more indefensible as time went on. Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s difficult to understand why the Bulls decided to get rid of Chandler only to bring in Wallace. There was no problem here with trading Tyson Chandler if the idea was to go in a new direction. Free agents Joel Prizbilla or Chris Wilcox would’ve made a lot more sense as cheap stopgaps.

Although Wallace provided some help in 2006-2007, he had clearly declined from his peak. As a 6′7″ PF/C, Wallace relied on superior strength and athleticism to play his position. As a 32 year old man, the legs simply weren’t there any more. The Bulls did make the playoffs and advanced past the first round, but attributing this success to Wallace is foolish. By the beginning of this season, it was clear that Wallace’s time had come. His rebounding numbers fell dramatically, and his always abysmal offense reached new lows - the man is shooting 37% from the field as a low post player. Every advanced statistical measure save for the Wages of Wins revealed Wallace as one of the worst starters in the league. Even worse, Wallace and fellow old man Joe Smith kept rookies Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah on the bench. This might be acceptable on a playoff team, but for a team struggling to reach .500? Please. Wallace teamed up with fellow worthless player Adrian Griffin to suspend Joakim Noah for yelling at an assistant coach. One wonders where Wallace gained this power.

And now, less than 2 seasons into his tenure with the Bulls, Wallace is gone. I thank him for absolutely nothing, and I wish him all the worst with his new team. Although it remains to be seen, it is possible that Wallace cost both Scott Skiles and John Paxson their positions with the Chicago Bulls. Maybe this will be a lesson to those who value “veteran presence” and “playoff experience” over simple measures such as production.

With the NBA trade deadline a minute away yesterday afternoon, the Cavs, Bulls and Sonics completed a blockbuster 11 player trade.

In an attempt to give franchise superstar LeBron James an improved supporting cast, Cleveland GM Danny Ferry acquired Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Delonte West and Wally Sczerbiak from both the Bulls and Sonics in a massive overhaul to try to reach a second straight NBA Finals. 

First, Ferry sent guard Larry Hughes, power forward Drew Gooden along with Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown to the Bulls in exchange for Wallace, Smith and Chicago’s second round pick in 2009.

Then, he acquired West and Sczerbiak from Seattle for forwards Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble. The rebuilding Sonics also received veteran guard Adrian Griffin from Chicago as part of the blockbuster trade.

HB Analysis: What the hell did the Cavaliers do here? Unless Big Ben discovers the fountain of youth, he looks to be old and washed up. He was only pulling down 8.8 boards-a-game and netting just over five points a night- his worst output since 1999-00. The 33 year-old former NBA Defensive Player of the Year’s body is breaking down. He’s slower now.

My good buddy John Giagnorio must have been doing backwards cartwheels when this was announced because this was a trade which made the Bulls younger and more athletic. Gooden is a solid four who will put up decent numbers. It also allows Tyrus Thomas and rookie Joakim Noah to get more minutes. A must for Chicago’s rebuild process to start.

The streaky Hughes needed a change of scenery after a dreadful playoff showing last Spring despite playing through pain. He moves into a crowded backcourt which includes Kirk Hinrich, Chris Duhon and super sub Ben Gordon. Wonder what it means for Gordon, who is seeking a huge raise.

The Sonics basically revamped at the deadline also moving veteran big man Kurt Thomas to the Spurs for shooting guard Brent Barry, Francisco Elson plus a first round pick. With Barry putting their roster over the max, they then waived the three-point specialist saving $8 million in cap space over the next couple of years.  He could wind up back with the defending champion Spurs if no other team signs him over the next 30 days.

As for Cleveland, the big deal hinges on Wallace. Will the former All-Star center who helped lead the Pistons to their third NBA title a few years ago be motivated enough playing with LeBron to bring a championship to Cleveland? We’ll find out.

The Cavs didn’t do badly in terms of improving their bench when they go up against the East’s elite in Boston, Detroit and Orlando. Sczerbiak has comeback healthy from offseason ankle surgery averaging 13.1 PPG with Seattle. The Long Island product can score from the perimeter where he shoots better than 42 percent from beyond the arc.

