Brooklyn Nets assign Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor to D-League

The Brooklyn Nets have assigned forward Tornike Shengelia and guard Tyshawn Taylor to the Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by General Manager Billy King.

Shengelia, acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers after being drafted 54th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, has appeared in five games this season, scoring 10 points with two rebounds.

Taylor, a rookie out of Kansas, has made 10 appearances on the year, scoring 13 points with three steals and two assists.

Both players will be in uniform when the Armor take on the Erie BayHawks tonight at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Nuggets hit 0-of-22 three-pointers in loss to Trail Blazers

JJ Hickson

J.J. Hickson had 18 points and 18 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 101-93 on Thursday night.

Nicolas Batum had 22 points to give the Blazers their first four-game winning streak of the season despite missing forward LaMarcus Aldridge because of a sprained left ankle.

The Nuggets were 0 for 22 from 3-point range, breaking the NBA record of 20 misses set by the Trail Blazers in a game against Toronto last week. Seventy-four of Denver’s point came in the paint.

The Blazers led by as many as 18 in the first half and while the Nuggets were able to close the gap, they were never able to pull even…

Portland saw the return of Matthews, who missed two games with a sore hip, then tried to return against the Hornets but played only about four minutes. The injury had put Matthews on the bench in street clothes for the first time in his four-year NBA career. He had played in 250 straight games, second-most among active players behind Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook…

Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer had 13 points each for the Nuggets.

— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

LeBron scores 24, Heat beat Mavericks 110-95

lebron james

LeBron James scored 24 points with some early baskets on nifty passes from Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat rolled to a 110-95 victory over the injury plagued Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

James has scored at least 20 points in all 23 games, the longest streak to start an NBA season since Karl Malone’s 24 in a row opening the 1989-90 season.

Dallas, still waiting for the season debut of 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki after right knee surgery, was also without starting point guard Derek Fisher (right knee).

The Heat never trailed after James drove for a short floater 3 minutes into the game to make it 6-4.

— Reported by Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com notes: With Dirk Nowitzki still out for Dallas, Jae Crowder came off the bench to lead the Mavs in scoring with 15 points. Dahntay Jones and Bernard James each scored 12. Darren Collison scored 11. The Mavs as a team shot just 38.5 percent, and hit just 3-of-22 from three-point range.