Month: March 2012

CP3, Mo Williams put Clippers past Parker-less Spurs

Chris Paul didn’t need Tony Parker to get up for this game, and Mo Williams didn’t care about the Los Angeles Clippers winning in San Antonio for the first time in a decade.

Steering the skidding Clippers back on course was plenty incentive.

While Parker sat in street clothes with a sore thigh, shelving an All-Star matchup, Paul took advantage with 36 points and 11 assists as the Clippers salvaged the end of a disappointing road swing with a 120-108 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Paul matched a season-high yet he was still nearly upstaged by Williams, who added 33 off the bench and was 7 of 9 from behind the arc—including consecutive makes midway through the fourth that sucked the wind out of a Spurs rally…

Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 22 points. Parker missed just his second game this season, and was a surprise scratch from the lineup after averaging 28 points his last two games.

— Reported by Paul J. Weber of the Associated Press

Ricky Rubio may have serious knee injury

Ricky Rubio

Minnesota Timberwolves rookie point guard Ricky Rubio will have an MRI on his left knee Saturday morning amid fears he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, a league source told Yahoo! Sports.

“Possible ACL,” the source briefed on Rubio’s condition said. “We’ll know more after the MRI. … There’s a lot of worry right now.”

Rubio’s knee buckled with 16.4 seconds left in the Timberwolves’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night in Minneapolis.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

Read NBA fan reaction and share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Derrick Rose dismisses talk of trade for Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard
dwight howard
He’s tall

If Dwight Howard is in town, that means questions about where he will be playing after the March 15 trade deadline are too.

“It definitely is getting old,” Derrick Rose said of being asked about the center before the Bulls lost to the Magic 99-94 Thursday night at United Center. “I’m sick and tired of hearing it. Chicago, marketing-wise is a great city. If someone chooses to come here, they definitely could.

“But I’m cool with the teammates I have. We have a winning record. It ain’t like we need to change anything. It’s not up to me. It’s up to the front office.”

There are zero indications Howard will add the Bulls to his list of teams with which he would sign an extension or that the Bulls are pursuing him.

“If it’s not about the Bulls, I really couldn’t care less about it,” Rose said.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Suns get first win over Mavericks in 9 tries

Jared Dudley
jared dudley
Enjoys Twitter

The Phoenix Suns finally got the best of the Dallas Mavericks. Barely.

Jared Dudley scored 12 of his 18 points in a third-quarter comeback and Phoenix held on to beat Dallas 96-94 on Thursday night, the Suns’ first victory over the Mavericks in nine tries, four this season.

“This is definitely big for us,” Dudley said. “We’ve struggled against this more than any other team, especially at home.”

Dallas blew out the Suns in Phoenix 122-99 on Jan. 30.

Grant Hill scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half for Phoenix, but missed two free throws with 15.4 seconds left. Dallas had two chances after that, but Rodrigue Beaubois missed a driving layup, then couldn’t hit an open 18-foot jumper at the buzzer…

Marcin Gortat added 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Suns won their fourth straight home game, their longest streak in nearly two years. Steve Nash had 11 points and 11 assists.

Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points apiece for Dallas in the Mavericks’ fifth road loss in a row.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Magic end Bulls’ 8-game win streak

Dwight Howard
dwight howard
Jumps very high

Dwight Howard had 29 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 99-94 win over the Bulls on Thursday, snapping Chicago’s eight-game winning streak.

Chicago twice overcame double-digit deficits and led 91-89 with 2:56 to play after Derrick Rose passed to Carlos Boozer for a jumper.

Orlando responded with an 8-1 run started by Jameer Nelson’s lob to Howard for a dunk. Ryan Anderson hit a 3 and a pair of free throws in the game-deciding rally.

The Magic bounced back from a 100-84 loss at Charlotte, beating the league-best Bulls two nights after losing to the last-place Bobcats.

Boozer led the Bulls with 26 points. Rose added 17 points and nine assists, but shot just 6 for 22 from the field.

Jason Richardson scored 18 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Magic. Orlando hit 11 3-pointers.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nets sign Gerald Green to second 10-day contract

gerald green

The New Jersey Nets have signed forward Gerald Green to a second 10-day contract, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Green, who signed his first 10-day contract with the Nets on February 27, has played in five games, averaging 5.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game.

Prior to joining the Nets, Green was named MVP of the 2012 D-League All Star Game and played in 22 games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders this season, averaging 19.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game.

The 6-8 forward was selected in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft (18th overall) by the Boston Celtics, entering the draft out of high school. Green played two seasons for the Celtics, having his best year in 2006-07 with averages of 10.4 points and 2.6 rebounds over 81 games (26 starts), as well as winning the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Following his stint in Boston, Green appeared in a total of 30 games with Houston and Minnesota in 2007-08, and 28 games in 2008-09 with the Dallas Mavericks.

Hornets decline to keep Solomon Jones

Despite starting in Wednesday night’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, the New Orleans Hornets released center-forward Solomon Jones instead of signing him for the remainder of the season, the team confirmed Thursday afternoon.

Jones went scoreless in 11 minutes after starting in place of injured forward Gustavo Ayon in Wednesday night’s 99-98 loss to the Kings.

— Reported by John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Knicks recall Jerome Jordan from D-League

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has recalled center Jerome Jordan from the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA Development League.

Jordan, 7-0, 240-pounds, scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds over 61 minutes in 13 games with New York this season. He appeared in five games with Erie this season, averaging 18.0 points, on .485 shooting, 8.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.80 blocks over 32.6 minutes.

Through agent, DeMarcus Cousins denies sending nude photo

STATEMENT FROM JOHN GREIG, DeMARCUS COUSINS’ AGENT:

“Rest assured that DeMarcus Cousins has not sent any nude photos to any woman at any time.  Allegations that he has and internet websites that are reporting such are erroneous. These websites should take the images claiming to be DeMarcus down and apologize. It is a sad reflection of where our culture is that someone can send and post these type of things without any accountability.”

Lakers assign Darius Morris to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have assigned guard Darius Morris to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Morris, a rookie out of Michigan, has appeared in 13 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 2.7 points and 1.1 assists in 10.3 minutes.

Selected by the Lakers in the second round (41st overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft, Morris appeared in 67 games (53 starts) in two seasons at the University of Michigan, averaging 9.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists.  Morris became the 51st Wolverine to be drafted into the NBA and was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection last season. The first Wolverine to lead the Big Ten in assists since Gary Grant in 1988, Morris set a Michigan record for assists in a single season (235) last year.

This is the third Lakers’ player assignment of the season for the D-Fenders, who at 28-11, currently own the best record in the D-League.  Morris will be available when the D-Fenders take on the Dakota Wizards on Saturday, March 10th at Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, CA.