February 2013 – Page 19 – NBA Blog

Paul Millsap welcomes rest during low-key All-Star break

Jazz forward Paul Millsap won’t be partying during the All-Star break.

Bruised and fatigued after starting every one of Utah’s first 54 games this season, Millsap plans a low-key mini-vacation in Salt Lake City.

“I’m going to be at home — resting,” Millsap said. “I like beaches and things, but it’s not the time. I just don’t want to do nothing right now. I don’t even want to leave the house.”

In the Jazz’s final game before the break on Wednesday night, Millsap scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds during a 97-93 win at Minnesota.

— Reported by Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune

J.R. Smith wants better Knicks defense

It seems that everyone, from Mike Woodson on down, is searching for ways to clean up the Knicks’ porous defense.

On Wednesday night, J.R. Smith offered his take, hinting that the Knicks’ need to improve on D.

“We haven’t been that defensive team that we started off the season as. We were aggressive. Everybody was communicating. Everybody was excited to play. It just hasn’t been like that the last 10, 12 games,” Smith said after the Knicks’ loss to Toronto.

He’s right, by the way.

Over the last 10 games, the Knicks rank 23rd in opponent field goal percentage (47 percent) and 20th in defensive efficiency, a measure of points allowed per 100 possessions. They ranked sixth and fourth, respectively, in those categories after the first nine games of the season.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Mavs may have interest in Eric Gordon

The odds of the New Orleans Hornets trading shooting guard Eric Gordon before the Feb. 21 deadline are slim.

The odds of the Mavs trading for Gordon before the deadline are much closer to none.

However, ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports in an Insider column that the Mavs, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors are among the teams that have inquired about Gordon. In the cases of the Mavs and Rockets – a couple of teams that will have enough cap space to enter the Dwight Howard summer sweepstakes – the inquiries are likely about exploring a potential offseason fallback option…

Is Gordon worth that kind of money when the Mavs could probably re-sign O.J. Mayo for significantly less?

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Clippers beat Rockets 106-96 for 3rd straight win

The Clippers shot 77 percent and scored 46 points in the first quarter, then lost their killer instinct the rest of the game.

But they still led all the way in earning their third straight victory, 106-96 over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Caron Butler scored 17 of his 19 points in the opening quarter for Los Angeles. Blake Griffin had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Chauncey Billups had 19 points, Jamal Crawford scored 13 points and Chris Paul had 10 points and 11 assists as the Clippers started all their regulars again after the lineup had been hit by injuries during their recent Grammy road trip.

”We played great and got a little complacent with the lead,” Billups said. ”We’ve shown to lose our discipline sometimes.”

Chandler Parsons scored 17 points, Jeremy Lin added 14 points and James Anderson had a season-high 14 for the Rockets, who have lost five straight to the Clippers and three of five overall.

”They came out on fire and we didn’t do a good job of making it difficult for them,” Lin said. ”Once they got in a rhythm, it just kind of snowballed at least in the first quarter.”

Lin was set to have an X-ray on his right wrist after a fall in the second quarter.

”I think it’s fine. It just hurts,” he said.

James Harden missed the game with a sprained right ankle and sore left knee after stepping on David Lee’s left shoe in the fourth quarter against Golden State.

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Vince Carter passes Larry Bird as Mavs put away Kings 123-100

Move over, Larry Legend. Vinsanity still has a few special moments in him.

Vince Carter scored 26 points to pass Larry Bird on the NBA’s career scoring list, and the Dallas Mavericks headed into the All-Star break with a 123-100 victory against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

Carter earned his nickname with circus dunks but can’t quite rattle the rim like he used to. He’s more dangerous these days from one of the places where Bird did plenty of damage: the 3-point line.

The 14-year veteran turned aside a Sacramento rally in the third quarter by going 5 of 7 from long range and scoring 17 of Dallas’ last 21 points in the period. He ended the night with 21,796 career points for 29th on the all-time list, five ahead of Bird.

”There were open shots and I was shooting them to make them. I wasn’t shooting to get attention,” said Carter, who also became the 11th NBA player with at least 1,600 3-pointers. ”I’ve talked to Larry before. He is a legend and one of the greatest to play the game.”

Tyreke Evans scored 23 for the Kings, who lost their 18th straight regular season game in Dallas dating back almost 10 years.

The 3-pointer that pushed Carter past Bird came from a couple of feet behind the line with 2.9 seconds left in the third quarter and gave Dallas a 92-77 lead.

— Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

Al Jefferson powers Jazz over Wolves 97-93

During his three years in Minnesota, Timberwolves fans saw everything Al Jefferson showed in a Utah Jazz uniform on Wednesday night. The endless pump fakes, the odd-angle jumpers, the tenacity on the boards.

Everything except the big fella running a coast-to-coast break and igniting what proved to be a game-deciding run.

Jefferson had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Paul Millsap scored 21 points to power the Utah Jazz to a 97-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

”He’s cat-quick now,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said with a smile. ”He’s always saying he’s a (small forward). That was a good look.”

Jefferson helped the Jazz overcome a sluggish start against his former team to pick up a rare road win against a Western Conference opponent. Utah now has four wins in 17 road games in the West.

