February 2013 – Page 7 – NBA Blog

Wizards aiming to be clutch by committee

The Wizards don’t have a proven superstar or an established go-to guy who they can get the ball to in the final seconds, get out of the way and let him operate.

The clutch-by-committee philosophy certainly served as a disadvantage early on, as they racked up close defeats. And that certainly isn’t the preferred situation for contending teams that can simply draw something up for LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony or even Joe Johnson and live with the results.

But Coach Randy Wittman doesn’t go into late-game possessions determined to set up one individual, relying mostly on his gut while seeking to exploit mismatches on the floor. The hero emerges within the flow of the game, rather than from reputation.

Wittman has managed to make it work in recent weeks, with the team winning 13 of 22 and calling on everyone from Bradley Beal, to Nene, to John Wall, to even the recently-dealt Jordan Crawford, to make a play with the game on the line.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post (Blog)

LeBron gets triple-double, Heat beat 76ers for 10th straight win

Before he took a seat on the bench, LeBron James made sure to grab one more rebound.

James had 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 35th career triple-double and the Miami Heat cruised to their 10th straight win, 114-90 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

The three-time NBA MVP knew he was one board away from a special night so he went after it hard early in the fourth quarter. After Chris Anderson blocked Evan Turner’s shot, James hauled it in, drove up court and banked a shot in for good measure.

”I was going to stay out there until I got it,” James said. ”I wasn’t going to let this one slip away. I’ve had too many games where I was one assist, one rebound away. I wasn’t coming out.”

Dwyane Wade had 33 points, Mario Chalmers scored 14 and Chris Bosh added 13 to help the defending NBA champions improve to 39-14. The Heat have a comfortable 5 1/2-game lead over Indiana in the Eastern Conference.

They’ve won four in a row on the road, including impressive wins over Oklahoma City before the All-Star break and Chicago on Thursday.

”It was a professional win,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”LeBron started it with his unselfishness, finding the open guy, making it contagious. Then it was an efficient shooting night.”

Jrue Holiday scored 21 points and Nick Young had 19 for Philadelphia, which continues to fall further behind in the playoff chase. The Sixers entered 3 1/2 games behind Milwaukee for the No. 8 spot in the East.

— Reported by Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press

Nuggets end road woes with win over Bobcats

Ty Lawson has set a goal for the Denver Nuggets as they close the regular season: eighteen wins.

Denver took a step in the right direction Saturday night, pulling away from the Charlotte Bobcats in the fourth quarter for a 113-99 win that snapped a four-game road losing streak.

Lawson had a team-high 20 points, marking the 13th time in 19 games he’s reached the 20-point plateau, and JaVale McGee had 17 points, including seven of his team’s 14 dunks.

”If we get to 53 or 54 (wins) I think that we’ll get that fourth seed” in the playoffs, Lawson said. ”But we know it’s going to be a grind for the next couple weeks, couple months.”

Perhaps not – if Lawson keeps playing the way he has.

Nuggets coach George Karl said Lawson has developed a better understanding of the rhythm of the game and is becoming more assertive in running the offense. He also said Lawson is gaining confidence with his jumper – something he didn’t have earlier this season.

The rest, Karl said, might be out of his hands.

— Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

Wizards fend off Rockets threes for 105-103 win

The Rockets dominated early with an impressive 3-point shooting display and finished with more attempts than any NBA team this season. The Wizards countered by going big and going inside and it paid off when the former league laughingstock took down another winning team.

Bradley Beal scored 21 points and Emeka Okafor had 17 points, 11 rebounds and made the go-ahead free throw with 5.2 seconds remaining to help the Washington defeat Houston 105-103 on Saturday night.

Trevor Ariza added 18 points and John Wall had 12 points and 11 assists for the Wizards, who came back from a 17-point deficit for their second straight win. Washington, winner of 10 of its last 12 home games, scored 54 points in the paint to offset the 57 points Houston scored on 19 3-pointers.

James Harden scored 27 points and Chandler Parsons had 24 with five 3-pointers for the Rockets, who had won their first two games after the All-Star break. Houston attempted 46 3-pointers, the most in the NBA this season and three shy of the league record. The Rockets made 13 from beyond the arc in the first half, one off the NBA record they tied against Golden State on Feb. 5.

