March 13, 2013 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Kobe Bryant injures ankle in Lakers loss to Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks were mired in a slump. They were missing two key starters. And they were facing Kobe Bryant and the streaking Los Angeles Lakers.

Talk about an unlikely time to get a win.

Devin Harris scored 17 points, Ivan Johnson hit a key basket, and the short-handed Hawks shook off a 20-point third quarter by Bryant for a 96-92 victory Wednesday night, a physical game that was marred in the closing seconds when Bryant went down with a severely sprained left ankle after missing a game-tying shot.

The Lakers said Bryant is out indefinitely, just as the team is pushing for a playoff spot.

”I’ll just do what I have to do” to get back, he said.

Atlanta won for just the second time in eight games despite missing Josh Smith and Jeff Teague. Six players scored in double figures and everyone contributed to the victory, at least everyone who suited up.

”That’s the way we have to play,” said Kyle Korver, who hit the clinching free throws. ”When we’re missing guys, we can’t just say, ‘You’re the next-best guy on the team, you take all the shots.’ That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Bryant took a lot of shots for the Lakers – 33 in all – but he couldn’t knock down the one that mattered.

Then he couldn’t get up…

Bryant finished with 31 points, but made just 11 of those 33 shots.

— Reported by Paul Newberry of the Associated Press

Roy Hibbert scores 27 in Pacers win over Timberwolves

Roy Hibbert knew he was going to get the ball. It was just up to him what he was going to do with it.

It’s been a slow process for the Indiana Pacers’ center to playing up to expectations – a process that has stretch over the course of much of the season.

However, when teammate Paul George told him before the game he was getting the ball, Hibbert capitalized by scoring a season-high 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Pacers to a 107-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night…

Hibbert is just a piece of the puzzle and starting to fit in place quite comfortably. Along with the season-best scoring night, had nine offensive boards and four blocks.

”Roy Hibbert was the star of the game,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. ”He was dominant at both ends. You can see in his body language he is playing more confident.”

George had 17 points and George Hill added 16 points with six assists to help the Pacers get their second win in three games and remain in the hunt with the New York Knicks for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Ricky Rubio had 21 points and 10 assists and Luke Ridnour scored 17 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost nine of their last 11 games.

— Reported by Jim Johnson of the Associated Press

John Wall shines in Wizards win over Bucks

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall and coach Randy Wittman got in each other’s faces. Then, after Wittman momentarily walked away, they got in each other’s faces again.

Whatever was said during that third-quarter timeout Wednesday night worked.

Wall had 23 points and 10 assists, and the Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks 106-93.

The exchange came as Washington was blowing a 20-point, second-half lead, but Wall rallied with eight fourth-quarter points to hold off the Bucks.

“Oh, that’s coaching. C’mon,” Wittman said emphatically. “I love that.”

Wall said the dispute centered around how the Wizards defended Ersan Ilyasova who finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

“Just us being both competitive and being on different pages,” Wall said. “But we talked about it, and we did a great job in the fourth quarter of keeping Ilyasova from getting hot.”

As Martell Webster said of Wall, “He is a competitor, and he feels like he has to be Superman.”-
– Reported by the Associated Press

Heat beat Sixers for 20th straight win

LeBron James missed once, then again, whiffing on two easy looks at the rim that could have left Miami shaken.

Like a good teammate, Dwyane Wade swooped in for the saving tip, preserving the lead and keeping the Heat’s amazing win streak rolling.

James scored 27 points and the Heat became the fourth team to win at least 20 consecutive games in a season, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 98-94 on Wednesday night.

Against a struggling Sixers team that was revved up like a playoff game, the Heat just found a way to win.

And when it was done, they took the time to admire their mark.

”Twenty is special,” Wade said. ”Win 20 games in a row, it’s awesome. You can’t get around it. We’re going to try to go for the next one.”

Wade scored 21 as the Heat needed big baskets over the final 2 minutes to top the Sixers for the milestone win. He stuck with the ball on James’ misses and scored the clutch tip that made it a three-point lead with 29 seconds left and squashed the Sixers’ upset bid.

— Reported by Dan Gelston of the Associated Press

Kevin Love remains weeks away from returning for Wolves

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love had his surgically repaired right hand examined on Wednesday and was given the green light to increase his conditioning program.

But the two-time All-Star was not cleared to begin full-contact drills, according to the Pioneer Press. Love will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks.

