The AP reports: Mike Miller scored 34 points and hit a season-high eight 3-pointers to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 113-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. Rudy Gay added 23 points for Memphis and Hakim Warrick had 20 as the Grizzlies sent the Wolves to their fourth straight loss and sixth in the last seven… Ryan Gomes led Minnesota with 19 points and Al Jefferson had 18.
Month: April 2008
Apr. 6: Pistons 91, Heat 75
The AP reports: The Detroit Pistons locked up the No. 2 seed. The Miami Heat moved closer to locking up 250 chances at the No. 1 pick. Rodney Stuckey scored 19 points, Tayshaun Prince added 14 on 6-for-7 shooting and the Pistons secured the second spot on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket with a 91-75 win Sunday over the Heat. Jarvis Hayes, Jason Maxiell, Juan Dixon and Arron Afflalo each scored 10 points for the Pistons (55-21), who won their fifth straight… Earl Barron scored 20 points for Miami, which lost its seventh straight… Chris Quinn finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Heat, which got 11 points and nine rebounds from Ricky Davis and 10 points from Mark Blount.
Apr. 6: Spurs 72, Blazers 65
The AP reports: Tim Duncan had 27 points and 11 rebounds and San Antonio beat Portland 72-65 on Sunday, extending the Spurs’ winning streak over the Trail Blazers to 12 straight games… Manu Ginobili’s dunk with 1:31 left all but sealed it for the Spurs, who handed the Blazers their fifth consecutive loss. Ginobili finished with 10 points and six assists… All-Star guard Brandon Roy, who returned after a four-game absence because of a groin injury, led the Blazers (38-38) with 18 points. Travis Outlaw added 14 and LaMarcus Aldridge had 12 points and 11 rebounds… The Blazers were without starter Martell Webster, who suited up for Thursday night’s game but experienced dizziness and flu-like symptoms and was taken to a hospital.
Apr. 6: Pacers 105, Bucks 97
The AP reports: Reserve point guard Travis Diener scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and the Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-97 Sunday night. Diener, who averages seven points per game, made five of six 3-pointers in the final period. “It was big time for us,” said Danny Granger, who led the Pacers with 27 points… The Pacers shot 5-for-23 shooting in the third quarter, but 13-for-21 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 10-point deficit… Mike Dunleavy had 17 points and seven assists and Jeff Foster had a season-high 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won eight of 11. Redd led Milwaukee with 24 points and Charlie Villanueva added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who have lost six of eight. Bucks point guard Mo Williams sat out with an abdominal injury.
Apr. 6: Mavs 105, Suns 98
The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points and the Mavericks rallied from a 13 points down early in the fourth to stun the Phoenix Suns 105-98 on Sunday. Dallas outscored Phoenix 27-9 in the fourth quarter for the kind of gutsy victory against a strong opponent the Mavericks had sought since the trade that brought Kidd from New Jersey… Josh Howard added 24 points and Brandon Bass 19 for the Mavericks, who used a smothering defense in a 16-0 run that put them ahead for good in a game the Suns had led nearly throughout. Phoenix went scoreless for just under 8 minutes, missing 12 shots in the process… Amare Stoudemire had 31 points for the Suns but missed three of four free throws down the stretch. Nash had 14 points and 10 assists, but shot only 4-of-17 from the field.
Apr. 6: Hornets 108, Warriors 96
The AP reports: Chris Paul had 16 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds and New Orleans tied a franchise record for single-season victories with 54 in a 108-96 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday… Peja Stojakovic and David West each scored 25 points, helping New Orleans close the game on an 18-6 run after Golden State had rallied to tie the game at 90 early in the fourth quarter… Monta Ellis had 35 points and 10 rebounds to keep the Warriors close late into the final period, which Warriors coach Don Nelson called “a bright spot in kind of a gloomy game.” … Baron Davis and Andris Biedrins each scored 17 points and Biedrins also had 15 rebounds for Golden State (46-31), which has lost three of four games and will need a strong finish to earn a playoff berth.
Ronnie Brewer health update
Utah Jazz guard Ronnie Brewer, who has missed the last three games with a strained right groin, was able to participate in practice today in Salt Lake City. He will travel with the team to New Orleans on Monday and is a gametime decision for the Jazz’s game at the Hornets on Tuesday night.
Brewer originally suffered the injury in the third quarter at Minnesota on 3/30. He did not play in the Jazz’s three home wins over Washington (3/31), Minnesota (4/2) or San Antonio (4/4) this past week.
Sonics shoe handout causes staff blowup
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Gary Washburn) reports: According to a team source, the Sonics players were supposed to walk out of the tunnel after Friday’s game, where signed shoes were supposed to be waiting for them. Apparently, they weren’t, leading to mass confusion and finger-pointing between the Sonics marketing team, the game operations staff and the front office, who had to scramble to get players onto the floor.
Apr. 5: Kings 118, Nuggets 115
The AP reports: Kevin Martin scored 36 points despite missing Sacramento’s shootaround with the stomach flu and the Kings capitalized on Kenyon Martin’s one-game suspension by getting 29 points from Francisco Garcia and 23 from Mikki Moore… The Kings, out of playoff contention and missing Ron Artest (thumb) and Brad Miller (leg), won their fourth straight game and snapped Denver’s nine-game home winning streak. They took advantage of sloppy play and silly mistakes by the Nuggets, who got 47 points from Carmelo Anthony, two shy of his career high… Linas Kleiza started in place of Kenyon Martin and scored 28 points, 21 in the first 18 minutes, helping Denver take a 41-32 lead.
Apr. 5: Wizards 99, Bulls 87
The AP reports: Having a healthy Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas would help, but the Wizards will take what they got on Saturday night—a career-high 25 points from Brendan Haywood, 18 from Butler and a 99-87 victory over the Chicago Bulls… The Bulls got 18 points from Ben Gordon and 16 from Larry Hughes, but it wasn’t enough to beat a team that was missing two of its best players. Jamison, averaging a team-leading 21.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, was injured late in Wednesday’s loss to Milwaukee. He missed his first game of the season on Friday when the Wizards beat Miami to clinch their fourth consecutive playoff berth.