April 2013 – Page 13 – NBA Blog

Dirk Nowitzki reaches 25,000 career points (with video)

Dirk Nowitzki didn’t even wait to shower before shaving off his beard.

After becoming the 17th player in NBA history to score 25,000 career points, he was even happier the Dallas Mavericks got back to .500 for the first time since mid-December, allowing him to shave off the facial hair he and his teammates had vowed to leave untouched until they evened their record.

Shawn Marion had 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting, Nowitzki scored 19 and the Dallas Mavericks beat the New Orleans Hornets 107-89 on Sunday night.

Brandan Wright and Vince Carter added 16 points off the bench for Mavericks. They had lost by double digits in their three previous chances to even their record.

”It’s been too long,” the clean-shaven Nowitzki said. ”My wife stopped kissing me somewhere in February. It feels good to shave again.”

Nowitzki reached the 25,000-point mark with a midrange jumper over Hornets’ center Robin Lopez in the second quarter. Teammates said he reached for the razor almost as soon as he entered the locker room after the game.

— Reported by Guerry Smith of the Associated Press

Kenneth Faried sprains ankle in Nuggets win over Blazers

The Denver Nuggets are getting good at bittersweet moments.

Andre Iguodala scored 28 points and the Nuggets set an NBA franchise record with their 55th win Sunday, beating the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 118-109 but losing another starter.

On the day Ty Lawson (right heel) returned to Denver’s starting lineup for the first time since March 27 and played an encouraging 31 minutes, forward Kenneth Faried sprained his left ankle in the opening minutes while driving for a layup and didn’t return.

”We’re dropping like flies, man,” Lawson said. ”Well, it’s not too serious, I heard, so he might be out for a week or so. He’s a tough guy.”

Although X-rays were negative, coach George Karl stressed that he didn’t want to guess about Faried’s availability for the playoffs that start next weekend until after his top rebounder goes for an MRI on Monday…

Iguodala also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out nine assists, blocked three shots and had three steals to go with his 28 points, marking the first time in his career he’d posted those numbers in a game.

And rookie Evan Fournier scored 24 points in his second career start, sinking a pair of crucial 3-pointers in the closing minutes after the Trail Blazers had cut a 20-point deficit to 104-101 with 3:33 left.

— Reported by Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press

Knicks clinch No. 2 seed in East with win over Pacers

Carmelo Anthony and his sore left shoulder will probably get the night off Monday.

The New York Knicks have earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and with it the chance the rest some aching bodies.

Anthony scored 25 points on 9-for-23 shooting against the rugged Indiana defense, and the Knicks wrapped up the second spot with a 90-80 victory over the Pacers on Sunday.

The Knicks are back on the court Monday at Charlotte, but Anthony doesn’t think he’ll be joining them with nothing left to play for in the regular season.

”I always said today was a real important game for us to come in and lock down (the No. 2 seed),” Anthony said. ”It was a big game for us so now guys can get their rest, I can get my rest and come back full speed ready for the playoffs.”

Chris Copeland added 20 points and J.R. Smith had 15 for the Knicks, who will host seventh-seeded Boston next weekend. New York is guaranteed the home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs after finishing a distant second to Miami in the conference…

Lance Stephenson scored 22 points and David West had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who came into the game with a chance to catch the Knicks for second but had to settle for wrapping up No. 3 after Brooklyn lost 93-87 at Toronto…

The Pacers committed 26 turnovers that led to 33 points and shot 61.5 percent at the free throw line, losing for the fourth time in five games with a sloppy offensive performance. Coach Frank Vogel will rest some of his players, too, noting George’s 1-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

DeMar DeRozan scores 36 in Raptors win over Nets

Deron Williams crumpled up his stat sheet and threw it away in disgust. A loss to the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors meant his Brooklyn Nets had lost their chance at earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

DeMar DeRozan scored 36 points, Rudy Gay had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Raptors won their third straight game, never trailing in a 93-87 victory over the Nets on Sunday.

Brooklyn is still going to the playoffs, but could have closed to within one game of Indiana after the Pacers lost 90-80 to the New York Knicks…

Brooklyn can still tie Indiana, but the Pacers would win the tiebreaker because they’re guaranteed to win the Central Division. Brooklyn is assured of second place in the Atlantic…

Amir Johnson had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who hadn’t won three straight since a five-game winning streak from Feb. 8 to 19…

Williams scored 30 points, Brook Lopez had 16 and Andray Blatche 15 for the Nets, whose four-game winning streak was snapped…

Former Raptor Reggie Evans had 16 rebounds for the Nets but didn’t take a single shot. … Keith Bogans started for Brooklyn in place of F Gerald Wallace, who missed his second straight game with a sore left heel.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Heat win rugged game against Bulls, 105-93

Carlos Boozer turned his shoulder and knocked Dwyane Wade to the floor, while Nate Robinson shoved LeBron James as the NBA’s reigning MVP leaped near the basket.

All in the same sequence, no less.

It was physical, rugged and exactly what the Miami Heat needed as part of their preparations for the playoffs, which start this coming weekend. James scored 24 points, Wade finished with 22 and the Heat set a franchise record for home wins in a season by topping the Chicago Bulls 105-93 on Sunday.

”It was good, especially against this team,” said James, who had seven rebounds and six assists. ”You’re definitely not just going to show up and win against these guys. You’re going to have to work for it. So for us, to continue to get better and for us to have a really physical game, good game, testy game, we liked it.”

Chicago had more fouls (30) than field goals (29), the first time the Bulls have managed that in a regular-season game since Nov. 19, 2008.

The Bulls sent Miami to the line a season-high 41 times, and at times were so reliant on the 3-point shot that they went more than 16 minutes to open the second half without a single 2-point basket.

”We’re trying to get ready,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”And you play a team that’s physical like this, it gets you ready.”

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Kenyon Martin says he will be ready for playoffs

Knicks forward Kenyon Martin, currently nursing a sprained left ankle, pronounced himself a game-time decision for Sunday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers, but would “definitely” be ready for the start of the playoffs, he told the Daily News at Radio City Music Hall, where he took in a boxing card along with teammate Carmelo Anthony on Saturday night.

Martin sprained his ankle in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 120-99 win over the Wizards on Tuesday, the team’s 13th straight. Martin missed the next two games, including Thursday’s streak-busting loss to the Bulls. X-rays were negative on his ankle, and Martin, already dealing with a sore left knee, feels encouraged about his return.

“I’m getting there,” Martin said from ringside, seated on an elevated stage at Radio City Music Hall in between fights.

— Reported by Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News

Nolan Smith will always be linked to Kenneth Faried

No matter what happens the rest of his career, Nolan Smith has accepted that he will always be linked to Kenneth Faried.

After every mammoth dunk, every dizzying double-double, every hustle-infused highlight-reel moment Denver’s “Manimal” unleashes, somewhere, some disbelieving Trail Blazers fan will curse under his breath: “He should be a Blazer.”

“I don’t blame them,” Smith said. “I don’t blame them at all. Seeing what he’s doing, seeing how he plays when he’s on the court with his team, it’s very easy to say, ‘Damn, we could have had him.’ But they could have had Michael Jordan, as well. It’s part of the draft. They’re mad at Greg Oden, too. So you can just add me to the guys they can be mad at.”

And there’s no question Blazers fans are mad. The team’s decision to select Smith one spot ahead of Faried with the No. 21 overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft is one of several personnel moves that led to last season’s roster implosion and this season’s rebuild.

— Reported by Joe Freeman of the Oregonian

Lakers GM does not blame coach for injury to Kobe

Bryant underwent surgery Saturday to treat a left Achilles tendon injury the Lakers estimate will keep him out between six to nine months. Despite Bryant playing an average of 45.6 minutes per game in the last seven contests, Kupchak doesn’t hold Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni responsible for the injury.

“I don’t think Mike is at blame here,” Kupchak said. “Even if you take Kobe out of a game, there’s a lot of times where he’ll just get up and put himself back in.”

In between quarters, Bryant would either give D’Antoni a thumbs up signaling he can play or a thumbs down showing he needs rest. Bryant usually chose the former. D’Antoni also shared Bryant’s contention that his bone spurs in his left foot would stiffen if he sat out.

That plan fell apart, though, in the waning minutes of the Lakers’ win Friday over Golden State. Bryant fell on the ground after going past Warriors forward Harrison Barnes.

D’Antoni conceded that scenario might not have happened if not for the Lakers (43-37) entering tonight’s game against San Antonio with only a one-game lead over Utah (42-38) for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot with two games remaining.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News

Glen Davis appreciated his time on the Celtics

In Davis’ four seasons in Boston, his role expanded but never enough for him. The Celtics traded him to the Magic and he agreed to a four-year contract extension and immediately became one of Orlando’s more experienced players, carrying a championship ring.

“I look at it and I was just so thankful,” he said. “I got a chance to talk to the guys and I told Paul, I told KG, ‘Thank you. Really, thank you, Doc, for putting that discipline and that tough love. When I see these young guys [in Orlando] and I walk around, I see the same exact things [as I did in Boston] and me listening and humbling myself got me to this point now.”

Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said he wanted to challenge Davis with more responsibility with the cocaptain assignment, joining point guard Jameer Nelson.

“You’re put in a role that you can’t say no to and if you’re a competitor, you want that role,” Davis said. “And you have to do what they say, no procrastination. I do have a desire to get in there and go through the journey with these guys. I got a chance to experience a championship, but here I’m a main part of the team, working to be successful.”

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

Sixers assistant Brian James might take job at Northwestern

Sixers assistant coach Brian James will join the Northwestern University coaching staff of Chris Collins very soon after the NBA regular season ends on Wednesday, according to multiple sources.

James was the high school coach of Collins, who is the son of Sixers head coach Doug Collins.

This impending move is another indication that Doug Collins will not return to coach the final year on his contract with the Sixers, although that cannot yet be confirmed. James has been his right-hand assistant previously in Detroit and Washington, as well as serving stints with Milwaukee and Toronto as an assistant coach and Seattle as an advance scout when Collins was out of coaching.

The Sixers coach has maintained that he hasn’t decided yet if he wants to be back for the 2013-14 season.

— Reported by Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer