Day: March 16, 2009

Sean Williams arrested after incident mall near Denver

The Newark Star-Ledger (Dave D’Alessandro) reports: Nets forward Sean Williams was arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief yesterday after an altercation with a clerk at a cell phone store in a shopping mall 20 miles south of Denver. The 22-year-old Williams was also charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, according to Detective Sergeant Ron Pinson of the Lone Tree, Colo., Police Dept. The incident occurred at 2 p.m. yesterday at the AT&T Mobility store inside the Park Meadows Mall. According to police, Williams had a verbal altercation with the clerk, and picked up a computer monitor and threw it. The monitor and other equipment were broken, causing damages estimated to be about $1,200 to $1,300.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Seriously, how hard is it to just stop getting in legal trouble for a while? Williams has pro-level athletic ability, but amateur-level skill development. Combine that with constant legal issues and he’s playing his way out of the league.

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Stephen Jackson suspended one game for technical fouls

The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Jackson has received a one-game suspension without pay after receiving his 16th technical foul of the 2008-09 season, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

A player or coach receives an automatic one-game suspension after receiving his 16th technical foul. Every other technical foul beyond 16 (18, 20, 22, etc.) will also result in a one-game suspension without pay.

Jackson received his most recent technical foul with 3:54 remaining in the third period of Golden State’s 154-130 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, March 15 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, Calif. Jackson will serve his suspension on Tuesday, March 17 when the Warriors host the Los Angeles Clippers at ORACLE Arena.

Lakers recall Sun Yue from D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have recalled guard Sun Yue from the NBA Development League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders, it was announced today.

Sun, who became the 25th NBA player assigned to a D-League affiliate this season on March 6, played 4 games (4 starts) with the D-Fenders, averaging 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.25 blocks in 36.0 minutes.

Originally selected by the Lakers in the second round (40th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Sun signed with the Lakers the following summer (August 25, 2008) shortly after representing China as a member of the Men’s Olympic Basketball Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Making his NBA debut on December 7 versus Milwaukee with four points on 2-of-3 shooting in five minutes, Sun has appeared in 10 games with the Lakers this season, totaling six points, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot in 28 minutes.

LeBron James is a Nate Robinson fan

New York Newsday (Alan Hahn) reports: Count LeBron James among the many stars in the NBA who admire Nate Robinson and what he brings to a game. “Love him,” James said before Robinson and the Knicks faced LeBron’s Cavaliers last night at Quicken Loans Arena. “One thing about Nate, there are certain players in this league that you know what you’re going to get out of them every night,” James said of Robinson’s boundless energy. “We have one like that in Anderson [Varejao]. Every night, you know you’re going to get high energy and they’re going to compete every night. “They’re going to make mistakes, but they play hard and they give it their all every night and you can live with that,” James added. “You can live with those type of players, and Nate is one of those players.”

Novak’s 3 gives Clippers 107-105 win over Nets

The AP reports: Steve Novak’s seventh 3-pointer beat the buzzer and helped the Clippers snap a seven-game losing streak with a 107-105 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Sunday night… Vince Carter had a season-high 41 points along with seven rebounds and six assists for the Nets, whose postseason hopes may have been severely damaged when point guard and leading scorer Devin Harris left with 8:53 remaining in the third quarter because of a sprained left shoulder… Novak finished with 21 points, and Baron Davis and Al Thornton each scored 20 for Los Angeles.

Richardson scores 31, Suns beat Warriors 154-130

The AP reports: Now that the runnin’ Phoenix Suns are making a playoff push, Shaq is wondering what took them so long. Jason Richardson scored 31 points against his former team, Shaquille O’Neal added 26, and the Suns rang up the highest point total in the NBA this season in a 154-130 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night… Matt Barnes, another former Warriors player, added 20 points and a career-high 11 assists as the Suns ended a five-game losing streak on the road and a four-game skid at Golden State. Leandro Barbosa added 21 points and Jared Dudley and Steve Nash each had 11… Monta Ellis scored 26 points and Corey Maggette added 21 for the Warriors, who had won their last two at home. Kelenna Azubuike scored 18 and Jamal Crawford had 17 as Golden State was officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Wizards keep Kings in NBA cellar with 106-104 win

The AP reports: “We didn’t do things right,” said Wizards forward Antawn Jamison, who scored 30 points. “But the most important thing is that we got a win, and I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss.” … Andray Blatche added 16 points, and Darius Songaila 15 for the Wizards. Washington played without Caron Butler, who has a tight left hamstring and will have an MRI exam Monday. Kevin Martin scored 24 points, and Spencer Hawes had 20 to lead the Kings, who were missing Bobby Jackson (broken left cheekbone) but welcomed back Beno Udrih (out six games with a sprained right foot).

Mo Williams scores 23, Cavs beat Knicks 98-93

The AP reports: Mo Williams scored 23 points, making all five of his 3-pointers, and James added 19 as the Cavaliers opened a crucial stretch of home games by beating the New York Knicks 98-93 on Sunday night… LeBron James, who came in with three triple-doubles in his last four games, flirted with another one but finished with 10 assists and eight rebounds. Al Harrington made five 3-pointers and scored 26 points for New York, which had its three-game winning streak stopped.The 5-foot-9 Robinson, the league’s dunk champion who James called a “physical freak” before the game, had 20. Lee had 14 rebounds.

Howard’s 28, 20 lead Magic over weary Jazz

The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 28 points and 20 rebounds, leading the Orlando Magic to their third straight victory, 105-87 victory over the weary Jazz on Sunday night… Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, coming off a triple-overtime loss in Miami a day earlier. The Magic got 16 points from point guard Rafer Alston and 14 from backup point guard Anthony Johnson… Utah point guard Deron Williams, who finished with 11 points and nine assists, left the game in obvious pain with 5:05 remaining in the second quarter after banging knees with Howard. He returned in the second half but struggled to spark the Jazz.

Bryant, balanced Lakers beat Mavericks 107-100

The AP reports: Bryant scored 28 points and led a late 12-0 run that put Los Angeles back in control, but Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom all had a big hand in Sunday’s 107-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Ariza scored a career-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Gasol made his first 10 shots, finished 12-of-13 and scored 25. Odom had 10 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots… Jason Kidd, who had nine points, nine assists and seven rebounds, said, “Kobe picked his spots when they had to have a basket.” Dirk Nowitzki added 20 for the Mavericks, but missed 14 of his 20 shots. James Singleton had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.