February 2013 – Page 13 – NBA Blog

Wolves center Nikola Pekovic drops 27 points, 18 rebounds on Sixers

Nikola Pekovic had 27 points and tied a career high with 18 rebounds to power the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 94-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

Derrick Williams had 17 points and eight rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko added 15 points and five assists in his return from a thigh injury for the Timberwolves, who won for the fourth time in their last 20 games.

Evan Turner scored 17 points and Jrue Holiday scored 16 after making his All-Star debut on Sunday for the 76ers, who couldn’t come up with an answer for Pekovic in the paint in a rough and tumble game. Philadelphia has lost seven straight road games and has won just six times away from home all season, the third fewest wins in the NBA.

The Timberwolves never trailed, thanks in large part to Pekovic bulldozing his way through the Sixers big men. He dominated Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen throwing an array of jump hooks, baseline spins and dunks at a Philadelphia front line that wanted no part of the hulking Montenegrin.

The Timberwolves led by as many as 19 points in the first half against a lifeless Sixers team that watched Holiday get into early foul trouble and Turner score just two points in the first 24 minutes. An exasperated Doug Collins tried to send a message to start the second half, sending Kwame Brown and Damien Wilkins out in place of Hawes and Allen.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Zach Randolph leads Grizzlies past Raptors

Zach Randolph had 17 points and 18 rebounds, Mike Conley scored 17 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won their fifth straight game Wednesday, beating the Toronto Raptors 88-82.

Toronto’s Rudy Gay came up short against his former team as the Raptors had their five-game winning streak ended.

Acquired from Memphis in a three-team trade on Jan. 30, Gay had 13 points and nine rebounds but struggled with his shooting, making just five of 15 attempts. He also had a game-high five turnovers.

Tony Allen scored 12 points and Tayshaun Prince had 11 as the Grizzlies won for the eighth time in nine meetings with the Raptors and posted their fourth straight win in Toronto.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Paul George scores 27, Pacers wreck Knicks 125-91

Paul George scored 27 points and the Indiana Pacers powered their way closer to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the New York Knicks 125-91 on Wednesday night.

David West had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Lance Stephenson added 14 points for Indiana (33-21), which pulled within a half-game of the Knicks for second place in the East.

The Pacers shot 53 percent from the field, scored a season-high point total and had a season-best 28 assists against the Atlantic Division leaders. It was Indiana’s largest margin of victory this season and New York’s worst loss.

Tyson Chandler led New York with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony, the league’s No. 2 scorer, finished with 15 points on 7-for-21 shooting.

George, fresh off a strong performance in his first All-Star Game appearance, made 11 of 19 shots and grabbed eight rebounds.

New York was called for three individual technical fouls and a flagrant foul, and J.R. Smith was ejected…

New York shot just 33 percent in the first half. Anthony scored eight points on 4-for-10 shooting before the break.

— Reported by Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press

Patrick Patterson to Kings, Marcus Morris to Suns, Thomas Robinson to Rockets

The Houston Rockets have reached separate agreements on trades that will send Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas to Sacramento and Marcus Morris to Phoenix, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The Rockets will receive Thomas Robinson, the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt from the Kings, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced and was still pending league approval.

In the other deal, the person said the Rockets will receive a future second-round pick from the Suns in exchange for Morris, who will join his twin older brother, Markieff, on the Phoenix roster.

“If I was to be traded, that’s where I would want to go,” Marcus Morris said outside the Rockets’ locker room. “I think Houston knew that. That’s all I did was talk about my brother and how happy I was to play with him. I’m excited. That’s all I can say.”

Patterson, Aldrich and Douglas walked out of the Toyota Center just as Houston was starting its game against Oklahoma City, on the eve of the trading deadline.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Clippers are not in a trading mood

The Clippers indicated Wednesday that they have no plans to make any trades before the NBA’s deadline Thursday at noon PST.

Even Coach Vinny Del Negro said after practice the team is not looking to make moves because he and his staff like the team that they have.

The most prevalent rumor had back-up point guard Eric Bledsoe and center DeAndre Jordan going to the Boston Celtics for center Kevin Garnett.

Because Bledsoe, 23, and Jordan, 25, are so young, Del Negro was asked whether he needed to talk with them about the rumors.

“No, because if I felt it was necessary, I would do that,” Del Negro said. “But there are a bunch of needs out there. Like you said, they are young players that teams covet and that’s a good thing. That’s a good thing for us. That’s a good thing for them.

— Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Rockets weighing options to trade Marcus Morris

With the Rockets close to trading forward Marcus Morris, Morris was placed on the inactive list before Wednesday’s game as the Rockets considered options.

“Morris is being held out because the team is considering two possible trade options involving him,” a person familiar with the situation said.

Morris is averaging 8.6 points per game, making 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers, the second-best shooting percentage from beyond the arc of the Rockets regulars. After rarely playing last season, he has started 17 games and is among the first players off the Rockets’ bench.

— Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

Bill Walker signs with Austin Toros in D-League

The Austin Toros today announced they have signed small forward Bill Walker. Walker will meet the team in Iowa tomorrow for back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday against the Energy.

Walker (6-6, 235, Kansas State) was the 47th overall pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2008 NBA draft. He was then traded to the Boston Celtics. While on the Celtics roster, Walker was assigned to the NBA D-League, playing for the Utah Flash in 2008 and the Maine Red Claws in 2009. In February, 2010 Walker was part of a trade deal that sent him to the New York Knicks. In three seasons (09-10 to 11-12), Walker played 120 games with the Knicks. Walker averaged 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 19.4 minutes played his final season with New York.

In his 2007-08 season at Kansas State, Walker averaged 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 31 games. After graduating high school, Walker played on the undefeated (5-0) USA White team at the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival.

Walker will wear jersey No. 11 for the Toros. Fans can watch the Toros-Energy matchup Thursday and Friday night on NBADLeague.com powered by YouTube at 9:00pm Central. The teams will play at Cedar Park Center this Sunday, February 24th at 3:00pm.

Sidney Lowe offers apology after being arrested

Utah Jazz assistant coach Sidney Lowe offered a public apology through his attorney two days after being arrested for not paying North Carolina state income taxes from 2009-11.

In an email to the Deseret News, Lowe’s North Carolina-based lawyer Lee Turner gave this statement from his client:

“I would like to apologize to the Utah Jazz organization and Jazz fans for the situation that was reported publicly yesterday (Monday),” Lowe stated. “This is a personal matter that I take very seriously. I am working very hard to get the issue resolved in a timely manner and I am cooperating fully with all parties involved.”

Lowe maintained a low profile on Tuesday after rejoining the Jazz following his legal issues that took place at his home in Wake Forest, N.C., on Monday morning. He was arrested, charged with three misdemeanors, and then released on a $10,000 bond.

— Reported by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News

Charles Barkley turns 50 years old today

Born on Feb. 20, 1963, Charles Wade Barkley rose from those humble beginnings to become a superstar that few would describe as humble.

Brash and bruising, Barkley established himself as one of greatest power forwards in league history; despite being just 6-foot-4 (he was often listed as 6-6). He was a relentless rebounder – earning the moniker “The Round Mound of Rebound” – and a prolific scorer as he finished his 16-year career with 23,757 points and 12,546 boards.

Drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the fifth pick in a legendary draft class which included Olajuwon (first overall), Jordan (third) and John Stockton (16), Barkley learned the NBA ropes from veterans Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney.

During the 1986-87 season, Barkley became the man in Philly as he made his first of 11 trips to the All-Star Game.

His career-best season, however, would come in 1992-93 as a member of the Phoenix Suns. Barkley won the MVP award as he guided the Suns to the best record in the league (62-20) and a trip to the Finals. In the championship series, Barkley’s best wasn’t enough against Jordan and his two-time defending champion Chicago Bulls.

— Reported by Justin Boyd of the Houston Chronicle

Coach Kevin McHale does not expect Rockets to make trades

With so many players heading to their first or second trade deadline, Rockets coach Kevin McHale felt no need to address the potential of deals and the need to not be distracted by uncertainty. But he had reason to believe his young team was not concerned.

“We’re not doing anything,” McHale said. “I’d be shocked if we do anything.”

McHale said he has addressed the deadline in other seasons, but has not felt the need to reassure anyone this season, though much can change by Thursday’s 2 p.m. trade deadline. Daryl Morey has made at least one deadline move at each of his previous five seasons as Rockets general manager.

“You have no control over it anyway,” McHale said. “I think it’s an overblown, crazy thing for people. You have no control over it. I never put much stock in it. I don’t believe we’re doing anything anyway, but there are years there are lots of rumors. I just say, ‘Look I have no idea if they’re going to trade you or not. Right now, you’re here with us. Let’s play.’

— Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Blog)