The AP reports: Randy Foye scored 10 of his 11 points in the fourth quarter and the Timberwolves rallied from 13 points down in the second half for a thrilling 106-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. Coach Kevin McHale was ejected after the first quarter with two quick technicals by referee Sean Corbin and Al Jefferson fouled out with 1:29 to play and the Wolves clinging to a three-point lead… Rodney Carney scored 22 points, and Sebastian Telfair added 17 points and 11 assists for the Wolves, who have won five in a row for the first time since December 2005. Michael Redd scored 32 points for Milwaukee, but missed a chance to tie it in the final 9 seconds. Richard Jefferson added 29 points for the Bucks, who led by 13 points with less than 3 minutes to play in the third quarter before Carney got going.
Day: January 11, 2009
Felton shakes off ankle sprain, Bobcats beat Wizards 92-89
The AP reports: The Charlotte Bobcats appeared to be in big trouble when point guard Raymond Felton was carried off the court with 10:17 left in the third quarter after stepping on a cameraman along the baseline. But right after Washington took its largest lead of 13 points with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, Felton returned despite a sprained right ankle, and sparked a 16-2 run in the Bobcats’ 92-89 victory Saturday night… Raja Bell led Charlotte with 19 points, and Boris Diaw added 18, and Felton had 11 assists.
Rick Carlisle wants aggressive Brandon Bass
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Jeff Caplan) reports: Rick Carlisle has pressed Mavs forward Brandon Bass to use his aggressiveness to draw fouls. Thursday against the New York Knicks, Bass finally did, getting to the free-throw line a season-high 12 times. It was the first time Bass had taken more than four foul shots in a game. “That’s a by-product of aggression and just persistence,” Carlisle said. “When you’re moving your feet and you’re that aggressive, opportunity at the free-throw line is going to follow. He’s got to continue with that.” An 84.2 percent free-throw shooter, Bass missed four. “He’s the kind of guy,” Carlisle said, “that if he misses four free throws out of 12, he’ll go to the gym and shoot 2,000 the next day.”
Yi Jianlian out 4-6 weeks
The New York Post (Fred Kerber) reports: The Nets finally saw the Yi Jianlian they wanted, the 7-foot bundle of emerging talent they felt was worth dealing Richard Jefferson to obtain. The past few weeks, Yi was good. The past few games, Yi was very good. But now the development will be shelved for up to six weeks after Yi broke his right pinkie in Friday’s 104-102 defeat at Milwaukee. “Lousy timing,” team president Rod Thorn said. “He’d been playing well the last 2½, 3 weeks. Even in games he didn’t score a lot in, he’s been playing well. So it’s a tough time for him to get hurt.” Yi, who said he heard a “little pop” as he swiped at the ball in the third quarter, had 16 points in 25 minutes against Milwaukee, well on his way to a third straight 20-point game. In his last three games, he shot .538 (21-of-39), averaged 19.3 points – plus 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists.