Month: November 2008

Nov 5: Heat 106, Sixers 83

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 29 points, rookie Mario Chalmers set a franchise record with nine steals, and the Heat scored 12 straight points in the fourth quarter to pull away and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-83 on Wednesday night—giving Miami its first 2-0 home start since 2004… Wade added seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. Michael Beasley finished with 17 points, and Shawn Marion—playing with a hard plastic mask to protect a broken nose—added 12 points and seven rebounds for Miami (2-2). Yakhouba Diawara scored 11 points and Udonis Haslem added 10 for the Heat. Thaddeus Young scored 12 of his 19 points in the first quarter for Philadelphia, which got 16 points from Louis Williams and a 12-point, 12-rebound night from Elton Brand. Andre Miller finished with 11 points and six assists for the 76ers (2-3), while Andre Iguodala was held to only two points.

Nov 5: Knicks 101, Bobcats 98

The AP reports: Nate Robinson scored all of his 24 points in the first half, and the Knicks ruined Brown’s first game back at Madison Square Garden with a 101-98 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats… Zach Randolph had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Wilson Chandler added 18 points and Jamal Crawford had 14 of his 16 in the second half for the Knicks, who bounced back after poor offensive performances in consecutive losses… Raymond Felton scored 18 points and Jason Richardson added 17 for the Bobcats, who showed more fight for Brown than the Knicks often did. Emeka Okafor finished with 16 points and 15 boards, but Charlotte dropped its second straight and fell to 1-3 under its new coach.

Nov 5: Pistons 100, Raptors 93

The AP reports: Tayshaun Prince more than made up for Allen Iverson’s absence, making sure the Detroit Pistons remained unbeaten. Prince scored 16 of his 27 points in the second quarter, and Richard Hamilton had 22 to help the Pistons beat the Toronto Raptors 100-93 on Wednesday night. Iverson was unavailable for Detroit because Chauncey Billups, one of three players traded to Denver in exchange for Iverson, hadn’t completed his physical with the Nuggets. Iverson didn’t sit on the team bench. Rodney Stuckey added 14 points, and Rasheed Wallace had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit (4-0)… Chris Bosh had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Jose Calderon had 24 points for Toronto (3-1) in its unsuccessful bid for its first 4-0 start.

Nov 5: Suns 113, Pacers 103

The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 49 points, falling a point short of his career high in the Phoenix Suns’ 113-103 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night. Stoudemire was 17-for-21 from the field, made 15 free throws without a miss and had 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. He just missed his career high of 50 points, set against Portland on Jan. 2, 2005. Boris Diaw added 14 points for the Suns (4-1). T.J. Ford and Danny Granger each scored 23 points, and Marquis Daniels added 19 for the Pacers (1-2). Indiana beat defending NBA champion Boston on Saturday.

Amare drops 49 on Pacers

The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 49 points, falling a point short of his career high in the Phoenix Suns’ 113-103 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night. Stoudemire was 17-for-21 from the field, made 15 free throws without a miss and had 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. He just missed his career high of 50 points, set against Portland on Jan. 2, 2005.

Nets need defense

The young Nets have some growing pains, especially on the defensive side of the floor. The Newark Star-Ledger reports: If you ask Lawrence Frank where his team is going wrong, he’ll pull out a list. The majority of the Nets’ problems pertain to their youth — lacking an understanding of positioning and tendencies, leading to game plan mistakes and bad technique and despair — and he is convinced they’ll solve them in time. But aggressiveness is also an issue. Fact: In their first three games, Nets defenders have drawn a total of five charging fouls, even though they’ve had roughly 40 chances to draw one.

Knicks old news for Larry Brown

Bobcats coach Larry Brown, who coached the Knicks in a mess of a season, moved on long ago from the New York experience. The Associated Press reports: “I just didn’t do what was expected of me, so I move on,” Larry Brown said before the game. “I was the coach here, so I realize what our record was and I can understand what Mr. Dolan was thinking, so you move on. But I don’t get any pleasure in anybody struggling.” … “Whatever happened, happened for a reason,” Brown said. “I don’t think Mr. Dolan didn’t give it a lot of thought and have input from a lot of people, and he decided it was best to move in another direction. He expected a lot from me and I guess I didn’t give him that and so you’ve got to respect that. He moved on, and I moved on.”

Early Warriors struggles

The San Francisco Examiner (Matt Steinmetz) reports: 1) Where are the young ’uns?: Don Nelson talked all summer of using Brandan Wright and Marco Belinelli. He also talked up the talent and skill level of rookie Anthony Randolph. Through four games, Wright has played 24 minutes, Belinelli four minutes and Randolph a minute-and-a-half. That’s not good. 2) Corey Maggette’s start: It hasn’t been a good beginning to his Warriors career. He’s shooting terribly from the field, and his hamstrings are acting up. Certainly, Maggette’s field-goal percentage is going to improve, but he hasn’t proven he can score meaningful points or get to the line and convert in critical situations. 3) Point problem: DeMarcus Nelson is doing everything he can. Watson is giving you exactly what you’d expect he give you. And Marcus Williams has been buried.