The AP reports: The Celtics bounced back from back-to-back losses in emphatic fashion, beating the Sacramento Kings 108-63 Sunday night in one of the most one-sided wins in franchise history… The 45-point margin of victory matched the sixth biggest by the Celtics, who also beat the New York Knicks by that amount last season. The last time Boston had a bigger win was a 153-107 victory over the Baltimore Bullets on Nov. 27, 1970… John Salmons’ 11 points led the Kings. Francisco Garcia shot 1-for-7 before leaving in the first half with stiffness in his right calf. Kevin Garnett made 10 of 11 shots to lead the Celtics with 21 points and 11 rebounds despite playing just under 23 minutes. He now has 20,894 career points, moving past Bob Pettitt into 27th place all-time. Ray Allen added 19 on 7-for-8 shooting and Eddie House had 15 off the bench.
Month: December 2008
Cavaliers cool off Heat 93-86
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 33 points—four more than his good buddy Dwyane Wade—and took on the challenge of guarding the NBA’s leading scorer down the stretch as the Cavaliers remained the league’s only unbeaten team at home with a 93-86 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night… Mo Williams scored 20 before fouling out and Ben Wallace had 14 rebounds for the Cavs (26-4), who won their sixth straight. In the final seconds, Wallace and Varejao played a game of volleyball over the basket, tipping missed shots repeatedly before one dropped through to seal Cleveland’s win… Miami rookie G Mario Chalmers strained his right hamstring in the fourth.
Paul, West lead Hornets past Pacers 105-103
The AP reports: Chris Paul scored 11 points in the game’s final 3:36 and David West hit a 17-foot fadeaway jumper with 2.5 seconds remaining to help the Hornets rally for a 105-103 win over Indiana on Sunday night. Paul and James Posey scored 19 points each for the Hornets (18-9). West added 18 points, Rasual Butler scored 15 and Peja Stojakovic had 12… Danny Granger led Indiana (10-20) with 34 points. Roy Hibbert scored 19 before drawing his fifth foul with 6:46 to play in the third quarter. He did not return. Troy Murphy had 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Pacers, who led by as many as 12 points early in the third quarter. No other Pacer scored in double figures.
Mavs beat Clippers 98-76 without Nowitzki
The AP reports: The Dallas Mavericks didn’t miss Dirk Nowitzki nearly as much as the Los Angeles Clippers missed Zach Randolph. Josh Howard had 29 points, nine rebounds and a career-best seven assists, leading Dallas to a 98-76 victory Sunday while Nowitzki served a one-game suspension… Despite the absence of Nowitzki and his 8.9 rebounds per game, the Mavericks held a 53-38 advantage on the glass. Five of their players had eight or more rebounds, including Erick Dampier, point guard Jason Kidd, James Singleton and reserve Brandon Bass… Marcus Camby returned to the Clippers’ lineup after missing the previous game due to his father’s death, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Al Thornton also had 16 points.
Anthony scores 32 in return, Nuggets beat Knicks 117-110
The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points after missing three games with a bruised right elbow, and the Denver Nuggets sent the Knicks to their sixth straight loss with a 117-110 victory Sunday… J.R. Smith added 16 points and Billups 14 for the Nuggets, who shot 57 percent from the field in the opener of a four-game road trip. Nate Robinson scored 20 points on just 5-of-17 shooting and David Lee had 19 for the Knicks, who have yielded an average of 115.5 points during their skid. They came in allowing teams to shoot 48.3 percent, highest in the NBA, and even Mike D’Antoni’s high-scoring offense can’t overcome that… Chris Duhon had 17 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, while Wilson Chandler also scored 17 points but shot only 6-of-19.
Dirk Nowitzki suspended one game
ESPN.com (Marc Stein) reports: Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has received a one-game suspension for striking Utah’s Matt Harpring in the face with a backhanded swipe Friday night. The league announced the suspension three hours before the Mavericks’ 12:30 p.m. PT Sunday tipoff against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center. The Mavericks were not informed of Nowitzki’s enforced absence until Sunday morning. The league office began reviewing Nowitzki’s flagrant foul/penalty 2 on Harpring on Saturday. The foul resulted in Nowitzki’s ejection early in the fourth quarter of Dallas’ 97-88 defeat on Friday night… Nowitzki was ejected for swinging his arm in response to under-the-basket contact from Harpring. Video replays confirmed that although it was a backhanded swipe, Nowitzki made a closed-fist connection with Harpring’s face on his follow-through.
Clippers sign Fred Jones
The Los Angeles Clippers today signed free agent guard Fred Jones. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
A six-year NBA veteran, Jones played 70 games with the Knicks last season, averaging 7.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.1 minutes. The Clippers will be the fifth NBA team for Jones, who has appeared in 378 total games and is averaging 7.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his NBA career.
A star at the University of Oregon, Jones helped lead the Ducks to the Elite Eight of the 2002 NCAA Tournament and was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 14th selection of the 2002 NBA Draft. Jones played four seasons with Indiana, winning the 2004 NBA Slam Dunk Contest as a Pacer before signing with the Raptors prior to the 2006-07 season.
Jones joined Portland midway through the 2006-07 season in a trade, teaming up with current Clipper Zach Randolph and then going to New York along with Randolph in a five-player deal on June 28, 2007.
Fatigue hits Celtics
The Boston Celtics have dropped two games lately, which isn’t a huge deal, but by their high standards is two losses too many. The Boston Globe (Marc J. Spears) reports: So, what’s wrong with the Celtics now after so much went right? Fatigue is a factor. Entering last night, Boston was the only Eastern Conference team to have played more than 30 games. Center Kendrick Perkins sprained his surgically repaired left shoulder in the first quarter against the Lakers and missed his first game of the season against Golden State. Although the games against the Lakers and Warriors were day-night, back to back, with a short plane ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Rivers believes it took its toll on his players, so he gave them yesterday off. “I would have rather had the day off [Friday],” Rivers said. “[The Lakers game] was a hard-fought, emotional game. We didn’t play very well. But it was still hard-fought. It was one of those rare games during the regular season where guys have a lot of emotions invested into the game. I would have much rather had a day off.
Dec 27: Blazers 102, Raptors 89
The AP reports: This time, Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t need any late-game heroics to beat the Toronto Raptors. Roy had 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Portland beat the Raptors 102-89 Saturday night, sweeping the season series for the first time since 2002-03. Greg Oden broke out of a slump with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Travis Outlaw added 12 points for the Blazers. Chris Bosh had 29 points and nine rebounds for Toronto, which had a two-game winning streak stopped. Jermaine O’Neal scored 17 points, Andrea Bargnani added 13, and Jose Calderon had 11 points and eight assists.
Dec 27: Pistons 87, Bucks 76
The AP reports: With Richard Hamilton sidelined, the Detroit Pistons abandoned their three-guard lineup and used a bigger starting unit that stifled the Milwaukee Bucks. Tayshaun Prince scored nine of his 19 points in the decisive third quarter and Allen Iverson added 18, lifting the Pistons to an 87-76 victory Saturday night. The Bucks had won three consecutive games, averaging 106 points during the streak. The Pistons, starting 6-foot-9 Amir Johnson in place of Hamilton, a slim 6-7 guard, held Milwaukee to 30 percent shooting… Johnson had eight points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, giving the Pistons a different defensive look from their usual lineup that consists of 6-11 Rasheed Wallace as their only big starter… Andrew Bogut had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, which mainly rested its starters for the final 15 minutes after the game was decided. Michael Redd, the Bucks’ leading scorer, had four points and missed nine of 11 shots, including his last five.