March 19, 2013 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Nuggets beat Thunder for 13th win in a row

Ty Lawson scored 25 points, Andre Miller had 20 points and nine assists and the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-104 Tuesday night to win a 13th straight game for the first time since joining the NBA.

The Nuggets trailed by one at halftime but took control in the third quarter and never let Oklahoma City reclaim the lead. Denver moved within 3 1/2 games of the Thunder in the Northwest Division and became the first team this season to beat Oklahoma City three times.

It’s also a big win in the chase for home-court advantage in the playoffs for Denver, which is tied with Miami for the NBA’s best home record at 30-3.

Kevin Durant had 34 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 25 for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for just the fifth time this season.

The Thunder gave up a season-worst 72 points in the paint – Denver’s specialty – as both teams struggled throughout the game from 3-point range. The Nuggets had 66 and 60 points in the lane in wins against Oklahoma City in Denver earlier this season.

Denver’s previous longest winning streak in the NBA was 12 straight games in 1982. The franchise won 15 in a row in the ABA.

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Monta Ellis helps Bucks beat Blazers 102-95

The Milwaukee Bucks had to hold back a strong rally after pulling off one of their own two days earlier.

Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and Monta Ellis added 21 to help Milwaukee hang on for a 102-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee rallied from an 11-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter Sunday against Orlando and went on to a 115-109 victory over the visiting Magic.

”That’s been our main concern,” said Ellis, who was hit hard on his left hand late in the game but said X-rays were negative. ”We just wanted to come out with a lot of energy. We didn’t want to play with this team and try to climb back like we had to do (Sunday). They made a run, which this is the NBA. But we were able to close the game out.”

Ellis added nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and matched a career high with three blocks for Milwaukee, which outscored Portland 31-8 in the second quarter.

The Blazers finished with their fewest points in any period this season after shooting a woeful 2 for 20 from the field to go with six turnovers in the quarter. It was also the lowest total the Bucks gave up in any quarter…

Wesley Matthews hit a career high seven 3-pointers and scored 28 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the 10th time in their last 11 road games.

— Reported by David Boehler of the Associated Press

Pacers beat struggling Magic 95-73

Paul George scored 19 points and Tyler Hansbrough had 14 points and 14 rebounds, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 95-73 rout of the struggling Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.

The Pacers improved to 27-8 at home despite playing without second-leading scorer David West because of a sprained lower back.

Maurice Harkless and Arron Afflalo each had 10 points for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight on a night they shot just 31.8 percent from the field and coach Jacque Vaughn Jacque Vaughn was ejected in a flurry of four technical fouls with 4:47 left in the third quarter.

The Central Division-leading Pacers closed the first quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 19-12 lead, led 42-29 at the half, and 62-44 in the third quarter after the technicals. Orlando couldn’t get closer than 12 the rest of the way.

How miserable was it?

Indiana started the game by missing its first six 3-point attempts, but Orlando missed its final 11 shots in the first quarter and barely avoided matching the franchise’s all-time low scoring total in the first half – needing a tip-in with 29.1 seconds left in the second quarter to top the 27 points they scored at Houston on Jan. 24, 2005.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Jazz decide not to keep Travis Leslie

Travis Leslie emerged from the locker room before practice in sweats. He walked over to the few players and coaches already on the court. He shook hands and disappeared back into the locker room and back to the D-League.

Ten days after it began for Leslie, his stint as a member of the Utah Jazz was over.

The Jazz opted not to sign Leslie to a second 10-day contract after the athletic D-League All-Star Game MVP, who before his call-up played for the Santa Cruz Warriors, did not appear in a game in a brief stint with the team.

“He did nothing wrong,” coach Tyrone Corbin said.

— Reported by Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune

Tony Parker participates in practice for Spurs

All-Star point guard Tony Parker participated in his first full practice since suffering a Grade 2 left ankle sprain almost three weeks ago, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday.

