April 2014 – Page 13 – NBA Blog

Alonzo Mourning humbled to make Basketball Hall of Fame

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on retired NBA center Alonzo Mourning, who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this August:

Alonzo Mourning humbled to make Hall of Fame

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame made official Monday what has been known for days: Alonzo Mourning will be among those inducted in the 2014 class, in a ceremony scheduled for August in Springfield, Mass.

Mourning becomes the second Heat player to be inducted into the Hall, joining Gary Payton.

“I’m humbled and I’m truly honored,” Mourning said. “I’m very, very grateful. … If my life ended today, I’ve lived a storybook life.”

Mourning credited his family, Heat president Pat Riley and former Georgetown coach John Thompson, “who helped contribute so much to my life, not just as an athlete, but as a person. Big John taught me more about life than he did about basketball.”

Mourning said it “would only be fitting” if two people – presumably Riley and Thompson – are part of presenting him during his induction, adding it would be difficult to pick one over the other.

Timberwolves sign guard Othyus Jeffers

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team has signed guard Othyus Jeffers for the remainder of the 2013-14 regular season. The Wolves roster now stands at 15.

Jeffers, a 6-5 guard, appeared in six preseason games with the Wolves this season, averaging 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game. He spent most of this season playing with the Iowa Energy in the NBA D-League, averaging 20.9 points and 9.9 rebounds in 37.7 minutes per game. He was signed to a 10-day contract by the San Antonio Spurs on January 24, appearing in four games and averaging 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

Minnesota is Jeffers’ fourth stop in the NBA, previously having two separate stints with San Antonio and one with both Utah and Washington. The 28-year-old out of Robert Morris University holds career averages of 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 35 career games.

Jeffers will wear No. 0 and is expected to be in uniform tonight when the Wolves take on San Antonio.

OKC Thunder sign forward Grant Jerrett

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed forward Grant Jerrett to a contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Jerrett (6-10, 232) joins the Thunder after spending the past season with the Tulsa 66ers where he appeared in 27 games (25 starts) and averaged 15.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game.

The Thunder secured the rights to Jerrett on draft night after he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 40th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

The University of Arizona product spent one collegiate season with the Wildcats before entering the NBA Draft.

Jerrett’s signing represents the ninth call-up all-time between the 66ers and the Thunder.

The Thunder roster now stands at 15.

Pacers keep struggling, Roy Hibbert benched in second half

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers 107-88 on Sunday. Pacers center Roy Hibbert played just nine minutes in the game, finishing 0-of-5 for no points, rebounds or blocks — just one turnover. Here’s the Indianapolis Star on the Pacers coach Frank Vogel and the entire situation:

It was interesting, then, that in the midst of the Pacers’ humiliating 107-88 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks – winners of eight of their previous 29 games, by the way – Vogel channeled his inner Bird. With the Pacers trailing 17-3 and 6:05 remaining in a brutal first quarter, Vogel benched the entire starting five.

Hallelujah.

“They’re not getting it done,” Vogel said. “They’re not getting it done, we have to go to someone else, see if someone else can get it done.”

Vogel then did another un-Vogel-like thing to start the second half: He benched Roy Hibbert. Hallelujah, again. Hibbert was terrible, going 0-for-5 without a single rebound in 9 ½ minutes.

After the game, Vogel spun it by saying that he was thinking about resting Hibbert before the start of Sunday night’s game. Then, after watching Hibbert struggle – and watching somebody named Pero Antic light him up from the perimeter – Vogel pulled the plug.

Key word there being spun.

“I considered resting Roy before tonight’s game because he looks worn down,” Vogel said during a short, terse post-game press conference. “He’s a 7-2 player that’s played every game this year, which is very rare. He looks to me to be worn down. He’s giving good effort, but he looks to be to be worn down…I decided to play him, but when he got off to a slow start, I decided to rest him.”

Second arrest in three days for Dante Cunningham

Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press with the latest in the Dante Cunningham saga:

After posting bail for a felony domestic assault charge, Timberwolves forward Dante Cunningham is now accused of sending his girlfriend messages that were “direct and rose to a terroristic level,” said Ed Belland, Medina’s director of public safety.

Medina police responded to a call on a violation for an order of protection at Cunningham’s home at about 3 a.m. Sunday. Cunningham then turned himself in at about 11:45 a.m. Sunday. He is in Hennepin County jail facing a new possible charge of terroristic threats, jail records show.

Cunningham posted $40,000 bail Friday night on a felony domestic assault charge from an incident Thursday morning. Cunningham then had 12 points, six rebounds and played 33 minutes in the 100-92 loss Saturday in Orlando.

Bulls sign Ronnie Brewer for rest of season

The Chicago Bulls announced today the team has signed free agent guard/forward Ronnie Brewer for the remainder of the season.

Brewer (6-7, 235) is currently in his eighth year in the NBA. After being drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 14th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Brewer spent three-plus seasons in Utah. In addition to the Jazz, Brewer has also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets. Earlier this season, he appeared in 23 games (three starts) with the Rockets, and averaged 0.3 ppg and 0.6 rpg in 6.9 mpg.

In seven-plus seasons in the NBA, he has played in 501 regular season games (304 starts) and averaged 7.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, and 1.24 spg in 23.0 mpg. The 29-year old Brewer has also made six trips (47 games; 17 starts) to the NBA playoffs, where he has averaged 5.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 1.2 apg in 18.2 mpg.

Brewer will wear No. 11.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 13 players.

Sixers sign Adonis Thomas to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have signed guard/forward Adonis Thomas to a 10-day contract. Thomas is the 44th “Call-Up” of the 2013-14 NBA Development League season.

In 34 games for the Springfield Armor of the D-League this season, Thomas averaged 17 points, including 25 ppg over the final four games. He also shot 47% from three-point range, which placed him third in the league.

Thomas was also called up by the Orlando Magic on February 25, 2014 and appeared in four games.

An early entry candidate for the 2013 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at Memphis, Thomas was an All-Conference USA third-team selection and C-USA All-Tournament performer in his final season with the Tigers.

Thomas was the state of Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year in 2011 and appeared in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and the Nike Hoops Summit.

Hawks continue push for playoffs, beat Pacers 107-88

Atlanta got Indiana at exactly the right time.

The Pacers couldn’t shoot early, couldn’t defend most of the night, couldn’t protect their home court and kept All-Star center Roy Hibbert on the bench for the final 30 minutes — all against a team that still hasn’t clinched a playoff spot.

Jeff Teague scored 25 points in his hometown, Pero Antic finished with 18 and the Hawks handed the NBA’s best home team an embarrassing 107-88 loss Sunday that could have a major impact on playoff seeding in the East.

“I think as many games as we play, sometimes you just have a half like that,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think we participated in it some, but I think we just caught them on a rough night.”

The truth is the Hawks (34-42) are back on track.

— Associated Press

LeBron scores 38, Heat beat Knicks 102-91

LeBron James couldn’t wake up Sunday. He was sluggish when his alarm went off at 8 a.m. and still in a funk when the Miami Heat and New York Knicks tipped off five hours later.

He eventually got into form, just in time to perhaps doom the Knicks’ playoff chances.

James scored 38 points and the Heat survived an NBA-record 22 3-point attempts from New York’s J.R. Smith in a 102-91 victory that kept Miami atop the Eastern Conference standings…

Chris Bosh added 14 points and Ray Allen had 12 for the Heat.

Smith was 11 for 28 from the floor, 10 for 22 from beyond the arc, and took 10 3s in the fourth quarter alone while Carmelo Anthony didn’t attempt a single shot in the period…

Smith finished with 32 for the Knicks, who got 14 from Raymond Felton and 13 from Anthony on 4 for 17 shooting. Anthony has been bothered by a sore right shoulder, but played 44 minutes.

— Associated Press

Kevin Garnett returns to action for Nets

Here’s the New York Post reporting on Kevin Garnett, who has finally returned to active duty for the 42-34 Brooklyn Nets. Garnett this season is averaging 6.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game:

Kevin Garnett had been away from the Nets for so long that some teammates, and even coach Jason Kidd, joked with him prior to Saturday night’s game against the 76ers that he should be treated like a rookie. And despite being in the 19th year of a Hall of Fame career, Garnett admitted to feeling nervous before stepping on the floor.

But after missing 19 games over the last five weeks because of an ongoing bout with back spasms, Garnett looked as if he hadn’t missed a day, let alone a month. Moving fluidly, Garnett finished with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go with four rebounds, an assist and a block in 13 minutes as the Nets earned a 105-101 victory over the hapless Sixers.

“I’ve been working my [butt] off to get back to where I’m at,” Garnett said after coming through the game with no further back issues. “Obviously I’m not to where I want to be but I felt good, I felt strong. … It’s been a journey to get back to this point, so I’m just trying to contribute at this point.”