Day: February 12, 2013

Ridnour, Timberwolves end road skid, beat Cavs

luke ridnour

All the losses and injuries had been piling up for weeks on the Timberwolves. They were shaken, unsure, almost helpless to stop them.

They were desperate for a break. And finally, they got one.

Luke Ridnour scored 21 points, Ricky Rubio added 13 and 10 assists and Minnesota snapped an eight-game road losing streak, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 100-92 on Monday night.

”We needed that bad, man,” Ridnour said.

He made a critical 3-pointer with 1:43 left and scored 13 points in the fourth quarter for the banged-up Timberwolves, who hadn’t won on the road since Jan. 3 – star center Kevin Love’s last game before he was lost indefinitely with a broken hand.

Nikola Pekovic added 16 points and 10 rebounds as Minnesota ended a four-game losing streak and improved to just 4-16 since losing Love…

Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and Tristan Thompson had 16 for the Cavs, who were within 82-81 in the fourth before Ridnour sparked a 10-2 run by the Timberwolves. Minnesota shot 75 percent (12 of 16) in the fourth quarter, leaving Cleveland swingman C.J. Miles to call out his teammates…

Derrick Williams had 13 points and Mickael Gelabale and Alexey Shved added 11 apiece for the Timberwolves…

Wolves G J.J. Barea played 15 minutes after missing Sunday’s game with a sprained left foot. Minnesota was also without Andrei Kirilenko (strained quad), F Chase Budinger (knee surgery), G Brandon Roy (knee) and G Malcolm Lee (knee, hip surgery).

— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Byron Mullens, Bobcats end Celtics win streak 94-91

All in all, Monday proved to be a painful night for the Boston Celtics.

Not only did the Celtics have their seven-game losing streak snapped at the hands of the NBA’s worst team, but they might have suffered yet another costly injury in their 94-91 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats.

Backup guard Leandro Barbosa, who has seen increased playing time since the season-ending injury to Rajon Rondo, injured his left knee late in the third quarter and had to be carried to the locker room by a trainer and teammate.

Coach Doc Rivers said Barbosa will have an MRI on Tuesday.

”It doesn’t look great but we’ll see,” Rivers said…

This night belonged to Charlotte’s unheralded big man, Byron Mullens…

The 7-foot Mullens hit 10 of 16 shots from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Ramon Sessions had 19 points for the Bobcats, including the go-ahead jumper from 18 feet with 25.7 seconds left. Kemba Walker had 18 points, six assists and six rebounds, and Gerald Henderson chipped in with 16 points…

Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, but missed a key 18-footer that would have given Boston the lead late in the game. Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley had chances to send the game into overtime in the final seconds, but missed open 3-pointers.

Jeff Green had 18 points for the Celtics and Pierce finished with 13 points, eight assists and eight rebounds…

Bobcats center Bismack Biyombo was a force inside on the defensive end blocking four shots and grabbing seven defensive rebounds.

— Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

Andrew Bynum continues to experience knee pain

Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum, who has yet to play this season because of bone bruises to both knees, might have his possible return pushed back.

However, in a bit of semantic obfuscation, he insisted it wasn’t a setback.

Before the 76ers lost 107-90 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, Bynum said he experienced a lot of pain in his left knee after working out two consecutive days on the court. He said he is uncertain when he will be able to return, after saying last week that he hoped to be back by the end of the month.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Celtics guard Leandro Barbosa hurts knee

Already without Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger, the Boston Celtics suffered what could be another serious injury when guard Leandro Barbosa sustained a knee injury in Monday’s game against Charlotte.

The extent of the injury will not be known until an MRI is performed on Tuesday, but it did not look good.

Barbosa had to be helped off the floor by a teammate and a trainer.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange