The AP reports: Dwyane Wade had 31 points and eight assists in a wildly entertaining duel with Randy Foye, and Shawn Marion hit the go-ahead free throws with 22 seconds left to lift the Miami Heat to a 99-96 victory over the Timberwolves. “He does so much for us and we don’t take it for granted,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wade, who also had three blocks and three steals… Shawn Marion finished with 16 points and 11 boards. Udonis Haslem had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Wolves star forward Al Jefferson had nine points and was just 4-of-14 from the floor. He had to get seven stitches at halftime to close a cut over his right eye and played only sparingly in the final period… The Heat made 30 of 38 free throws while Minnesota was just 9-for-13.
Month: January 2009
Felton’s last-second jumper beats Pistons 80-78
The AP reports: A month after rallying from 29 down to nearly beat the Pistons in North Carolina, Charlotte overcame a 78-71 deficit in the final three minutes to win 80-78 on the road… Raymond Felton scored seven points in the final 9-0 run, including a game-winning jumper with 0.7 seconds left… “This was about stepping up and being a leader,” said Felton, who led the Bobcats with 23 points… Gerald Wallace added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats to help Larry Brown beat the Pistons for just the second time in seven tries since leaving Detroit after the 2004-05 season… Rodney Stuckey scored 22 points. All five Detroit starters reached double figures, but the bench had just six points in 64 minutes.
Defenses focusing on Derrick Rose
The Arlington Heights Daily Herald (Mike McGraw) reports: Defense aside, Derrick Rose’s offensive performance has also slid recently. He’s averaged 13.0 points and shot 40.7 percent so far in January, compared to 18.9 points and 49.6 percent in November. His assists are up slightly, from 6.1 in November to 6.7 in January. The most obvious answer for Rose’s struggles is defenses have ganged up on him, trying everything possible to prevent him from driving all the way to the basket and daring the other Bulls to beat them. The Bulls are 16-22 heading into tonight’s game at Toronto, so the schemes have been successful more often than not. “I notice teams are playing a little bit different, trying to get the basketball out of his hands, like they did (Monday) night,” Del Negro said. “You could see the difference of his improvement compared to when we played (the Blazers) early in the season when they were pressing us to how he handled it (Monday).”
Monta Ellis practices
The Contra Costa Times (Marcus Thompson II) reports: Dribbling at the top of the key, Warriors guard Monta Ellis split a double team with a quick spin move, freeing himself for a pull-up jumper at the free-throw line. No, this didn’t go down on the video game NBA Live ’09. This was the real deal. Ellis got over another major hurdle Tuesday — he participated in a full practice for the first time since undergoing left ankle surgery in August. “Monta actually did the whole practice today, which probably I wasn’t supposed to (allow),” coach Don Nelson said. “It kind of ended up that way.” What does this mean? Ellis has only one obstacle remaining: game action.
Etan Thomas tears MCL in left knee
Tests performed today on Washington Wizards Center Etan Thomas revealed that Thomas has a torn MCL in his left knee. The injury occurred in the first quarter of last night’s game versus Milwaukee. Thomas will be listed as out indefinitely, and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Thomas this season has played just 11.8 minutes per game, averaging 3.1 points and 2.5 rebounds.
With seven wins and 30 losses, the Wizards have been one of the league’s worst teams in 2008-09.
Ron Artest out 7-10 days
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test conducted on Houston Rockets forward Ron Artest on Sunday at the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute revealed no stress fractures in his right ankle. The test confirmed that Artest has a moderate to severe bone bruise in the ankle. Artest will continue his current rehabilitation treatment schedule for the next seven to 10 days and will be re-evaluated at that time.
This season Artest in 35.6 minutes per game is averaging 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.84 steals, shooting just 37.8% from the field – though he’s hitting 41.1% of his three-pointers.
Junior Harrington signs in Slovenia
Euroleague.net reports: Slovenian champion Union Olimpija has bolstered its squad by signing Lorinza Junior Harrington, a combo-guard who played for Lokomotiv Rostov last season. Olimpija has not advanced to the Top 16, so Harrington’s only Euroleague game this season will be on Thursday at Alba Berlin.
Miami Heat sues seat holders who don’t pay up
The Miami Herald (Patrick Danner) reports: The Miami Heat is putting a full-court press on premium-seat holders and sponsors it claims haven’t paid up. The Heat or affiliate Basketball Properties, which operates the AmericanAirlines Arena, have filed 16 lawsuits in the past year against companies and people they claim owe about $1.6 million — if not more. At least a few of the cases have been resolved. The Heat has taken the most litigious approach among South Florida sports franchises to force customers and clients to honor agreements. By comparison, the Florida Panthers and affiliate Arena Operating Co., which operates Sunrise’s BankAtlantic Center, filed three suits in 2008 to collect about $100,000.
