The AP reports: Mehmet Okur scored a career-high 43 points for Utah as the Jazz beat Indiana 120-113 Monday night, holding off a late push by the Pacers after they rallied from a 20-point deficit. Okur made 13 of 19 shots, going 3-for-4 on 3-pointers, and was 14-for-15 from the foul line while leading Utah to its fourth straight win… Andrei Kirilenko added a season-high 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and Deron Williams also had a double-double with 23 points and 11 assists… Indiana’s Danny Granger had 30 points and seven assists, one night after tying his career high with 42 points in a loss at Golden State. Mike Dunleavy scored 20 points and Troy Murphy added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who lost their third straight as they closed out a five-game road trip.
Month: January 2009
Outlaw’s 33 lead Blazers past Bulls 109-95
The AP reports: Travis Outlaw delivered in a big way, scoring a season-high 33 points, and Greg Oden added 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 109-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night… With Brandon Roy (11 points) hitting 3-of-13 shots and LaMarcus Aldridge (eight points) having a quiet night, the Blazers got just what they needed from Outlaw, Oden and Steve Blake to earn their third straight win… Oden dominated in the first half, with 13 points and nine rebounds. Blake finished with 16 points and 10 assists, helping the Blazers get this week off to a good start after a rather chaotic one for them… Drew Gooden led Chicago with 22 points and nine rebounds, Gordon scored 17 and Derrick Rose finished with 13 points and 10 assists. Deng added 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench but was 3-for-10 from the field after missing eight games with a sprained left ankle.
Knicks upset Hornets 101-95
The AP reports: David Lee scored 24 points and the Knicks had 30 assists, ending a three-game losing streak with a 101-95 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night. “The biggest thing is we had 30 assists,” D’Antoni said… In New Orleans, Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson moved the ball crisply in setting up their teammates 17 times. Even center Jared Jeffries got into the act, finding cutters along the base line or through the lane for six assists… Al Harrington finished with 20 points, while Wilson Chandler scored 19 points, hitting a jumper with 2:07 left and a driving layup soon after to help keep the Hornets at bay… David West had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets, but was 6-of-20 from the field. Chris Paul added 23 points for New Orleans… Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which hadn’t lost to New York since Dec. 8, 2004, before Paul turned pro.
Pierce’s 39 lead Celtics to OT win over Raptors
The AP reports: “Y’all need to start playing some of that “Superman” theme music in the building when he’s going like that,” Kevin Garnett said after Paul Pierce scored nine of his season-high 39 points in overtime to lead Boston to a 115-109 win over Toronto on Monday night… Pierce also had nine rebounds, while Garnett added 20 points and 12 rebounds and held Bosh to 1-of-4 shooting in 12 minutes of the fourth quarter and kept him from shooting in all five minutes of overtime.Andrea Bargnani, whose 3-pointer with 1 second left sent the game into overtime tied at 93, led the Raptors with 23 points… Boston’s 22 points set a club record for most in overtime, breaking the mark set on Jan. 2, 1963 when it outscored the San Francisco Warriors 21-6 in a 135-120 win.
Lopez leads Nets to 103-99 OT win over Thunder
The AP reports: Rookie Brook Lopez scored a career-high 31 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Nets to a 103-99 overtime win on Monday. The Nets believed they had already won this one in regulation. Vince Carter caught a pass from Devin Harris and had the winning basket lined up with 9 seconds left, a shot that caught nothing but net from 3-point range. To the shock of everyone on the floor, the score was wiped out because Nets coach Lawrence Frank had run onto the court to call a time out… Carter finished with 21 points while Harris, back after missing three of the previous four games with a hamstring injury, had 17 points. Keyon Dooling had 14 points, most coming early in the fourth quarter as the Nets earned a fourth straight home win after starting the season 5-12 in New Jersey. Kevin Durant had 26 points for the Thunder, who fell to 6-33, and 2-17 on the road.
