Thunder recall D.J. White from D-League

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has recalled forward D.J. White from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

White was originally assigned to Tulsa on March 18.  He appeared in three games for the 66ers averaging 17.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 assist in 37.7 minutes.

Dwyane Wade done with practices this season

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Michael Cunningham) reports: The Heat isn’t likely to have many more practice sessions with 13 games during the final 22 days of the regular season. When the Heat does practice, don’t expect Dwyane Wade to participate in much more than noncontact work as the Heat tries to keep its star healthy. Wade, nursing a sore hip that forced him to miss Wednesday’s game at Boston, “didn’t feel as bad as we anticipated” after playing Friday at New Jersey, coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We are going to manage his body as best as we can,” Spoelstra said.

Magic re-sign Adonal Foyle

The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent center Adonal Foyle, General Manager Otis Smith announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Foyle played in five games this season with the Magic, averaging 1.2 ppg. and 2.2 rpg. in 5.8 minpg., before being traded to Memphis as part of the three-team deal that sent Rafer Alston to Orlando on Feb. 19.  He also played in one game with the Grizzlies and did not score in three minutes.  Foyle was waived by Memphis on Mar. 1.

Originally selected by Golden State in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft, Foyle (6’10”, 270, 3/9/75) has appeared in 729 regular season games during his 11-year NBA career with Golden State, Orlando and Memphis, averaging 4.1 ppg., 4.7 rpg. and 1.63 blkpg. in 17.9 minpg.  Foyle is Golden State’s all-time franchise leader in blocked shots with 1,140.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Foyle is basically good for swinging his arms at the basketball while others attempt to shoot it, and swinging his arms at the basketball after someone misses a shot in the hope of grabbing it, and not a heck of a lot more than that.

Knicks sign Courtney Sims to 10-day contract

The New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that free agent center Courtney Sims has been signed to a 10-day contract. Sims, a member of the Iowa Energy, became the 16th Call-Up of the 2008-09 NBA Development League season.

Sims, 6-11, 245-pounds, was undrafted out of the University of Michigan and has played a total of 13 minutes in four NBA games with Indiana and Phoenix over the last two seasons. The Roslindale, MA-native was signed as a free agent by Indiana on Oct. 2, 2007 and played in three games last season with the Pacers before being waived on Dec. 19, 2007. Sims spent the remainder of the 2007-08 season and the beginning of this 2008-09 campaign with the NBA Development League’s Iowa Energy. He signed two 10-day contracts with the Phoenix Suns beginning on Jan. 20, 2009 and appeared in one game for the Suns this season.

Cheikh Samb’s 10-day contract had expired and the club elected not to re-sign him. The Knicks roster stands at 14 players.

Sixers’ Igoudala scores 27 in win over Kings

The AP reports: Andre Iguodala made his first 10 shots and scored 27 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers never trailed in beating the Sacramento Kings 112-100 Sunday night to end a two-game skid. Thaddeus Young scored 22 points for the 76ers, who shot nearly 60 percent and never let their lead fall below double digits after taking a 17-5 lead midway through the first quarter. Louis Williams scored 18 points, Marreese Speights had 15 points and Willie Green added 10 for Philadelphia. Francisco Garcia made six 3-pointers and scored 24 points for the Kings, who outscored the 76ers 26-17 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get closer than 11. Spencer Hawes had 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to narrowly miss first career triple double. Kevin Martin scored 16 and Jason Thompson had 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Paul, West lead Hornets over Warriors

The AP reports: New Orleans held Golden State to 13 field goals while opening a 20-point first-half lead and then coasted to a 99-89 victory Sunday. “We came out with the right mind-set,” said David West, who scored 23 points. “We were prepared for them defensively and didn’t allow them to get any control of the game.” Chris Paul scored 27 points as the Hornets pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Southwest Division-leading Houston Rockets. They trail the San Antonio Spurs, who lost to the Rockets earlier Sunday, by a game… Stephen Jackson led Golden State with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kelenna Azubuike added 16 points after missing his first eight shots.

Cavs win 9th straight, beat Nets 96-88

The AP reports: LeBron James had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cavaliers won their ninth straight game, beating the New Jersey Nets 96-88 on Sunday night to tie a franchise record with their 57th victory. Ilgauskas added 18 points as the Cavaliers improved the NBA’s best record to 57-13… Vince Carter had 25 points and nine rebounds, but without injured All-Star point guard Devin Harris the Nets simply lacked the firepower to hang with the NBA’s toughest defensive team. .. James finished two assists shy of a fifth triple-double during the winning streak on a night where he was content to let his big men handle the scoring load early. Anderson Varejao finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, helping Cleveland outrebound New Jersey 46-37.

Rockets stun Spurs to claim division lead

The AP reports: Knocking the Spurs from first place in the Southwest Division for the first time since January, Houston capped a furious fourth-quarter rally when Yao Ming fired a perfect pass to Luis Scola underneath with 11.9 seconds left to stun San Antonio 87-85 on Sunday. Ron Artest scored 24 as Houston won its fourth straight and headed to Utah with a half-game division lead over the Spurs. Not since Christmas have the Rockets enjoyed at least a share of first place… Tim Duncan scored 23 points and Tony Parker had 22 and 12 assists for the Spurs, who had appeared to start pulling away midway through the fourth before the Rockets embarked on a 10-2 run.

Bosh lifts Raptors past struggling Clippers 100-76

The AP reports: The Toronto Raptors gave Chris Bosh an early birthday present: a rousing win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Bosh had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Shawn Marion added 14 points and 13 boards and the Raptors routed the struggling Clippers 100-76 Sunday… Jose Calderon scored 15 points, including a rare dunk, and Joey Graham added 13 for the Raptors, who have won five of six against the Clippers… Zach Randolph scored 20 points and Baron Davis added 12 for the Clippers, who have won just two of their past 12… Randolph shot 10-for-17 while the rest of the Clippers combined to go 19-for-58. Davis shot 3-for-15, rookie guard Eric Gordon was 3-for-10 and Marcus Camby finished 2-for-6.

Durant leads Thunder past Wolves 97-90

The AP reports: Kevin Durant had his best game since returning to the Oklahoma City lineup after missing seven games with a bum ankle. But it wasn’t Durant’s 30 points that caught the eye of his coach. “Like I told him before our last game, ‘Kevin, you can fill up the stat sheet, but you don’t have to worry about your points to help us win,”’ Thunder coach Scott Brooks said after the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-90 on Sunday… Durant had eight rebounds and five assists, and Jeff Green added 17 points for the Thunder, who jumped on the lethargic Timberwolves early to make up for a humiliating, 42-point defeat the last time they visited Minnesota… Craig Smith scored 19 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota and Bobby Brown fueled a late Wolves run with 12 points in the fourth quarter.