The AP reports: Dwight Howard scored 26 points, and the Orlando Magic used a second-quarter run to build a big lead Saturday night before holding off the Miami Heat, 100-92 for their fourth consecutive preseason victory. Howard also had 16 rebounds but was just 6-of-13 from the free throw line… Dwyane Wade, who finished with 29 points, had back-to-back baskets off steals midway through the third period, cutting it to 65-56.
Month: October 2008
Oct 18: Hawks 102, Bobcats 96
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 22 points and Mike Bibby added nine of his 14 points in the final 3 minutes—long after May was disqualified—as the Hawks beat Charlotte for the second time this week… Flip Murray came off the bench to score 18 for Atlanta (4-2), which overcame spotty shooting, plenty of foul trouble and growing pains with its new, bigger lineup… Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 11 rebounds, but got little help up for the frontcourt-deficient Bobcats (0-5), whose disjointed offense produced 20 turnovers.
Mavs notes
The Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 124-109 on Saturday. Here are Mavs team notes:
Gerald Green nearly matched his preseason-high (was 18 @ CHI on 10/9) in the 2nd quarter. In 12 minutes, he scored 16 points (5-6 FGs, 1-1 3FGs, 5-5 FTs) to go with 3 rebounds and 3 steals. He went on to finish the game with a game-high 29 points (10-12 FGs, 4-5 3FGs, 5-5 FTs) in 20 minutes.
Jason Kidd attempted his 1st free throws (2-2 FTs) of the season in the 2nd quarter of tonight’s game.
Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki each scored season-highs. Howard finished with 25 points (8-16 FGs, 9-11 FTs) in 28 minutes. Nowitzki contributed 21 points (7-12 FGs, 1-2 3FGs, 6-7 FTs in a season-high 28 minutes.
The Mavericks scored a preseason-high for the 1st half with 63 points (previous high was 62 @ CHI on 10/9) and a preseason-high for the 2nd half with 61 points (previous high was 58 @ MIL on 10/10). They finished the game with a season-high 124 points (was 110 @ CHI on 10/9).
Kevin Martin scored 20 1st half points (8-14 FGs, 2-4 3FGs, 2-2 FTs). Into tonight, no other opponent had scored more than 18 points in a game this preseason (Andray Blatche vs. WAS on 10/7 and Danny Granger @ IND 10/15).
Tonight’s attendance was 20,429 fans (19,200 capacity). The Mavs have sold out 276 consecutive regular season games at AAC and 333 games including the pre and postseasons (18 consecutive preseason sellouts). Dallas currently owns the longest running sellout streak in the NBA. The Sacramento Kings previously held the streak.
Tonight’s Key Run: Dallas led 89-86 with 1:00 to go in the 3rd quarter. Through the 8:54 mark of the 4th quarter, the Mavericks went on an 11-2 run to take a 100-88 lead.
Deron Williams sprains ankle
The Deseret News (Tim Buckley) reports: Jazz point guard Deron Williams sprained his left ankle in the opening quarter of Utah’s preseason game tonight at Chicago. Williams was coming down after taking a 3-pointer with five minutes and 39 seconds to go in the period when he appeared to land on the foot of Bulls rookie point Derrick Rose. He sustained an inversion sprain, but X-rays on the ankle — which appeared to bend quite awkwardly — were negative.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Damn. Well, at least x-rays were negative. Hope he’s OK soon. While D-Will is out, Ronnie Price, Brevin Knight and Gerry McNamara (signed to a nonguaranteed contract) will get additional minutes. Knight is an old veteran and everyone knows what he does, but Price is still improving, while McNamara is trying to claw his way into the league.
Darnell Jackson breaks wrist
The AP reports: Cleveland Cavaliers rookie forward Darnell Jackson is out indefinitely with a fractured left wrist. Jackson, who played in Cleveland’s first four exhibition games, first told the team on Tuesday the wrist was bothering him. He played 11 minutes in Thursday night’s game against San Antonio, and an examination on Friday revealed the fracture. Jackson said the wrist will be in a cast for about 10 days.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Brian Windhorst) reports: The rookie forward is probably going to need some more suits now that he’s facing being on the sidelines for 5-6 weeks after X-rays revealed he’d suffered a fractured left wrist. Jackson said he wasn’t sure when the injury occurred, since the first week of training camp he’d been bothered by soreness and was getting the wrist tapped. But it didn’t get better and became more bothersome.
Oct 17: Warriors 109, Bucks 108
For Golden State, Stephen Jackson shot 9-of-14 for 24 points and 4 assists, though he had 6 turnovers. Corey Maggette had 14 points, 4 rebounds, no assists and 5 turnovers. CJ Watson, off the bench, shot 4-of-13 for 14 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Brandan Wright, off the bench, had 14 points. Andris Biedrins had 13 with 11 rebounds. And DeMarcus Nelson scored 10 off the bench. As a team, the Warriors had 28 turnovers. For Milwaukee, Charlie Villanueva shot 11-of-18 for 26 points and 8 rebounds. Michael Redd shot 8-of-14 for 23 points. Joe Alexander shot 7-of-13 for 14 off the bench. Richard Jefferson shot 3-of-10 for 13 points and 7 assists. Andrew Bogut shot badly but grabbed 9 rebounds.
Oct 17: Rockets 95, Kings 90
The AP reports: Ron Artest hurried to the Sacramento locker room after scoring 13 points in the Houston Rockets’ 95-90 win over the Kings in a preseason game on Friday night… Yao Ming scored 15 points in 27 minutes before twisting his right ankle and leaving for good with 3:07 left in the third quarter. Coach Rick Adelman said Yao was also fighting a cold… Aaron Brooks scored 23 points in McGrady’s place and Luis Scola grabbed 10 rebounds for Houston. Artest played only 18 minutes, all in the first half… Kevin Martin scored 19 points and Brad Miller had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who shot 37.5 percent (30-for-80) and went 3-for-15 from 3-point range.
Oct 17: Bulls 108, Jazz 105
The AP reports: Ben Gordon scored 23 points, including two free throws with 10 seconds left, to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 108-105 preseason victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night. Andres Nocioni added 20 points and Tyrus Thomas had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Chicago in the game played at the Assembly Hall on the University of Illinois campus. Luol Deng and No. 1 overall draft pick Derrick Rose both had 14 points for the Bulls (1-3). Carlos Boozer was 8-for-12 from the field and finished with 21 points for the Jazz (2-3). Mehmet Okur scored 17 points and Paul Millsap added 16 for Utah, which led 52-47 at halftime.
Oct 17: Knicks 104, Celtics 97
The AP reports: After Eddie House scored five straight points in the fourth quarter to cut the Knicks’ lead to seven, Patrick Ewing Jr. threw down an electrifying dunk off an offensive rebound with 3:27 remaining to give the Knicks a 98-89 lead. With 19 seconds remaining and the Knicks (2-2) up by five, Ewing stole an errant Gabe Pruitt pass and made the subsequent free throws to secure the victory for New York… Nate Robinson scored 19 points, including 3of-6 from behind the arc, and Zach Randolph added 15 to lead the Knicks. Stephon Marbury had 12 points while Chris Duhon and Mardy Collins each had 10… Paul Pierce scored 15 points for the Celtics and Tony Allen had 11.
Oct 17: Nuggets 94, Suns 91
The AP reports: As soon as he was introduced to an ovation that shook the teflon roof of the Carrier Dome, the night belonged to Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets. Anthony, who as a freshman led Syracuse to the 2003 NCAA championship, wowed his adoring fans with 14 first-half points and the Nuggets remained unbeaten in the preseason with a 94-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns… J.R. Smith had 19 points to lead Denver (4-0), Linas Kleiza had 11, and Anthony Carter finished with 10. Iverson had four points, four assists and five turnovers. Raja Bell had 15 points for Phoenix (2-3), Matt Barnes and Grant Hill had 13 apiece, and Robert Hite had 12, all during a fourth-quarter rally that fell just short, and Leandro Barbosa had 10 points. Shaquille O’Neal had four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes, while rookie Robin Lopez, the 15th overall pick in this year’s draft, finished with seven points and five rebounds.