Sunday Beat is a weekly post featuring the most remarkable performances of the week, z-point-wise.

PHOENIX @ L.A. CLIPPERS 109-107

Steve Nash (PHO)
24 pts, 0.67 2PT%, 0.33 3PT%, 0.83 FT%
47 z-pts (1.57), 0.86 z2PT%, 0.65 z3PT%, 0.88 zFT%

With 5 seconds left in the game, Steve Nash made a layup that gave the Suns the win. All in, he scored 15 of his 24 points in the 4th quarter, including a 3 to tie the game with 1:40 left on the clock. Simply amazing.

Leandro Barbosa (PHO)
17 pts, 0.3 2PT%, 0.5 3PT%
24 z-pts (0.80), 0.3 z2PT%, 0.74 z3PT%

Barbosa hit a huge 3 to give Phoenix a 107-104 lead with 23 seconds left. Note also how Channing Frye is credited for assisting Barbosa on this play (2 assists in the game but 7.9 z-assists).

Rasual Butler (LAC)
19 pts, 0.67 2PT%, 0.75 3PT%, 0.67 FT%
22 z-pts (0.74), 0.67 z2PT%, 0.84 z3PT%, 0.64 zFT%

Butler responded to Barbosa’s 3 with his own, to tie the game at 107 with 11 seconds left in the game. Notice how his z3PT% is higher than his true 3PT%, crediting Butler for this play.

Marcus Camby (LAC)
23 pts, 0.71 2PT%
15 z-pts (0.77), 0.59 z2PT%

Camby missed a couple of critical shots down the stretch and that’s why his z2PT% goes down (showing that, despite shooting 71% from 2PT range, he missed in the clutch). Also of note how he scored roughly the same points as Chris Kaman (Kaman had 22 for Camby’s 23), however Kaman got 23 z-points vs Camby’s 15, as the former made some buckets at the end of the game.

DENVER @ PORTLAND 97-94

Carmelo Anthony (DEN)
41 pts, 0.53 2PT%, 0.5 3PT%, 0.9 FT%
52 z-pts (1.65), 0.51 z2PT%, 0.41 z3PT%, 0.94 zFT%

Monster game by Carmelo Anthony, who lighted up the Blazers with 41 pts (19 in the 4th quarter, hence the 52 z-points) and killed them from the FT line all night long (18 out of 20).

Greg Oden (POR)
6 pts, 0.4 2PT%, 0.5 FT%
3 z-pts (0.11), 0.41 z2PT%, 0.07 zFT%

Greg Oden missed two free throws with 4 seconds left that would have put the Blazers ahead. Note how his zFT% shows that.

NEW YORK @ CHARLOTTE 100-102

Raymond Felton (CHA)
22 pts, 0.5 2PT%, 0.86 FT%
36 z-pts (1.32), 0.66 z2PT%, 0.95 zFT%

Felton sent the game to the second overtime with a layup and scored consistently at the end of the game.

D.J. Augustin (CHA)
15 pts, 0.67 2PT%, 0.33 3PT%, 0.67 FT%
29 z-pts (1.08), 0.48 z2PT%, 0.53 z3PT%, 0.73 zFT%

D.J. missed a couple of FTs with the Bobcats up by two and 18 seconds left in the game. He would redeem himself later by hitting his FTs with just 2 seconds on the clock and the game tied at 100, giving Charlotte their first win of the season.

SACRAMENTO @ NEW ORLEANS 92-97

Chris Paul (NOR)
31 pts, 0.54 2PT%, 0.93 FT%
44z-pts (1.32), 0.54 z2PT%, 0.97 zFT%

Chris Paul was lethal on the 4th, as he scored 13 of his 31 points in this period (7 of 7 at the line).

DETROIT @ MILWAUKEE 85-96

Brandon Jennings (MIL)
24 pts, 0.54 2PT%, 0.75 3PT%, 0.75 FT%
30 z-pts (0.65), 0.62 z2PT%, 0.66 z3PT%, 0.75 zFT%

Great performance by the rookie in his first official game in Milwaukee. Jennings scored 9 points in a 2-minute span at the end of the 3rd, spurring a rally that the Bucks would never relinquish.

SAN ANTONIO @ CHICAGO 85-92
DENVER @ PORTLAND 97-94

A couple of things that caught my eye from the Nuggets-Blazers game: Carmelo Anthony’s 51 z-points (1,65) vs 41 points, and Greg Oden’s .068 zFT% vs .50 FT% (he missed two critical free throws with 4 seconds remaining on the 4th that would have put Portland ahead).

ESPN highlight’s here.