Male driver sues Eddy Curry for sexual harassment
OK, before I even get into this, remember that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and professional athletes are world famous stars known by tens, sometimes hundreds of millions of people. And, there are a lot of crazy people out there who will do whatever it takes to get money.
As for this lawsuit in particular, the New York Post reports that the guy who is suing Eddy Curry is a convicted criminal who spent three years in prison. So he’s not exactly trustworthy.
Until there’s reason to do otherwise, InsideHoops.com officially supports Eddy Curry.
With that said, here’s what’s up:
New York Newsday (Jim Baumbach and Alan Hahn) reports: The former driver for Eddy Curry is seeking $5 million from the Knicks’ center in an explosive lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination, the driver’s attorney told Newsday last night. After last night’s Knicks game, Curry said he is “just shocked.” His lawyer called it “extortion.” The lawsuit states that Curry approached his driver, David Kuchinsky, in the nude on two separate occasions and “kept asking him to look and to touch him,” said Kuchinsky’s attorney, Matthew Blit. Blit also said the lawsuit alleges that Curry referred to Kuchinsky in racially offensive terms.
The New York Times (Howard Beck) reports: A man who worked for three years as Eddy Curry’s driver is suing Curry, alleging sexual harassment and a failure to pay him tens of thousands of dollars. In a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, the former driver, Dave Kuchinsky, claimed that Curry, the Knicks’ center, owed him $68,000 in back wages and another $25,000 for charges made on Kuchinsky’s credit card. In the suit, Kuchinsky also described two incidents in which he claimed Curry dropped his pants and made lewd and suggestive remarks. Curry steadfastly denied the allegations Monday. Curry’s lawyer, Kelly Saindon, called the allegations “preposterous” and added, “In my opinion, it’s extortion.”
Newsday continues: “He had approached my friends and me a while back trying to get money and stuff like that,” Curry said. “I just never thought – especially with the past that me and him had – I never thought that it would go past where it did, which is idle threats; ‘I want some money or else’ kind of stuff. I guess it’s just like a prime example of you just got to watch who you have around you. This is a guy who I really thought was my friend up until the last four or five months. I can’t even believe this has happened.”
The New York Daily News (Thomas Zambito) reports: Curry said Kuchinsky has been making idle threats and money demands for several months, since Curry fired him. “I guess this is just a prime example of you just gotta watch who you have around you,” he said. Curry’s attorney, Kelly Saindon, characterized the lawsuit, which also charged Curry made Kuchinsky clean up towels soiled by sex acts, as an extortion try.
Newsday continues: Curry said, “He tried to contact a friend of mine about a month ago, two months ago. He actually tried to contact him on several occasions; every time it was something different. The first time it was to curse me out. ‘Eddy’s not this, Eddy’s not that.’ The second time was to apologize. The third time was to say to tell me if Eddy doesn’t call me or somebody doesn’t call me on his behalf, I’m going to sue him. I didn’t.”
The New York Post (Melissa Jane Kronfeld, Bruce Golding and Marc Berman) reports: Curry, a former Chicago Bull, said last night he was “shocked” at the allegations. “It’s false, and everyone who knows me knows I’m not a racist,” he said after the Knicks beat the Hornets in New Orleans. “I’ve never made a comment like that, playing, or nothing. . . . That’s incredible, man.”
The Post continues: Curry’s lawyer, Kelly Saindon, said Kuchinsky began making a series of claims for unpaid wages several months ago, upping the ante each time. Saindon said Curry took a chance on hiring Kuchinsky despite the driver’s criminal record, which includes a three-year prison sentence for a 1992 burglary in New Jersey. He also got three years’ probation in a 2004 resisting-arrest case in the Garden State, records show. “It’s shocking that Eddy opened his home to a convicted felon out of prison, and gave him a job when he couldn’t find a job, and this is what comes out of it,” Saindon said. Kuchinsky’s lawyer conceded his client’s “troubled past,” but said that was all behind him.
Elton Brand returns to practice
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports (via blog): During Monday’s practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), injured forward Elton Brand hit the practice floor and participated in contact half-court drills. Brand did not look to be favoring his left arm or shoulder, but he did say afterwards that “It’s not 100 percent, I can feel that, but it’s pretty good.” Brand scrimmaged in a half-court setting, but did not go full court. He said he plans to go full during tomorrow’s practice… “Wednesday might be out, but I’ll be practicing tomorrow,” Brand said. He, and coach Tony DiLeo, said they would consult the medical staff and determine when Brand will be back in the lineup. But it looks to be very soon.