Kevin McHale mourns loss of daughter

Alexandra McHale, the daughter of Minnesota basketball legend Kevin McHale, died over the weekend, it was announced Sunday.

Known as Sasha, she died Saturday in a Twin Cities hospital. She had turned 23 in late October and had been in college at Minnesota Duluth until illness forced her to take a leave of absence.

She played varsity for Totino-Grace High School for three years and made honorable mention all-state in 2008, the year her team won the Class 3A state title.

“She was an outstanding basketball player and the life of the locker room,” said Shannon Hartinger, her coach at Totino-Grace for three years. “She was a joy to be around. You could tell she loved to play basketball.” …

Kevin McHale became coach of the Houston Rockets last season but has been on a leave of absence since Nov. 10. The Houston Chronicle said the leave was to deal with his daughter’s health issues after she was hospitalized for a condition related to lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates 1.5 million people in the country have it.

— Reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Knicks go wild from outside, beat Pistons

carmelo anthony

With the Linsanity disaster behind them, the Knicks came back home and took it out on the Pistons today. They cruised to a 121-100 victory behind Carmelo Anthony’s 29 points in 31 minutes and they got back to playing ramped-up defense in a Garden matinee, breaking a two-game losing streak.

The Knicks moved to 9-3 and stayed unbeaten at home at 5-0. The win sets the stage for tomorrow’s historic, first-ever showdown vs. the Nets in their new locale in Brooklyn – a makeup game of the postponed season opener.

Today’s victory temporarily erased the stench of their 131-103 disgrace at the hands of Jeremy Lin’s Rockets in Houston. During their two-game losing streak that included a defeat in Dallas, the Knicks had allowed 245 points. All their losses have come on the road – the third one being in Memphis.

Melo shot 10 of 18, made all five of his free throws and had 3 assists. He also mostly refrained from arguing with the officials and sizzled with his jumper, making 4 of 5 3-pointers. He didn’t play the fourth quarter.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Anthony Davis might miss two more weeks with ankle injury

Anthony Davis might miss two more weeks with ankle injury

It could be another two weeks before New Orleans Hornets rookie forward Anthony Davis recovers sufficiently from a stress reaction in his left ankle to resume playing.

Davis said Sunday after the team’s shootaround at a downtown hotel that a precautionary MRI following three ankle sprains in as many days revealed the problem, which is a precursor to a more serious stress fracture that would likely manifest itself without rest and rehabilitation.

Davis first injured his ankle June 30 in New Orleans, his first workout following the NBA draft. That slowed him in the early portion of the U.S. Olympic Team’s training camp in Las Vegas.

This latest issue, he said, is unrelated.

— Reported by Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Glen Davis says Jacque Vaughn is a more Gandhi-like coach than Doc Rivers

glen davis

Now that Glen Davis is co-captain of the Orlando Magic, the former Celtic only hopes that his maturity is showing. The forward goes into tonight’s game against his old team as Orlando’s second leading scorer (14.9 ppg), but believes his overall development is a reflection of another kind of transition.

He’s moved on from under the pressure of Doc Rivers’ strong hand to the more liberal touch of Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. Listen to Davis’ description of the change, and you can’t help but believe that he’s gone from boot camp to an ashram.

“Different guys,” he said after today’s pre-game shootaround. “Doc is more of a military-minded kind of guy, and Jacque is more of a Gandhi kind of guy. Soft but powerful.

“Doc’s more ‘get the job done,’ and Jacque Vaughn is more the kind of guy who will ask you, ‘Would you feel comfortable getting the job done?’” said Davis.

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Houston Rockets recall Donatas Motiejunas from D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has recalled forward/center Donatas Motiejunas from Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley.

Motiejunas (7-0, 222, Lithuania), who was assigned to Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 13, averaged 24.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in two starts with the Vipers. In Friday’s season opener against Bakersfield, Motiejunas led the team with 31 points and eight boards in 36 minutes. Last night, he posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Jam.

Hawks beat Clippers for 5th straight win

jeff teague

Jeff Teague only gets two chances to face Chris Paul each season, so he wants to make the most of his opportunities.

It took Teague much of the first quarter to find his momentum against Paul, a fellow Wake Forest point guard. Once he did, the Atlanta Hawks were making stops on defense and scoring in transition.

Teague had 19 points and 11 assists, Zaza Pachulia added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the Hawks won their fifth straight game with a 104-93 victory over Los Angeles on Saturday night…

Blake Griffin scored 22 points and Paul had 19 for the Clippers.

Los Angeles has lost a season-high three consecutive games after winning six in a row.

Lou Williams finished with 18 points and Josh Smith added 17 for Atlanta…

Hawks G Devin Harris missed the game with a sore big left toe.

— Reported by George Henry of the Associated Press

Wizards fall to Bobcats in 2OT

byron mullens

A season ago, the Charlotte Bobcats were the losingest team in the history of the NBA. The Washington Wizards are trying to avoid that distinction.

The Bobcats beat the Wizards 108-106 in two overtimes on Saturday night, equaling their win total from last season in just their 12th game.

In the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, Charlotte was 7-59, the lowest winning percentage in NBA history. They’re already 7-5.

Washington was hoping to win its first game, but fell to 0-11…

Byron Mullens scored 27 points, Ramon Sessions had 20 and Ben Gordon added 19 for the Bobcats…

Martel Webster had 21 points for Washington and Nene scored 19. It was just the second game for Nene after he missed the first nine with a foot injury.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Suddenly, the Kings can score

The Kings spent 10 games trying to find their offensive flow. All it took was for Tyreke Evans to find his and, suddenly, the Kings can score.

A night after blowing a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter to Utah in Salt Lake City, the Kings came back to beat the Jazz 108-97 Saturday night at Sleep Train Arena.

And it was Evans in the middle of the flow with a season-high 27 points to go with five rebounds and a team-high five assists.

“Me being aggressive, that sets the tone,” Evans said. “And when (DeMarcus Cousins) is aggressive, that sets the tone. We’ve just got to keep doing that to be in game-winning situations and win games.”

— Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee