The AP reports: Al Harrington scored 27 points, Wilson Chandler had 22 and the Knicks dealt a crushing blow to Orlando’s hopes of getting the East’s second spot with a 105-95 victory over the Magic on Friday night. Orlando trails Boston by two games with three to play… David Lee added 20 points and 16 rebounds to help the Knicks avoid a season sweep by the Magic, who won the first three games against New York. New York played its most inspired game against Orlando this season, only it came too late… Hedo Turkoglu scored 24, and Dwight Howard had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando. With Boston owning the tiebreaker, the Magic would need to win all their remaining games and hope the Celtics go 0-3 to finish second.
Month: April 2009
Butler, Wizards edge Raptors 100-98
The AP reports: Washington Wizards coach Ed Tapscott wanted to give Caron Butler a breather in the fourth quarter. Butler had other plans. Butler made a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to give Washington a 100-98 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. Antawn Jamison had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Butler added 21 points for the Wizards, who nearly blew a six-point lead in the final minute… Bosh had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, and Kapono added 20. Calderon had 15 points and 11 assists… Brendan Haywood had 15 points, five blocks and nine rebounds for the Wizards, with Dominic McGuire adding eight points and 11 rebounds.
Hawks clinch fourth in East with win over Indiana
The AP reports: Josh Smith scored 30 points and Joe Johnson had 24 to help the Hawks clinch the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 122-118 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Al Horford finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Hawks earned home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Atlanta needed either a win or a loss by Miami, which fell by seven in Boston, to wrap up the No. 4 spot… Danny Granger had 35 points to lead the Pacers in scoring for the eighth straight game. Jarrett Jack, who finished with 17, matched Indiana’s biggest lead at seven midway through the third, but the Hawks never trailed after Johnson hit two free throws to make it 76-74 with 4:04 left in the quarter.
Celtics go to wire before beating Heat 105-98
The AP reports: Paul Pierce spent part of the week looking over the schedule, counting the missed opportunities that cost the Celtics a chance to repeat as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. There was a loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. Another to the Trail Blazers when Brandon Roy was out… Pierce scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half, including the go-ahead free throws with 97 seconds left to help the Celtics earn their sixth straight win… Rajon Rondo had seven points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for Boston, and Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored 22 points with eight rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half, adding nine assists, to help the Heat tie it 95-all with just under 2 minutes left. But Boston scored the next eight points to pull away.
Cavaliers beat 76ers to clinch No. 1 spot in East
The AP reports: LeBron James had 27 points and 10 assists, Wally Szczerbiak scored a season-high 18 and the Cavaliers beat the struggling Philadelphia 76ers 102-92 Friday night to clinch home-court advantage in the Eastern conference playoffs… Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia with 26. The Sixers (40-39) have lost four straight since clinching a playoff berth. They remained one game behind Miami for fifth place in the East… Andre Miller and Lou Williams each scored 17 for Philadelphia, and Mo Williams had 18 for the Cavs.
Marvin Williams returns for Hawks
Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams, who has missed the last 16 games with a back injury, is expected to dress tonight against Indiana.
Guard Acie Law is out with a low back spasm, and forward Maurice Evans will miss tonight game because of a death in his family.
Nuggets re-assign Sonny Weems to D-League
The Denver Nuggets have re-assigned G/F Sonny Weems to the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.
Weems, 6-6, 203, has averaged 1.6 ppg in 12 games with the Nuggets this season. In two previous stints with the 14ers this season, Weems has averaged 20.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.05 spg in 19 outings. His second stint was highlighted by several big games, including a 36 point (15-22 FG), nine rebound outburst at Erie on March 27.
This assignment marks the 44th player assignment to the NBA Development League this season and the Nuggets’ fourth to the 14ers in 2008-09.
Weems was acquired by Denver in a draft-night trade with the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a 2009 second round draft pick.
Bryant scores 33, Lakers beat Nuggets 116-102
The AP reports: Pau Gasol was impressed with Andrew Bynum’s comeback. A decrease in his own minutes to accommodate his fellow 7-footer wasn’t too shabby, either. Kobe Bryant scored 33 points, Gasol added 27 points and 19 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers welcomed back Bynum in a 116-102 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. The win was the fifth straight for the Lakers (63-16) and tied them with the idle Cleveland Cavaliers (63-15) for the league lead. Bynum, playing in his first game since tearing the medial collateral ligament in his right knee on Jan. 31, had 16 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes… Carmelo Anthony had 23 points to lead the Nuggets, who lost for the first time in nine games and failed to secure the number two seed in the Western Conference. J.R. Smith had 19 points, while Chauncey Billups and Nene each added 17.
Artest scores 26, Rockets beat Kings 115-98
The AP reports: Cheered in pre-game warmups for his tenure in Sacramento, Ron Artest responded by scoring 26 points and the Houston Rockets used a big third quarter to pull away for a 115-98 victory over the Kings, Adelman’s first at Arco since being fired by the team after eight seasons… Yao Ming had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets, who trailed by five at halftime but dominated the third quarter, taking an 11-point lead that never dipped back into single digits in the fourth. Luis Scola scored 15 points, Von Wafer had 13 and Shane Battier added 12. Spencer Hawes had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the struggling Kings, while Francisco Garcia and Andres Nocioni scored 17 each and rookie Jason Thompson added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Thomas, Gordon lead Bulls over 76ers, 113-99
The AP reports: There’s no denying the Bulls have come a long way in recent weeks, though. Tyrus Thomas and Ben Gordon each scored 24 points, and Chicago closed in on its fourth playoff appearance in five years with a 113-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night… Thomas set a season-high for points while converting a career-best 14 of 14 free throws. He scored 10 in the third quarter and Gordon added seven as the Bulls turned a 50-50 halftime tie into an 82-72 lead, before pulling away in the fourth for their 13th home win in 14 games… Andre Miller scored 20 points—none in the fourth quarter—and Andre Iguodala added 19 for the 76ers, who trail Miami by a game and lead Chicago by just 1 1/2.