January 2013 – Page 12 – NBA Blog

Coach Thibodeau says Joakim Noah understands why he was benched

Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said Monday that Joakim Noah understands why he was benched for much of Saturday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, but Noah declined to speak to reporters once again.

“He understands,” Thibodeau said after the morning shootaround as his team prepared to face the Los Angeles Lakers. “The thing is he’s been around.

“The team has to come first, that’s the most important thing. Sometimes that happens in-game, not a big deal.”

Noah was benched for the final 22:53 of the overtime loss, and Thibodeau expects Noah to respond positively against the Lakers.

— Reported by Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago

Carlos Boozer, Kevin Durant named NBA Players of Week

Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan. 14 through Sunday, Jan. 20.

Boozer led the Bulls to a 3-1 week, which included wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. He averaged 23.0 points (fourth in the conference) and a league-leading 14.8 rebounds. Boozer recorded a point-rebound double-double in all four contests, including a 19-point, 20-rebound game on Jan. 18 during a 100-99 win over the Boston Celtics.

Durant helped Oklahoma City to a 3-1 record on the week, which included wins over the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns. He averaged a league-best 37.5 points and recorded a career and NBA-season-high 52 points on January 18 during a 117-114 overtime win against the Dallas Mavericks.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Miami’s LeBron James, New Orleans’ Greivis Vasquez, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Philadelphia’s Jrue Holiday and Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins

Maloofs agree to sell Kings to Seattle group

The only thing stopping the Sacramento Kings from a sale and move to Seattle is approval by NBA owners.

The Maloof family has agreed to sell the Kings to a Seattle group led by investor Chris Hansen, the league confirmed in a statement Monday morning. The deal is still pending a vote by the NBA Board of Governors.

A person familiar with the decision said that Hansen’s group will buy 65 percent of the franchise for $525 million, move the team to Seattle and restore the SuperSonics name. The Maloofs will have no stake in the team.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was waiting approval.

The sale figure is a total valuation of the franchise, which includes relocation fees. Hansen’s group also is hoping to buy out other minority investors.

The Maloofs will get a $30 million non-refundable down payment by Feb. 1, according to the deal, the person said. They will still be allowed to receive other offers until the league approves the sale.

The plan by Hansen’s group is to have the team play at least the next two seasons in KeyArena before moving into a new facility in downtown Seattle. The deadline for teams to apply for a move for next season is March 1.

— Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Bucks recall Doron Lamb from D-League

The Milwaukee Bucks have recalled rookie guard Doron Lamb from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Indiana) of the NBA Development League (D-League), General Manager John Hammond announced today. Lamb appeared in two games for the Mad Ants during his assignment, averaging 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 24.5 minutes per game.

Drafted by the Bucks with the 42nd overall pick in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft, Lamb has appeared in 23 contests for Milwaukee this season and has averaged 3.4 points in 12.2 minutes per game. He has tallied a career-high eight points in four different games, most recently against the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 19.

In two seasons at Kentucky, Lamb, 21, finished his career with 1,018 points while helping the Wildcats to a National Championship in 2012. Averaging 13.1 points per game, Lamb also hit 47.5 percent of his shots from behind the arc to become the top three-point shooter in Kentucky school history.

Anderson Varejao has blood clot, will not play again this season

Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao recently developed a blood clot (small right lower lung pulmonary embolism) and was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic last Thursday (January 17th). He is being treated with blood thinners (anticoagulants) and is expected to stay at the Clinic for several days, while undergoing treatment and observation. He will need to remain on blood thinning medication for approximately three months. While Varejao is expected to fully recover, he will miss the remainder of the current Cavaliers season.

Quote from Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant: “Clearly our players’ health is our top concern and we are disappointed for Anderson, and his family. We know what a competitor he is and how much he wants to be on the court helping his teammates. In the meantime, he has our full support and we look forward to welcoming him back as he recovers.”

Hawks sign Jannero Pargo to 10-day contract

The Atlanta Hawks have signed veteran guard Jannero Pargo to a 10-day contract, Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

In his ninth NBA season, Pargo played in seven games earlier this year with the Washington Wizards, putting in 3.0 points and 2.0 assists in 14.6 minutes per contest (.250 FG%, 1.000 FT%). In 50 games last season with the Hawks, he averaged 5.6 points, 1.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 13.4 minutes (.415 FG%, .384 3FG%, .950 FT%).

In 436 career games (18 starts) with the LA Lakers, Chicago, Toronto, New Orleans, Atlanta and Washington, the 6-foot-1 University of Arkansas product is averaging 6.4 points, 2.0 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 15.4 minutes (.389 FG%, .350 3FG%, .867 FT%). He has also seen action in Russia (Dynamo Moscow) and Greece (Olympiacos Piraeus).

Pargo will wear uniform number 7, and will be available for today’s 2 p.m. contest at Philips Arena vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Thunder win-streak ends with OT loss to Nuggets

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook teamed up on another scoring spree for Oklahoma City. In a tightly contested game, though, Kenneth Faried’s driving layup made the difference for Denver.

Faried scored the go-ahead layup in overtime, and the Nuggets overcame 30-plus point performances from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to beat the Thunder 121-118 Sunday night, snapping Oklahoma City’s six-game winning streak.

Corey Brewer scored 26 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Nuggets, who reversed a 20-point loss to the Thunder last Wednesday. Danilo Gallinari added 18 points and Faried finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds…

The Thunder, who beat Dallas in overtime Friday night behind a career-high 52 points from Durant, lost for the first time in five overtime games this season. They got 37 points from Durant and 36 from Westbrook…

The game was a difficult one emotionally as well for Thunder coach Scott Brooks, whose 79-year-old mother, Lee, died on Saturday. In a statement released by the club earlier, Brooks thanked friends, family and the team for their support and said his mom would have wanted him to coach Sunday night’s game…

A missed free throw by Durant with 1:44 to go in OT ended his streak of 50 consecutive free throws. … The Nuggets improved to 3-0 in overtime games this season. … Oklahoma City is now 1-1 on its season-high six-game road trip that continues Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. … Durant scored 30 or more points in a career-best fourth consecutive game. … The Thunder are 20-5 this season when Westbrook and Durant each score at least 20 points.

— Reported by Dennis Georgatos of the Associated Press

Mavs hold off late Magic surge in 111-105 win

Shawn Marion had 20 points, and O.J. Mayo and Vince Carter scored 15 apiece as the Dallas Mavericks fought off a late Orlando surge and beat the Magic 111-105 on Sunday night.

The Mavericks led by 13 in the fourth quarter, before the Magic pulled within a basket in the final minute.

Dallas earned its seventh straight road victory in its series against Orlando. The Mavericks now have five days off before hosting division-leader San Antonio on Friday.

Glen Davis led Orlando with 24 points, followed by Jameer Nelson with 20 and J. J. Redick’s 18.

The Magic have lost three of their last four games and also fell for the seventh straight time to an opponent with a sub-.500 record.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said Dirk Nowitzki, who played in his 15th game following offseason knee surgery, may need until February to get back to full strength.

The former MVP finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. He scored six points in the first half, but was active with some early assists as Dallas built a small cushion after digging out of an early hole…

Davis was whistled for a technical foul with 9:31 left in the third quarter.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Landry Fields steps up in Raptors win over struggling Lakers

A worn-down Kobe Bryant called it a ”sub-par” performance. For the Los Angeles Lakers, it was the latest in a string of similar efforts by a struggling team.

Landry Fields had a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors sent the Lakers to their fifth straight road loss, 108-103 on Sunday.

Bryant scored 26 points and Pau Gasol had 25 for the Lakers, whose road skid is their longest in six years. Dwight Howard was ejected after drawing his second technical foul with 1:18 left in the first half.

The Lakers fell behind by 15 points midway through the first quarter and lost for the eighth time in 10 games.

”We’ve got a lot of issues,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. ”Offensively the ball sticks and we don’t take very good shots. Defensively, ups and downs, we forget guys.”

Jose Calderon had 22 points and nine assists while Ed Davis had 18 points and eight rebounds for Toronto. Alan Anderson added 14 points and eight assists as the Raptors ended a four-game losing streak against the Lakers.

”That was one of the most complete games we’ve had all year, top to bottom,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.

Bryant made 10 of 32 shots, including 3 of 12 on 3-pointers, and complained the ”heavy legs” had dulled his shooting effort…

Steve Nash scored 16 points and Earl Clark had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the poor-shooting Lakers.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Warriors re-assign Jeremy Tyler to D-League

The Golden State Warriors have re-assigned forward/center Jeremy Tyler to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today. He is slated to join Golden State’s D-League affiliate in time for the team’s home game this evening in Santa Cruz against the Erie BayHawks at Kaiser Permanente Arena (5:00 p.m. tipoff).

Tyler, 21, has appeared in 16 games for Golden State this season, averaging 1.1 points in 3.1 minutes per contest. He has previously been assigned to Santa Cruz four times this season, averaging 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 30.5 minutes in four games.