Month: February 2013

Pacers beat Warriors after 4th-quarter scuffle

If the Indiana Pacers learned anything from their 108-97 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, it’s exactly how close they are as a team.

Team unity and having each other’s back has been a theme for the Pacers, and they had a chance to show it when center Roy Hibbert got involved in a fourth-quarter scuffle.

Hibbert was ejected following the skirmish that began when he and David Lee exchanged shoves under the basket after a missed shot.

”There were two or three guys coming after (Hibbert),” Pacers forward David West said. ”We preach and talk about togetherness, so that’s part of what we’re going to do. We’re going to defend one another. They came after him too many times.”

West, who had 28 points and seven rebounds, also was called for a technical foul, along with the Warriors’ Lee, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, for the altercation.

No players left the bench…

George Hill had 23 points and seven assists, and Paul George had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers (36-21), who have won five straight.

Curry scored a season-high 38 points and Thompson had 13 for the Warriors (33-24), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

— Reported by Jim Johnson of the Associated Press

Magic beat Sixers, end 10-game road losing streak

Players were high-fiving and telling jokes in the giddy postgame locker room.

It was a rare and pleasant atmosphere for the Orlando Magic, especially on the road.

Arron Afflalo and Tobias Harris scored 16 points apiece and the Magic snapped a 10-game road losing streak with a 98-84 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

”It feels great,” said forward Maurice Harkless. ”Guys feel good about themselves and it shows what hard work can do. There are a lot of smiles around here for a change on the road.”

Andrew Nicholson contributed 13 and Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and 19 rebounds for the Magic (16-41), who hadn’t won on the road since Jan. 12 against the Los Angeles Clippers.

E’Twaun Moore had 12 points and a career-high 10 assists, while Harkless had 10 points for the Magic…

Damien Wilkins scored a season-high 14 points and Jeremy Pargo also had 14 for the 76ers. Dorell Wright had 11 and Evan Turner 10 for Philadelphia, which fell a season-worst 11 games under .500 at 22-33…

Orlando is also dealing with its share of injuries, but it was hardly evident on this night. It played without guard Jameer Nelson (left knee) and forwards Glen Davis (fractured left foot) and Hedo Turkoglu (NBA suspension).

— Reported by Andy Jasner of the Associated Press

Bulls forward Taj Gibson out with knee sprain

Taj Gibson is expected to miss at least two weeks with a sprained left knee, forcing the Chicago Bulls to play without one of their key reserves at a pivotal point in the season.

Gibson stepped on the foot of Oklahoma City guard Reggie Jackson in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 102-72 loss to the Thunder and knew something wasn’t right almost immediately.

”The first thing I did was grab my knee,” he said. ”I was in shock because I felt great. I went up for a regular shot block and I came down and it just gave way.”

Gibson had an MRI and was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament. He said doctors are planning to take another look to make sure there are no small tears.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Shane Battier out Tuesday with tight hamstring

Heat forward Shane Battier was held out of Miami’s game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night because of tightness in his right hamstring.

It’s the seventh game Battier has missed this season. He missed three games in late November and early December with knee soreness, and then sat out three more games in January with hamstring tightness.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the team wants ”to be proactive” when it comes to Battier.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Derek Fisher hopes for championship with Thunder

derek fisher

Five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher isn’t planning on his latest stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder being his last chance to play in the league. He has just one goal in mind and he’ll wear a reminder of it on his jersey in every game.

Fisher chose No. 6 to wear on his uniform, to represent his quest for a sixth NBA title. He won five alongside Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers and for the second straight season will join the Thunder for the stretch run to try and help Kevin Durant win his first.

“It symbolizes something for me in terms of No. 6 but it also symbolizes for me the reason why I’m here to be a part of this team and that’s to help get No. 1,” Fisher said Tuesday after his first practice.

Fisher wore No. 37 last season to reflect his age and deliver a message that he could still play after getting traded away by the Lakers. He wasn’t offered the chance to return to Oklahoma City during the offseason, but he was signed Monday as a free agent after the Thunder traded away third-string point guard Eric Maynor.

Reported by the Associated Press

Dennis Rodman on diplomacy mission to North Korea

Talk about an odd choice.

Dennis Rodman is in North Korea as an ambassador for sports diplomacy.

The flamboyant, basketball hall-of-famer arrived on Tuesday in Pyongyang with VICE television and three members of the Harlem Globetrotters for a news program on North Korea that will be aired by HBO later this year.

The free-spirited, hard-partying, heavily tatooed, five-time NBA champion sticks out like a sore thumb in the staid, buttoned-down dictatorship.

But Rodman and VICE said he will run a basketball camp for children and play in a game with North Korea’s top basketball players.

“Is sending the Harlem Globetrotters and Dennis Rodman to the DPRK strange? In a word, yes,” VICE founder Shane Smith told the Associated Press.

“But finding common ground on the basketball court is a beautiful thing.”

Reported by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun

Sacramento City Council to consider different deal on Kings arena than last time

Sacramento’s new plan to finance a downtown sports arena may wind up being vastly different than the deal reached last year between the city and the owners of the Sacramento Kings.

City officials said Monday they aren’t starting from scratch in their quest to develop a financing plan for an arena, but acknowledged in a staff report to the City Council that last year’s plan “and all its detail will likely change in this scenario.”

The City Council will be asked tonight to give top city officials the go-ahead to begin formal arena negotiations with a private investment group interested in buying the Kings and keeping them in Sacramento. The council is also being asked to commit $150,000 to pay consultants and attorneys to represent the city.

At the moment, the council still hasn’t officially been briefed on whom the city will be negotiating with. It’s widely known, however, that Mayor Kevin Johnson has been talking to Southern California billionaire Ron Burkle and 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov.

Reported by Ryan Lillis, Tony Bizjak and Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee

Mike Krzyzewski will not continue to coach USA Basketball

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will not return to coach USA Basketball after the Blue Devils’ season, he said Tuesday.

Talking in a phone interview with ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning”, Krzyzewski said USA Basketball will likely name his successor this summer in preparation for the 2014 world championships in Madrid.

“I’ve loved, loved, loved, and it’s been an honor being with the USA Basketball team,” Krzyzewski said. “And to coach the team and work with [chairman and president Jerry Colangelo] for seven years has been marvelous.

“And we’re in a good spot,” Krzyzewski added. “We need to keep building.”

— Reported by ESPN.com

Beno Udrih is thrilled to be with the Orlando Magic

beno udrih

In Orlando, Udrih already has a comfort level with coach Jacque Vaughn, who was his teammate in 2006-07 with the San Antonio Spurs.

“I’ve been here three days, and I’ve already felt more at home than I did in Milwaukee for a year and a half,” Udrih said Monday.

“It was just a bad situation there. I’m a professional and I’m a man, so I like to be told straight-up what they expect from me. So, in Milwaukee, that never happened. They were saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, we know. We’ve got to play you a little bit more.’ But it never happened. So when I did get into the game I didn’t know what they actually wanted to do, so I was just trying to find it myself, and I never did.”

“I wanted a change. I wanted a new start, so I’m really happy to be here. I know Jacque and J.B. [James Borrego], the assistant coach. It’s just a really exciting moment for me and my wife.”

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel