November 2012 – Page 9 – NBA Blog

Pacers send Miles Plumlee, Orlando Johnson to D-League for two games

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday that rookies Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson will join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for two games this weekend. This is the first time the Pacers have assigned players to their NBA D-League affiliate.

Plumlee, a 6-10, 245-pound center/forward who was the Pacers’ first-round pick last June (26th overall), has played in four games this season, scoring four points and pulling down five rebounds. Johnson, a 6-5 guard who was a second-round pick that the Pacers acquired from Sacramento on draft night, has played in two games, but hasn’t scored.

“We could not be happier to have Miles and Orlando join our team for these first two games,” said Mad Ants head coach Duane Ticknor. “We think we can provide both players a great opportunity to improve their games, and I am excited for this watershed moment in our partnership with the Pacers.”

Fort Wayne hosts Erie Friday night and Maine Sunday. The two players will re-join the Pacers for their three-game western road trip next week.

Metta World Peace calls the Nets floppers

The Lakers forward went on a Twitter rant on Tuesday night about the flopping Nets, referencing two flops by Gerald Wallace and one by Reggie Evans.

Here’s World Peace’s timeline:

“what was the best flop tonight? out of the three?i am so happy the nba charges $5000 per flop……”

“the two gerad wallace flops were crazy..lol i am on the court like”what in the world”!!! it is crazy because i am still strong but quicker.”

— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Blog)

Grinnell guard Jack Taylor scores 138 points

Grinnell’s Jack Taylor didn’t just amend the NCAA’s record books when he scored 138 points — a new collegiate high mark — in his team’s 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible Tuesday night. The Division III star wrote a new chapter.

“There was a point during the second half where I hit a number of threes in a row — maybe seven or eight — I felt like anything I threw up was going in,” Taylor said. “I’ve been in the zone before but I’ve never taken so many shots.”

Bevo Francis of Rio Grande held the NCAA scoring record with 113 points against Hillsdale in 1954. In 1953, Francis had 116 against Ashland Junior College. Frank Selvy is the only other player to reach triple figures, scoring 100 points for Division I Furman against Newberry in 1954…

By the end of the night, Taylor was 52-for-108 (27-for-71 from the 3-point line) and he’d established a new collegiate record.

— Reported by Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com

Under coach David Arseneault, the Pioneers press and shoot 3s like nobody else in the country in any level. They’ve led the nation in scoring for 17 of the past 19 seasons while ranking first nationally in 3-point shooting for the 15 of those past 19 years. But none of them have had a night quite like Taylor — who never saw this coming.

Taylor recently transferred to Grinnell, located about 50 miles east of Des Moines, after playing one season for Wisconsin-La Crosse. He struggled in his debut at the nearby Wartburg Tournament over the weekend by hitting only 11 of 41 shots — including only 6 of 34 3-point attempts Still, he averaged 23.5 points a game.

But Taylor started Tuesday’s night game off slow — at least according to his standards. His coaches figured the best way to get him on track was for him to keep chucking, so that’s what Taylor did.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Jack Taylor 138 Points Video Highlights

Melo scores 29, Knicks wreck Hornets 102-80

Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and the New York Knicks extended the undermanned New Orleans Hornets’ losing streak to four games with a 102-80 victory Tuesday night.

Raymond Felton and J.R. Smith each added 15 points. Felton scored all of his points on five 3-pointers as New York hit 14 3s as a team.

Tyson Chandler grabbed 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who’ve won two straight since their first loss of the season and are 8-1 for only the third time in franchise history. The other two times, the 1969-70 and 1972-73 seasons, they won championships.

Ryan Anderson, starting in place of Anthony Davis, led the Hornets with 15 points. Davis was ruled out shortly before tip-off because tenderness in his left ankle.

Rookie Austin Rivers added a career-high 14 points and Brian Roberts 13 for New Orleans.

— Reported by Brett Martel of the Associated Press

J-Rich, Nick Young lead 76ers over Raptors

Nick Young has some game to go with his style and swagger.

Young scored 23 points off the bench, Jason Richardson had six of his 21 points late in the fourth quarter, and the Philadelphia 76ers rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 106-98 on Tuesday night.

