February 2013 – Page 33 – NBA Blog

Melo scores 25 as Knicks beat Bucks 96-86

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to three games with a 96-86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

J.R. Smith had 17 points and Tyson Chandler pulled down 20 rebounds in New York’s fourth straight win over Milwaukee.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 19 points and seven rebounds. Monta Ellis added 16 points and Brandon Jennings had 14.

The Knicks trailed for the majority of the game until late in the third quarter when they stormed back…

After Jennings’ layup made it 78-75, the Knicks went on an 8-2 run and never looked back. Iman Shumpert scored on a layup and Chandler followed with a dunk to make it 82-75. Marquis Daniels answered with a layup for Milwaukee but Shumpert made another basket and Felton followed with a 3-pointer to make it 87-77 before the Bucks called timeout with 4:58 to go…

The Knicks honored former New York City Mayor Ed Koch during a timeout in the first quarter. Koch died of congestive heart failure Friday at 88. … New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia was in attendance. … The Bucks had won 12 of 14 before losing four straight to the Knicks. … The Bucks are 0-12 when held to 90 points or fewer this season. They scored 88 in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

— Reported by Adriano Torres of the Associated Press

Rudy Gay has 20 in debut, Raptors rout Clippers 98-73

The way Blake Griffin saw it, a sloppy effort by the Los Angeles Clippers only made things easier for Rudy Gay and the fired-up Raptors.

Gay wowed a sellout crowd by scoring 20 points in his Toronto debut, leading the Raptors to a 98-73 rout of the short-handed Clippers on Friday night.

”The way we played had a big effect on their flow,” Griffin said. ”Not to take anything away from them – they did a good job – but our defense was terrible.”

The Clippers were pretty terrible on offense, too, setting season lows for points and field goal percentage (34.7). Los Angeles’ previous low in points was 76 at Brooklyn on Nov. 23, while its previous low in field goal percentage was 36.6 on Jan. 19 in a home win over Washington.

”We didn’t execute very well, we didn’t shoot it very well,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. ”We struggled in a lot of areas.”

Amir Johnson had 19 points and matched his career high with 16 rebounds for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan also scored 19 as Toronto welcomed Gay with a winning effort two days after the high-scoring forward was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade that included Detroit…

John Lucas scored 17 and Aaron Gray had seven points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who handed the Clippers their fourth straight loss in Toronto and their largest defeat of the season…

Griffin had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who were without point guard Chris Paul (bruised right kneecap) for the sixth straight game…

Jamal Crawford scored 14 points, Caron Butler had 12 and Eric Bledsoe 10 for Los Angeles, which has dropped five of eight overall.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

David West scores 30, Pacers beat Heat 102-89

Indiana did it again Friday night.

And this time, the Pacers beat Miami at its own game.

David West scored 30 points, Paul George added 17 and Indiana became the second team to beat the defending champs twice this season with a 102-89 victory.

The Pacers (28-19) have won 13 in a row at home and two straight since ending a three-game losing streak earlier this week. They’ve also won three straight regular-season games over the Heat and have not lost to Miami since the Heat swept the final three games of the Eastern Conference semifinal series last spring.

For Miami (29-14), it was a frustrating night. While players and coaches promised to play a more physical game than the first one, the 87-77 loss on Jan. 8 also at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, it didn’t make much difference.

The Heat still got outrebounded, and allowed the Pacers to shoot a season-high 55.7 percent from the field. During one stretch, West made 11 straight baskets.

How frustrating was it? Three different Miami players and coach Erik Spoelstra drew technical fouls.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

New York Knicks to host 150 Sandy Hook children, others

The New York Knicks will host 150 children, their families and teachers from Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.

Twenty or more children from the Newtown (Conn.) Choir from Sabrinas Encore Products will sing the national anthem before the Knicks’ game against the Sacramento Kings.

The Knicks organization visited Newtown, where 20 children and six adults were shot and killed at the school in December, on Tuesday.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Pacers expect Danny Granger return date to be before All-Star game

Pacers coach Frank Vogel says Danny Granger could be back on the court before the All-Star break in mid-February.

Granger has been out all season with a patellar tendinosis in his left knee, but was cleared to participate in full contact practice for the first time Thursday. Vogel says he worked for 20 minutes in half-court sets.

