Day: April 10, 2012

Deng, Gordon, Byron Mullens to play for Britain at London Olympic games

Ben Gordon and Byron Mullens haven’t worn the Great Britain jersey before but both NBA players have been included in the country’s preliminary squad for the London Games.

The London-born and United States-raised Gordon, who plays for the Detroit Pistons, is a former teammate of British superstar Luol Deng in Chicago while Mullens has a United Kingdom passport because his mother hails from England.

In a statement issued by British Basketball, Gordon said: “I am very excited to pull on the GB jersey this summer and play for my country.

“To be invited into camp is the first step in that journey and I am immensely proud to have the opportunity.” …

Mullens revealed on his Twitter account last month that he would be with the Brits and included a photo of recently received UK passport.

He tweeted: “Yessir. I will be in London this summer! 2012 Olympics.”

— Reported by FIBA.com

Spurs bench stars, lose to Jazz, 11-game winning streak ends

With a playoff spot locked up and a grueling stretch ahead, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich called it a ”no brainer” to rest stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

That was fine by a Utah Jazz team still trying to punch a ticket to the postseason.

After losing to the Spurs by 10 on Sunday night in San Antonio, the Jazz (30-28) rebounded with a 91-84 victory in Monday’s rematch in Salt Lake City.

”We wanted to come out and get a little bit of revenge from last night,” said Gordon Hayward, who started at shooting guard Monday for the injury-depleted Jazz. ”They battled and battled until the end and we were able to come out on top.”

Credit Devin Harris, who scored 11 straight for the Jazz in the fourth quarter and had a team-high 25 points…

Al Jefferson led the Jazz with four blocks. He added 12 points and 10 rebounds and a steal.

Paul Millsap had 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for the Jazz, and sealed the win with a put-back dunk with 43 seconds remaining.

— Reported by the Associated Press