May 2013 – Page 16 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Nathan Jawai, playing for FC Barcelona, to miss rest of season

FC Barcelona Regal big man Nate Jawai will miss the rest of the season due to his foot injury, the club announced in a press release Sunday morning. Accordingly, Jawai will not dress for the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four third place game nor will he be available for the Spanish League playoffs. Jawai was first injured in a Spanish League game against Joventut Badalona just before the Final Four. He tried to play injured in the semifinal against Real Madrid on Saturday, but could only last one minute on the floor.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Pacers beat Knicks 82-71 in Game 3

Roy Hibbert had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Paul George had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assist to lead the Pacers past New York 82-71 Saturday night in Game of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Pacers are up 2-1, with Game 4 of the best-of-seven series Tuesday in Indy.

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points to lead the Knicks, who led only once in the game for a total of 76 seconds. New York spent the final 45 minutes trying to play catch-up but never did.

Amare Stoudemire looked rusty after returning from a two-month absence, going 3 of 8 from the field and finishing with seven points. J.R. Smith scored nine points after missing the morning shootaround because of a 102-degree fever.

Indiana took control with a 14-3 run that gave it a 58-44 third-quarter lead, and the Knicks never got closer than eight.

The big questions heading into the game were whether Smith would play, whether Stoudemire would be effective and whether Indiana could get back to its brand of basketball.

Smith gave it a go, but his shooting problems continued as he went 4 of 12 from the field and walked straight to the locker room when he was replaced with 7:45 left in the game. He returned to the game a few minutes later.

Stoudemire, meanwhile, hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in eight minutes and grabbed two rebounds.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Grizzlies beat Thunder 87-81 in Game 3

The Memphis Grizzlies call it grit and grind, and it got them through another ugly game.

Marc Gasol scored 20 points and hit two free throws with 1:03 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the Grizzlies held off Oklahoma City 87-81 Saturday to take a 2-1 lead in this Western Conference semifinal.

Gasol scored 16 in the second half as Memphis remained unbeaten at home in the postseason.

The Grizzlies pulled out the win in a choppy performance for both teams following a three-day layoff since Game 2 with the Thunder beating them at their own game, dominating the boards and in the paint. After struggling at the free throw line in Oklahoma City, the Grizzlies hit all six at the line in the final 1:03 to clinch it.

”We just stayed after it like we’ve done all year long,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. ”It’s not always pretty. Tonight wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty for us because we got the win.”

Game 4 is Monday night in Memphis, and Hollins wants one more home win for a franchise in its second Western semifinal in two seasons. The Grizzlies lost to Oklahoma City in seven games in 2011 after splitting Games 3 and 4 in Memphis. But they are 18-1 at home since Feb. 8.

”I’d rather take my chances with where we’re sitting now and try to win all of our home games,” Hollins said. ”We got a long way to go, and we got to keep battling.”

Kevin Durant scored 25 points, but only two in the fourth quarter. A 91 percent free throw shooter in the regular season, Durant missed two with 39.3 seconds left. Durant also had 11 rebounds and five assists.

— Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

Seattle group has backup offer in quest to buy Kings

If the NBA Board of Governors denies the pending sale and relocation of the Sacramento Kings, the Seattle group seeking to purchase the franchise has a backup deal with the Maloof family.

The backup agreement would have the Seattle group, led by investor Chris Hansen and Microsoft Chairman Steve Ballmer, purchase a limited ownership of the Maloofs stake in the Kings, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday. The limited partnership would be a purchase of at least 20 percent of the Maloofs stake in the franchise at a valuation of $600 million.

The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publically discuss the details of the offer. ESPN.com first reported the backup deal. If the backup plan is used, the Maloofs would retain majority ownership of the franchise and continue to run the team in Sacramento. But Hansen’s group would hold a two-year right to purchase a majority interest of the franchise at a later date.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Phil Jackson waiting for decision on Kings sale

Phil Jackson’s decision to return to the NBA is contingent on the resolution of the Sacramento Kings sale, ESPN.com reported Saturday.

Jackson, winner of 11 NBA titles as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, has expressed interest in taking a front office job for a team.

Jackson reportedly wants to wait to see if the Kings get sold to the Seattle group that is looking to buy the team. ESPN.com recently reported that Jackson “hit it off” with Chris Hansen, who is leading the Seattle group.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Lil Wayne reportedly partied with Bulls players after beating Heat in Game 1

Lil Wayne still hates the Miami Heat so much … he hooked up the Chicago Bulls with free booze after they upset LeBron James and company — and TMZ got a pic of their celebration.

It all went down Monday night at Excess Mondays at Mansion nightclub in Miami where, we’re told, Wayne invited a few Bulls players (who were already in the club) to party with him … just hours after they beat the Heat 93-86…

Our sources say Wayne provided the boys with bottles of vodka and told ’em he was rooting for them to knock the Heat out of the playoffs.

— Reported by TMZ

J.R. Smith misses shootaround due to a fever

J.R. Smith missed the Knicks morning shootaround because of a fever and may not play Saturday night at Indiana.

Coach Mike Woodson says the guard stayed at the team hotel with a fever of about 102 degrees. With the series tied 1-1, Woodson says he’ll rely on the team doctors to decide Smith’s availability.

Smith averaged 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds during the regular season and won the NBA’s Sixth Man Award.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Teammates tell J.R. Smith to keep shooting

J.R. Smith’s teammates have a simple message for the slumping sixth man: Just keep shooting.

Smith has struggled mightily from the floor in the past four games, hitting just 26 percent of his attempts.

Coach Mike Woodson and others have expressed confidence that Smith can turn things around. “You can’t give up hope,” Woodson said Friday. “J.R.’s a big piece to what we’ve done this season. I’ve just got to help him as a coach. His teammates have got to help him. And he’s got to help himself to snap out of it. I got confidence that he will do that.”

Smith is a combined 7-for-30 in two games against the Pacers.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Lionel Hollins hopes Grizzlies keep him after this season

Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has no contractual obligation to the franchise beyond this season, but he is hopeful he’ll get to keep coaching what he’s helped build in Memphis.

“There’s no question,” Hollins told ESPN, when asked if he hoped to be back with the Grizzlies after the season. “When you build something, you want to see it through to the fruition of it all.

“Hopefully, we’ll win a championship at the end of the year. But that would just be a starting point. Then you want to be a perennial championship contender.”

Hollins said his contract situation hasn’t bothered him all season, and won’t be a distraction to him or his team going forward. He’s focused on the playoffs and nothing else right now as the Grizzlies prepare for Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series against Oklahoma City.

— Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles

Taj Gibson fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of an NBA referee

Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson has been fined $25,000 for verbal abuse of a game official, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 10:13 remaining in the fourth quarter of Chicago’s 115-78 loss to the Miami Heat on May 8 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

According to the Associated Press, “The league announced the fine Friday. And Gibson was relieved the punishment wasn’t worse. “I knew I was going to get hit,” he said. “I was just hoping it wasn’t a suspension, but I deserved (the fine).” The Heat were well on their way to a 115-78 victory when Gibson went off at an official early in the fourth quarter. With 10:13 remaining, he did not leave the court in a timely fashion after he and teammate Joakim Noah were ejected by referee Scott Foster. Gibson continued to shout at Foster.”