April 2013 – Page 20 – NBA Blog

Thabo Sefolosha, wife work to help children in South Africa

Thabo and Bertille Sefolosha have roots in five countries on three continents; today, they work to make life better for a group of 150 children in South Africa.

At home in Oklahoma City, they juggle schedules that involve young children, OKC Thunder basketball — Thabo is a key player — college classes and community work. And the artwork hanging on the walls reflects their interests near and far. It includes art from a South African market, pictures created by Thabo Sefolosha’s mother and photos of their children.

The Sefoloshas are in the middle of organizing a fundraiser for about 300 people, A Night for Africa, to raise money for an after-school program in the township of Mamelodi, South Africa, where Thabo Sefolosha’s father grew up.

They hope to raise $100,000 to benefit 150 children from six schools currently in the program and expand it to about 200. The first fundraiser in Oklahoma City netted about $50,000 nearly two years ago.

— Reported by Lillie-Beth Brinkman of the Oklahoman

Milwaukee Bucks qualify for NBA playoffs

The Milwaukee Bucks had been sputtering lately, but that was all forgotten after they clinched a playoff berth by crushing Toronto, 100-83, Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Milwaukee (37-39) won for just the third time in its last 10 games to move within two games of idle Boston, which holds the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

“You work hard all season,” Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. “It’s a long season. We’ve had ups and downs. It’s 82 games. We’ve still got a few games left. We kind of hit a rough patch here toward the end, but we’ve had some good patches, too, at certain times during the season, which enabled us to be in this position.

“It’s pretty nice to clinch when you have six games left so you can start getting yourself ready for whoever it is you’re going to play against. The guys have worked very hard, and it’s very satisfying for us.”

— Reported by Dave Boehler, special to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Nets have some Joe Johnson health concerns

Brooklyn Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo remains concerned about Joe Johnson’s health.

“If he can get healthy and do it in a timely manner, that’s fine,” Carlesimo said after Johnson had 15 points in 32 minutes in the Nets’ 105-96 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night at Barclays Center. “We need Joe Johnson.”

Since returning from heel and quad injuries that caused him to miss five games, Johnson is 9-for-27 from the field.

“I’m all right,” Johnson said. “Maybe a little limited to some of the things I can do out there on the court, but the coaches and guys are telling me just my presence out there makes a difference, so I’m just giving it all I’ve got.”

— Reported by Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York

Bucks beat Raptors, clinch spot in NBA playoffs

Monta Ellis had 22 points and nine assists, and the Milwaukee Bucks secured their first playoff berth in three seasons with a 100-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.

Brandon Jennings had 16 points and seven assists, while Larry Sanders added 12 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for Milwaukee, which needed a win and a Miami victory over Philadelphia on Saturday to clinch at least the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat beat the 76ers, 106-87.

The win was Milwaukee’s 10th straight over Toronto, its longest active winning streak over any opponent. And it pulled the Bucks within two games of the idle Boston Celtics for the No. 7 seed.

Alan Anderson led Toronto with 14 points off the bench, and Quincy Acy had 13. Rudy Gay, Toronto’s leading scorer with 18.2 points per game, made 1-of-10 shots and matched his season low with four points.

Toronto shot just 36 percent (30 of 83) and had 18 turnovers.

The game wasn’t close after the first quarter, as the Bucks used a 15-4 run late in the period to go up 24. They led 61-42 at halftime behind 14 points and seven assists from Ellis.

— Reported by Erik Brooks of the Associated Press

Rick Adelman reaches 1,000 wins as an NBA head coach

With tonight’s Minnesota Timberwolves’ 107-101 win over the Detroit Pistons, Wolves head coach Rick Adelman becomes the eighth NBA head coach to record 1,000 career victories, joining Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl as the only active members of the 1,000-win club. By reaching the milestone in his 1703rd NBA game, Adelman becomes the fifth-fastest NBA head coach to win 1,000 NBA games. In his 22nd season as an NBA head coach, tonight’s victory moves Adelman’s career coaching record to 1000-703, a winning percentage of .587.

Adelman, 66, has served as head coach of five NBA teams: Portland (1988 – 94), Golden State (1995 – 97), Sacramento (1998 – 2006), Houston (2007 – 11) and Minnesota (2012 – current). Some of his coaching highlights include: two NBA Finals appearances (1990 and 1992 with Portland), four Western Conference Finals (1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 with Portland and 2001-02 with Sacramento) and four division titles (1990-91 and 1991-92 with Portland; 2001-02 and 2002-03 with Sacramento).

Adelman’s teams have reached the NBA playoffs in 16 of his 21+ seasons as a head coach, and he holds an all-time playoff record of 79-78 (.503 winning percentage). He is one of only five head coaches in NBA history to win 60+ games in a season with two different teams (Portland and Sacramento). Adelman has been runner-up for the NBA Coach of the Year award four times.

Adelman began his coaching career at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon, where his teams amassed a 141-39 record over six seasons (1977-83). Chemeketa won or shared in three Oregon community college championships and one regional title.

John Wall scores 37 in Wizards win over Pacers

On a night when the Washington Wizards celebrated the 35th anniversary of the franchise’s only championship, John Wall played like someone who might someday carry on that legacy, scoring 37 points in a display of speed and flair Saturday to lead the Washington Wizards to a 104-85 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Wall made 16 of 25 shots, throwing his palms up after making an improbable 14-foot sideways runner and flexing his muscles to the fans on the first row after banking in a fast-break layup. He even blocked a layup attempt by Roy Hibbert, the 6-foot-4 point guard rising to swat the ball away from the 7-foot-2 Pacers center.

