November 2012 – Page 6 – NBA Blog

Al Horford and Tim Duncan named Players of Week

The Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford and the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 25.

Horford led the Hawks to a 4-0 week, averaging 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He recorded a career-high 10 assists on Nov. 21 as Atlanta topped the Washington Wizards 101-100. Horford’s 26-point, 13-rebound double-double in a 101-91 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Nov. 23 helped the Hawks to improve their road record to 4-2, tops in the conference.

Duncan helped the Spurs to a 3-1 week with averages of 22.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 blocks. He posted three consecutive point-rebound double-doubles in games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. Duncan’s lone game last week without a double-double still showed a balanced stat line of 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and three blocks as the Spurs bested the Raptors 111-106 on Nov. 25 – a game in which Duncan recorded his 2,500th career block.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Jeff Teague, Boston’s Rajon Rondo, Charlotte’s Ramon Sessions, Denver’s Andre Iguodala, Houston’s Chandler Parsons, Memphis’ Rudy Gay, Miami’s Chris Bosh and LeBron James, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans.

Jazz assign guard Kevin Murphy to D-League

Utah Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey announced today that the team has assigned rookie guard Kevin Murphy to its NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. He is expected to be in uniform for the Bighorns’ season opener against the Santa Cruz Warriors on November 30 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev.

Selected by the Jazz in the second round (47th overall selection) of the 2012 NBA Draft, the 6-6, 185-pound Murphy played four seasons at Tennessee Tech, where he averaged 15.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Murphy averaged 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a senior and finished his career as the Golden Eagles’ second all-time leading scorer (2,019 points).

Murphy becomes the sixth player in Jazz history to be assigned to the D-League, and the first since current Jazz teammate Jeremy Evans was in March 2011.

Nene rests Sunday but expected to play against San Antonio

After playing a surprising 29 minutes off the bench in the Wizards’ 108-106 double overtime loss to Charlotte, Nene slouched in his locker room stall, left foot in a bucket of ice, and joked with teammate Kevin Seraphin that he needed a teleporter to take him to the training room.

Nene eventually got up and moved around on his own strength afterward. But he was a spectator for Sunday’s light practice, looking on in a red T-shirt and leaving for the locker room afterward, accompanied by the team masseuse.

Coach Randy Wittman said he expects to have the Brazilian big man in uniform when the Wizards host San Antonio on Monday, though conditioning remains a concern for games that basically amount to training camp and preseason with Nene missing three months of action.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post

Bucks rookie John Henson loves to fish

Attention fellow fishermen: If you receive a telephone call from Milwaukee Bucks rookie John Henson, don’t hang up.

“They might be like, ‘Nah, quit playing,’ ” Henson said. “But it’s something I like doing and it’s a hobby of mine. I fish all the time. I love doing it. Even if I don’t catch any fish, just to go out there and relax, be to myself or with a family member or friend. It’s fun.

“I looked up charters here and all type of stuff, and I found a few things that interest me. As soon as I have a little time, I’m definitely going to check it out.”

And a word of advice:

When bragging how your charter always returns with enough fish to feed Henson’s entire team, be sure to knock on wood.

It’s the 22-year-old’s biggest superstition.

— Reported by Dave Boehler, special to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Steve Nash health update may come today

There’s no one more eager for Steve Nash’s return than Kobe Bryant.

The reasons are obvious.

“I won’t have to bring the ball up as much. I like facilitating, but I like to score a lot more,” Bryant said. “When he comes back, he’ll make my life a lot easier.”

It remains unclear when that will happen.

The Lakers plan to re-evaluate Nash’s fractured left leg sometime today.

Nash has yet to perform any running exercises. The guard also recently expressed doubts he’d play when the Lakers (7-7) host the Indiana Pacers (6-8) on Tuesday at Staples Center. It’s possible Bryant could find some relief since Steve Blake might play against Indiana after a lower abdominal strain kept him out for the past seven games.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News

Kevin McHale mourns loss of daughter

Alexandra McHale, the daughter of Minnesota basketball legend Kevin McHale, died over the weekend, it was announced Sunday.

Known as Sasha, she died Saturday in a Twin Cities hospital. She had turned 23 in late October and had been in college at Minnesota Duluth until illness forced her to take a leave of absence.

She played varsity for Totino-Grace High School for three years and made honorable mention all-state in 2008, the year her team won the Class 3A state title.

“She was an outstanding basketball player and the life of the locker room,” said Shannon Hartinger, her coach at Totino-Grace for three years. “She was a joy to be around. You could tell she loved to play basketball.” …

Kevin McHale became coach of the Houston Rockets last season but has been on a leave of absence since Nov. 10. The Houston Chronicle said the leave was to deal with his daughter’s health issues after she was hospitalized for a condition related to lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates 1.5 million people in the country have it.

— Reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Knicks go wild from outside, beat Pistons

With the Linsanity disaster behind them, the Knicks came back home and took it out on the Pistons today. They cruised to a 121-100 victory behind Carmelo Anthony’s 29 points in 31 minutes and they got back to playing ramped-up defense in a Garden matinee, breaking a two-game losing streak.

The Knicks moved to 9-3 and stayed unbeaten at home at 5-0. The win sets the stage for tomorrow’s historic, first-ever showdown vs. the Nets in their new locale in Brooklyn – a makeup game of the postponed season opener.

Today’s victory temporarily erased the stench of their 131-103 disgrace at the hands of Jeremy Lin’s Rockets in Houston. During their two-game losing streak that included a defeat in Dallas, the Knicks had allowed 245 points. All their losses have come on the road – the third one being in Memphis.

Melo shot 10 of 18, made all five of his free throws and had 3 assists. He also mostly refrained from arguing with the officials and sizzled with his jumper, making 4 of 5 3-pointers. He didn’t play the fourth quarter.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Anthony Davis might miss two more weeks with ankle injury

It could be another two weeks before New Orleans Hornets rookie forward Anthony Davis recovers sufficiently from a stress reaction in his left ankle to resume playing.

Davis said Sunday after the team’s shootaround at a downtown hotel that a precautionary MRI following three ankle sprains in as many days revealed the problem, which is a precursor to a more serious stress fracture that would likely manifest itself without rest and rehabilitation.

Davis first injured his ankle June 30 in New Orleans, his first workout following the NBA draft. That slowed him in the early portion of the U.S. Olympic Team’s training camp in Las Vegas.

This latest issue, he said, is unrelated.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Glen Davis says Jacque Vaughn is a more Gandhi-like coach than Doc Rivers

Now that Glen Davis is co-captain of the Orlando Magic, the former Celtic only hopes that his maturity is showing. The forward goes into tonight’s game against his old team as Orlando’s second leading scorer (14.9 ppg), but believes his overall development is a reflection of another kind of transition.

He’s moved on from under the pressure of Doc Rivers’ strong hand to the more liberal touch of Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. Listen to Davis’ description of the change, and you can’t help but believe that he’s gone from boot camp to an ashram.

“Different guys,” he said after today’s pre-game shootaround. “Doc is more of a military-minded kind of guy, and Jacque is more of a Gandhi kind of guy. Soft but powerful.

“Doc’s more ‘get the job done,’ and Jacque Vaughn is more the kind of guy who will ask you, ‘Would you feel comfortable getting the job done?’” said Davis.

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Houston Rockets recall Donatas Motiejunas from D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has recalled forward/center Donatas Motiejunas from Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley.

Motiejunas (7-0, 222, Lithuania), who was assigned to Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 13, averaged 24.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in two starts with the Vipers. In Friday’s season opener against Bakersfield, Motiejunas led the team with 31 points and eight boards in 36 minutes. Last night, he posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Jam.