January 2013 – Page 33 – NBA Blog

Barea leads T-Wolves to 101-97 win over Nuggets

Not even a sprained finger to their All-Star forward could spoil this win for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And it definitely made up for the clunker they turned in the night before – as much as it can, anyway.

J.J. Barea scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter while Kevin Love sat on the bench with an injured finger, lifting Minnesota to a 101-97 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

The Timberwolves were playing for the second straight night, but fatigue hardly appeared to be a factor as they handed the Nuggets a rare home loss…

”It was good to hit some shots. We’ve been struggling to hit shots as a team,” Ridnour said. ”To be able to get going like that feels good.”

Especially with Love only able to watch after leaving with a sprained finger on his right hand in the third quarter. Love broke the same hand in October, missing the opening nine games of the season, and has struggled to get on track with his jumper ever since.

On the play in which he was injured, Love appeared to be sliding past a Nuggets player in the lane when he suddenly clutched at his hand before heading into the training room. Love had 12 points and 17 rebounds in nearly 24 minutes…

The Timberwolves were without point guard Ricky Rubio, who has been dealing with back spasms and remained in Minnesota during the two-game swing through Utah and Denver.

— Reported by Pat Graham of the Associated Press

Knicks end Spurs 7-game winning streak in romp

Sometime between Stephen Jackson’s sideline stumble and J.R. Smith’s soaring slam, the San Antonio Spurs realized this wasn’t their night.

Too much fatigue and way too much Knicks defense.

Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, Smith kept up his surge with 20 and New York snapped San Antonio’s seven-game winning streak with a 100-83 victory Thursday night.

Steve Novak added 15 points and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 14 rebounds to help the Knicks bounce back from consecutive losses by dominating the final period against the Spurs, who appeared to run out of gas in their second game in two nights.

”They shot the hell out of it and I could see it wasn’t going to happen,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ”Just too low on fuel and their defense was too good. Bad combination, and then they made shots, which makes it even worse.”

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each had just 11 points for the Spurs, who lost Jackson to an unusual injury, then lost what had been the NBA’s longest winning streak.

Jackson played just three minutes off the bench before spraining his right ankle when he took a shot then fell back into a waitress working the sideline in front of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Smith, who had scored 25 points in his last four games as a reserve, highlighted his outing with an acrobatic dunk in the fourth quarter that brought fans to their feet. The lobbed pass came from reserve point guard Pablo Prigioni, who had one of his most complete games since coming to the NBA at age 35, finishing with six points and nine assists.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Rebounds a struggle for Heat, despite hot start

Most wins in the Eastern Conference, fewest rebounds in the NBA.

It might not sound like a winning formula, but it’s working for Miami.

The Heat (22-8) are on pace for the second-worst rebounding season in franchise history, better than only the 2007-08 campaign where Miami won just 15 games in what was Pat Riley’s final season on the sideline as coach. And even though it was Riley who once said ”no rebounds, no rings,” the Heat are clearly not the type of team that will dominate on the backboards.

Only reigning MVP LeBron James is currently ranked among the NBA’s top 30 rebounders in terms of average per game, and the Heat have a lineup that’s outsized in nearly every game – sometimes by a significant amount.

”Rebounding is not something that you work on,” James said. ”It’s a knack.”

Countered Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: ”It’s interesting how sometimes we have the knack.”

What they’re doing is simply defying logic on some nights. The Heat have been outrebounded by margins this season of 15, 17, 19 and 29 – and somehow, they went 4-0 in those games.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Kobe Bryant says Jamal Crawford should be Sixth Man of Year

“He gets my nomination for sixth man of the year,” Bryant said of Crawford after Thursday’s Lakers practice.

It’s quite an endorsement, though Crawford’s numbers speak pretty well for themselves.

Crawford, who comes off the bench for the Clippers, is averaging 16.5 points in 29.1 minutes a game. He was instrumental in the Clippers’ franchise-best 17-game winning streak and has helped the team to an impressive 25-8 record.

Crawford, 32, was named sixth man of the year in 2010, but he’s never made an All-Star team.

— Reported by Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times

Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss are finally engaged

Former LA Lakers coach Phil Jackson has finally popped the question to his longtime girlfriend Jeanie Buss — after 12 years of dating — but the real question … could this affect the Zen Master’s possible coaching gig with the Brooklyn Nets?

Our Lakers source tells us the engagement went down on Christmas day, but Jeanie — daughter of Lakers owner Jerry Buss — didn’t reveal the ring until moments ago.

— Reported by TMZ.com

Rajon Rondo opens up about Celtics losses

Rondo said the search for who they are as a team isn’t the most frustrating aspect of what’s happening this season.

“The frustrating part is we’re losing,” he said. “Regardless of how many combinations we’ve had, how many different starting lineups we’ve had, we’re still losing. I’m a sore loser. It’s tough to lose.”

Avoiding that feeling won’t get any easier with the Indiana Pacers coming to town on Friday and a road game at Atlanta the following night.

“I’m a confident player. We’re a confident team,” Rondo said. “We just haven’t found our way now.”

— Reported by A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE

LeBron misses practice due to bruised knee

LeBron James sat out of Thursday’s practice to receive extensive treatment for his bruised right knee but hopes to play in Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.

It wasn’t initially clear whether James aggravated the slight knee injury during the Heat’s 119-109 overtime victory against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. But James has dealt with soreness in both knees for much of the season.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t reveal James’ latest injury during his session with reporters immediately after Thursday’s practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. But during the final stages of practice that were open to the media, James was seen riding a stationary bike.

— Reported by Michael Wallace of ESPN.com

Cavs assign forward Jon Leuer to D-League

The Cleveland Cavaliers toady re-assigned second-year forward Jon Leuer to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers’ NBA Development League affiliate. The assignment is the record 90th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons and the second for Leuer, who is one of a record 46 NBA players to be assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate this season.

Leuer (6-10, 228, Wisconsin) returns to the Charge following a six-game assignment earlier in the season, when he averaged 20.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 35.8 minutes. He has appeared in five games for the Cavaliers this season, averaging 3.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 14.4 minutes. Originally selected in the second round (40th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, Leuer played in 46 games for Milwaukee last season. In 51 career NBA games, Leuer has averaged 4.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 12.3 minutes.

A four-year contributor for the Badgers, Leuer averaged 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 123 career NCAA games (68 starts). As a senior, Leuer led Wisconsin with 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and was a First Team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches.

Leuer is expected to join the Charge today and be available tonight when they face the Springfield Armor in Massachusetts.

Mike James to audition for Dallas Mavericks

In an attempt to convince the Dallas Mavericks that he can help them, veteran point guard Mike James is joining the D-League’s Texas Legends in time for Saturday’s game against Tulsa, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

After playing for 10 NBA teams, most recently last season with the Chicago Bulls, James has cleared the D-League waiver process to become eligible to sign with the Legends as a free agent.

James arrived in town Thursday with no guarantees from the Mavericks, sources said, but the 37-year-old has been lobbying them to let him audition for a roster spot by playing in a few games with the Legends to prove he can help stabilize their backcourt.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Pacers re-assign Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson to D-League

The Indiana Pacers today re-assigned Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s NBA Development League affiliate. The assignments are the record 88th and 89th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons, while Plumlee and Johnson are two of the 46 players who have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Plumlee (6-11, 255, Duke) re-joins the Mad Ants following four previous assignments when he played in six games and averaged 14.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 33.0 minutes. He has appeared in six games for the Pacers this season, averaging 1.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 3.7 minutes.

Selected 26th overall by the Pacers in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft, Plumlee was a four-year member of the Blue Devils, where he won an NCAA Championship in 2010.

Johnson (6-5, 220, UC-Santa Barbara) has appeared in three games for Indiana this season. In his previous two assignments with Fort Wayne, Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals.

Selected in the second round (36th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings, Johnson was acquired by the Pacers via trade on June 28, 2012. In just three seasons at UC-Santa Barbara, Johnson became the Gauchos all-time leading scorer (1,825 points), and is the only player in school history to have scored 500 or more points in a season three times. His 674 points as a junior and 39 points in a game vs. Cal-Davis are also school records

Plumlee and Johnson are expected to be in available tonight when the team hosts Santa Cruz Warriors.