Month: December 2012

Clippers beat Hornets for 11th straight win

Chris Paul

The Los Angeles Clippers’ franchise record-tying 11th consecutive victory had owner Donald Sterling leading a ”hip, hip hooray” chant in the locker room.

Sterling grabbed the hand of coach Vinny Del Negro and held it up, exhorting his team, ”Let’s hear it for the coach.” Then he told Del Negro, ”Vinny, give me a hug” and the two men embraced.

”Eleven in a row. Not bad, is it?” Sterling said.

Blake Griffin scored 18 points and Jamal Crawford added 17 in the Clippers’ 93-77 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night that tied the franchise mark set by the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves.

”That’s pretty special, especially to do it at home,” said Chris Paul, who had 10 points and 12 assists, giving him 5,003 in his career…

DeAndre Jordan added 12 points for the Clippers, whose 19-6 record is tied with New York for second-best in the NBA.

Robin Lopez scored 14 of his 22 points in the first quarter and rookie Anthony Davis added 16 for the Hornets. They lost their ninth in a row and 11th in 12 games while falling to 2-10 on the road. They were the last team to beat the Clippers on Nov. 26…

Paul fed Griffin for a layup late in the second quarter to notch his 5,000th assist, triggering a standing ovation. Griffin got fouled on the play and made the free throw. It came during an 11-0 run that provided the Clippers’ largest lead to that point, 46-30. Paul’s alley-oop pass to Griffin led to a fast-break dunk for the Clippers’ final basket of the half, with them leading 48-38.

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Spurs assign Kawhi Leonard to D-League for medical rehab

Kawhi Leonard

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have assigned Kawhi Leonard to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League for a medical rehab assignment. Leonard has been sidelined with quadriceps tendinitis, left knee since Nov. 17.

Prior to the injury, Leonard appeared in nine games for the Silver and Black, averaging 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.00 steals in 28.9 minutes.

Leonard will practice with the Toros today and then be re-evaluated by team doctors. At that point, a timeline for his return will be determined.

Pistons recall Khris Middleton and Kim English from D-League

The Detroit Pistons announced today that they have recalled rookies Khris Middleton and Kim English from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Middleton averaged 11.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 26.3 minutes in three games (all starts).  He scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds against the Maine Red Claws on 12/14 – both highs for his D-League stint.  Middleton was drafted 39th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Pistons.  The Texas A&M product has appeared in three Pistons’ games this season averaging 1.3 points, 0.7 assists and 0.7 steals.  He scored a season-high four points and recorded two steals at Houston (11/10).

English averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 36.7 minutes in three games (all starts).  He scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds against the Maine Red Claws on 12/14 – both highs for his stint in the D-League.  English was the 44th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft from the University of Missouri and has seen action in 10 games with the Pistons this season.  He scored a season-high eight points twice [vs. Houston (10/31) and at L.A. Lakers (11/4)] and is averaging 3.2 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists while shooting 50% (8-16) from three-point range.

Isiah Thomas to join NBA TV as studio analyst

Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas will join NBA TV as a studio analyst.

Thomas will debut Friday and make several appearances a month. He’ll also be a regular contributor to NBA.com.

The 12-time All-Star point guard led the Detroit Pistons to two NBA titles. But he’s more recently remembered for his stint running the New York Knicks, who failed to win a playoff game with Thomas as coach or president.

— Reported by the Associated Press

LeBron James rides bike to practice and home game

LeBron James riding bike to practice and home games lately

LeBron James says he is engaged in a “vendetta” against himself as he pushes himself to reach his physical peak and win a second straight NBA championship with the Miami Heat.

On Tuesday, James, last season’s Most Valuable Player, who spent his off-season playing in the London Olympics, was on court against the Minnesota Timberwolves for 42 minutes.

“He wasn’t even breathing heavy,” said Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra when asked about the longer than expected regular season minutes for his team’s star.

“He’s been biking so much on his own. He biked to the game the other day. He’s turning the corner right now in terms of his conditioning. It’s world class.”

When Miami hosted the Washington Wizards on Saturday, James chose to cycle to the team’s daytime shoot-around and the 45 minutes back home before doing the same in the evening for the game…

James says he is too far “in the zone” to notice any public reaction to one of the world’s leading sportsmen cycling around the streets of Miami a few hours before a game.

— Reported by Simon Evans of Reuters

Thunder re-assign Perry Jones and DeAndre Liggins to D-League

The Oklahoma City Thunder today re-assigned Perry Jones and DeAndre Liggins to the Tulsa 66ers, the Thunder’s NBA Development League affiliate.  The assignments are the second for both Jones and Liggins, and the 59th and 60th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons. They are among the 36 NBA players who have been assigned this season.

Jones (6-11, 235, Baylor) has appeared in 10 games for the Thunder this season, averaging 1.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 7.6 minutes. In his first NBA D-League stint, he played in two games for the 66ers. On Dec. 5 vs. Sioux Falls, he tallied 21 points and seven rebounds.  Originally selected 28th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Thunder, Jones averaged 13.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 32.3 minutes in his collegiate career.

Liggins (6-6, 209, Kentucky) joins Tulsa having appeared in seven games for the Thunder this season.  A second-year guard, Liggins was originally selected by the Magic in the second round, 53rd overall, of the 2011 NBA Draft and was acquired by the Thunder in September.  In 17 games for Orlando during his rookie campaign, he averaged 1.9 points and 6.8 minutes.

Jones and Liggins are expected to join the 66ers and be available this Friday when Tulsa plays host to the Iowa Energy at SpiritBank Event Center.

Return of Jeremy Lin is highest-rated Knicks game on MSG

Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is still must-see TV in New York.

Lin’s first trip back to New York since signing with the Houston Rockets resulted in MSG Network’s highest-rated Knicks game of the season, according to the network.

The Rockets’ 109-96 victory Monday drew a 4.77 rating, MSG said Tuesday. That’s well above the 3.41 average rating for the first 18 games of the season.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters returns to action

Dion Waiters

Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters is back in the starting lineup after missing eight games because of a sprained left ankle.

Cleveland hosted Toronto on Tuesday night.

Waiters is averaged 15 points and more than three assists per game. He was injured on Dec. 1.

Waiters was cleared to play late last week. Coach Byron Scott wanted Waiters to go through Monday’s practice session before he returned.

— Reported by the Associated Press

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 the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Motiejunas (7-0, 222, Lithuania), who was re-assigned to Rio Grande Valley on Dec. 14, has averaged 23.5 points and 10.8 rebounds over four starts with the Vipers this season.