March 2012 – Page 12 – NBA Blog

Thunder recall Lazar Hayward from D-League

The Oklahoma City Thunder has recalled forward Lazar Hayward from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

During his most recent assignment with the 66ers, Hayward appeared in one game and recorded 16 points, six assists and three rebounds 31 minutes. In three games with the 66ers this season, the forward averaged 24.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists in 34.3 minutes.

Hayward has seen action in 16 games with the Thunder during the 2011-12 season and posted averages of 1.4 points in 5.7 minutes.

No Derrick Rose, but Bulls beat Sixers

Playing without Derrick Rose hasn’t held back the Chicago Bulls.

C.J. Watson, starting for the injured MVP, scored 20 points and Joakim Noah added 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the resilient Bulls to an 89-80 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

The Bulls overcame an early 14-point deficit without Rose, who missed his third straight game with a strained groin. Rose has missed 13 games this season and the Bulls still have the best record in the NBA at 37-10. They are 9-4 without Rose.

“That was a tough team we just beat so it gives us a lot of confidence, we just need to keep it going. We are playing without our MVP so we just need to keep getting better, keep improving. It was a good bounce back game from yesterday,” Noah said…

Jrue Holiday led the 76ers with 30 points. Philadelphia dropped its third straight and has lost seven of nine on the road. Holiday got little help as Andre Iguodala was held to seven points and Elton Brand to seven.

Holiday attempted 27 shots, but he was the only offense the 76ers had going.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Dirk scores 27, Mavs beat Spurs

No matter who or how many San Antonio Spurs were on Dirk Nowitzki, or how much they pushed, prodded or swatted at the 7-foot All-Star, he kept making big plays for the Dallas Mavericks.

“He probably doesn’t get enough credit for being the competitor that he is, and for being so tough-minded,” teammate Lamar Odom said of Nowitzki. “There’s nothing soft about Dirk. He’s tough.”

Nowitzki scored 27 points, fought for loose balls and screamed out in exhilaration several times as the defending NBA champion Mavericks won 106-99 over the Southwest Division-leading Spurs on Saturday night for their third consecutive victory.

After winning at home against Washington and Charlotte, the NBA’s two worst teams, beating San Antonio was much more impressive, even if the Spurs were playing the second consecutive night. Dallas never trailed and the only tie was at 2-all.

“It was a playoff battle. Anytime we see the Spurs it’s a fun game, great atmosphere, both teams really trying to get the win. As expected, it was a physical game,” Nowitzki said. “They went small some, tried to mix it up. At the end they were double-teaming some. I thought as a team, we always made the right play, find the open guy. That was definitely big.”

— Reported by Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press

Thunder assign Lazar Hayward to D-League

The Oklahoma City Thunder has assigned forward Lazar Hayward to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

During the 2011-12 season, Hayward has appeared in 16 games with the Thunder averaging 1.4 points in 5.7 minutes. On March 2, Oklahoma City assigned him to Tulsa. He appeared in two games (both starts) averaging 28.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 36.0 minutes prior to his recall on March 4.

He will be in uniform tonight as the Tulsa 66ers host the Springfield Armor at the Tulsa Convention Center.

Knicks hire Jim Todd and Darrell Walker as assistant coaches

The New York Knickerbockers announced today that Jim Todd and Darrell Walker have joined Head Coach Mike Woodson’s staff as assistant coaches.

Todd is reunited with Woodson, after serving as an assistant coach in Atlanta from 2008-10, and then most recently, served as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings this season (2011-12). In 2010-11, he coached in China and was an assistant coach for the Canadian men’s national basketball team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship Games in Turkey. Previously, he was an assistant coach in Milwaukee, alongside Mike Woodson, under Head Coach Chris Ford from 1996-98. He also served as an assistant coach for Milwaukee (2002-04; 2007-08), Toronto (2004-07) and the L.A. Clippers (1998-2000), for whom he finished the 1999-2000 season as the interim head coach.

Walker brings more than a decade of coaching experience to the Knicks, having served as both an NBA assistant coach and an NBA head coach. He was most recently an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons (2007-08 through 2009-10), following roles as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Hornets (2004-08) and the Toronto Raptors (1995-96). He was promoted to head coach of Toronto in 1996-97, compiling a record of 41-90 over parts of two seasons. He also served as the interim head coach of the Washington Wizards in 1999-00, posting a 15-23 record.

Walker was originally selected by New York in the first round (12th pick overall) of the 1983 NBA Draft, posting 10.6 points, 4.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds over 23.8 minutes in 245 games (101 starts) over three seasons. In 720 career NBA games, he averaged 8.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds over 25.8 minutes over 10 seasons with New York, Denver, Washington, Detroit and Chicago.

Warriors waive retiring guard T.J. Ford

The Golden State Warriors have waived guard T.J. Ford, the team announced today.

Ford, 28, was acquired on Thursday (March 15) from San Antonio, along with forward Richard Jefferson and a 2012 First Round pick, in exchange for Stephen Jackson. Earlier this week, Ford announced that he plans to retire from basketball activities after suffering a series of neck and spine injuries during his eight-year NBA career, most recently on March 7 vs. New York, and is contemplating retirement. He has appeared in 429 career NBA games, averaging 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists.

Larry Ellison inquires about buying Grizzlies

Californian Larry Ellison, ranked as the third-richest person in the U.S., has inquired about buying the Memphis Grizzlies with apparent hopes of moving the team to San Jose.

But team owner Michael Heisley today downplayed the possibility of a sale — and of a relocation, citing a lease that ties the franchise to Memphis and FedExForum until 2021.

“I can’t downplay it enough. If it happens I’ll be surprised,” said Heisley, a Chicago-based billionaire who added that talks had not become serious. “It’s in the initial stages. We’ve handled this just like we’ve handled several other dozen requests. My situation in Memphis has not changed a lick. My preference will always be for somebody in Memphis to buy the team. There’s not any interest in Memphis. But we’ve always made it known that if somebody wants to buy the team, we’ll listen. If they’re real buyers we’ll probably be sellers. So far there hasn’t been anyone willing to buy the team under my terms and for my price.”

— Reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Rockets sign Courtney Fortson to 10-day contract

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard Courtney Fortson of the D-League L.A. Defenders to a 10-day contract. This marks Fortson’s second NBA Call-Up of the season. He also played four games with the L.A. Clippers this season, averaging 4.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 11.2 minutes per game.

Fortson (5-11, 185, Arkansas) owns career averages of 14.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 35 D-League games (15 starts) with the Reno Bighorns (2010-11) and L.A. Defenders (2011-12). In 29 games (14 starts) this season with the Defenders, Fortson holds averages of 17.0 points, 5.9 assists, 4.3 boards and 2.14 steals. Fortson currently ranks tied for 14th in the league in scoring, sixth in assists and second in steals.

Called up by the Clippers on Jan. 16, 2012, Fortson scored a career-high 13 points (5-10 FG) at Utah (1/17/12). He was waived by the Clippers on Jan. 27. In addition to the NBA, Fortson played internationally with Romanian First Division team Steaua Turabo. In college, Fortson averaged 17.9 points, 5.7 assists and 5.2 rebounds as a sophomore at Arkansas. He was also named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.

Cavs keep Manny Harris, waive Jason Kapono

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Manny Harris for the remainder of the 2011-12 season, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced. Additionally, the Cavaliers have waived forward Jason Kapono.

Harris most recently completed a second 10-day contract with the Cavaliers on March 11th. He has appeared in three games with Cleveland this season, totaling nine points and two rebounds in 20 minutes. Prior to being signed by the Cavs, Harris played in 17 games (12 starts) this season with the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers exclusively owned and operated NBA Development League team. Harris averaged 21.4 points on .470 shooting with 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 32.9 minutes per game with Canton.

Kapono was acquired on March 15th as part of the trade in which the Cavaliers acquired the Los Angeles Lakers’ first round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft (lottery-protected), Luke Walton, the right to swap their least favorable first round pick in the 2013 NBA Draft with the Lakers (Please note: the Cavaliers currently own their own first round pick and Miami’s) and cash considerations from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for guard Ramon Sessions and guard/forward Christian Eyenga.

Knicks step up again under Woodson and crush Pacers

The AP reports:

Tyson Chandler scored 16 points, Jeremy Lin had 13, and the New York Knicks rolled to their second straight dominant victory under Mike Woodson, beating the Indiana Pacers 115-100 on Friday night.

Reserves JR Smith (16 points) and Steve Novak (12) had big games again for the Knicks in the opener of a home-and-home series. Two nights after beating Portland by 42 on the day Mike D’Antoni resigned, New York led this one by as much as 32 and shut down Pacers star Danny Granger , who had angered them by saying Friday and Saturday were two “very winnable games.”

Instead, the Pacers never led and had their two-game winning streak snapped. Granger shot 4 of 15 for nine points, while All-Star Roy Hibbert was 2 of 8 and scored four. Darren Collison led Indiana with 15 points.

Carmelo Anthony , expected to have a bigger role in Woodson’s offense, shot as poorly as he was under D’Antoni and finished with 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting. Amare Stoudemire was only 3 of 9 for eight points, but neither played more than 28 minutes in the blowout.