The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 28 points, Daequan Cook hit three big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Miami pulled away, and the Heat eclipsed last season’s win total by dominating the second half and beating the Bulls 90-77 on Friday. Mario Chalmers had 16 points and six assists while Beasley—the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, after the Bulls chose Derrick Rose—scored eight of his 14 in the fourth for Miami (16-12), which won its fourth straight and surpassed the dismal 15-67 mark of a season ago… Ben Gordon had 15 points for the Bulls, who shot just 37 percent. Larry Hughes scored 13 for Chicago and Derrick Rose finished with only 10 on 3-for-14 shooting… Udonis Haslem tied a season-high with 14 rebounds, while Cook scored 12 points for the Heat. Aaron Gray had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls. Chicago lost forward Luol Deng to a sprained left ankle with 7:52 left in the third quarter.
Day: December 27, 2008
Paul Millsap out 7-10 days
The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap, who injured his left knee in the first half of the game at Milwaukee on December 23.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests conducted on Millsap’s left knee on Wednesday showed that Millsap suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).
Millsap will not play in Friday’s game vs. Dallas, marking the first game he has missed in his NBA career. His streak will end at 194 straight games played, which was the seventh-longest active streak in the NBA. Millsap will not travel with the team to Houston for tomorrow night’s game at the Rockets and is expected to miss seven to 10 days of action.
Damon Jones to join Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks and Damon Jones have mutually decided that he will join the team effective immediately. Jones is scheduled to be with the Bucks Saturday night when they take on the Detroit Pistons at 7:30 p.m. at the Bradley Center.
Jones, 32, has been inactive for all 30 games of the Bucks season to date.
Jones (6-3, 195) was acquired from Cleveland on August 13, 2008, in a three-team deal that also included Oklahoma City. Milwaukee also received Adrian Griffin and Luke Ridnour from the Thunder, the Cavaliers added Mo Williams, while Oklahoma City acquired Joe Smith and Desmond Mason.
Rockets assign Joey Dorsey to D-League
Houston Rockets forward Joey Dorsey was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ NBA Development League affiliate, it was announced Friday. Dorsey is the 14th player to be assigned from an NBA team to the NBA D-League this season.
Originally selected in the second round, 33rd overall, of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Dorsey was traded to Houston on Draft night and appeared in three regular season games for the Rockets, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound. In four preseason games, Dorsey averaged 3.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
Dorsey, 6-8, was a four-year contributor at Memphis, where he averaged 6.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks during his NCAA career. For his efforts, he earned First Team All-Conference USA honors as a junior and Second Team honors during his senior season. He was also named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and earned league All-Defensive Team honors during his final two years at Memphis. Dorsey finished his collegiate career as Conference USA’s all-time leader in rebounding (1,209), which also ranks second all-time in Memphis history. Additionally, Dorsey ranks as the school’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (.614, 400-of-641), and is second all-time in school history in blocked shots (265).
Spurs assign Malik Hairston to D-League
San Antonio Spurs forward Malik Hairston on Friday was assigned to the Austin Toros, the Spurs NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced today. Hairston is the 13th player to be assigned from an NBA team to the NBA D-League this season.
Originally selected in the second round (48th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, Hairston was traded to San Antonio where he spent 2008 training camp. In six preseason games with the Spurs, Hairston averaged 5.3 points and 4.5 assists. Hairston was waived by the Spurs on Oct. 26 before spending 11 games with the Toros and earning a Call-Up to San Antonio on Dec. 22, and has not seen regular season action with Spurs this season.
Hairston started in 11 Toros games this season and where he averaged 19.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals. He twice scored a career-high 33 points, originally on Nov. 29 and again on Dec. 18 and was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week for games played during the week of Dec. 15.
A four year starter at Oregon, Hairston finished his NCAA career averaging 14.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists, while earning Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 during his sophomore and senior seasons.
Suns assign Alando Tucker to D-League
The Phoenix Suns Friday assigned second year forward Alando Tucker to the team’s NBA Development League affiliate Iowa Energy. Tucker is the 12th player assigned from an NBA team to an NBA D-League affiliate this season.
The 6-6, 205-pound Tucker was originally selected by the Suns with the 29th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft and played in six games for Phoenix during his rookie season, averaging 3.7 points and 1.3 rebounds. Tucker has yet to make an appearance with the Suns this season after missing the first 22 games due to injury, including 19 following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in November.
No stranger to the NBA D-League, Tucker was assigned to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds from Phoenix last season, when he appeared in 21 games and averaged 27.7 points and 6.0 rebounds.