They also added West, who along with Sczerbiak were part of the Ray Allen trade to Boston in the 2007 NBA Draft. The former St. Joe’s star didn’t play as much as expected in Seattle. With sharp shooter Daniel Gibson expected to miss six weeks due to an ankle sprain, that should change. West is a capable backup PG who can contribute points, rebounds and assists if you play him. He should see an increased role in Cleveland.

The other player Smith is a reliable offensive threat who can step out and knock it down from 17. He was having a nice season with the Bulls averaging 11.2 PPG and 5.3 RPG.

If Gibson comes back healthy in time for the playoffs and energizer Anderson “Sideshow Bob” Varejao also is injury free from an ankle which has sidelined him nearly a month, the Cavs should be a very deep team. They also still have Sasha Pavlovich coming off the bench and big man Zydrunas Ilgauskas starting.

If this new look roster gets healthy, they should be tough to beat. The real test won’t come until the second round.

According to a published report, the Sacramento Kings have agreed to trade starting point guard Mike Bibby to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for veteran PG Anthony Johnson, former 2006 first round pick Shelden Williams, guard Tyrone Lue and veteran big man Lorenzen Wright.

HB Analysis: A brilliant move by the Hawks, who finally appear ready to make a return to the postseason for the first time in almost a decade. With already a solid roster which features guard Joe Johnson, athletic deluxes Josh Smith and Marvin Williams along with solid first-year center Al Horford, Atlanta makes the move they needed to to finally send the right message to their fans. They are ready to compete in an abysmal conference aside from heavy hitters Boston, Detroit and Orlando.

The 29 year-old Bibby might not be what he used to be but the former Arizona standout is still an effective point guard who can get into the lane, score and get other teammates involved. It looks like a good fit.

For the Kings, they decided it was time for a change. Already with a solid nucleus in place which includes former LaSalle Academy product Ron Artest, Bronx native Francisco Garcia, leading scorer Kevin Martin, PG Beno Udrih, center Brad Miller and instant offense John Salmons, Sacramento is ready to move on without Bibby, who missed the entire first half before returning to play in 15 games netting 13.5 PPG, 5.0 APG and 3.7 RPG.

They essentially got Bibby’s contract off the books and it looks like they received expiring contracts. So, even though they got garbage in return, the deal from their position also made plenty of sense.

It remains to be seen if the 21-28 Hawks, who are tied for the final two spots with the Nets and 76ers will make the playoffs. However, with Jason Kidd expected to still wind up in Dallas if Jerry Stackhouse would just shut the heck up already, you have to give them a decided edge to get in which should be real exciting to watch. I’d liken it to last year’s feel good story with Golden State where they hadn’t been in for a while, had an athletic team and pulled a huge first round upset of Dallas.

Who would want to draw the Hawks in the first round? I sure wouldn’t.

Jason Kidd got his wish. He’s no longer a Net. The multidimensional point guard who led the Nets to two NBA Finals was finally dealt to the Mavericks earlier today.

In exchange for the disgruntled 35 year-old NBA All-Star, the Nets are getting point guard Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagna Diop, Devean George, Maurice Ager, 2008 and 2010 first round picks plus three million in cash. The Nets will also reportedly send backup forward Malik Allen to Dallas.

Another deal between the two clubs has Nets’ guard Antoine Wright moving closer to home for a future second rounder plus other considerations.

HB Analysis: It’s expected that the Nets will buyout the remainder of Stackhouse’ contract allowing him to possibly return to the Mavs as part of their NBA championship push. They also added expiring contracts (Diop and George) and got the young player they coveted along with first round picks.

This trade needed to happen for Nets GM Rod Thorne as his club was going nowhere with an uninspired Kidd anyway. The 24 year-old Harris is a splendid dribble penetrator who can score and distribute the ball. He was averaging a career best 14.4 points along with over five assists- also a career high. The speedy guard who starred at Wisconsin should fit in well with Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter to formulate a new trio.

With the development of young bigs Sean Williams and Josh Boone, the Nets’ future looks much brighter than before.

For the Mavs, they get their man and essentially just lose one key component off a roster which features last year’s regular season MVP Dirk Nowitzki and explosive shooting guard Josh Howard. Kidd finally returns to where his NBA career began when he was once teamed with another duo in Jimmy Jackson and Jamal Mashburn. Too bad that didn’t work out due to plenty of immaturity and Toni Braxton.

The Mavs are banking on Kidd to be the final piece to the puzzle teaming with Dirk and Howard to formulate a deadly trio. However, in such a competitive conference, nothing’s a given. Especially with Shaq out in the Desert and Pau Gasol teaming with Kobe in LA. Let’s not discount those defending champion Spurs either. When Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are all healthy, the Spurs are still in a class by themselves.

So, who will come out of the West? Probably a team we haven’t mentioned like the Hornets, Jazz or Warriors. Wonder how the other teams’ fans would feel if that actually happened? Never mind.

Maybe the Mavs forgot to show up. Or maybe the Nets just decided they felt like playing basketball earlier tonight. Whatever the reason or combo for better term, the East’s eighth best team cruised past one of the West’s elite on their home floor by posting a 101-82 victory.

The Nets turned an 11-point second quarter deficit into a six-point halftime lead as Vince Carter returned from taking a hard elbow to the head by playing some of his most inspired ball of a disappointing season- netting 25 of a game best 29 after coming back from the locker room.

“This is the performance we want,” a pleased Vincesanity expressed to the Associated Press after the Nets’ second straight win.

“I still think we can do it. We definitely think we’re capable. It’s great to have this kind of performance against a team like that to reassure ourselves that we’re a pretty good team. Hopefully we can build off this and continue to do the job each and every night.“

When Carter collided with Mavs’ forward Brandon Bass, he stayed down on the floor for a couple of minutes before being helped back to the bench by Net trainer Tim Walsh.

“I saw stars, stripes, everything,” Carter acknowledged. “It’s one of those things you see coming but you can’t move fast enough. When he hit me, I was just trying to hold on and not hit the floor too hard. I was a little dizzy and tried to take my time getting up. I was a little sore but I just wanted to clear my head and go back out there.”

Maybe it woke him up because he helped ignite the Nets on a 20-4 run to end the half which included a nifty reverse lay-in. The Mavs never recovered allowing a resurgent Lawrence Frank club to run off 21 unanswered falling behind by as many as 19.

“That’s the NBA,” said the much rumored Jason Kidd, who followed up his league-leading 12th triple double with a solid 13-point, 14 assist, six rebound performance.

“Anybody can be beaten on any give night, no matter what your record is. We beat a very good in Dallas and we lost to the worst team. You just work to get better every time you take the floor.“

The Nets also got more encouraging news as starting center Nenad Krstic finished with eight points and eight boards in 17+ minutes for his most productive game since returning at the start of the month.

Rookie big man Sean Williams came off the bench chipping in 15 on six-of-eight from the floor with seven rebounds and two blocks.

At 22-29, the Nets are now a game better than both the 76ers and Pacers for the final playoff berth with 31 games remaining. The growing question is will they still have Kidd after the trade deadline passes? He could wind up with his first team, the Mavs or elsewhere if he gets his wish.

The Nets should have a much better record given what they have in Kidd, Carter and Richard Jefferson (19 pts, seven rebs, four assists). Can this team win with this trio intact? It’s already been proven that they can’t. So why retain Kidd? They may as well get what they can and begin the rebuilding process.

I just wonder if that’s in Rod Thorn’s vocabulary. Either way, we’re about to find out what the organization’s plan will be.

Nets look to go Wolf Hunting: The Nets host Minnesota Tuesday night looking to exact some revenge for a brutal three-point road loss in which they allowed the final 10 points, blowing a seven-point lead in the game’s final 75 seconds. They’ll also visit the Raptors Wednesday night before the All-Star Break. … Dirk Nowitzki paced the Mavs with 21 points, eight boards and four assists. … Dallas (34-16) fell to just 12-13 on the road as compared to their 22-3 home record.