December 2012 – Page 17 – NBA Blog

Ricky Rubio returns for Timberwolves in OT win over Mavericks

The white sleeve on Ricky Rubio’s left knee served as a reminder of what he went through to get back on the court.

While it served to protect his surgically repaired joint, it clearly does nothing to constrict the creativity and unbridled joy that made him one of the most exciting players in the league before he went down last season.

Nine long months later, it’s as if Rubio never left.

Zipping passes between his legs to his Timberwolves teammates in a dazzling season debut, Rubio had nine assists and eight points in 18 minutes of Minnesota’s 114-106 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.

Andrei Kirilenko scored five of his 14 points in overtime while Rubio watched from the bench because of a minutes restriction…

Nikola Pekovic scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who won their fourth straight game despite playing without All-Star Kevin Love because of an illness.

O.J. Mayo had 20 points, six assists and five rebounds and Shawn Marion had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who led by 13 early before Rubio came off the bench for the first time since he tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in March…

Alexey Shved had 18 points and six assists and the Wolves scored the first 10 points in overtime to send an amped crowd home happy.

Derek Fisher scored 20 points for the Mavericks, who turned the ball over 20 times. They led 98-96 after Fisher’s four-point play with 2:50 to go.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Rockets recall Terrence Jones from D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has recalled forward Terrence Jones from Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Jones is scheduled to be active for this afternoon’s game at Toronto (12/16/12).

Jones (6-9, 252, Kentucky ), who was assigned to the Vipers on Dec. 14, has averaged 22.5 points and 17.5 rebounds in two starts with Rio Grande Valley this season.

Playing in Milwaukee always scary for Caron Butler

Racine native Caron Butler likes to come home, don’t get him wrong.

But playing against the Bucks in Milwaukee has been a nightmare for the Los Angeles Clippers forward. Butler will try again when the Clippers, winners of eight straight games, meet the Bucks, winners of four in a row, on Saturday night.

He has been injured three times at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, including suffering a ruptured right patella tendon in a game on Jan. 1, 2011, when he was with the Dallas Mavericks. He missed the rest of the season and the Mavericks’ run to the NBA championship.

“I’m going to pray in all type of different languages and ways before I step on the court, because the last three times I’ve been here I’ve had some crazy luck,” Butler said after the Clippers’ shootaround at Marquette’s Al McGuire Center.

“I need a voodoo doctor and everything out there.”

— Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Kyrie Irving suffers broken bone in jaw

A CT scan at the Cleveland Clinic following the Cavaliers game Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena vs. the Milwaukee Bucks revealed that Cavs guard Kyrie Irving sustained a small left maxillary fracture.

Irving did not fly with the team to New York City after the game so he could be fitted with a protective mask.

He will travel to New York City today and will be available to play vs. the Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden.

According to the Associated Press, “Irving was injured when he was knocked down in the first quarter by Bucks forward forward Luc Mbah a Moute, who was called for a foul. Irving’s face slammed into the floor, and he writhed in pain for several minutes before getting up and making two free throws. He stayed in the game. At the end of the quarter, last season’s NBA rookie of the year sat on the bench with a towel on his face, but he played 36 minutes and finished with a team-high 26 points. Following the game, the Cavs indicated Irving would be on the flight to New York, but a CT scan at the Cleveland Clinic revealed what the team described as “a small left maxillary fracture.”

Dirk Nowitzki making progress in recovery

Dirk Nowitzki ran through a long set of shooting and running drills before Friday’s game at Toronto and went through some of the Mavericks’ shootaround earlier in the day.

The next step in his recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery: taking part in a practice.

That could come next week.

For now, Nowitzki spends a lot of his time running to midcourt, turning around, running back to the corner or the wing outside the 3-point line, and shooting a jump shot.

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News (Blog)

Dion Waiters expected to return Tuesday for Cavaliers

Cleveland guard Dion Waiters is expected to return from a sprained left ankle for the Cavaliers’ game Tuesday night against Toronto.

Waiters, the former Syracuse player taken with the No. 4 pick in the draft, hasn’t played since being injured against Portland on Dec. 1. He has missed seven straight games and won’t play Saturday when Cleveland visits New York. Waiters is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 points.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Hornets forward Jason Smith out at least two weeks

After missing time earlier this year with a left shoulder strain, New Orleans Hornets forward Jason Smith is now out for at least two weeks with a sprained right shoulder, the result of a play in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s 92-88 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With 10:01 to go in the fourth quarter, and the score tied at 62-62, Smith blocked a dunk attempt by Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, incurring the injury.

“Jason won’t play; he’s got a shoulder injury that could keep him out for up to two weeks,” Hornets Coach Monty Williams said Friday night. “It’s not a great thing for our team, but in light of what’s going on in the world, we’re doing OK.”Williams said his front-line rotation for the foreseeable future will not change.

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

Shawne Williams arrested in Raleigh on drug charges

Former Memphis Tigers basketball star and NBA player Shawne Williams was arrested Thursday in Raleigh after police reported finding marijuana and codeine cough syrup in his car.

An officer was on routine patrol outside a Cricket wireless store in the 3400 block of Austin Peay near the Raleigh Springs Mall. The officer approached Williams in his nearby Porsche Panamera after smelling marijuana, according to a police affidavit, and the 26-year-old Williams was asked to exit his vehicle.

Williams then said, “Officer I ain’t gonna lie to you, there’s a blunt in the car and some syrup,” according to the affidavit.

Police reported finding inside the car a partially smoked marijuana blunt, another blunt that had not been smoked, and a bottle containing 83 grams of codeine cough syrup, for which Williams did not have a prescription.

— Reported by Scott Carroll of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Timberwolves guard Malcolm Lee out indefinitely with knee injury

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that guard Malcolm Lee has suffered a chrondal injury in his right knee and will be out indefinitely. Lee and the organization are in the process of further evaluating the injury to determine the next steps for treatment. Once a determination is made, an update to his status will be provided. The injury occurred in the second quarter of Minnesota’s 108-105 win vs. Denver on Wednesday night.

Lee, a second-year guard from UCLA, is averaging 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game this season. He has started 12 of the last 13 games for Minnesota and has appeared in 16 games overall. Lee scored a career-high 10 points at Philadelphia on Dec. 4.

Rockets re-assign Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones to D-League

The Houston Rockets today re-assigned rookies Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ NBA Development League affiliate. The assignments are the 51st and 52nd of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons, while Motiejunas and Jones are two of 34 NBA players to have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Motiejunas (7-0, 222, Kaunas, Lithuania) returns to the Vipers having played in two games for the team in November, averaging 24.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 37.0 minutes. Originally selected in the first round (20th overall) by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2011 NBA Draft and later traded to Houston, Motiejunas has appeared in four games for the Rockets this season, scoring three points in 10 minutes.

Jones (6-9, 252, Kentucky) rejoins the Vipers following a two-game assignment earlier in the season. In those two games he averaged 22.5 points, 17.5 rebounds, 1.0 block and 36.0 minutes. Jones has appeared in eight games for the Rockets this season, averaging 4.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 10.0 minutes. Selected in the first round (18th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Rockets, Jones averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 76 career games for the Wildcats. A member of the 2012 NCAA Championship team, Jones earned Second-Team All-SEC honors last season and was selected the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2010-11.

Motiejunas and Jones are expected to join the Vipers today and be available on Saturday, Dec. 15 when the team travels to face the Texas Legends at 8:00 p.m. ET.