Jamison despondent after Wiz blow lead to Bucks
The AP reports: The Milwaukee Bucks’ 97-91 victory over Washington on Monday night, thanks in part to Michael Redd’s 29 points, dropped the Wizards to 7-30 and was their 12th setback in a game they’ve led in the fourth quarter… Trading baskets down the stretch with Wizards guard Nick Young—who scored a career-high 30—and shaking off a tweaked right ankle, Redd helped Milwaukee overcome a deficit that was 13 points in the second quarter, 11 at halftime and five entering the final period… “We knew we could make a run at this team,” said Milwaukee forward Charlie Villanueva, who scored 16 points, “and that’s exactly what we did.” … Making his first start since Jan. 2—he missed four games with back spasms, then was a reserve for a game—center Andrew Bogut came out strong, scoring eight of Milwaukee’s first 17 points. He also finished strong, scoring eight in the fourth quarter and ending up with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Tracy McGrady out 2 weeks
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that guard Tracy McGrady is expected to miss the next two weeks for physical conditioning.
“Tracy was not able to execute his standard pre-season training regimen due to his offseason procedure. He has been fighting through this in order to help the team get past a difficult early season schedule. Coach Adelman and I felt that it was in his best interest to take these two weeks to get himself physically prepared for the second-half of the season.”
Cavaliers sign Jawad Williams to 10-day contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Jawad Williams to a 10-day contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.
Williams (6-9, 220 pounds) has played in three games this season with the Cavaliers. In four total minutes, Williams scored two points and recorded one steal. He was waived by the Cavaliers on January 7th.
The Cavaliers roster now stands at 15.
Injuries strike Bulls
Getting injured is lousy. No one knows this better than me. Had it not been for that cold I got in 8th grade that made me blow my nose a lot for several days in a row, I’m positive I’d have been a far greater basketball player than Kobe Bryant.
But seriously, it’s hard to win in the NBA without several of your top stars, and that’s what the Chicago Bulls (16 wins, 21 losses) have been trying to do.
The Chicago Sun-Times (Brian Hanley) reports:
The Bulls have been without their captains — Drew Gooden, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich — for sustained stretches. Deng has missed the last eight games with a sprained ankle and might be back tonight, when the Bulls host Portland. Hinrich (thumb surgery) has targeted Thursday against Cleveland as a possible return date. Gooden, who has posted double-doubles in all three games since an eight-game absence because of a sprained ankle, said there was no need for a players-only vent session. ”It’s no time right now to press a panic button where we need to have a mandatory meeting and stuff like that,” he said. ”Guys know what they need to do. Any time a meeting needs to be called, it will be called.” Coach Vinny Del Negro said the players need to take more ownership of the team.
Just one game out of the 8th Eastern conference playoff spot, there’s plenty of time left in the NBA season for Chicago to improve themselves. It’ll mostly have to come from the big guys, as solid but unspectacular Drew Gooden (13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds per game, not much else) has been the lone consistent contributor.
–InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner
Atlanta Hawks slumping
The Atlanta Hawks (22 wins, 14 losses) were smoking hot from December 12 and on. They had won nine of 10 games, including wins against the Cavaliers, Pistons and Nuggets. But lately they’ve taken a dive, dropping four of their last five games. It doesn’t help that key big-man Al Horford is out indefinitely with a bone bruise in his right knee – likely a short-term injury.
“We’re just not playing with any intensity, and it’s coming from the way we’re starting these games,” said Mo Evans to Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You saw Philly jump on us at the start. And then at the end of the game, they were still outrebounding us and getting to all the loose balls when we’re the team that needs to be playing with a sense of urgency. “In my opinion, there seems like a complacency on our team right now, like we already clinched a playoff seed or home court advantage or something and we’re barely out of the starting gate of this season.”
Joe Johnson to the Journal-Constitution: “I don’t think we’re playing together on either end of the floor… We’re just not helping one another. We’re not playing with any energy, and really, you have to put it on the starting five because we’re not doing [expletive] at the start of these games.”
The Hawks now head out West, for a tough game in Phoenix, followed by games they should be able to win on the road against the Warriors and Clippers.