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The New York Knicks have signed forward Lance Thomas to a second 10-day contract, it was announced today by President Phil Jackson.
Thomas, 6-8, 225-pounds, has averaged 5.2 points and 3.4 rebounds over 20.4 minutes in 24 games (13 starts) with Oklahoma City and New York. In two games with the Knicks, he is averaging 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds over 19.9 minutes.
At 6-36, the Knicks have the worst win-loss record in the NBA right now. They head to Philadelphia tonight to face the 76ers.
Here’s ESPN Chicago reporting on the Bulls, who have been playing without center Joakim Noah lately, but still expect to perform a bit better than they have in recent games:
Lost amid Derrick Rose’s frustrated words after Monday night’s latest poor performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers was the fact Taj Gibson may have spoken the most telling words of the entire night.
Gibson doesn’t have the same clout that Rose does, but he is a six-year veteran who gives some of the most honest assessments in basketball. The power forward has been around for the entirety of Tom Thibodeau’s five-year tenure with the Bulls, a fact that made his comments so telling in the wake of one of the worst stretches in the Thibodeau era.
“We got to practice harder,” Gibson said. “We can’t be taking days off. We’re going to go through rough stretches, but we got to practice harder and we got to play with some energy.”
A Thibodeau-coached team playing without energy and not working hard seems incomprehensible given the success that he and his team have enjoyed over his tenure. After all, hard work has defined Thibodeau’s head-coaching career. For four years his players played hard almost every night. They played with a type of intensity and purpose that is not common on a nightly basis in the NBA.
Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting on a key member of the Sixers’ backcourt:
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76ers backup point guard Tony Wroten will fly to California Wednesday morning to see a specialist about his sprained right knee..
“We need more information to deliver something to the media and to Tony, you know, that he can follow through with.”
Wroten will miss his fifth-consecutive game when the Sixers (8-33) entertain the New York Knicks (6-36) Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center. This is the third time he’s been sidelined with the injury this season.
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The following is a medical update on Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood, who left in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at San Antonio with a left foot injury:
After returning to Salt Lake for further evaluation, Rodney Hood was examined by the Utah Jazz medical staff and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) testing this morning through official Jazz health care partner, University of Utah Health Care. The MRI results showed a recurrence of inflammation in Hood’s left foot. As a result, Hood’s left foot will be placed in a boot for approximately one week during which time he will continue to receive treatment. Following the removal of the boot, Hood will begin conditioning, restricted weight training and light court work. Hood will remain out through the NBA All-Star Break, at which point his status will be reevaluated.
The 22-year-old Hood (6-8, 215, Duke) has appeared in 24 games (five starts) as a rookie, averaging 5.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.3 minutes. He was originally selected in the first round (23rd overall selection) of the 2014 NBA Draft, becoming the first former Duke player ever to be drafted by the Jazz.
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The Wizards were victorious last night after defeating the 76ers 111-76 at Verizon Center. Washington now leads the season series with Philadelphia 1-0.
D.C. shot .556 from the field and .500 from behind the arc. All five starters scored in double figures and Otto Porter and Kevin Seraphin also reached double digits in scoring off the bench. Washington was led by Marcin Gortat who tallied 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds in 29 minutes. John wall added 11 points and 10 assists in 29 minutes of action.
Washington allowed an opponent-season-low 76 points and their 35-point margin of victory was the biggest of the season. Nene finished with 12 points and six rebounds. He also connected on his fourth career three-pointer in the third quarter. The last time Nene hit a three was on Feb. 1, 2014.
– The Wizards are now 29-13 and in second place in the Eastern Conference. At Verizon Center, Washington is 18-5. Washington leads the Eastern Conference with 18 home victories.
– Washington is 16-0 when leading after three quarters and 24-1 when holding their opponents to less than 100 points.
– Washington shot .556 (45-of-81) from the field last night against Philadelphia. This marks the first time Washington has shot at least .550 from the field this season. Washington is 13-0 this season when shooting at least .500 from the field.