Big Al spent three seasons in Minnesota after being traded from Boston as part of a package for Kevin Garnett, and he endeared himself to the long-suffering fan base here with his creative low post game. He was traded to Utah in 2010, partly so the Wolves could make room for Kevin Love in the frontcourt. Love is out with a right hand that is broken for the second time this season, and Jefferson had his way with the rest of the Wolves down low…

Derrick Williams had 24 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Ricky Rubio had 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves, who shot a season-low 34 percent.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Hornets roll past Trail Blazers, 99-63

Anthony Davis stormed down the lane, soared over a cluster of players under the basket, snagged a missed layup as it bounced off the front rim and slammed it down.

With that, the worst scoring slump the Hornets’ celebrated rookie could ever recall at any level of basketball ended.

Davis had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets handed the Portland Trail Blazers their fifth straight loss, 99-63 on Wednesday night.

”When you see the ball go through – a free throw, jump shot, layup, dunk, whatever it is – the confidence just builds back up,” Davis said. ”When I got that first dunk, the confidence was rising and I just tried to keep feeding on it.”

Davis, whose 0-for-7 shooting night on Monday in Detroit made him 1 of 13 in his previous two games, was 10 of 17 against Portland. He scored on an array of dunks, tip-shots and even jumpers from as deep as 20 feet.

For Davis, it seemed like a just result after he went to the practice gym on Tuesday – while the rest of the team was given the day off – and worked on his shooting.

”I was trying to keep my mind right,” said Davis, who’s been selected to play in an exhibition game involving top young players during this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities in Houston. ”I wasn’t going to take the day off.”

Ryan Anderson added 14 points and Jason Smith 13, both in reserve roles. Greivis Vasquez had 10 points and eight assists.

Damian Lillard had 12 points and Victor Claver 11 for Portland, which lost starting guard Wesley Matthews to a sprained right ankle early in the game and played poorly throughout, shooting 32.4 percent (24 of 74) and turning the ball over 18 times.

— Reported by Brett Martel of the Associated Press

Celtics hold on for 71-69 win over Bulls

Celtics coach Doc Rivers offered Kevin Garnett the night off to get him the rest he’s losing by playing in this weekend’s All-Star game.

Good thing for the Celtics that Garnett turned it down.

The All-Star center scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and added 11 rebounds to help the Celtics overcome historically poor shooting and beat the Chicago Bulls 71-69 on Wednesday night.

”I’m seeing everybody in here playing through everything. I’m no different from that,” said Garnett, who played 26 minutes. ”Everybody’s tired. I felt like that was unfair. If he wasn’t going to give everybody the night off, then that wasn’t an option. I just came out and gave what I could.”

Paul Pierce went only 2 for 12 from the floor, but he hit a 3-pointer that bounced around the rim and in to give Boston a five-point lead with 3 minutes to play. The Celtics shot just 36.8 percent but still had the advantage over the Bulls, who made just 36.5 percent of their shots.

”I told them before the game I wasn’t going to play Kevin much and there was a chance I may not play him,” said Rivers, who had wanted to leave Garnett home for Monday’s game in Charlotte but got talked into playing him there. ”I told them it’s going to be an ugly game. … And this is before the game.

Joakim Noah had 10 points and 16 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer had 11 and 11 for Chicago. Reserve Marco Belinelli added 12 points in under 20 minutes for the Bulls.

— Reported by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press

C.J. Watson steps up, Nets beat Nuggets 119-108

Joe Johnson scored 26 points, including five 3-pointers, C.J Watson added 25 points and five 3s, and the Brooklyn Nets came away with a 119-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

All-Star center Brook Lopez had 23 points and eight rebounds and Kris Humphries chipped in 14 points for Brooklyn.

The 119 points were a season high for the Nets. They also tied a season-high with 16 3-pointers.

Brooklyn is now 2-1 in games played without star point guard Deron Williams, who has sat out the last two games due to sore ankles.

Ty Lawson led the Nuggets with 26 points and hit all of his five 3-point attempts. Denver has lost three in a row after winning a season-high seven straight games.

Jordan Hamilton had 15 points and JaVale McGee added 14 points for the Nuggets. Andre Miller scored eight points and had 10 assists.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Raptors beat Knicks 92-88 for 4th straight win

Reserve Alan Anderson scored 26 points in one of the few good offensive performances for either team, and the Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 92-88 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.

DeMar DeRozan added 20 points for the Raptors, who overcame a 4-for-21 performance from Rudy Gay because Knicks star Carmelo Anthony was just as bad. Anthony finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds but shot 5 of 24 for the Knicks, who dropped their final two games leading into the All-Star break.

J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 26 points. Raymond Felton had 16 but shot 3 of 9, while Amare Stoudemire was 4 of 13 and had one particularly ghastly miss from right at the basket on his way to 10 points.

Gay finished with 11 points one night after hitting the go-ahead basket with 4.9 seconds left in a victory over Denver. That was his second such basket in three games since his trade from Memphis, but the Raptors had to look elsewhere this time for someone to pick them up in a game that was poorly played and poorly officiated.

They found it in Anderson, who finished a point shy of his career high. Kyle Lowry and John Lucas III both had 12 points, Lucas playing most of the second half after Lowry was ejected.

The Knicks shot 35 percent and settled for an ugly finish to their best first half in 16 years. They lost three of their final four games and take a 32-18 mark to the All-Star break…

Anthony said he was hurt early in the game when he was hit by DeRozan’s elbow, causing a deep contusion that caused numbness. He said he will wait to see how it feels before determining if he can start as scheduled in Sunday’s All-Star game.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press