The Salt Lake Tribune (Ross Siler) reports on the Jazz: Ronnie Brewer is seeing the greatest change in his role. After being used almost exclusively as a first- and third-quarter player after Kyle Korver’s arrival last season, Brewer played in all four quarters Wednesday, more than 32 minutes in all. Sloan opted to finish the second quarter with Brewer and Korver in the same lineup along with Brevin Knight, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur. He played Carlos Boozer for barely three minutes in the quarter, letting Paul Millsap see extended action. For the third consecutive game, Brewer stayed in to start the fourth quarter, this time for 2:25. He was replaced by Korver, but came back with 5:06 after Korver picked up two fouls matched up against Travis Outlaw.
Month: November 2008
Nov 5: Warriors 111, Nuggets 101
The AP reports: Stephen Jackson had 29 points and seven assists and Golden State overcame a poor first quarter and some sloppy second-half play to beat the Denver Nuggets 111-101 on Wednesday night… Carmelo Anthony had 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Nuggets, who couldn’t do enough on offense without departed playmaker Allen Iverson despite jumping out to a quick 17-4 lead behind seven points from Dahntay Jones… Nene added 19 points and 15 rebounds in Denver’s first game since dealing Iverson to Detroit on Monday for Chauncey Billups… Kelenna Azubuike added 22 points and eight rebounds off the bench and reserve Brandan Wright scored 14 of his career-high 18 points in the first half to keep Golden State close. He also had a career-best 13 rebounds and three blocks. The Warriors were within 59-58 at the break.
Nov 5: Lakers 106, Clippers 88
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, and the Lakers used a late 22-0 run to beat the Clippers 106-88 Wednesday night, giving them six straight wins over their crosstown rivals… The Lakers shot 7-of-16 in the fourth quarter, but went 17-of-22 from the foul line in outscoring the Clippers 34-20. The Clippers were 8-of-23 in the final 12 minutes and shot 38.9 percent overall… Lamar Odom had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (4-0); Derek Fisher scored 13 points, Vladimir Radmanovic added 11, Ariza had 10, and Andrew Bynum had nine points, 17 rebounds to match a career high and four blocked shots… Al Thornton led the Clippers (0-5) with 22 points. Tim Thomas added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Baron Davis had 17 points and seven assists.
Nov 5: Kings 100, Grizzlies 95
The AP reports: Kevin Martin scored 33 points and John Salmons had 21 points and nine rebounds in the Sacramento Kings’ first victory of the season, 100-95 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in the NBA’s final home opener. Spencer Hawes had 13 points before fouling out for Sacramento, which opened the season by losing at every stop on a difficult four-game trip… O.J. Mayo scored 28 points and hit six 3-pointers for the Grizzlies, who opened a four-game West Coast trip with the best performance of the No. 3 overall draft pick’s short NBA career… Rudy Gay had 18 points for Memphis, and Kyle Lowry added 14 points and seven assists.
Nov 5: Jazz 103, Blazers 96
The AP reports: Brevin Knight, who joined the Jazz in the offseason, played the final 15 minutes and engineered a comeback that pushed Utah past the Portland Trail Blazers 103-96 on Wednesday night… Mehmut Okur scored 22 points and Carlos Boozer added 20—including four in the final 30 seconds—for the Jazz… Brandon Roy, who had 18 points for Portland, sliced Utah’s lead to one at 97-96 on a drive down the lane in the final minute. Andrei Kirilenko found Boozer for a layup with 29.2 seconds left to reclaim the three-point advantage… LaMarcus Aldridge also had 18 points for Portland.
Nov 5: Celtics 96, Thunder 83
The AP reports: Paul Pierce had 20 points and nine rebounds, Ray Allen scored 18 points and the defending NBA champions clamped down on Oklahoma City after the Thunder’s fast start to run away with a 96-83 victory Wednesday night… Kevin Garnett added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Perkins had 10 points and nine rebounds. Allen also had nine rebounds as four of Boston’s starting five had eight or more. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 17 points, but had another poor shooting night in his team’s new gym. He went only 6-for-15 and is 18-for-50 this season at the Ford Center. Jeff Green added 14 points for Oklahoma City, and Russell Westbrook finished with 13 after two late 3-pointers.
Nov 5: Spurs 129, Wolves 125 2OT
The AP reports: Tony Parker scored a career-high 55 points, including a 20-footer at the buzzer to force a second overtime, in San Antonio’s 129-125 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night… Al Jefferson, who had 30 points and 14 rebounds, paused to sit on the scorer’s table before play resumed and just shook his head as if to say, “What more can we do?” … Mike Miller had 12 of his 25 points in the first quarter for Minnesota, which held a nine-point lead twice but lost its edge late in the third while the Spurs closed with a 26-14 run… “I saw it in his eyes, man. I could tell,” said teammate Roger Mason (about Parker), who had 26 points… Parker was 22-of-36 from the field and added 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Nov 5: Bucks 112, Wizards 104 OT
The AP reports: Richard Jefferson scored 32 points and rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute added 17, making up for a missed chance in regulation and rallying the Milwaukee Bucks to a 112-104 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night… Luke Ridnour finished with 20 points and 11 assists… Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Ramon Sessions added 22 points for Milwaukee. Caron Butler scored 27 points for winless Washington, which also got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Jamison, 14 points from Nick Young and 10 points from Juan Dixon.
Nov 5: Cavs 107, Bulls 93
The AP reports: Muscling inside at will and blasting to the rim almost every time he touched the ball, LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points—15 on free throws—with ease and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 15 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-93 win over the Bulls on Wednesday night… James added nine rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes… Ilgauskas made his sixth career 3-pointer, Ben Wallace had 14 rebounds without scoring and Delonte West had 16 points for the Cavs, who didn’t put it away until the final minutes… Ben Gordon scored a season-high 31 and rookie Derrick Rose 20 for the Bulls, who dropped to 0-3 on the road. Luol Deng had 18 points after scoring just one on Monday in a loss Orlando.
Nov 5: Hawks 87, Hornets 79
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 24 points and the Hawks made 12 3-pointers to stay perfect on the young season with an impressive 87-79 road win over a team that hadn’t lost even since preseason began… Atlanta is now 3-0 for the first time in 11 years, thanks in part to reserve Flip Murray, a key free agent acquisition who came up with big shots when Johnson was double teamed… Chris Paul had 22 points and 11 assists for New Orleans (3-1), while David West added 15 points and James Posey 10… “That just shows the maturity of the program,” said Atlanta’s Josh Smith, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds… Hornets center Tyson Chandler and forward Peja Stojakovic returned to the starting lineup after both missed New Orleans’ previous game last Saturday with sprained right ankles.