Dr. Michelle Carlson, performed the surgery on Love’s hand on Jan. 15 in New York.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Sam Mitchell once banned Andrea Bargnani from shooting 3-pointers

Mitchell, who coached Toronto from 2004 through 2008, said he set aside one 10-game stretch where he forbade Bargnani from taking a three-point shot. He said he went so far as to tell the young Italian he would remove him from the game if he stopped to shoot from beyond the arc.

“My thing was, I wanted him to understand he used the three-pointer as a crutch,” he said. “He relied on it too much. I wanted him to use the three-pointer as a weapon. I wanted him to realize that, from 17 feet in, in one dribble, Andrea could get anywhere on the basketball court.”

Mitchell, who has spoken of management’s interference before, would not go into the specifics of what upper management told him. He would not offer names.

“Maybe, looking back, if I ever coach again and I want to do something like that, I’ll sit down with the general manager first and say, ‘this is what I want to do, this is why I’m going to do it, and after these 10 games, I’m going to turn him loose,’” he said.

— Reported by Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post

Calf still bothering Shawn Marion

Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn Marion has been ruled out of Thursday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs and will be re-evaluated Friday morning by team doctor T.O. Souryal.

Marion has missed the previous three games because of a bruised left calf suffered during the Mavs’ March 6 win over the Houston Rockets. The Mavs had considered Marion to be day to day, but the calf has not been recovering as well as anticipated.

— Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Craig Brackins joins LA D-Fenders in D-League

The Los Angeles D-Fenders, of the NBA Development League, have acquired former 2010 first round NBA Draft pick Craig Brackins, it was announced today.

Brackins, a 6-10, 230 pound forward, most recently played for Angelico Biella (Italy) where he was voted to the Italian SerieA All-Star Game. The 21st overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft, Brackins joined the Oklahoma City Thunder and was subsequently moved on draft day to the New Orleans Hornets before ultimately landing with the Philadelphia 76ers. In 17 career NBA games with the 76ers, Brackins averaged 1.8 points (30 total points), 1.1 rebounds (19 total rebounds) and 0.5 assists (9 total assists) in 7.1 minutes per game. Brackins also brings NBA Development League experience to the D-Fenders, averaging 19.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25 career games with the Springfield Armor and Maine Red Claws.

A standout at Iowa State University, Brackins was named to the All-Big 12 First Team (2009) and All-Big 12 Second Team (2010) and received an Associated Press NCAA All-America Honorable Mention nod (2009). In three seasons at Iowa State, Brackins averaged 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds over 96 games, finishing his career ranked 12th all-time in points scored (1,539) and eighth in rebounds (736).

Cavs re-assign forward Kevin Jones to D-League yet again

The Cleveland Cavaliers today re-assigned rookie forward Kevin Jones to the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s NBA Development League affiliate. The assignment is the sixth of Jones’ career and the record 152nd of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons. Jones is one of the record 56 players to have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Jones (6-8, 260, West Virginia) has appeared in 19 games for Cleveland this season, averaging 2.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 9.0 minutes.

In four previous stints with Canton this season, Jones appeared in nine games, averaging 22.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 38.2 minutes. In his last assignment with Canton on March 2, Jones recorded a 17-point, 12-rebond double-double as the Charge defeated the Springfield Armor 112-111.

Jones is expected to join Canton today and be available when the team hosts the Bakersfield Jam at 7 p.m. ET.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Cavs love sending Jones to the D-League. It’s fun. It’s the team’s favorite current hobby. It’s in right now.

Andrea Bargnani out for rest of season with elbow injury

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday that forward Andrea Bargnani is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the 2012-13 season with an avulsion sprain of the right elbow. This injury is not related to his previous right elbow injury that sidelined him for 26 games (December 12 – February 3).

Bargnani left at the 3:08 mark in the first quarter March 8 against the Los Angeles Lakers and did not return. He appeared in 14 of 15 games prior to this injury, including four straight starts (March 2-8).

Bargnani this season was averaging just 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, on just 40% shooting from the field.

The 25-39 Raptors are currently the 9th seed in the Eastern conference, but a full eight games behind the Milwaukee Bucks at 8th.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Raptors appeared to be ready to flirt with making the playoffs in the East, but they’re pretty far behind the 8th spot right now. As for Bargnani, he was having a disappointing season, and I’m not sure this will affect them as the season winds down.