”We just wanted to make it tough, make them make contested shots,” Wall said. ”In the first half they weren’t missing. Second half we kind of got into more defensively, changed some of our game plans up and just executed on the other half.”

— Reported by Benjamin Standig of the Associated Press

Cavaliers pound Magic 118-94

Kyrie Irving has proven multiple times this season that he can be an unrelenting scorer when he needs to be.

Against the Magic, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ young point guard showed he can also do some damage when he’s creating opportunities for his teammates.

Marreese Speights scored 18 points, Alonzo Gee added 17 and the Cavaliers used a big fourth quarter to run past the Magic 118-94 on Saturday night.

Irving chipped in with 12 points, but had a game-high nine assists in just three quarters of work for Cleveland, which has won two straight overall and snapped a six-game losing streak in Orlando.

”Coming out in the second half we knew the things we needed to do, especially on the defensive end,” Irving said. ”That has to be our identity, first and foremost. Our defense has to lead to our offense and that’s what he did.”

Arron Afflalo scored 16 points for the Magic in their first home game since a trade deadline deal last week that saw the departure of four players, including sixth man J.J. Redick. Two of their three new additions, Tobias Harris and Beno Udrih, finished in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

— Reported by Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press

Chris Kaman available again for Mavs

Dallas Mavericks center Chris Kaman is available to play Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing the last 10 games due to a concussion.

Kaman, who continued to experience headaches for several days after passing the cognitive testing portion of the NBA’s concussion protocol that he referred to as “the stupidest test ever,” declared himself ready after Saturday’s practice.

“Hopefully, I’ll get a few minutes tomorrow,” Kaman told reporters. “The headaches are gone, so I’m clear. I’m going to play. It’s been too long.”

Kaman, who was injured during the Mavs’ Jan. 28 practice, fully participated in two practices this week after being medically cleared. The Mavs wanted him to practice twice before playing in a game.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Kenyon Martin excited for chance with Knicks

Kenyon Martin spent the past four months waiting for the phone to ring, hoping he’d get a chance to play basketball again.

There were days when he worried the call never would come.

“It was a daily struggle … I went through every emotion early in the season. Mad, sad, upset, frustrated, you name it, I went through it. It just got to a point where I couldn’t let that consume my daily thoughts,” Martin said. “I wanted to play.”

Martin now has the chance to play again. On Saturday, the New York Knicks agreed to terms with the 35-year-old veteran on a 10-day contract.

Martin spent Saturday afternoon working out at the Knicks’ practice facility, running on the side with a trainer and going through some of the Knicks’ offensive and defensive sets with teammates.

“It feels great just to throw a uniform on again,” Martin said.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Syracuse retires jersey of Carmelo Anthony

Syracuse retired former star Carmelo Anthony’s No. 15 jersey during halftime of its game against Georgetown on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.

A sellout crowd of 35,012, the largest to see a college basketball game in an on-campus arena, watched a large replica of Anthony’s jersey get unveiled in the rafters. The New York Knicks star was presented a framed jersey at center court.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Jordan Crawford solid in Celtics debut

In his debut with the Boston Celtics, former Wizards guard Jordan Crawford joined an exclusive club, becoming the 46th player in NBA history to take the floor wearing number 27.

Regardless of his jersey number, the player that took the floor on Friday night against the Phoenix Suns was remarkably similar to the one Wizards’ fans watched in Washington.

In 17 minutes Crawford scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 2-for-5 from long distance in the Celtics’ 113-88 win. Crawford also had three rebounds and two assists, while only turning the ball over once.

— Reported by Michael Huberman of CSN Washington

Danny Granger expected to play tonight for Pacers

As if the Pistons needed another scorer from the team that waxed them and clowned on them for the better part of 40 minutes on Friday, Pacers scorer Danny Granger will return tonight after a length absence, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.

Granger hasn’t played at all this season due to recovering from a knee injury and will come off the bench, behind the emerging Paul George. He’s a likely candidate to get moved during the summer, and has been a Pistons’ killer in previous years against the likes of Tayshaun Prince.

— Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News (Blog)