In early November, the Pacers said Granger could miss up to three months after getting an injection in his injured knee. Granger has been mostly quiet since the announcement.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Celtics forward Jared Sullinger out for season after surgery

Big injury hits keep striking the Boston Celtics. First starting point guard Rajon Rondo, and now a prized rookie who was having a solid first season.

The Celtics announced forward Jared Sullinger underwent successful lumbar disc surgery today at the New England Baptist Hospital. Surgery was performed by the medical staff at the New England Baptist Hospital which is under the direction of Celtics Team Physician, Dr. Brian McKeon. Sullinger is expected to be ready in time for training camp for the 2013-14 season.

Sullinger, a 6’9” forward, appeared in 45 games for the Celtics this season averaging 6.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game. He posted a season-high of 16 rebounds against Phoenix on January 9 and recorded a season-high of 16 points twice (November 18 against Detroit, December 25 against Brooklyn).

LeBron James, Tony Parker named NBA Players of Month for January, 2013

Miami Heat forward LeBron James and San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.

James captured his third straight Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month award by ranking second in the conference in scoring (27.0 ppg), third in field goal percentage (.555), fourth in steals (1.92 spg), fifth in assists (7.2 apg), and 16th in rebounds (8.1 rpg). In January, James scored at least 20 points in 12 games, at least 25 points in seven games and 30 or more points in five games. He became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points when he achieved the feat at Golden State on Jan.16.

Parker helped the Spurs to a 12-3 record in January, tied with the Denver Nuggets for the best mark in the league. He ranked third in the conference in assists (7.9 apg), sixth in scoring (21.9 ppg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.563), scoring at least 20 points in 12 games , including two 30-plus point games. He notched five point-assist double-doubles during the month, including dishing out a season-high 13 assists in a 106-102 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Jan. 23.

Other nominees for NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez, Chicago’s Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, Denver’s Danilo Gallinari, Houston’s James Harden, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge and Washington’s Emeka Okafor.

Matt Barnes suspended one game for striking Greg Stiemsma in neck

Matt Barnes of the Los Angeles Clippers has been suspended one game without pay for striking Greg Stiemsma of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the neck, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 8:26 remaining in the second quarter of the Clippers’ 96-90 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at Target Center.

Barnes will serve his suspension tonight when the Clippers visit the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

To view the play, click on this link.

Luke Harangody named D-League Player of Month for January

Fort Wayne Mad Ants forward Luke Harangody has been named NBA Development League Player of the Month for games played in January. The honor is the first of Harangody’s career.

Harangody (6-8, 240, Notre Dame) led Fort Wayne (13-14) to an 8-4 record during January, averaging 18.5 points on 45 percent shooting from the floor, to go with 9.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. He scored in double figures in 10 of the 11 games he played in, including five 20-plus point performances, and a season-high 31 points to go with 12 rebounds in a 113-106 loss to the Los Angeles D-Fenders on Jan. 19. He led the team in scoring six times in January and was the team’s leading rebounder in nine games.

Harangody has appeared in 13 games for Fort Wayne this season, ranking second in the East Division with 13.4 rebounds per game and fifth in the East with 21.4 points per game. He was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week on Jan. 14.

Fifteen other top NBA D-League prospects were considered for the honor, including Austin’s Cory Joseph, on assignment from the San Antonio Spurs, Bakersfield’s Jerel McNeal, Canton’s Kyle Gibson, Erie’s D.J. Kennedy, Idaho’s Coby Karl, Iowa’s Chris Wright, Los Angeles’ Courtney Fortson, Maine’s DaJuan Summers, Reno’s Walker Russell, Jr., Rio Grande Valley’s Andrew Goudelock, Santa Cruz’s Stefhon Hannah, Springfield’s James Mays, Sioux Falls’ Demetris Nichols, Texas’ Sean Singletary and Tulsa’s Jeremy Lamb, on assignment from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

NBA Players Association places Billy Hunter on leave of absence

The NBA Players Association announced Friday that embattled union chief Billy Hunter has been placed on indefinite leave of absence.

Longtime union lawyer Ron Klempner will be appointed acting executive director of the union until every member of the union “can have a vote in the matter,” the NBPA said.

The NBPA also announced that it has formed an interim executive committee and advisory committee “to move the organization forward” in the wake of a damaging report by an independent firm (Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison) hired to look into the union’s business practices under Hunter’s leadership. The interim executive committee will consist of the five active members of the most recent executive board, according to union bylaws.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com