Austin Rivers buzzer beater vs North Carolina 2/8/12

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Austin Rivers never looked like a freshman in his first Duke-North Carolina rivalry game – including when he buried a shot that will live on in the lore of this fierce rivalry.

Rivers hit a 3-pointer at the horn to give No. 10 Duke an 85-84 win over No. 5 North Carolina on Wednesday night, snapping the Tar Heels' school-record 31-game home winning streak.

Rivers scored a season-high 29 points and hit six 3s, the last over 7-footer Tyler Zeller with the Blue Devils (20-4, 7-2) trailing by two in the final seconds. The ball swished through the net, sending Rivers running down the court in celebration while the rest of his teammates gave chase before mobbing him in front of a stunned UNC crowd.

Rivers' 3 capped a wild rally for the Blue Devils, who trailed by 10 points with about 2 1/2 minutes left.

Harrison Barnes scored 25 points for the Tar Heels (20-4, 7-2), while Zeller finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. But Zeller missed two free throws in the final minute, including one with 13.9 seconds left that set up Rivers' winning shot.hen again, North Carolina probably never should've let it come to that.

After trailing most of the first half, the Tar Heels ran off a 14-4 run to start the second half and build a 13-point lead. Barnes – who didn't have a field goal in the first half – finally getting going with a pair of baskets and a 3-pointer off a crosscourt pass from Kendall Marshall to take a 57-44 lead with 15:08 left.

North Carolina maintained at least a seven-point lead most of the way from there, with Barnes' last jumper giving the Tar Heels an 82-72 lead with 2:38 left.

Curry and Kelly each had 15 points for Duke, which shot 44 percent and matched a season high with 14 3-pointers.

North Carolina shot 59 percent in the second half, but went just 8 for 15 from the foul line after halftime to let this one slip painfully away.

Jeremy Lin vs Wizards [Highlights] - February 8th 2012

The Washington Wizards fell victim to the Jeremy Lin show. Hard to really come away from this game with any other conclusion. Lin showed the world again why he's legitimate, and the Knicks completely picked the Wizards apart in the pick and roll in winning, 107-93. It ended up being one of the most embarrassing losses for the Wizards all season, if only because of the inevitable Lin vs. John Wall framing that tells us absolutely nothing about why this game was lost.

Wall had 29 points and one turnover in the entire game. Wall was not the reason the Wizards lost. In fact, without Wall, they probably lose by 30. The Wizards' pick and roll coverage was awful, and the big men were mostly to blame. Lin can certainly change speeds beautifully, but the Wizards' big men never were able to prevent him from getting inside the free-throw line extended. Proper pick and roll coverage involves Wall pressuring the ball, the big man stepping out and beating the guard to the spot and Wall recovering quickly, in that order. The second part of the chain kept breaking down, and that is why the Wizards lost.