Orlando Magic Team Notes
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Faster pace of play proving effective for the Magic: Orlando recorded a 121-114 victory on January 12 at Chicago before returning to Amway Center on January 14 where the Magic defeated the Rockets, 120-113. This marked the first time since February 13-16, 1996 that Orlando has scored 120+ points in consecutive outings. During the last four games (January 12-present), the Orlando Magic are averaging 109.0 points per game (436 points).
Payton makes Magic history again: Magic rookie guard Elfrid Payton registered a career-high 22 points and 12 assists against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 16. With this performance, Payton became the youngest player in Orlando Magic history to record at least 20 points and 10 assists in a game.
Vučević and Oladipo both record a pair of 30-point games: Magic center Nikola Vučević posted a career-high 34 points against Portland on January 10 and followed that up with a 33-point effort in Chicago on January 12. Magic guard Victory Oladipo also poured in 33 points in Chicago before scoring 32 against the Houston Rockets on January 14. This marked the first time that each player has scored 30 or more points in back-to-back games in their respective careers.
Magic among the NBA’s best in takeaways: The Orlando Magic recorded a season-high 14 steals in their win over the Houston Rockets on January 14. The Magic have notched at least five steals in 38 games this season, which is tied for the third most in the NBA.
Frye has found his touch from 3-point range: Magic forward Channing Frye connected on five 3-pointers against the Rockets on January 14 and four 3-pointers against the Grizzlies on January 16. This was the 12th time in his career that Frye made four or more 3-pointers in back-to-back contests and it marked the second time he has accomplished the feat in a Magic uniform. Frye is shooting 39.3 percent (81-of-219) from long range during the 2014-15 campaign.
The Denver Nuggets assigned rookie guard Erick Green to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League today, according to General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly.
The Nuggets drafted Green 46th overall (second round) in the 2013 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 14 games this season, averaging 3.3 points in 7.3 minutes per game.
Green will be available for Fort Wayne’s game at Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 23.
New York Knicks sign Lou Amundson to second 10-day contract
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The New York Knicks have signed forward Lou Amundson to a second consecutive 10-day contract.
Amundson, 6-9, 225-pounds, has averaged 1.5 points and 2.1 rebounds over 8.6 minutes in 14 games (one start) with Cleveland and New York this season. In two games with the Knicks, he is averaging 5.0 points and 4.5 rebounds over 20.5 minutes.
At 6-36, the Knicks currently have the worst record in the NBA. They did enjoy a rare win yesterday, beating a short-handed New Orleans Pelicans team in Madison Square Garden. And another shot at victory comes tomorrow, as the team visits the 8-33 Sixers in Philadelphia.
Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting that the Mavericks visited an important cultural spot Sunday before facing the Grizzlies Monday:
When the Mavericks arrived in Memphis on Sunday, they went directly to the [National] Civil Rights Museum for a private tour in advance of MLK Day.
“Every now and then, you have to remind yourself and educate yourself about the history,” Tyson Chandler said. “You got to look into his life and what it means. For me, it’s just being thankful that I live in a day that I can play this game I love, that I can go into restaurants, that I can watch my children go to a school that looks like a melting pot and have experiences that little black boys and little black girls didn’t experience in his time.”
The Washington Wizards, playing at home, beat the Philadelphia 76ers 111-76 on Monday. In the win, Marcin Gortat shot 9-of-11 for 20 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. The Wizards shot 55.6% and hit 7-of-14 three-pointers. Nobody on the Sixers scored more than 13 points. Tony Wroten and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute didn’t play. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:
Henry Sims, who started in place of sidelined power forward Luc Mbah a Moute (left knee contusion), led the Sixers with 13 points. Nerlens Noel scored nine of his 11 points before intermission. He turned into basically a bystander, missing both of his shots in the second half.
The rookie center said he didn’t think his play caused him to score just two points after halftime. Noel said he and a lot of the Sixers’ big men kept their energy all game.
“But we have to be able to reward them,” Noel said. “We have to move the ball. I think we were stagnant. Sustaining energy that long isn’t an easy thing, especially when you’re not getting big guys the ball.”
Perhaps that was one of the problems.
Michael Carter-Williams’ struggles were another problem. The point guard, who was last season’s rookie of the year, had seven points on 2-for-13 shooting. Carter-Williams also had five assists, one rebound, two steals and four turnovers.