Wall also had five assists, four rebounds and two blocks for the lottery-bound Wizards, who have won nine straight at home and are 18-4 at the Verizon Center this season when he’s on the floor.

They were especially motivated to put on a good show Saturday night, with Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes and the other members of the 1978 team on hand for a halftime celebration in which a new, larger banner was raised and the franchise, at least one more time, was again known as the Bullets…

Hibbert had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who went cold at the start of the second half. The Wizards took a 51-48 halftime lead and turned it into 63-48, with Wall scoring half of the points in the 12-0 run while Indiana was going 4:15 without a point. The Pacers didn’t get closer than seven the rest of the game.

— Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press

Memphis Grizzlies assign Keyon Dooling to D-League

The Memphis Grizzlies have assigned guard Keyon Dooling and re-assigned guard Tony Wroten to the NBA Development League’s Reno Bighorns, the team announced today. This marks the first D-League assignment for Dooling and the fourth for Wroten this season.

Both players will be available for the Bighorns’ regular season finale tonight against the Canton Charge.

Dooling (6-3, 196) logged two minutes in his Grizzlies debut on April 3 at Portland after signing with Memphis as a free agent the same day. The 32-year-old owns career averages of 7.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists on .415 shooting in 19.5 minutes in 722 games (86 starts) over 13 seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies.

Wroten (6-6, 208) holds D-League averages of 15.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.50 steals on .410 shooting in 25.4 minutes in 10 games (two starts) over three assignments with Reno this season. The 19-year-old recorded 24.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.50 steals on .410 shooting in 29.0 minutes in two games during his most recent assignment from Jan. 11-14.

Drafted by Memphis in the first round (25th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft after one season at the University of Washington, the Seattle native has averaged 2.7 points and 1.3 assists in 8.0 minutes in 33 games for the Grizzlies during his rookie season.

Memphis will finish its three-game West Coast road trip tomorrow at 5 p.m. CT against the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena.

Utah Jazz sign Jerel McNeal for rest of season

The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed guard Jerel McNeal for the remainder of the season.

McNeal (6-3, 200, Marquette), whose first name is pronounced Jah-rell, was originally signed by the Jazz to a 10-day contract on March 27 from the NBA Development League’s Bakersfield Jam but has not yet appeared in a game. He was the NBA’s 30th overall D-League Call-Up of the 2012-13 season and 26th different player called up.

A 25-year-old two-time NBA D-League All-Star selection, McNeal averaged 18.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 44 games (36 starts) in 2012-13 for the Jam, who acquired him in a trade with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers prior to the season. McNeal also tallied 13 points and seven assists for the Prospects team during the 2013 D-League All-Star Game on February 14 as part of NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston. In addition, McNeal was a D-League All-Star selection in 2011 while a member of the Vipers.

Undrafted in 2009, this marks McNeal’s second career NBA regular-season stint, having previously spent 10 days with the New Orleans Hornets from March 9-19, 2011, although he did not appear in a game. McNeal attended 2012 training camp with the Toronto Raptors but was waived prior to the 2012-13 season, and has also participated in NBA training camps with the Los Angeles Clippers (2009) and Houston Rockets (2010). He has also played with Dexia Mons-Hainaut in Belgium (2009-10) and Sutor Montegranaro of the Italian League (2011-12), in addition to D-League seasons with Rio Grande Valley (2010-11) and Bakersfield (2012-13).

Following the move, the Jazz roster remains at 15 players.

Coach Doc Rivers hopes Celtics avoid Heat in playoffs

Does he pay attention to the standings?

“I do but I don’t,” Rivers said in his best hedging language. “I really don’t. I know we’re in the seventh spot. I know we want to stay out of the eighth spot.

So, Rivers is actually admitting he wants avoid the Heat?

“Of course we would,” Rivers admitted when asked that very question. “But if we play them, we’ll be ready. But of course we would. Listen, I’m not that dumb. I’m not the brightest guy but come on. Really, you would love to avoid anyone [like Miami]. Listen, no matter who we play, we’re going to play a tough team. It’s going to be New York, Indiana or Miami. There’s no cakewalk for us. It’s going to be hard.”

To Rivers point, the Celtics are 1-3 this year against New York, 1-2 against Miami and 2-0 against Indiana. The Celtics play the Heat next weekend in Miami and the Pacers at the Garden on April 16.

— Reported by Mike Petraglia of WEEI

Michael Beasley says he has stopped listening to people, using instincts again

The Suns marketers have stretched the usual Fan Appreciation Night into a Fan Appreciation Month.

The Suns players are unable to stretch a quarter or half that their fans appreciate into an entire game.

The Suns played their season’s best first quarter for a 37-23 lead Friday night. It was their highest-scoring quarter of the season. With a 64-55 halftime lead, the Suns had matched their best scoring half. Trying to stretch that effort for an entire game was like stretching gum too thin. The bubble popped.

The Suns rallied late but could not clean up the wreckage of a 10-turnover third quarter and lost 111-107 to Golden State at US Airways Center. The Suns are on a season-worst eight-game losing streak, their first one since the last Steve Nash-less team, and have matched the franchise record for consecutive home losses of six. By losing for the 12th time in the past 13 games, the Suns now have the NBA’s third-worst record (23-53)…

Beasley finished with 25 points, his second best total of the season, and his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game, matching his season’s best streak.

“I just stopped listening to people,” Beasley said. “I’m doing what I know how to do. That’s really it. The more I listen to people, the more I got to think about. So, at times, it messes me up when I’m trying to think about a thousand things at once. I just stopped listening to people and just started trusting my instincts again.”

What people?

“Everybody,” Beasley said. “My friends, my family, my teammates, the coaches.”

— Reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic