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Swingman Mike Miller returned to practice, participating in Tuesday’s morning shootaround. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said it’s the most encouraging sign since Miller sustained a sprained left ankle March 10 against Indiana.
There is still no date on when he is expected back in uniform. Miller has missed the past 12 games.
“He went through about half the shootaround,” Spoelstra said. “He’s making progress.”
— Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Golden State Warriors have recalled forward Chris Wright from the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League, the team announced today.
Wright, 23, was assigned to the Wizards on March 24 and has appeared in six games for the Warriors’ D-League affiliate since that time, averaging 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per contest, while shooting 58.2% (46-79 FG) from the field. The 6’8” forward helped lead the Wizards to a 5-1 record during his stint with the team, including victories in their last five contests to secure a spot in the 2012 D-League Playoffs.
This was the second assignment of the season for Wright, as he previously was assigned to the Wizards on January 26 and averaged 20.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 2.33 blocks in 31.0 minutes over three games before being recalled on February 6. Overall, he has appeared in nine games with the Wizards this season, averaging 18.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.33 blocks in 29.0 minutes of action.
Wright will rejoin the Warriors in Minnesota in time for tonight’s game against the Timberwolves. He has appeared in 17 games with Golden State this season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.7 minutes.
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With the Phoenix Suns clinging to their playoff lives in the Western Conference, star point guard Steve Nash insists his back feels “the best it’s felt in a decade.”
Nash, who turned 38 in February, also told ESPN.com in a phone interview before Tuesday night’s game in Sacramento he intends to “sign for three more years this summer” and play beyond his 40th birthday when he either inks a new deal to stay with the Suns or finds a new team via free agency.
Responding to a New York Post report in Tuesday’s editions which described the condition of Nash’s back as “bad as it has ever been,” Nash strongly disputed such suggestions. He expressed great satisfaction with the way his health has held up through the rigors of a lockout-compacted schedule that called for 66 regular-season games in a span of about 120 days.
“It’s been my best year physically from start to finish in a long time,” Nash said. “Other than a little tweak (last week) against San Antonio, my back’s been pretty close to 100 percent.”
— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com
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The matchup was reminiscent of the classic Pacers-Knicks games from the 1990s. The crowd was electric, the action was chippy, Reggie Miller jerseys were plentiful, and Indiana rallied from a seemingly hopeless deficit to win.
Danny Granger played the role of Miller, scoring 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers rallied from 17 points down late in the third quarter to take a 112-104 victory on Tuesday night.
Granger made all three of his 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, a fitting performance one day after Miller was announced as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2012 class…
Paul George scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and reserves Leandro Barbosa and Dahntay Jones added 12 points each for the Pacers.
Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 39 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Knicks. Landry Fields scored 15 points and Tyson Chandler added 12 points and 14 rebounds for New York, which fell to 9-3 under interim coach Mike Woodson.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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Marcin Gortat had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Steve Nash added 18 points and 12 assists and the Phoenix Suns defeated the Sacramento Kings 109-100 on Tuesday night.
The Suns won their second straight and third in four games to move over the .500 mark (27-26) for only the third time this season.
The Suns moved within 1 1/2 games of Houston for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff berth.
DeMarcus Cousins scored a career-high 41 points and had 12 rebounds for the Kings, who have lost three of four.
Isaiah Thomas had 25 points and seven assists, and Terrence Williams had another big game off the bench with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Michael Redd had 16 points and both Channing Frye and Jared Dudley had 15 for Phoenix. Shannon Brown had 12 points for the Suns.
— Reported by the Associated Press
Danny Green wasn’t looking for vengeance or payback on the Cavaliers. He got some anyway.
Green scored 19 points against a Cleveland team that released him last season, Tony Parker added 19 and the San Antonio Spurs coasted to their eighth straight win, 125-90 over the lifeless Cavs, who have lost eight in a row and were blown out at home again.
Green played his rookie season for Cleveland, which cut him at the end of training camp in 2011. He’s found a new home with the Spurs, who built a 22-point lead in the first half and rested Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for most of the fourth quarter while pushing their lead to 37.
“It does mean a little something to me because this was my first team,” Green said. “It’s nice, but that’s not the important thing for me. It’s more important that we continue to get better. We want to keep winning going into the playoffs.”
Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 13 points for the Cavs in his return after missing one game with a sprained right shoulder. But even with their best player back, Cleveland dropped its eighth straight and followed up a 37-point loss at home to Milwaukee with a 35-point setback.
— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press
Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson had successful surgery on Monday to repair a torn tendon in his left foot and ankle. The surgery was performed by Dr. Richard D. Ferkel at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Van Nuys, California.
Gibson will now undergo a period of rest and then transition into a rehabilitation phase, while missing the remainder of the Cavaliers season. His status will be updated as appropriate as he works towards a return to basketball activity.
Gibson is expected to make a full recovery from the injury and be ready for the start of training camp for the 2012-13 season.
The Seattle Mariners have sent a letter to the city of Seattle and King County officials saying as of now they do not support the idea of a new NBA/NHL arena in the same neighborhood as the Mariners home of Safeco Field.
The letter was sent from the team on Tuesday and signed by Mariners chairman Howard Lincoln. In the letter, Lincoln says the franchise supports the idea of the NBA returning to Seattle, but that an exhaustive examination of various sites for a new arena in the greater Seattle area needs to be conducted.
— Reported by Tim Booth of the Associated Press
John Calipari said his Kentucky team that faced Kansas in the NCAA championship game Monday night at the Superdome might have as many as six first-round draft picks. If that seems high, just remember that his 2010 team included five first-round picks, starting with No. 1 overall John Wall.
There’s little doubt 6-foot-10 freshman Anthony Davis will be the No. 1 pick this summer if he chooses to come out as expected, and it’s possible forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist could go No. 2, and certainly in the top five. Forward Terrence Jones probably is a lottery pick, and guards Doron Lamb and Marquis Teague have late first-round potential. Senior guard Darius Miller also could sneak into the first round.
What it all shows is that no coach has embraced the economic realities for top basketball talent as fervently as Calipari has. Louisville coach Rick Pitino and Kansas coach Bill Self marveled during the Final Four at Calipari’s ability to manage a program with so many players who leave early for the NBA. Miller is a rare Wildcats senior, and he has played with 40 teammates in four years.
— Reported by the Detroit Free Press
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Los Angeles D-Fenders forward Jamario Moon was today named NBA Development League Player of the Month for games played in March. The honor is the first of Moon’s career and the second for a D-Fender this season, with Brandon Costner earning the award for games played in November and December.
Moon (6-8, 215, Meredian Community College), led Los Angeles to an 8-1 record in March, helping the team to clinch the top spot in the Western Conference. During the month, he averaged 16.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 36.6 minutes. He was the team’s high scorer and rebounder twice last month, scoring in double figures in eight of nine games, including an NBA D-League season-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds in a 117-89 win over the Reno Bighorns on March 28. For the month, he shot 52 percent from the floor, 37 percent from three-point range and 82 percent from the line.
Thirteen additional players earned honorable mention accolades. They include: Austin’s Eric Dawson, Bakersfield’s Renaldo Major, Canton’s Luke Harangody, on assignment from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dakota’s Stefhon Hannah, Erie’s Kyle Goldcamp, Fort Wayne’s Vernon Macklin, on assignment from the Detroit Pistons, Idaho’s Marcus Banks, Iowa’s Mike Efevberha, Maine’s Morris Almond, Springfield’s JamesOn Curry, Sioux Falls’ Trey Gilder, Texas’ Dan Gadzuric, and Tulsa’s Jerome Dyson.