Popovich ruled Parker out for Wednesday’s home game against Golden State, but said again that the Frenchman will likely beat the initial one-month timeline given after his injury against Sacramento on March 1. The Spurs follow the Warriors with Utah at home on Friday, Houston on the road on Sunday and Denver at home next Wednesday.

“I think it will be sooner than four weeks, but it won’t be tomorrow,” Popovich said. “He did everything today. It’s very encouraging.”

The Spurs are 5-2 without Parker, a likely MVP candidate in the midst of arguably his best season.

— Reported by Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News (Blog)

Tyson Chandler, Kurt Thomas out with injuries

The ancient Knicks returned home from their West Coast trip with lousy MRI exam news for their big men Tyson Chandler and Kurt Thomas.

Chandler, who hoped he would be back for Wednesday’s game vs. Orlando, took an MRI exam on his neck and it revealed a bulging disk in his cervicalspine and he will miss approximately one more week.

Thomas, 40, got the game ball Monday night after the win in Utah and he also got bad news on his right foot. Tuesday’s MRI exam and Cat-scan showed he has an acute stress reaction surrounding a chronic stress fracture and will miss 2-4 weeks. The longer end of the timetable for Thomas would put him out until the playoffs, if he returns at all.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

How Chris Wright found out he had multiple sclerosis

An innocent slip of the foot turned into a life-changing experience for Chris Wright.

That slip, which occurred last March while Wright was playing basketball in Turkey, ultimately led to the 6-1 point guard discovering that he was suffering from multiple sclerosis, a disease which impacts the brain and spinal cord when the protective sheaths around the nerves are damaged.

“I was in practice running sprints and at the end of practice I went down to touch the line and came up and I slipped,’’ Wright said. “My foot gave out and I thought nothing of it.

“I thought I just slipped, but eventually it got worse and I had numbness in my right foot, and then it started the next month to progress to the whole right side of my body. I lost basically all sensation, and I went to the doctor and that’s when they diagnosed me with MS.’’

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Andray Blatche chasing minutes and wins in upcoming free agency

Andray Blatche says money won’t mean much when he negotiates his next contract this summer, and there are complicated circumstances that give you reason to believe him.

In other words, Brooklyn – which won’t have cap space and doesn’t own Blatche’s Bird Rights – has an opportunity to re-sign its top free agent.

“I’m very aware (of my unique situation),” Blatche told the Daily News. “That’s what I’m saying. Everybody is probably thinking I’m looking to get that big check. I’m not. Not at all. I’m looking at what’s best for me.”

So what is best for the 26-year-old center?

“An opportunity to continue to play and win.”

— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

Injuries have forced Lakers to use tight rotation

Did Coach Mike D’Antoni run his players into the ground with heavy minutes on back-to-back nights?

Sure, but did that have anything to do with the loss in Phoenix on Monday night?

“We’ve been playing a seven-man rotation, and I think it caught up with us,” said Steve Nash after the game.

It’s not like D’Antoni had any other choice. He could have tried to work in Robert Sacre, Darius Morris, Chris Duhon or Devin Ebanks, but D’Antoni would have certainly preferred Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol or even Jordan Hill — but none was available.

Injuries have been the reality for the Lakers all season. D’Antoni won’t get a full roster for his entire initial season with the team. It hasn’t happened and it won’t with Hill out for the year (hip).

— Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Remaining schedule looks tough for Hornets

Of the 14 remaining games this season, 11 come against teams that are playoff-locks or opponents on the fringe (Lakers, Utah, ) with attainable post-season aspirations.

“It’s not an easy stretch, but it’s the type of challenge you want,” Mason said. “For us, I think it will be a good measure of where our heart is at and how we compete going into next season.

“We have to learn. Obviously this has been a tough stretch here. No one is going to come to save us. It’s going to come (from) within. I think we have a resilient group. I’m excited about these next few games to see how we respond. It’s always run to see how things go when there’s a challenge ahead. And we have a challenge ahead right now, but I think we’ll be OK.”

The biggest challenge for the Hornets, though, will be to rediscover how to play defense.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune