March 2013 – Page 30 – NBA Blog

Bucks beat Raptors 122-114 in overtime

Monta Ellis scored six of his 23 points in overtime and Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings added five apiece in the extra period to spark the Milwaukee Bucks to a 122-114 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.

Ilyasova finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, while Brandon Jennings had a career-high 19 assists, including one in overtime.

Kyle Lowry had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Alan Anderson scored 21 points off the bench and Amir Johnson added 19 for Toronto, which lost for the fourth consecutive time and fifth in six games since tying a season best with a five-game winning streak.

Toronto was without Rudy Gay, the team’s leading scorer at 18 points per game, who was a game-time decision due to back spasms.

Tied at 104 at the end of regulation, Larry Sanders dunked in a miss by Ellis to put the Bucks ahead 106-104 – a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

— Reported by Joe Totoraitis of the Associated Press

Noah, Boozer lead Bulls past Nets 96-85

Joakim Noah had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Carlos Boozer scored 20 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-85 on Saturday.

The Bulls went on a 19-0 run that started in the second quarter and stretched into third, giving them an 18-point lead. They opened March on a winning note after going 5-8 in February, just their second losing month in 2 1/2 seasons under coach Tom Thibodeau.

Noah followed up the third triple-double of his career with another terrific performance that also included four blocks. He committed five turnovers, but even so it sure was an impressive follow-up to Thursday’s gem, when he had 23 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 11 blocks in a win over Philadelphia.

Boozer added eight rebounds. Jimmy Butler had 13 points, Nate Robinson and Kirk Hinrich scored 12 apiece, and the Bulls won their second straight after dropping seven of 10.

Brook Lopez led Brooklyn with 22 points – 14 in the first quarter – but the Nets fell for the fourth time in five games. Deron Williams cooled off, finishing with 14 after averaging 27 over the previous three games.

Joe Johnson scored 11 in his second game back after missing three with a foot injury and committed five of Brooklyn’s 21 turnovers.

— Reported by Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press

Turner, Holiday lead 76ers over Warriors

One assist shy of his first career triple-double, Evan Turner took pride in getting the win.

Turner had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, Jrue Holiday scored 27, and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 104-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.

”I wasn’t going to force anything to get a triple-double,” Turner said. ”It was cool and it’s great to get a win. We competed and gave a lot of effort.”

Thad Young had 14 points and 16 rebounds and Royal Ivey chipped in with 17 points for the Sixers, who are 5 1/2 games behind Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 25 games left.

Stephen Curry scored 30 and Klay Thompson added 29 for the Warriors, who’ve lost four in a row.

Despite losing 10 of 13, Golden State remains sixth in the West. The Warriors are one game up on eighth-place Houston and 3 1/2 ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers, who are fighting for the last spot.

”Our problem was not offensively, our problem was defensively,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said.

— Reported by Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press

Heat sign Juwan Howard to 10-day contract

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed forward Juwan Howard to a 10-day contract.

“Juwan is a key part of the Championship culture here in Miami,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “He is essential to this team and can still play this game at a high level in some of our biggest games yet to come. He has a unique veteran savvy and will provide leadership and experience to our team.”

Howard, an 18-year NBA veteran, has appeared in 1,201 career games (898 starts) averaging 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 30.5 minutes while shooting 46.9 percent from the field. He appeared in 85 games with the HEAT over the last two seasons averaging 2.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 9.2 minutes while shooting 40 percent from the field. Additionally, he appeared in 11 postseason games during Miami’s 2012 NBA Championship run, totaling 17 points, 10 rebounds and an assist in 60 minutes of action while shooting 4-of-9 from the field.

The former NBA All-Star was originally signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 20, 2010 and then re-signed on December 9, 2011.

Tony Parker injured, out around 4 weeks with ankle sprain

Bad news for the 46-14 San Antonio Spurs. They’ll be without their floor general until early April.

Spurs guard Tony Parker underwent an MRI examination this morning in San Antonio. The MRI confirmed that Parker has a Grade 2 left ankle sprain. He is expected to be out for approximately four weeks. The injury occurred in the third quarter of last night’s Spurs-Kings game.

Additionally, Spurs forward Boris Diaw (low back strain) is out for tomorrow’s game vs. Detroit. Guard Gary Neal (tightness, left calf) and forward Stephen Jackson (sprained right ankle) are listed as doubtful.

Mike Woodson moves Jason Kidd to bench

Jason Kidd’s days as a starter may be over.

Mike Woodson removed the struggling veteran from the starting lineup prior to last night’s 96-88 victory over the Washington Wizards and made Kidd the back-up point guard, the role Kidd expected to play when he signed a three year contract last July.

Woodson did not say the move is permanent but considering that Kidd had scored a total of 30 points in 11 games last month, the Knicks can’t survive without getting more production from the shooting guard position.

“I didn’t come in this league as a scorer,” Kidd joked, “and it doesn’t’ look like I’m going to leave as a scorer.”

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Heat may bring back Juwan Howard

The Miami Heat are strongly considering signing 40-year-old forward Juwan Howard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

After playing the past two years with the Heat, Howard has remained unsigned this season. He has stayed in shape and has been working out throughout the season.

The Heat created a roster spot at the trade deadline, sending Dexter Pittman to the Memphis Grizzlies for a trade exception.

Howard had been a respected leader on the Heat and was popular with teammates, coaches and management.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

Bulls sign Louis Amundson to 10-day contract

The Chicago Bulls today signed forward Lou Amundson (AH-mund-son) to a 10-day contract.

Amundson (6-9, 225) will be in uniform tonight (No. 17) when the Bulls host the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center at 7:00 p.m. (CT).

In his seventh season out of UNLV, Amundson has played in 308 regular season games (seven starts). During that time, he has posted averages of 3.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 0.75 bpg in 12.9 mpg. He also owns shooting averages of .493 from the field and .443 from the line.

A native of Ventura, Calif., the 30-year old forward appeared in 20 games with the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this season. He has also played with Philadelphia (twice), Utah, Phoenix, Golden State and Indiana.

With his signing, Chicago’s roster now stands at 15.

Video: Incredible, amazing Kevin Durant layup

That’s right. I said “layup.” Not dunk. Not three-pointer. Not some other, more high-profile method of scoring.

But Kevin Durant’s layup was far from ordinary. It was the type of incredible shot you might pull off — on a less-awesome scale — in a park someday if you get really lucky. The game would stop. Your friends would shove you around in appreciation. The guys on the other team would shake their heads, knowing it was a fluke.

Only, when a player like Durant does stuff like this, it’s no fluke. No sir.

Here’s a video clip of Durant’s awesome layup, which took place in Friday’s Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets game:

Sacramento Kings waive guard Aaron Brooks

The Sacramento Kings today waived guard Aaron Brooks, according to Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

Brooks, a 6-0, 161-pound guard, averaged 8.0 points (.459 FG%, .378 3FG%, .769 FT%), 1.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 20.8 minutes per game in 46 contests, of which he started 20 for the Kings.

The Kings roster now stands at 13 players.