Month: March 2010

Nets beat Spurs for 10th win of season

Nets beat Spurs for 10th win of season

Playing in New Jersey, the Nets Monday night beat the injury-riddled San Antonio Spurs 90-84 for their 10th win of the season.

With the victory, the Nets surpass the nine-win mark, the lowest in NBA history.

The Spurs were playing without stars Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

For the Nets, center Brook Lopez (7-of-14) led with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Courtney Lee (7-of-13) had 19 points and six rebounds. Devin Harris (6-of-16) added 17 points and dished nine assists without a single turnover. As a team, the Nets only shot 37.6%, and they were outrebounded as well.

The Spurs were led by George Hill (8-of-19), who scored 19. Richard Jefferson, playing against his former team, had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Tim Duncan was kept in check, hitting just 6-of-15 for 13 points, 12 rebounds, and as many turnovers as assists. As a team, the Spurs hit just 41.5%.

New Jersey is now 10-64. Their remaining schedule includes games against the Wizards, Bulls and Pacers, so it’s possible the team can add to their current win total.

Spurs sign Alonzo Gee

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed forward Alonzo Gee from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The 6-6, 220 lbs. Gee had previously been playing with the Washington Wizards where he signed his first of two 10-day contracts on 3/7.  In 11 games -including two starts- with Washington he averaged 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 16.5 minutes.  He scored a career-high 19 points in his first career start on 3/26 at Charlotte. Prior to joining the Wizards, Gee had appeared in 36 games for the Austin Toros where he averaged 21.0 points and 6.6 rebounds in 38.2 minutes. Gee has recorded four double-doubles for the Toros this season and notched a season-high 34 points vs. Sioux Falls on 1/6.

In his four years at Alabama, Gee averaged 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 128 career games.  Gee started 96 consecutive games with the Crimson Tide and finished his collegiate career 11th in school history in scoring (1,630) and 18th in rebounds (730).  An All-SEC selection in both his junior and senior seasons, he is only the 11th player in Alabama history to score at least 1,500 points and grab 700 rebounds.

Gee will wear #23.

Kings waive Joey Dorsey

The Sacramento Kings today waived forward Joey Dorsey.  Dorsey was acquired from the Houston Rockets as part of a three-team trade on February 18, 2010, and averaged 1.5 ppg (.444 FGs, .400 FTs) and 2.3 rpg in eight contests off the bench with Sacramento.

The 24-50 Kings are currently 13th in the Western conference standings.

The Kings roster now stands at 13 players.

Eddy Curry season over

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Eddy Curry season over

The nightmare Eddy Curry saga took an even darker turn when the Knicks’ maligned center revealed he has something torn in his calf that will take six to eight weeks to rehabilitate.

Curry is lost for the season as his comeback from knee surgery never materialized. He’s played 10 games in two seasons and is under contract for next season.

Curry was slated to return in San Antonio two weeks ago before he sustained calf tightness that turned into a sharp pain.

A Knicks official said Friday the MRI exam revealed the calf injury showed only a strain. But the team announced today that Curry has a torn myofascial band in his right calf.

Steve Adamek on the Bergen Record blog reports:

Donnie Walsh practically growls when the subject of a contract buyout is brought up, but that now seems like a foregone conclusion (unless the Knicks believe someone will trade for his expiring contract next season) if Eddy and his people are willing to accept about 90 cents on the dollar so he can walk this summer.

That should give the Knicks enough extra salary-cap room this summer to guarantee enough space for two max contracts (if they want to spend it all, of course). And it means the next team that signs Curry (and he’s just 27 and almost 7 feet tall, so no doubt someone will) will probably make up that difference and more, figuring the investment if he fails will be minimal.

InsideHoops.com note: Curry played in just seven games this season, averaging 3.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per outing.

JJ Redick rocks Nuggets

The AP reports:

JJ Redick rocks Nuggets

J.J. Redick had 23 points and career highs of eight assists and seven rebounds in place of an injured Vince Carter, helping the Orlando Magic beat the Denver Nuggets 103-97 on Sunday night.

He was 8-for-15 shooting and played a career-high 46 minutes after Carter sprained his right big toe. The Magic also got a big boost with 19 points from Anderson for their 13th win in the last 15 games.

Redick got another lift at halftime, too, when he saw his former Duke team about to clinch a spot in the Final Four. But he pointed to his minutes — and what he did with them — as his proudest moment of the night.

“I think sometimes as a player when you know you’re not going to come out, you don’t force things and you move the ball and you make the extra pass,” Redick said.

Rodrigue Beaubois scores 40 on Warriors

The AP reports:

Rodrigue Beaubois unleashes huge 40-point game on Warriors

Rookie guard Rodrigue Beaubois played just 48 seconds and went scoreless Wednesday night when the Dallas Mavericks lost to Portland.

Beaubois made up for lost time Saturday night and made a strong case for more playing time, scoring a career-high 40 points in the Mavericks’ 111-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

“I felt great,” Beaubois said. “I thought I couldn’t miss so I kept shooting.”

Beaubois made 9 of 11 3-pointers, was 15 of 22 overall from the field, made his only free throw and had eight rebounds to help the Mavericks snapped their two-game losing streak. The 6-footer from Guadeloupe had 26 points in the first half, two more points than his previous career game high.

InsideHoops.com adds:

Beaubois also had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Magic Johnson wants great rivalries back in NBA

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports:

“What’s missing now is we don’t have great rivalries,” Magic Johnson said. “L.A.-Boston, people stayed home on Sundays. They couldn’t wait to see the games. We had all these great names playing against each other. And then we played the game the right way…So we need rivalries back in the game, because that’s what people come out to see. That’s what they’re passionate about.”

The only way to rekindle relevant rivalries like the Lakers-Celtics matchups in the ’80s or the Chicago-Detroit series’ in the ’90s, Johnson said, is through the playoffs.

“You got to get in the playoffs and those teams got to be consistent,” Johnson said. “Right now, when you think about Dallas and San Antonio, they don’t like each other. I like that. I want to see you scratching and clawing and fighting. Phoenix and San Antonio, they don’t like each other. That’s what we need. We see some of it going on, but we need more of it.”

NBA fines Caron Butler

NBA fines Caron Butler

Dallas Mavericks guard Caron Butler has been fined $25,000 for directing inappropriate language toward fans, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 9.9 seconds remaining in the 2nd period of the Mavericks’ 101-89 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, March 25 at the Rose Garden.

Heat sign Alade Aminu to 10-day contract

The Miami Heat announced today that they have signed forward Alade Aminu to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Aminu, a 6’10”, 235-pound forward, has appeared in 46 NBA Development League games (31 starts) averaging 13.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.00 steals in 27.6 minutes of action while shooting 51.8 percent from the field. The 2010 NBA D-League All-Star split this season appearing in 37 games (22 starts) with the Erie BayHawks and most recently nine games (all starts) with the Bakersfield Jam where he posted averages of 19.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.89 steals, 1.22 blocks, 1.1 assists and 33.1 minutes.

Undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2009, Aminu played four seasons for the Yellow Jackets appearing in 105 games (26 starts) and averaged 6.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.00 blocks and 17.0 minutes while shooting 53.2 percent from the field. He finished his colligate career sixth in school history in blocks with 105.

Aminu was originally signed as a free agent by the Heat on September 28, 2009 and participated in training camp with Miami this season. He did not appear in a preseason game and was released on October 8, 2009.

He will wear number 34.