Known for his cool nickname – Swaggy P – and his Afro hairdo, Young is earning recognition for his play on the court, too. He had four assists and three rebounds to go with his 7-for-13 shooting.

”That’s all part of the Swaggy P movement,” Young said with a smile. ”I felt good.” …

Jrue Holiday had 19 points and 12 assists and Thad Young scored 18 to help the Sixers win their third straight game.

DeMar DeRozan had 24 and Andrea Bargnani scored 22 for the Raptors, who are off to a 3-8 start. Jose Calderon, who had a season-high 18 assists in Toronto’s win over Orlando on Sunday night, got 12 more to go with 13 points…

Lowry, who went to nearby Villanova, returned after missing six games with a foot injury.

— Reported by Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press

Warriors center Andrew Bogut out at least 3 more games

Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who spent several days last week in Los Angeles where he received treatment under the supervision of Dr. Richard Ferkel, will not play in any of the team’s next three (3) games as he continues to strengthen his surgically repaired left ankle.

It is anticipated that Bogut will begin running on the AlterG treadmill later this week with the hopes of returning to practice activity with the team next Monday. His progress will continue to be evaluated and monitored by the team’s medical staff and updates will be provided as appropriate.

Bogut has missed the last six (6) games as he continues to strengthen his left ankle following surgery on April 27.

Haslem closing in on Heat rebound record

When Udonis Haslem was trying to make the Miami Heat take notice of him a decade ago, assistant coach Keith Askins gave him one piece of advice.

He told Haslem every NBA player can score, but not everyone rebounds.

Haslem remembers that conversation so well that he’s about to become the most prolific rebounder in Heat history.

Odds are, he’ll have that title sometime Wednesday night, when the reigning NBA champion Heat start a homestand against the Milwaukee Bucks. Haslem will come into that game needing only two rebounds to pass Alonzo Mourning for Miami’s all-time lead in that department – Mourning grabbed 4,807 rebounds in 593 regular-season Heat games, while Haslem is at 4,806 rebounds after 605 games.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Stephen Jackson to miss 4-6 weeks with broken pinkie

For the second time in less than a week, the Spurs have lost their starting small forward.

Stephen Jackson, starting his second game at the position because Kawhi Leonard is out with tendinitis in his left quadriceps, suffered a non-displaced fracture of a bone in his right pinkie finger during the first quarter of the Spurs’ 92-87 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night at the AT&T Center.

Jackson is expected to be out four-to-six weeks.

Jackson battled Clippers forward Caron Butler for a loose ball with 7:49 remaining in the first quarter. He knocked the ball off Butler on the sideline to gain possession but came out of the scrum holding his right hand, and the Spurs called for a timeout.

— Reported by Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News

Dwight Howard doesn’t care if D-Will is upset

Dwight Howard lost a lot of friends and supporters during his curious ride out of Orlando. But if one of those severed relationships was with Deron Williams, Howard – the man who wanted to please everybody — doesn’t care.

“It’s my life so if he’s upset because I made a decision for me, so be it,” Howard said. “If he doesn’t want to be friends because I’m on another team, then so be it. There’s no need to smooth things over.”

The two All-Stars plotted to play together in Brooklyn, but Howard essentially killed that possibility by waiving his right to become a free agent last March. Howard has said the decision was based on his desire to keep everybody happy, even though it forfeited his opportunity to sign with the Nets in the summer.

Instead, Howard was dealt in August from the Magic to the Lakers, who host the Nets on Tuesday. The center declined to discuss his desire to play in Brooklyn and whether it’s still alive.

— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Blog)

Gilbert Arenas signs in Shanghai, China

Even if he’s getting away from the United States, Gilbert Arenas will be getting back to a familiar nickname.

In what completes an almost month-long journey, Arenas has finally signed in the Chinese Basketball Association with the Shanghai Sharks. The deal is reported to be a one-year deal worth roughly US $700,000 with a mutual team/player option for a second year.

Already registered on the team’s roster, the three-time NBA All-Star will wear the number 0 for the first time since he was known as “Agent Zero” with the Washington Wizards from 2003-10.

Though the deal was expected to go through since he arrived in Shanghai at the beginning of the month, the Yao Ming-owned Sharks’ decision to delay making it official came down to two major points, a source told NiuBBall.com.

— Reported by Jon Pastuszek of NIUbball.com